Epilogue

Nine months later…

I made a special cupcake in honor of Bowen Underwood.

It’s a cinnamon, chocolate chip cupcake with pistachio green frosting and excellent white chocolate “tusks” created by Lila. He loves it. And Lila gets the great idea to show pictures and short videos on social media of Sheriff Underwood in our store, happily taking big bites of the cupcake.

And now, our bakery, One Big Bite, is going viral and we’ve got more orders than ever before. We can barely keep up with the demand. I think I’m going to need a bigger kitchen and more staff to deal with all the packing and shipping.

The media seems to think it’s adorable that the country’s first orc Sheriff met his bride right here in our town and that female happened to be the owner of a local bakery. And the fact that I made a cupcake in his honor is causing lots of buzz. And now not only are we getting all kinds of orders, but we’re also swarmed with requests for media appearances, all of which I say no to, except a select few. Lila and I are both nervous about the idea of making appearances. And I’m now heavily pregnant and need all the rest I can get, considering I’m carrying a huge orc son.

Lila puts down the phone, her face pale.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“We’ve just been put on the list of Oprah’s Favorite Things for this next Christmas shopping season.”

“Oh my god, isn’t that a good thing?”

“But we don’t have the capacity. And you’re about to give birth any day now.”

I place a hand on my stomach. “We can build it out by then. They’re giving us plenty of time to organize. We can do this Lila.”

Her eyes narrow and she gets a look of determination. “We can.”

Later that daythe contractions start. I let out a whimper of distress.

Bowen looks up. He’s seated nearby because we’ve made an agreement. I’ve felt great and wanted to continue to work up until the last moment. This gave him mini heart attacks and high anxiety, so he’s taken off on paternity leave early so he can be by my side every moment of the day while I’m at the bakery. “Sadie? Is it time?”

I grimace and point at the mess on the floor under my feet. “My water broke. I’m sorry,” I tell Cora and Sheri.

“Don’t worry, we’ve got this.”

And then Bowen sweeps me up into his arms and carries me through the snow, out to his waiting SUV. We already have overnight bags packed and ready. One hour later we arrive at the hospital. I make it through low-level cramps the whole time. And thankfully I don’t even need an epidural and give birth naturally because it’s really not that bad giving birth to an orc.

Bowen’s parents are on their way. But my family is already here, waiting outside. I love them, but I really don’t want anyone seeing something being pushed out of my cooch besides the medical staff and the man who caused this whole thing to happen in the first place.

Bowen is by my side the entire time and very stoic. But the moment he sees our son being birthed he tears up and I swear he’s about to faint. He does manage to remain alert enough to cut the cord when offered.

The best moment of my life is afterwards. They’ve cleaned up our son and I see Bowen holding him in a small bundle. He brings him close and we snuggle together on the hospital bed. I start feeding our tiny orc son, with a pudgy tummy and two tiny black nubs for starter horns.

“Brace Underwood,” I croon.

“Brace Powell Underwood,” Bowen corrects.

“I love you.”

He kisses me and holds both me and our son in his arms. “I love you too. The both of you.”

I hopeyou enjoyed Bowen and Sadie’s HEA! Want to read another novella by Michele Mills with similar feels? Try Her Alien Priest!

I’m the Hyrrokin High Priest of a remote monastery on the planet Salo. I spend my days in quiet contemplation, keeping my flame-throwing banked and nursing my war wounds. And I take my vows of silence and celibacy very seriously.

Very. Seriously.

Then one day a mouthy, gorgeous human female is dumped onto the stone steps of the main altar.

And suddenly I’m tempted like never before.

Warning: This is a ‘Monster Bites’novella, a spin-off from the Monsters Love Curvy Girls series. Only read if you enjoy a taste of the profane, satanic-looking heroes and curvy-girl heroines.

Continue readingto try out the first chapter…