A Secret Between Friends

April 2026

Their love was put to the test. And it’s positive!

Riley Thompson was happy being Josh Bravo’s secret lover. But now she’s pregnant! And that’s how Josh’s ex pressured him into marriage. Plus, after tragically losing the love of her life, Riley isn’t looking for love or wedding bells. Still, she’ll happily co-parent with her best friend. Now all she has to do is find a way to tell him.

The best thing that came out of Josh Bravo’s marriage is his son—and his divorce. Riley has been there as a listener and a lover. But when she reveals they’re expecting, Josh bristles. It’s not the baby that rattles him—it’s the realization he has feelings for his best friend. Now all he has to do is find a way to tell her.

Bravo Family Ties:
The Next Generation

Chapter One

On the last day of March in the small town of Medicine Creek, Wyoming, Riley Thompson stood staring anxiously out the front window of her house on Adams Street. Beyond the porch roof, the slowly darkening sky was clear.

Tonight is the night, Riley silently vowed. Tonight, she would finally tell her secret lover, Josh Bravo, that they were having a baby.

She would tell him as soon as he walked in the door, tell him before he gathered her into his lean, hard arms and kissed her. It mattered that she speak up before he kissed her. Because Josh Bravo’s kisses had a tendency to turn her brain to mush.

But not tonight. She simply couldn’t put it off any longer. She was twelve weeks along and starting to show. The evidence was slight as of yet, just the softest outward curve to her belly. So far, he hadn’t noticed—or if he had, he hadn’t said a word about it.

But tonight, everything would change. Tonight, she and Josh would finally start figuring out where to go from here.

No one would interrupt them. Josh’s son, Shane, was with his ex-wife. And Riley had taken her son, Dillon, to his beloved Grammy Annette’s house for a sleepover. Riley and Josh would have plenty of time to talk.

All she had to do was lead him straight to the sofa when he walked in the door and gently urge him to sit down. Then she would lay the truth on him. All it would take was two simple sentences.

Josh, I’m sorry but there’s been a little screwup with my contraception. I’m pregnant. It’s yours and I’m going to keep it.

Okay, that was three sentences. But three sentences should be easy. Three sentences should be out of her mouth in ten seconds, max. She just needed not to stall, not to get flustered or second-guess herself. Not to get sidetracked while looking into his clear hazel eyes or staring at his mouth that still, after six months of kissing him every time they were alone, she could not get enough of.

If she hesitated, he would reach for her.

And she would melt into his arms. Once he put his hands on her, she would be lost. All her good intentions would fly right out the window. Josh was a really good kisser. Just thinking about his kisses made her pulse pick up.

Honestly, Josh Bravo? She never would have guessed that sex with Josh could be so absolutely, amazingly out of control.

After all, she’d known Josh all her life. They’d been friends forever. Back in second grade, he’d chased her around the playground threatening to slime her with a big, warty toad.

Who knew that more than twenty years later, after he’d been married and she’d been married and their sons had become best friends, he would come over one October night to play poker with a few other friends and be the last one to leave?

He had kissed her. One kiss.

And everything changed…

Blinking away the steamy memory, Riley watched as Josh’s big crew cab slid in at the curb. When he got out and started up the front walk, she backed away from the glass so he wouldn’t catch her staring out.

The doorbell rang.

Her heart stopped—and then began pounding like it would bust open the walls of her chest.

“Deep breath,” she reminded herself in a whisper and then made herself draw in air deeply and let it out nice and slow.

Her knees were a bit shaky as she went to let him in. He spotted her through the fanlight window in the top of the door, and he smiled.

Straightening her shoulders, she drew another slow, careful breath and pulled the door wide.

“Hey.” Those gorgeous hazel eyes gleamed at her, making her heart rate spike and her breath come too fast.

She wanted him. A lot. All these months she’d been waiting for the wanting to fade a little. That hadn’t happened. If anything, it just kept getting stronger.

“Hey.” She stepped back.

He crossed the threshold. And then they just stood there, looking at each other. His fine mouth curved in another slow, knowing grin. She shouldn’t grin back.

But she did.

“Riley,” he said, low and gruff. “I’ve been waiting all damn day…”

She gulped and reminded herself again that it was time—past time. She had to tell him. He had a right to know.

A strange, ragged sound escaped her. “Let’s, uh, go sit on the…”

That was as far as she got. Because right then, he reached out those big, hardworking hands and grasped her shoulders.

Another wordless sound found its way past her lips. It wasn’t supposed to be a moan. But it sure sounded like one.

He pushed the door shut with the heel of his steel-toed work boot—gently, so it drifted closed with no more than a faint click. Then he pulled her even closer. It felt so good, her breasts pressing into his hard chest, the warmth of him, the clean scent of his skin.

She gulped again, caught one of his hands and gave it a tug. “The sofa,” she said.

He had that look, like he was going to sweep her high in his arms and take her up the stairs to her room. But he didn’t. “Sure, Riley. The sofa it is.”

Before she could throw herself at him all over again and beg him to kiss her and carry her to bed, she turned on her heel and marched from the entry area, past the stairs and into the living room.

He didn’t object, just followed along behind her, his heavy boots firm on the hardwood floor.

Leading him past an armchair and around the coffee table, she stopped in front of the sofa. “Have a seat.”

He turned and sat. She sank down beside him.

Where to begin? She wanted to prepare him a little. It seemed all wrong to just blurt it out in a guilty rush.

While she valiantly sought the right words, he bent, untied the heavy laces of his big boots and then pulled one off and set it at the end of the coffee table. Still unsure how to start, she watched as he took off the other boot and set it by the first one.

“Rile?” His voice was soft now, like velvet. It rubbed along her nerve endings, reminding her all over again of how good it felt when he touched her.

She answered with a breathless little, “Hmm?”

“You okay?”

“Ahem. Yeah. Of course…” Tell him. Do it now! What was the matter with her? He needed to know, and it was her responsibility to tell him. “I just…”

“You just what?” he asked. And then, as she struggled over how to answer, he put his arm along the back of the sofa and leaned in a little closer, bringing his wonderful scent of cedar and a hint of leather. His breath was minty. The longing to throw herself into his arms increased with each beat of her heart. “Okay,” he said. “Now I’m getting worried…”

“Oh! No, don’t be. I’m fine, really. Perfect, I promise you.” I’m also a big, fat coward, she thought.

His expression had turned serious. “Want me to go?”

She bit her lip and let out a silly, weak little moan. “God, no…” With a small cry, she gave in and did what she longed to do—she reached for him.

He pulled her close and wrapped those fine arms around her.

Their mouths collided.

One more time, she thought desperately as his big hand closed around her breast. Just once more. And before he leaves tonight, I will tell him what he needs to know…

*

“You can’t be serious,” Riley’s best friend, Macy Bravo, accused in a whisper late the next afternoon. “You still haven’t told him?”

Macy, who was married to Josh’s second cousin, Joe, had dropped in about an hour ago. She’d brought her eight-year-old, Ana, and her baby boy, Justin, who was now sound asleep surrounded by pillows lying on the sofa between Riley and Macy.

As for Ana, she’d led Riley’s son, Dillon, into the study on the other side of the entry area. Riley could hear her in there bossing Dillon around. “Sit right there,” Ana instructed crisply. “And be very quiet or I won’t read another word.”

Dillon said nothing. Riley could just picture him, sitting yoga-style on the study floor, rapt. Both Dillon and Josh’s son, Shane, adored Ana. Ana read to them from her favorite books and came up with fun games to play and never had any trouble keeping the boys in line.

“Earth to Riley,” Macy whispered sharply.

“Uh, sorry. Just listening to the kids…”

“Did you or did you not tell him?”

“Well…”

“You didn’t,” Macy accused.

“I meant to,” Riley whined. Macy just looked her all squinty-eyed. Riley insisted, “I really did. But then I got…distracted.”

“Distracted.” There was an eye roll. “So that’s what you’re calling it now?”

Riley felt awful. “I meant to do it. I vowed to myself that I would do it. But then we made love, and it was great. We were both just lying there, limp and satisfied, completely relaxed, whispering together, laughing at silly things… I felt so…happy, Mace. So relaxed. And Josh seemed happy, too. I just couldn’t do it—couldn’t make love with him and then announce, ‘Oh, by the way, I’m pregnant and it’s yours.’”

“I understand,” said Macy. She sounded weary but resigned.

“Oh, Mace. Do you really?”

“Absolutely. It would have been much better not to fall into bed with him first. And that’s why you were going to tell him right after he showed up, remember?”

“And I was all set to do that. But then he kissed me and…” With a little moan, she let her shoulders droop. “I blew it again, okay? I know that I did. And now I just have to get it right the next time I see him.”

Macy’s judgy expression softened. “Aw, honey…” She reached over and patted Riley’s knee. “All you have to do is get the words out. Do it before you let him near you. Just tell him, and it will all work out, you’ll see.”

Would it? Really? Sometimes she wondered. They had an agreement. They were having a hot fling for as long as it lasted. So far, it had lasted a pretty long time. And she still didn’t want it to end. He didn’t seem to want to stop, either. “I’m afraid that when I tell him, he’s never going to speak to me again.”

Macy leaned across her sleeping child to squeeze Riley’s shoulder. “Josh is a good guy. He’ll do what’s right.”

Riley groaned. “Please. You mean like marry me? He’s already married one woman because there was a baby coming. He’s not going to want to do that again—and if he volunteers to put a ring on it for the sake of the baby, I’ll remind him of what he already knows. I loved TJ.” There would always be an ache in the center of her chest for her lost husband. “He was everything to me, and I had to watch him die in my arms. I’m not getting married again. It’s not going to happen.”

Macy gave her a look full of tender understanding. “I know. You’ve made that very clear. And I get it. I do. I’m just saying that you will work it out one way or another, together, you and Josh.”

“Oh, I do hope so…”

“You will. Wait and see.”

“Yeah, but the last thing Josh is going to want to hear is that his secret lover is accidentally pregnant. It’s what happened with Lenore all over again—well, I mean minus the secret fling thing.”

“Please,” Macy scoffed. “Lenore’s a nightmare with serious neediness issues. You are not his ex-wife.”

“But still, here I am having his surprise baby just like Lenore.”

“Josh loves Shane. He’ll love this new baby, too.”

Riley nodded slowly. “Yeah. I know. I know he will.”

Macy reached out, and Riley did, too. They hugged over the sleeping child between them.

“Josh is a great guy and a terrific dad,” Macy said. “And it’s not your fault that Lenore is a clinger. Just tell him what’s happened. Just take the first step.”

Riley heaved a giant sigh and whispered, “I feel extra guilty for being such a hopeless chicken.”

“Next time you’ll do it right.”

“Actually, I’ve been thinking that maybe I should just avoid Josh for a while.”

“Oh, please.” Macy hung her head and then gave Riley a long, accusing look from under her lashes. “Wrong. What you need to do is tell the man the truth. Now.”

Riley moaned. “I hate this.”

“Do it. Just tell him—on the phone, if you have to. But you need to get that over with so you can move on to working things out.”

“I know.”

“So call him. Right away.”

“I will,” Riley promised.

But she didn’t call him.

Several times in the next couple of days, she brought up his number on her phone and stared at the photo she’d snapped of him last Halloween. He’d dressed as a giant banana, and he looked ridiculous, and every time she saw that picture lately, she didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. She did a little of both.

But she never hit the call icon.

Thursday morning he reached out to her. At the time, she was sitting at her desk in her basement office at the Statesman Hotel. When her phone chimed, she turned it over and stared at his grinning face sticking out of that banana costume and felt like a complete jerk.

He’d texted, Call me when you get a minute.

She almost put off getting back to him until later. But then, groaning in self-disgust at her own reluctance to do what she’d vowed to do, she called him.

He answered immediately. “Lenore has Shane tonight.” His voice was low, private. For her ears alone. Warmth curled through her. It had only been a few days. Yet she couldn’t wait to see him—and not because of what he needed to know.

She was a real piece of work, completely reprehensible.

She had one job and that was to tell him there would be a baby. But she wasn’t thinking about what he had a right to know. Uh-uh. She was thinking about how his eyes turned golden just before he kissed her, about the feel of his rough-tender hands on her body…

“Rile? Did I lose you?”

Breathe, she reminded herself. “No, I’m right here.”

“Any possibility I can see you tonight?”

“Yes. Absolutely.” Annette would take Dillon—or if she couldn’t, Macy would.

He chuckled. “You sound pretty determined. I like it.”

We’ll see how you feel when you hear my news… “So. My house. Seven?”

“I’ll be there.”

*

It was a long day at Bravo Construction. Josh spent most of it driving from one worksite to the next, checking on the progress of various projects.

Ninety percent of the jobs he took were for Cash Enterprises, which was owned and run by his dad and his older brother. His dad, whose real first name was John, had been called Cash since long before Josh or his brother were born. Hence the name of the company.

The family story was that Cash Bravo had been making deals practically from the cradle. Tyler, Josh’s older brother, was much like their dad. So Cash and Ty wheeled and dealed. They invested in stocks, bonds, movies, mutual funds, commodities—you name it, Ty and Cash had put money in it.

Cash Enterprises bought real estate, too, and often those properties needed work. Josh and his crew handled repairs and renovations.

At a little before 6:00 p.m. Josh finally pulled in at the two double-wide trailers that served as his base of operations. His dependable, creative, well-organized and always cheerful office manager, Tia Fortier, was waiting to go over a number of issues. She brought him up to speed, and then he went home to grab a quick shower.

At seven on the nose, he was standing on Riley’s front porch. She pulled the door open before he could ring the bell.

That made him smile. “Glad to see me, huh?”

She grabbed his arm and pulled him inside.

He pushed the door shut and waited for her to say something. When all she did was stare up at him, he prompted, “What?”

Her answer was a slow shake of her head.

“Rile…” He took her sweet face between his hands and gazed down at her. So strange, to have known her for so many years. For most of that time, he’d thought of her as a good buddy, a friend.

But then, on a chilly Saturday night in early October, Riley invited him over to play poker. That night, it was Riley, Macy, Joe and Josh—plus his older brother, Ty, and Ty’s wife, Sadie.

They played until well after midnight, drinking beer, laughing a lot, talking too loud. That night, Dillon had gone to his grandmother’s, so they didn’t have to worry about keeping a lid on the noise.

It was around 1:00 a.m. when the married folks—Joe and Macy, Ty and Sadie—said goodnight.

That left just the two of them. Riley had offered him another beer. He’d said he’d take some coffee. She said she would make some, and she smiled…

And he couldn’t stop himself. He reached out and caught her hand.

Those blue eyes went so wide. “Josh?” She’d sounded breathless all of a sudden. He got that. He’d felt breathless right then, too.

But all night, he’d been watching her, thinking how pretty she was, seeing her differently than he ever had before. That night was his moment, and he seized it.

Leaning close, he had breathed in her scent. She smelled like roses. He’d brushed those soft pink lips of hers with a kiss.

That did it. She threw her arms around him, and he grabbed her close.

They’d spent the rest of that night in her bed. He remembered sneaking out just before dawn and smiling all the way home.

That was the beginning. It was a fling, they both said. They were friends, and they wanted to keep it that way. They talked about it frankly, agreed it wouldn’t last long, that they weren’t dating, that when it ended, they would make sure their friendship remained intact.

They’d decided they would only tell certain people. Not her mother-in-law, who might not understand. And no way would they tell his ex-wife because Lenore had trouble respecting boundaries. Especially when she was between boyfriends.

Now, half a year later, he looked at Riley and he couldn’t help thinking he wouldn’t mind if this thing between them never ended. He couldn’t get enough of her wide-set blue eyes, that sweet heart-shaped face, all that thick, softly curling red hair. She looked like a princess from some long-ago time when men wore waistcoats and breeches and women dressed in long gowns with frilly petticoats beneath.

“Rile,” he whispered.

And she said, “Oh, Josh…” She surged up and her mouth touched his.

He yanked her close as the fire between them kindled and flared. He was kissing her, loving the taste of her mouth, eager for more of those soft, hungry sighs.

But something was up with her.

He took her by the shoulders. “What’s the matter? Just tell me.”

She stared up at him. Those eyes of hers were oceans. He wanted to drown in them. “Well…”

His phone buzzed with a text.

They both froze.

And then she laughed and flopped back against the sofa cushion. “Better check. Go on.”

He eased the phone from his pocket and looked at it.

“What’s wrong?” Riley asked.

“It’s Lenore,” he said glumly. “I’ll call her back later.” The phone buzzed again.

“Josh, what’s going on?”

He gave in and told her. “Lenore says there’s an emergency, and she needs me at her place right away.”

“She’s got Shane, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So shouldn’t you check in with her?”

“Riley. It’s Lenore. You know how she is.”

Riley just looked at him. She knew him pretty well, knew that he took his responsibilities seriously.

He did not want to give in to whatever game Lenore was playing. But there was always the off chance that this time the emergency was real.

He said, “I thought you had something you wanted to talk about…”

“It’s okay, Josh. Honestly. We can talk later.”

They stared at each other as the phone started ringing. Reluctantly, he took the call. “What is it?”

“Josh, I need you to come over here. The power’s out.”

“Check the breaker.”

“I did. I flipped all the switches off and then back on the way you always say. The power’s still out. It’ll be dark in an hour, and no electrician is going to show up here tonight.”

He said nothing. She’d broken up with her last boyfriend four months ago. Since then, as each month went by, she found more and more reasons why Josh just had to come over to talk about Shane—or to fix a leaky faucet or help her move furniture from one room to another.

He truly could not wait for her to find a new boyfriend, though he knew damn well that a new boyfriend wouldn’t necessarily be a solution to the problem. He had to stop enabling her, but he was bad at saying no to her. She was his son’s mom, after all. And he really didn’t mind pitching in whenever she needed a hand.

Most of the time, though, it turned out that Lenore had created the so-called emergency. Her real goal was to get him over to her place where she could offer him coffee and have a little talk during which she would say that she missed him, that she didn’t see him enough and wouldn’t it be nice if they could try a few family activities, just the three of them, now and then?

“Look,” Lenore said impatiently. “I just need you to check the breaker box or the, uh, wiring or whatever. I need you to see if you can figure out what’s up.”

He was silent, his gaze on Riley, who gave him an understanding smile.

“Josh?” Lenore was still there, still working on him. “Are you there?”

“Yeah.”

“Please?”

He drew a slow breath—and gave in. “I’ll be there in ten.”

“Oh, thank you!” She was suddenly all warm and sweet and grateful. “Hurry! Please…”

“Ten minutes,” he said again and ended the call. He met Riley’s big blue eyes. “Sorry,” he said. “The power’s out at her place, and I need to go over there.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. She’s impossible. I’ll bet my truck that it’s another manufactured emergency. I don’t want to go.”

She stepped close again and kissed his cheek. “I do understand.”

“Well, I don’t.”

“Josh. You have to check, and you need to help if you can.”

He pulled her close. “So, Saturday?” He’d invited Riley and Dillon for a weekend at his place a few miles from town. It would be the four of them, an early birthday celebration for Shane who would be five next Wednesday.

Then the following Saturday, Lenore would be hosting a group of Shane’s friends at her house. Josh would be there to help out with that.

“This Saturday at your place,” Riley confirmed. “We’ll be there. Wouldn’t miss it—and Dillon can’t wait.”

He kissed her. She smiled against his lips. He deepened the kiss.

She made a soft, eager sound and opened for him. But then she laughed and pushed at his chest. “Go.”

Reluctantly, he released her and headed for the door.

*

Riley watched him go. “Not my fault,” she muttered under her breath as the door clicked quietly shut behind him. She turned the dead bolt. It slipped into place.

Then she put her back against the door and slid down it until she was sitting on the floor. Drawing her legs up, she wrapped her arms around them and rested her head on her knees.

“Next time,” she said aloud.

And then she groaned. Because she’d managed once again to avoid telling Josh about the baby. At this rate, he was going to figure it out himself before she worked up the courage to get the words out of her mouth.

“Next time,” she said again. “Next time, I promise.”