Rough Ride

by Breezie Bennett

  “I was hoping it would cheer you up.” He turns and gives me a wink as he slows the car to a stop in front of my dream home.

  I let myself relax even more. He is good. He is honest. Maybe he is exactly who I thought he was, or even more.

  “Sorry I turned my phone off,” I say with a soft laugh, looking out the window to admire the sheer perfection of the house. “I just…didn’t know how to talk to you. And after everything Wyatt warned me about, you can understand I thought this was…” I gesture between us. “I thought it didn’t mean anything to you.”

  “Before I met you, Kendall…” He unbuckles his seat belt and turns to me, holding his gaze steady with mine. “Nothing meant anything to me except football. That was it. That was my passion and my life and my everything, and if I even understood the concept of home, I would have told you that the field is the only home I ever need. But then…you. You changed it all.”

  I let a wide smile pull at my cheeks as my heart tugs and my chest gets warm and light.

  “I just wanted to play ball and bounce around and not get attached. But now…Kendall, you didn’t just make me believe in permanence. You made me want it. With you.”

  My eyes burn a little, but with warm, joyful tears this time. “Really?” I choke out.

  He holds my face with his hands, wiping a tear from my cheek and pulling me close to him. “You’re all I want. Not just for now, not just for a little while. The whole ‘home’ thing…it’s not a house. It’s you.”

  I lean forward and kiss him, every magical spark and firework ringing through my brain and heart. I let go of the last of my hurt and fall into him completely.

  “There’s one more thing, though,” he says, his voice low and raspy as he pulls away from the kiss.

  “What’s that?”

  He touches my chin delicately, holding it with his fingers, and turns my head slowly to face the house I love so much.

  “Take a good, long look,” Andre says.

  “Okay.” I laugh, as if I haven’t studied and completely memorized this house by now.

  While my focus is still on the house, he turns my palm up and places a set of keys in it.

  I glance down at the keys and frown at him. “What are these?”

  “The keys to your new home.” He juts his chin at the window past me and the house.

  The entire world stops turning, and my heart does about a thousand front flips. There is no way. He’s messing with me. “This…wait…you…” I look at the keys and him and the house and him, and holy shit, I don’t think he’s kidding.

  “It’s yours.” He smiles, and my entire soul collapses into the sheer perfection of this moment.

  “There’s no way. You’re not serious.” I hold my hand to my mouth as I try to remember to breathe, and I let out a bubbly, joyful laugh, blinded by happiness and shock and wonder of the man sitting next to me.

  “I’m dead serious.” He smiles widely and laughs, too, sharing my contagious bliss.

  “But it…it wasn’t for sale.” I look back at the house and still feel like I’m spinning or floating or flying.

  “Well…” He cocks his head and gives me a half smile. “For a certain price, it was.”

  “Oh God. Andre.” I gasp and laugh and shake my head in total disbelief. “How much did you pay them?”

  “Let’s just say Keith and Louisa Hoffman are going to seriously enjoy retirement. And Jude can go Ivy League.”

  “Jude?”

  “Grandson on the way.”

  “You are un-freaking-believable, Andre Smoke.” I throw my arms around him and bury my face in the warm safety and comfort of the man I love.

  “And don’t worry,” he says softly. “I looked into everything, and The Esplanade House is still going to be a contestant on Mansion in a Month. And you’re still going to win and kick total ass.”

  I smile brightly and kiss him again, then dangle the keys. “Can we go look inside?”

  “They don’t move out for ten days, but I’m pretty sure they’ll give you a tour.” He swings the car door open. “Let’s go see our new house.”

  My heart jumps. “Our?”

  “Oh, well…” He shields his eyes from the sun and smiles at me as I step out of the car, feeling like I’m walking on air. “Seeing as I’m sort of homeless, I was kinda hoping I could stay with you for a little while…”

  He wraps his arms around me.

  I squeeze him tight. “A little while?”

  “Mm-hmm.” He pulls away and puts an arm around my shoulders as we walk toward the front of the house. “Or, you know, forever. Whatever you’re feeling.”

  I throw my head back and smile, letting the sun bake into my skin. “I’ve spent my whole life searching for perfection…” I look up at him, losing myself in those captivating eyes. “I was only ever searching for you.”

  Epilogue

  Andre

  “All right everyone, wrap it up.” Elaine, the HGTV production director, orders her crew around as they carry loads of equipment out of my old house and back to their truck. She turns to the beaming, glowing, gorgeous Kendall. “Congrats again, winner. Your interview was just darling. I’m sure you’re gonna have sky-high ratings. And you did quite the job on this house. You should be really proud.”

  “Thank you. This was such an amazing experience.” Kendall grins, her happiness brighter than the sun.

  I catch her gaze, and she rushes over to me, throwing her arms around my shoulders and sinking into me as I lift her up and twirl her around.

  “How does it feel to officially be more famous than I am?” I ask with a wink as I gently lower her down.

  She laughs, her head tilting back. “So good, Andre Smoke. So freaking good.”

  I give her a loving kiss and savor the way her perfect body just folds into me, like it’s meant to be there. Like it always should be.

  “Thanks again, Kendall!” Elaina calls from the truck as they pull out of the driveway. “We’ll be in touch.”

  “Bye!” Kendall stands on her toes and waves back, and I let myself admire her.

  “You crushed that interview.” I wrap an arm tightly around her shoulders.

  She laughs softly. “It was hardly an interview. It was more just them raving about my work and me explaining my design choices. And then them raving some more and asking how excited I am to have won Mansion in a Month.”

  “They were right to rave.” I kiss her forehead. “So.” I turn to her and square my shoulders, leveling my gaze with hers. “This house…”

  She looks past me at my old house with a bittersweet flicker in her eyes. I’ve been moved out for some time now, living in the smaller house on the canal with Kendall. Nothing, and no one, has ever felt more like home.

  But still, this oceanfront mansion brings a shit-ton of memories, and I know how much it means to Kendall. Thank God she won that contest.

  “This house,” she repeats slowly, smiling and shaking her head. “So much happened here. It’s insane. But filming is officially over. The new owners are moving in on Monday…” Her voice trails off, and her eyes flash.

  “Hey.” I lift up her chin and arch a brow. “Let’s go through it one more time. No cameras or microphones or anything. Just you and me, for the last time.”

  A sweet smile pulls at her cheeks as she inches closer to me. “Okay. I like that. Let’s do it.”

  As we walk through the front door, I gently touch my pocket, making sure the little box is still there.

  As we wander through the house, reminiscing and laughing as Kendall talks about the renovation and I tease her about her OCD, I can feel my heart rate picking up steadily.

  I check again. Box is still there.

  “Oh my gosh,” she coos, tilting her head and smiling at the cabinets in the kitchen. “Remember when we went to pick these out together? You wanted black everything.” She gives a teasing eye roll.

  “No. I wanted half black, like me. Remember?”

  She snorts.
“Oh, yeah.”

  Nerves are starting to build in my chest as we get closer and closer to the end of this little house tour. I can feel my heart pumping hard.

  “Well, it’s been one hell of a journey.” Kendall stands in the hall and blows a kiss into the air. “What a house.”

  “Whoa, hey, excuse me.” I frown and draw back.

  “What?”

  “We forgot to say goodbye to my favorite room.”

  She gasps and giggles softly. “How could I forget the secret room?” She flips her hair and nods down the hallway toward the study.

  We move the bookcase and walk through the heavy door, the familiar stillness of the space falling over us as the door clicks shut.

  I take in a slow breath, feeling just a tad jittery as I check another time for the little box. Okay, still there.

  I swallow and wonder if she notices at all that I’m acting weird. I’m usually the master of keeping it chill, but asking the girl of my dreams to spend the rest of her life with me is something even I can’t be chill about.

  “Talk about a room where a lot happened.” She looks around, studying the walls and smiling.

  “A lot of secrets in this room,” I say softly, my throat catching.

  “So many secrets.” She laughs, seemingly still oblivious to my increasing heart rate and chills of nerves. “When I told you about my painful, soul-melting crush.”

  “When I told you that it wasn’t really much of a secret.” I half smile as she lightly smacks my arm.

  “When I had…” She meets my gaze, and her tone gets serious and soft. “My first time.”

  I lean forward, brushing a strand of silky hair out of her face and cupping her cheek in my hand.

  My heart is slamming, but her eyes relax me, and her quiet laugh makes me feel more certain of what I’m about to do than I’ve ever felt about anything.

  “So many secrets,” she whispers. “So many things that happened between us in here.” She glances down at the ground. “It’s kinda sad to say goodbye.”

  “Well…” I lift her chin up and step back. “I think this room needs one more secret.”

  She furrows her brow. “What do you mean?”

  Without another second of hesitation, I drop to one knee and reach for the box in my pocket.

  Kendall holds both hands to her heart, letting out something between a laugh and a gasp and a sob. “Holy…Andre…”

  “Kendall…” I smile, and my heart tugs as she wipes a tear from her cheek with a shaky hand. “I used to think that nothing but football would ever really matter to me. I used to think ‘home’ was just something they talk about in movies to make people feel good. I used to think everything was just temporary. But you showed me more love, and passion, and happiness, and home than I ever even knew could exist. You are my home. And I need you forever.”

  She laughs through another tear, her hand covering her mouth and joy sparkling in her expression.

  I open the box and watch the diamond reflect in her eyes.

  “Andre,” she whispers.

  I smile, feeling more than a little choked up myself. “Will you marry me?”

  “Of course I…” She can barely catch her breath, laughing and crying and still totally in shock. “Andre, yes!”

  I stand up and wrap my arms around her, picking her up and feeling an overwhelming warmth and lightness filling up the room.

  I set her down and kiss her over and over, both of us laughing and smiling and holding each other.

  “Oh my God…this is…” She looks down at the glimmering ring and back at me. “This is really happening?”

  “This is really happening.” I watch her as I slide the ring onto her finger, still in shock by how stunning she is, the buzz and electricity and insane joy of the moment washing over me like a tidal wave.

  “How do you feel, future Mrs. Smoke?” I ask her, wrapping my arms around her waist and pressing my forehead against hers.

  Her chest shakes against me with bubbly laughter as she holds her hands around my neck, her eyes filled with bright, fiery joy. “Absolutely perfect.”

  There’s one more Sweet Ride for this team!

  Don’t miss Matt McKenzie’s story…

  Sweet Ride

  South Florida Riders – Book 6

  When the beloved superstar quarterback of the South Florida Riders is benched with an injury, back-up quarterback Matt McKenzie’s life changes in every imaginable way. Not only is the team’s first real chance at the Super Bowl now riding on his arm, a celebratory hook-up with the new team owner’s daughter ends up rocking his world completely…with news that she’s expecting his baby. So much for that playboy lifestyle Matt had been trying to embrace. Being a father means everything…and it feels so much better than the hook-up life. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that the woman who’s having his baby is as irresistible and elusive as that Super Bowl ring.

  Ellie Vice can happily pack all her earthly belongings in two suitcases and spends about 350 days of the year visiting her family’s Vice Hotel Properties to manage PR campaigns and explore every corner of the world. When she reveals the news that she’s pregnant, her powerful family “grounds” her in Miami and gives her a new PR assignment for their NFL team: making South Florida fall in love with the Riders’ second-string quarterback. But when they learn he’s her baby’s father, they will do everything to make sure she doesn’t fall in love with him, too. But nothing and no one can stop the passion that’s building with Matt, and he is fast becoming her next big adventure.

  As the South Florida Riders series comes to a dramatic close, readers meet the new billionaire team owners, the Miami Vices. This wealthy South Florida family has secrets, makes mistakes, gives into temptations, and takes risks…all in the name of love.

  Click HERE to purchase Sweet Ride, book 6.

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  About the Author

  Breezie Bennett has had her fingers on a keyboard since she was a middle schooler writing sports romances about her brother’s baseball team. A graduate of the University of Florida, she is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, can dance on pointe, and has been known to shotgun a beer in 5.2 seconds. When not writing romance, you’ll find her on a Florida beach with her two dogs, Ginger and Rosemary, and a playlist full of Pink Floyd and Lil Wayne.