As we approached the cafe, we both noticed Hunter and Carter’s cars parked out front.
"Looks like everyone is here already," Bryce said, pulling the door open for me and guiding me in, his hand resting on my lower back.
As soon as I walked in, I was met with a huge congratulations sign and balloons everywhere. Hope and Autumn came rushing over to me and reached for my hand. "Let us see," they squealed in delight.
I glanced over my shoulder at Bryce who held his hands up in an innocent gesture. "My brothers knew. I had to tell them what your answer was." He shrugged his shoulders and chuckled.
Soon Bryce was seated over with Carter, Hunter, and Chase discussing work, while I sat with Autumn and Hope looking over wedding dress designs on our phones. The plans were already starting, and I couldn't think of two better people to help me plan my wedding.
I felt a puff of air against my legs as someone entered the cafe, and as I went to turn, Autumn grabbed my attention to share with me a dress she thought would look perfect on me, when suddenly I felt someone's hands over my eyes, the room going dark.
"All right, very funny, Bryce. What other kinds of surprises do you have up your sleeve now?" I said, pulling at his hands.
I blinked, letting my eyes adjust once again to the light, and turned around, expecting to see Bryce standing there with some goofy smile on his face, only it wasn't Bryce, and I kind of felt lightheaded at who was standing in front of me.
"You look like you've seen a ghost, Mia. What the hell. Aren’t you excited to see your own brother?" Grant asked, standing in front of me, June and the kids standing behind him.
My eyes got blurry as the tears built up in them, and I wrapped my arms around my brother. I had never thought I meant that much to Grant until he stood here in front of me. He had carted the whole family across the states just to be here to celebrate our engagement.
Everyone was quiet as we stood there, me crying into my brother’s chest, him hugging me tighter than I ever remembered.
"I wouldn't have missed this for the world. When Bryce called and asked us to be here tonight, we couldn't say no. You mean more to me than you will ever know," he whispered in my ear.
A deep sob escaped my chest as I held him tighter. "Thank you so much for coming."
"All right, you two, break it up. If you weren't related, I'd swear you were trying to steal my woman," Bryce said, getting up and shaking his hand, everyone laughing.
I finally grew quiet, looking around the table at everyone. It was the first time we had all been together in years, and it finally truly felt like home. I had found my place. I had just been lost for the past fifteen years, trying to find my way back to where I belonged.
I quietly excused myself from the table and headed toward the washroom. When I was on my way back to the table, I felt someone grab me from behind and pull me back into them.
Bryce wrapped his arms around me and kissed my cheek. "Were you surprised?"
I looked over to where everyone sat and nodded my head. "You did this?" I asked.
"I did. We've been talking for a bit now. We have been planning this since the night I called and asked him for your hand," he whispered, kissing the edge of my ear.
"You asked my brother?" I asked.
"I did. I figured it was only the proper thing to do. I mean, you don't know where your father is, and your mother, God rest her soul, is gone. He was the next logical choice. I told him when I was planning it, and he promised me he would be here to celebrate."
I looked up into my future husband’s eyes, and for the first time in my life, I had never been so sure of anything.
Chapter 25
Mia - Epilogue
We lay together on the couch, the fire burning and soft music filling the room. Outside, the winter storm raged on, covering everything with snow.
I giggled. "Doesn't this remind you of the first time we were here?" I asked. We had decided to spend our two-week honeymoon at the lake house, and just like the first time, the day before we were to leave to return home, snow decided to fall, trapping us here.
"Yeah, it does. I guess that is fate’s way of telling us our honeymoon isn't quite over yet." He laughed, kissing me. He pulled away when we heard a gust of wind outside. "It's getting pretty wild out. I should probably bring in a bit more wood, sweetie," Bryce said, removing his arm from under me and sitting up. "I'll be right back. I don't want to have to fight my way through all that later." He grabbed his hoodie from the couch and threw it over his head.
I watched him go and pulled the blanket around my body. Even though it was warm inside, I was cold without him. He brought in three armfuls of wood and dropped them in the wood box, filling it, and threw another log on the fire before returning to my side.
"You barely touched your wine. You all right?"
"Yeah. My stomach is a little upset tonight," I answered, getting comfortable again as he slid in beside me. "Cold out there?"
"It's more than cold. I would suggest the hot tub, but I think we might freeze," he said, kissing my forehead.
"It's okay, I'm exhausted," I said, yawning. "Did you want to go to bed."
Bryce laughed out loud. "Babe you don't need to ask me twice," he said, wiggling his eyebrows at me. "I could use a little stress relief."
"You can always use stress relief." I laughed, kicking the blankets off me.
We had barely made it down the hall and he had already stripped my T-shirt off, leaving it in a pile on the floor in the hallway as he held me in his arms, kissing me hard.
"Fuck me, you are going to be the death of me, woman," he whispered between kisses.
I could already feel him hard against me. He threw open the bedroom door and held me as I walked backward to the bed. He pulled the drawstring on his lounge pants, allowing them to fall to the floor, his hard cock saluting me.
I sat up on the bed, teasing his cock with my tongue as he stood before me. He fisted his hand in my hair as I continued to deliver little licks to the head of his cock, licking the bead of precum off him.
"Fuck. Don't tease me. Take it in your mouth," he hissed.
I looked up at him, my eyes teasing him as I continued with the torturous little licks.
With his free hand, he held onto my breast, rubbing his thumb over my nipple, his touch running a chill through my body. He gently pinched my nipple through the fabric of my bra, causing me to jump. He stopped immediately. "Did I hurt you?"
I shook my head. "Just a little sensitive is all. Slow down," I whispered. Everything about me felt sensitive tonight.
He pushed me gently back, gripping the waist of my silk pajama pants and pulling them off me, and he crawled in beside me, shutting off the bedside light and pulling the blankets around us. I straddled his waist and felt his hands run up my back and flick the clasp on the back of my bra, his fingers grazing my shoulders as he pulled my bra down and off me, my nipples instantly hardening at the coolness of the room.
Bryce sat up and took one of them in his mouth, sucking and licking. Again, a sharp intake of breath and a jump stopped him. "Baby are you sure you are okay?"
"Yeah, just slow down."
"Come then, lay down." He guided me off him and I lay back into the mattress. He propped himself up on his elbow and met my lips, kissing me slow and positioning himself in between my legs. Kissing me deeply, he slid his way inside of me and started thrusting slow and deep.
Everything about me felt heightened, and within minutes, I could already feel myself getting tighter around him, finally screaming out my orgasm as he emptied himself inside of me.
I lay wrapped in his arms. "You sure you're okay?" he whispered, kissing the side of my neck.
"Yeah, I'm okay." I closed my eyes. We had just gotten married. I wasn't sure how he would react to the news I had to deliver, but I didn't want to wait any longer.
"You remember how I went to see Dr. Price just before we left? I wanted him to renew my birth control."
"Yep, did you
remember to pick up your prescription before we left?" he murmured sleepily.
"No."
"No, sweetie, you know how I hate wearing condoms now. Both Hunter and Carter warned me once I went bare, I wouldn't go back." He chuckled.
"Sounds like your brothers." I laughed.
"Well, I don't want to go back," he whined, tickling my side and causing me to wiggle away and scream. "You feel way too good."
"You don't have to," I murmured.
He went quiet, releasing the hold he had on my side. "Mia? What do you mean?" He questioned, raising up on his elbow and turning on the bedside light so he could see me.
I looked up at him, a smile falling on my lips at the questioning look on his face.
"Really? I'm going to be a dad," he whispered.
I was sure I saw a tear in his eye as the words fell from his lips.
I nodded my head without saying anything and bit my lower lip. "I know we talked about it and everything. I know you wanted to wait and travel..."
He placed a single finger up to my lips. "It doesn't matter, baby. Now, next year, never...it doesn't matter. It's going to be an amazing journey, fun and exciting. Get excited, sweetie, we are going to have an amazing adventure together."
The End
Mia’s Spicy Meatballs
Makes Approx 40 Meatballs
1 lb Lean Ground Beef
1 lb Italian Sausage (casing removed)
1 cup seasoned bread crumb mix (see recipe below)
½ cup coconut milk
1 egg
Mix ground meat and sausage meat together
In a separate bowl add 1 cup breadcrumb mix with ½ cup coconut milk and 1 egg, mix together
Add wet mixture to meat and mix together well.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees on convection roast.
Weigh out meat into 1 oz portions and roll into balls.
Place meatballs on cookie sheet and lightly spray meatballs with olive oil spray.
Roast in oven for 45 mins or until golden brown.
Let cool and enjoy!
Mia’s Spicy Breadcrumb Mixture
Makes approx. two cups
1 cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup all purpose flour
2 tsp dried minced onion flakes
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp basil
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp chili flakes
½ tsp chipotle chili powder
½ tsp crushed fennel seed
2 tsp granulated garlic
½ tsp marjoram
1 tsp parsley
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp black ground pepper
Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix. Store leftover mixture in airtight container.
A Note from the Author
Dear Readers,
I would like to thank you for taking the time to read His to Hold. I hope you enjoyed Mia and Bryce’s story. If you did, I would love it if you would drop me a review. Reviews are important to me; I love to hear what my readers think.
I have one more book in The Malone Brothers Series coming in the new year. I am not going to lie, it is going to be hard to say goodbye to these guys. Make sure you add Finding Solace in You to your TBR. The title may change, but I know you are not going to want to miss Chase’s story.
Below you will find links to remainder of the books I have releasing in 2019. Dagger is the first book in a brand new series, Vegas MMA. You are not going to want to miss this suspense filled novel!
Coming Soon
October 22, 2019
Dagger
November/December 2019
Back to You this Christmas
Jan/Feb 2020
Finding Solace in You (Malone Brothers 4)
About the Author
S.L. Sterling had been an avid reader since she was a child, often found getting lost in books. Today if she isn’t writing or plotting, she can be found buried in a romance novel. S.L. Sterling lives with her husband and dog in Northern Ontario.
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Other Titles by S.L. Sterling
It Was Always You
On A Silent Night
Bad Company
A Kiss Beneath the Stars (The Malone Brothers 1)
In Your Arms (The Malone Brothers 2)
His to Hold (The Malone Brother Book 3) Page 15
