The Knocked Up Plan, by Lauren Blakely
Publish Date: June 23, 2017
Publisher: self-published
Format: e-ARC, provided by the author and Inkslinger PR
Genre: adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Rating: 5 STARS
(Synopsis) This single gal has had enough of the games, the BS and the endless chase. I know what I want most, and it’s not true love. It’s a bun in the oven, and I’m not afraid to hit up my sex-on-a-stick co-worker to do the job. Ryder is gorgeous, witty and charming — and he’s also a notorious commitment-phobe. That makes him the perfect candidate to make a deposit in the bank of me.
I won’t fall for him, he won’t fall for me, and there’s no way baby will make three.
Right?
****
There are four words every guy wants to hear on the first date — “your place or mine?”
When my hot-as-sin co-worker makes me a no-strings-attached offer that involves her place, my place, any place — as well as any position — I can’t refuse. After all, my job is like a coach and my latest assignment for the good of mankind is to create a fail-safe, battle-tested, proven guide of what to do or say to get a woman to fall into your bed — I mean, fall for you. So when Nicole says she’s game to work through my list in a hands-on way, I take her up on her deal even with her one BIG condition.
There’s no way I’ll want more from one woman than any position, any where, any night? Except . . . what if I do?
Oh, my exploding ovaries. The Knocked Up Plan was absolutely everything a swoony romance loving mother could want (and I guarantee you'll love it even if you don't have any kids!). It's sweet and romantic and so sexy (of course it is - it's by Lauren Blakely!).
Nicole wants a baby, and the fact that she has no boyfriend and no plans for one doesn't make an iota of difference to her. She's willing to troll the sperm back offerings and pick the perfect specimen to father her child. Except, she realizes the perfect specimen works down the hall from her every day. Luckily, Ryder is willing to help her with her problem, but he doesn't want to make a deposit in the bank. He wants to do things the old fashioned way. Cue the swoony sighs.
Anyone who thinks that Nicole's and Ryder's well-laid plans wouldn't go awry is so dead wrong. It cracks me up that either one of them could think they would share something so intimate as not only having lots and lots of sex, but making a BABY together, and not end up having some feelings for each other in the end. Ryder was especially in denial after getting burned in the worst way by his ex-wife. Neither of them thought that they'd get both a relationship and a baby out of the arrangement.
But, what I loved about these two was that, before all the baby making shenanigans started, they were real friends. They genuinely liked one another and hung out together and knew a little about each other. Even when they started sleeping over and getting naked, they still acted like friends. They had this adorably playful banter, and Ryder's work assignment was to write a book and do segments on his dating radio show about the ten best places to take a date in NYC. So, he did these things with Nicole. And it was brilliant. It gave the couple a chance to get some depth to their relationship, which only helped with the connection I felt with them.
I absolutely adored this book. It takes place in the Big Rock world that Lauren has set up for us, and we do see a few recurring characters in it, but not many. It can definitely be read as a standalone with absolutely no problems. The Knocked Up Plan is told in dual POV, and it was a very easy read for me. I can sit down with a Lauren Blakely book and read it from cover to cover in one sitting. This book was no different. I loved it.
Yanking open the door, I head inside. I stride to the small cafe where Ryder said he’d wait for me.
My chest falls. The man is known for punctuality. I scan the white bakery case and the five round iron tables, but he’s not here. When I spin around and survey the bookshelves, my heart nearly leaps from my chest.
He’s in the . . .
Oh my fucking God, he’s waiting for me in the . . .
I bring my hand to my mouth, and I want to run, to leap into his arms. When he sees me, his blue eyes twinkle with mischief.
I am a teapot about to whistle. I am a dog dancing before dinnertime.
He taps the shelves and holds up a book.
A pregnancy guide.
He’s ten feet from me. But I sprint anyway, and I grin like a fool. I stop two inches from him and clamp my hands on his broad shoulders. “Is that a yes?”
“Yes—”
I tackle-hug him before he can say anything more. I knock the breath from him in an oomph as I rope my arms around his neck and crash into him.
“But I have one condition,” he says, embracing me back.
I’m crying tears of happiness, so I don’t care. “Anything. Name it.”
“You better hear it before you agree.”
The moment screeches to a halt. He’s going to want visitation rights. He’ll want lots of money. He’ll want summers, or weekends, or evenings out.
I unwrap myself from the warmth of his strong chest and swallow. “What’s your condition?”
“I thought it would be best to present it in the form of a column.”
“A column?”
“Top five list and everything.”
I groan inside. He has five conditions? Maybe my mother was right. Maybe asking for baby-mix from someone you know is a big mistake. Anonymous donors request nothing but greenbacks.
I steel myself as he fishes in the back pocket of his jeans. The paper is square, folded in quarters. He hands it to me. “Open it.”
I unfold it then read the headline out loud. “‘Top Five Positions for Getting a Woman Pregnant’?”
I blink and stare at him. The cogs turn slowly in my brain. I part my lips to speak.
He raises a hand to silence me. “Hear me out. You explained how it worked. The room, the cup, the magazines, the videos. The whacking off in a fucking public place. The cost. But most of all . . . the wait.
You’d have to wait for an appointment for me, for the testing, for the jerking off, then for your special date with the turkey baster.” He cups my cheek. His hand is big and warm. “What if we did it theold-fashioned way?”
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