How To Have Surprise Quadruplets (Book Two): How To Have Surprise Quadruplets, #2

By Layla Valentine

He's the red-hot rockstar with a secret
Even if he doesn't know it yet…
I've got a shocking surprise for him
Quadruplets, and they're his!

I'm a model, top of the catwalk, and top of my game
So why do I feel like I'd prefer to be elsewhere?
Photography is my passion, and I've just found the perfect thing to photograph…
Rian Cassady, rock god among men
And I'm ready to worship him, alright
We hit it off immediately,
And that's before I'd even found out about his fake 'showmance' girlfriend…
Only now the fun's about to stop
I've got a surprise for my rockstar lover
Four inconvenient, adorable, beautiful babies…
SURPRISE!

This is the second book in the How To Have Surprise Quadruplets series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Layla Valentine
• Release date: Apr 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201758578

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

ALEXIS

Two Weeks Later

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I got to the end of the runway, did my trademark double-turn, arms extended so that the sleeves of my gown swept out over the audience, and then strutted my stuff back down the runway, smiling up at the rafters as I walked. When I got backstage, I hurried to get in line. That had been my last pass and I’d been the last model—which meant I’d be the first out when we did our final walk, together with the designer.

This was the part I loved the most. The clapping, the audience on their feet, the pure adoration for what the designer had managed to put together and the show that had just gone on. This part, when joy and excitement ran through the building like flames—this was what I thrived on. This was the part that made it all worth it. The makeup artists constantly jabbing at you, the hair people who insisted on yanking your hair when they were trying to put on wigs, having to run around backstage mostly nude, trying to find the right set of shoes to go with your next outfit… those were the annoying parts.

The cheering. The audience. It made up for every piece of irritation.

I strode out onto the stage first, my smile no doubt lighting up my face, clapping as hard as I could and walking the runway once again, an extra bounce in my step. I waved at the crowd, welcoming them and inviting them to join the applause, and let my gaze sweep out over the people.

It came to a screeching halt when I saw a familiar pair of blue eyes, framed by messy, spiky blond hair and a brown leather jacket.

Rian.

I almost fell right off the runway, it surprised me so much. I hadn’t seen him in two weeks. Since that morning when I snuck out of his hotel room while he was still asleep, too mixed-up over my feelings to be able to face him after we’d slept together. I’d gotten in way too deep—and I’d known it. I’d also known that he had a girlfriend and that I was stepping on her territory.

Sleeping with a guy who had a girlfriend and falling in too deep with him, letting him see exactly who I was under the mask I’d spent years building, and letting myself believe, even for five minutes, that there was a chance we could make it work…

Was there anything worse? What a freaking rookie mistake.

I let my gaze slide to the seat next to him and took in the tiny punk-rock princess holding his hand, with her heavily eyelinered eyes and spiky pink hair. Then, I pulled my gaze away from them both and looked up into the lights, cheering with what hopefully looked like excitement at the show we’d just pulled off.

I didn’t think about him again. I’m serious. The next day, I had a photoshoot for some over-the-top designer who specialized in faux fur, and it took nearly all day and left me completely exhausted. The crowds outside, all of them protesting one thing or another—the use of fur at all, the lack of real fur, you name it—was even more difficult. I didn’t have a say in what the designers did. That had never stopped the activists from attacking me for wearing their clothes. The day after that, there was another smaller runway show for a private party. Some rich guy who liked to see models strutting around while he and his fancy friends drank their vintage whiskey, or whatever it was they were drinking. The day after that was a different sort of business. I met with my business manager and agent to go over the contracts I had coming up, and to see whether I could take any time off in between them.

I had a course I wanted to take at the New York Film College. Well, several courses. Hell, I had a whole major I wanted to pursue. But it would mean taking at least two months off just for a trimester of classes. I wanted to see whether I could swing it, or if it would have too much of an impact on my contracts.

My agent, of course, was completely against the idea.

Lex, you’ll never recover if you take that much time off, she said sternly. You know how this industry works. The moment you stop working, you’re out of the industry’s eye and you stop booking jobs. No one wants to book a model unless the public is talking about that model. They’ll forget you in a hot second. You’re too old to make a fresh start.

Alvaro, my business manager and accountant, gave her a glare beneath his thick black eyebrows. "Sophie, I love you, honey, but you’re entirely too dramatic. Alexis is the most successful model of her generation! She’s got new contracts coming out of her ears, and contracts stacked up behind her, waiting for a chance to get her involved. Stop worrying about your percentage for five seconds and give the girl a chance to breathe. Let her think about what she wants to do with the rest of her life. Modeling isn’t everything, and it doesn’t last forever, you know."

He turned to me, his face gentle and encouraging. Alexis, you have plenty of money. You could take an entire year off and still be fine. Sophie is just worried that her biggest cash cow will find a different career and gallop off into the night.

I