Searching For Love – the Bradens & Montgomerys (Pleasant Hill – Oak Falls)

by Melissa Foster

  “It’s not a date. Brant’s friend is in town and I’m taking him to dinner and showing him around,” Randi said as she pulled a T-shirt over her head.

  “Sounds like a date to me.” Ford crossed his arms and said, “Which friend?”

  “Charlie,” Randi said on her way into the equipment room with Ford on her heels.

  One of their phones rang from within the equipment room, where they stored them when they went diving.

  “Saved by the bell,” Randi said as she walked out and handed the phone to Zev. “FaceTime from your parents.”

  They’d left messages for their parents earlier, wanting to share their news with both families at once. “I’ll patch in whoever’s available, Carls. Why don’t you get your phone and ring your parents and Marie?” Zev said, and then he answered the call.

  Carly went to get her phone. She called her parents first on FaceTime and then added Marie to the call. Marie was at the shop with Birdie and Luis, which made the call even more special.

  “We have news!” Carly said as she sidled up to Zev and saw Jillian, Jax, Nick, and their parents on the screen.

  “Hi, Carly!” Jillian waved.

  “Hey, Jilly. I’ve got my parents, Marie, Birdie, and Luis on my phone.” She turned the phone so his family could see the others.

  As they all said hello, Ford peered around Zev and waved. “Hi, folks.”

  “Hi, Ford,” Zev’s parents and brothers said.

  “Hey, Ford,” Jillian said flirtatiously.

  “Hi, beautiful,” Ford said. “When are you coming to visit me so I can take you out?”

  Zev glowered at him. “You are not taking her out.”

  “Damn right he’s not,” Nick agreed.

  Randi grabbed Ford’s arm, dragging him away, and said, “Leave them alone and you can harass me about Charlie.”

  “Nick’s just jealous because he’s going to Oak Falls, and scorching-hot cowgirl Trixie Jericho is off-limits, which means poor Nicky will come home blue balled again.” Jillian cracked up.

  Nick gritted out a warning, “Enough, Jilly,” making her laugh harder.

  “Jillian, stop riling the boys up,” their mother said.

  “And watch the sex talk.” Zev’s father leaned closer to the screen and said, “How about we all listen to what Zev and Carly have to say?”

  “We have good news and best news,” Zev said. “Which do—”

  “Wait! I have to take this call!” Jillian shouted. “It’s Johnny Bad’s agent. They want me to make the clothes for his next tour. We’re negotiating. I’ll call you back!” Johnny Bad was a famous musician known for being difficult.

  After she ended her call, Zev said, “Should we wait?”

  “No. She might be a while,” his mother said.

  “Okay.” Zev put his arm around Carly and said, “Do you want our good news or our best news first?”

  “This is a no-brainer,” Nick said. “Best news. Carly’s knocked up—boom. Done.”

  Their mother gasped. “Really? Is it true? We have a grandbaby on the way?”

  “I’m going to be a godparent!” Birdie squealed.

  “No, you’re not,” Carly and Zev said at once. They had talked about having children, and they definitely wanted a family at some point. But for now, they wanted to enjoy as much togetherness and go on as many adventures as they could without the pressures a baby would add to their lives.

  Marie chuckled and said, “You guys are like live entertainment.”

  Zev gazed into Carly’s eyes and said, “We’ve decided to get married over the holidays in Pleasant Hill.”

  Everyone cheered and talked at once.

  “Yes!” Birdie exclaimed. “I’ve always wanted to go there!”

  Carly watched Zev and his father exchange the most loving and supportive look, and then the most surprising thing happened. Her father gave Zev an equally supportive look, making her heart even fuller.

  “Congratulations, mijo,” Luis said.

  “You and Marie had better make the trip out for the wedding,” Zev said.

  “We wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Marie assured them.

  “This is wonderful news,” Carly’s mother said. “Where do you want to have the wedding?”

  Carly and Zev exchanged knowing smiles, and Carly said, “Byers Brook, where we went on our first adventure.” When they were young, they’d called it their secret brook. They’d later learned that it was where teenagers went to make out, which was why they hadn’t gone there when they’d first had sex. They hadn’t wanted to get caught.

  “That’s perfect,” Zev’s mother said with a hand over her heart.

  “We thought we’d have the reception at the winery,” Zev said, eyeing Carly as if he was remembering the first time they’d had sex, too, lying on blankets beneath the stars on the winery grounds.

  Nick snort-laughed. “You guys sure have a thing for firsts.”

  Carly leaned closer to Zev and whispered, “Does he know?”

  Zev turned his face away from the camera and whispered, “He’s the one who told me to go somewhere nobody would find us. I had to ask his opinion.”

  Carly couldn’t help but smile at the teenager-turned-man who had always put protecting her above all else. Neither of them was perfect, and they’d both made their mistakes, but as far as Carly was concerned, perfection was overrated. Her gaze shifted to Nick, who had also tried to keep her safe. He winked, making her blush anew.

  “I think the brook and the winery are lovely ideas,” Carly’s mother said, and everyone agreed.

  “Carly, I’d be honored if you’d allow me to make your gown,” Jax offered.

  “Oh, Jax, thank you! I was going to ask if you would mind,” she said. “I just want something simple, like us.”

  Jax smiled and said, “I’ll make whatever you’d like, but there’s nothing simple about either one of you. Unique, yes, but never simple.”

  “I hope you’ll let us cater desserts,” Marie said, sparking a litany of conversation about wedding preparations.

  When the excitement settled, they shared their good news and told them about the sword grip. “It’s not indisputable proof that the artifacts are from the Pride, but we believe it is, and we’ve got nothing but time ahead of us to discover something that will.”

  They talked for a while longer, and when they ended the call, they heard Randi and Ford bickering at the other end of the boat. Zev put his arms around Carly and said, “Think they’ll ever figure it out?”

  “Probably one day, although knowing Randi, she’ll put him through the ringer first.”

  “And Ford wouldn’t want it any other way,” Zev said.

  “I want to get my engagement ring from the safe.” She rubbed her body against his and said, “Want to come?”

  His eyes darkened. “That’s a loaded question if I’ve ever heard one.”

  “It was meant to be.” She kissed the center of his chest, and as they headed into the cabin, she said, “We have to be fast.”

  He’d earned his three-minute crown a few times since turning her down on Fortune’s Landing, and neither of them was left unsatisfied.

  They hurried down the steps and into his cabin, dropping their phones on the desk as they kissed and fondled each other. Oh, how she loved their love! He crushed her to him, pushing one hand into her hair, holding her mouth precisely where he wanted it as he took her in a knee-weakening kiss. When his phone rang, they both groaned and glanced at it on the desk. Jillian’s image lit up the FaceTime screen.

  “Are you freaking kidding me?” Zev snapped. “I’m not getting it, the little cockblocker.” He lowered his lips to hers, kissing her harder with every ring of the phone. When it stopped ringing, he said, “Finally,” against her lips, making her laugh. He kissed her devouringly, turning her laughter into hungry moans as Carly’s phone rang. He ground out a curse. “Jilly again. Persistent little pest.” He began taking off Carly’s bikini bottom, and a text rolled in
from Nick on his phone. “Are you fucking kidding me?” He picked up the phone, reading the text aloud. “Jilly says put your pants on and answer the call. Do it. I’m too busy to answer her texts.” He mumbled, “Dick,” under his breath.

  Carly keeled over with laughter.

  Zev pushed a hand through his wet hair as Carly’s phone stopped ringing. “Sorry, babe,” he said with a sexy, though frustrated, smile. “We need to leave our phones outside the bedroom from now on.”

  “It’s okay. She’s just excited to hear the news from us. We’ll just have to go for double-time tonight.”

  “Triple time. We have a lot to celebrate.” He kissed her and crouched to open the safe.

  “Aren’t you going to call Jilly?”

  “Not before I do this.” He rose with the ring in his hand, and as he slid it on her finger, he said, “You know what never gets old?”

  Zev said, “Seeing the love in your eyes when I put this ring on your finger,” at the same time Carly said, “Seeing the love in your eyes when you put that ring on my finger.”

  They both laughed and said, “Two sides of the same coin.”

  Ready for more Bradens & Montgomerys?

  Grab HOT FOR LOVE, Nick Braden’s love story below, and then continue reading for information about the first book in The Steeles on Silver Island series and the first book in The Whiskeys series.

  Trixie Jericho is on a mission to start her own miniature horse business. She’s sick of being told her idea is cute and wants nothing more than to be taken seriously. When rancher and sought-after freestyle horse trainer Nick Braden offers an opportunity she can’t refuse, Trixie jumps on it. The problem is, she also wants to jump on him, but the bullheaded, big-muscled, motorcycle-riding cowboy doesn’t mix business with pleasure. Little does he know, Trixie has never backed down from a challenge. Saddle up, big boy, because this boot-stompin’, risk-taking, Daisy Duke-wearing cowgirl isn’t afraid to play dirty.

  Buy HOT FOR LOVE

  Fall in love with the Steeles on Silver Island!

  Fall in love on the sandy shores of Silver Island, home to coffee shops, boat races, midnight rendezvous, and the sexy, sharp-witted Steeles.

  Enjoy heart-meltingly beautiful and toe-curlingly sexy romance in Tempted by Love, an emotionally riveting story about a man who has lost it all and carries a torturous secret, a divorced single mother who has everything to lose, and the little girl who helps them heal.

  Buy TEMPTED BY LOVE

  Have you met The Whiskeys: Dark Knights at Peaceful Harbor?

  If you loved reading about Dare, Cowboy, Birdie, and the rest of the Whiskeys at Redemption Ranch, don’t worry, they are all going to get their own stories. But first, meet their cousins, the Whiskeys at Peaceful Harbor, and start the series with TRU BLUE.

  He wore the skin of a killer and bore the heart of a lover…

  There’s nothing Truman Gritt won’t do to protect his family—including spending years in jail for a crime he didn’t commit. When he’s finally released, the life he knew is turned upside down by his mother’s overdose, and Truman steps in to raise the children she’s left behind. Truman’s hard, he’s secretive, and he’s trying to save a brother who’s even more broken than he is. He’s never needed help in his life, and when beautiful Gemma Wright tries to step in, he’s less than accepting. But Gemma has a way of slithering into people’s lives, and eventually she pierces through his ironclad heart. When Truman’s dark past collides with his future, his loyalties will be tested, and he’ll be faced with his toughest decision yet.

  Buy TRU BLUE

  New to the Love in Bloom series?

  I hope you have enjoyed meeting the Bradens and Montgomerys. If you want to read more of the series, pick up the first book in the series, EMBRACING HER HEART.

  If this is your first Love in Bloom book, there are many more love stories featuring loyal, sassy, and sexy heroes and heroines waiting for you. The Bradens & Montgomerys is just one of the series in the Love in Bloom big-family romance collection. Each Love in Bloom book is written to be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel or as part of the larger series. There are no cliffhangers and no unresolved issues. Characters from each series make appearances in future books, so you never miss an engagement, wedding, or birth. You might enjoy my other series within the Love in Bloom big-family romance collection, starting with the very first Braden book, LOVERS AT HEART, REIMAGINED, or the first book in the entire Love in Bloom series, SISTERS IN LOVE.

  See the Entire Love in Bloom Collection

  melissafoster.com/love-bloom-series

  Download Free First-in-Series eBooks

  melissafoster.com/free-ebooks

  Download Series Checklists, Family Trees, and Publication Schedules

  melissafoster.com/reader-goodies

  More Books By Melissa Foster

  Love in Bloom Romance Collection

  LOVE IN BLOOM SERIES order

  Love in Bloom books may be read as stand alones. For more enjoyment, read them in series order. Characters from each series carry forward to the next.

  SNOW SISTERS

  Sisters in Love

  Sisters in Bloom

  Sisters in White

  THE BRADENS (Weston, CO)

  Lovers at Heart, Reimagined

  Destined for Love

  Friendship on Fire

  Sea of Love

  Bursting with Love

  Hearts at Play

  THE BRADENS (Trusty, CO)

  Taken by Love

  Fated for Love

  Romancing My Love

  Flirting with Love

  Dreaming of Love

  Crashing into Love

  THE BRADENS (Peaceful Harbor, MD)

  Healed by Love

  Surrender My Love

  River of Love

  Crushing on Love

  Whisper of Love

  Thrill of Love

  THE BRADENS & MONTGOMERYS (Pleasant Hill – Oak Falls)

  Embracing Her Heart

  Anything for Love

  Trails of Love

  Wild, Crazy Hearts

  Making You Mine

  Searching For Love

  Hot For Love

  BRADEN WORLD NOVELLAS

  Daring Her Love

  Promise My Love

  Our New Love

  Story of Love

  Love at Last

  A Very Braden Christmas

  THE REMINGTONS

  Game of Love

  Stroke of Love

  Flames of Love

  Slope of Love

  Read, Write, Love

  Touched by Love

  SEASIDE SUMMERS

  Seaside Dreams

  Seaside Hearts

  Seaside Sunsets

  Seaside Secrets

  Seaside Nights

  Seaside Embrace

  Seaside Lovers

  Seaside Whispers

  Seaside Serenade

  BAYSIDE SUMMERS

  Bayside Desires

  Bayside Passions

  Bayside Heat

  Bayside Escape

  Bayside Romance

  Bayside Fantasies

  THE STEELES AT SILVER ISLAND

  Tempted by Love

  My True Love

  Always Her Love

  Enticing Her Love

  Caught by Love

  Wild Island Love

  THE RYDERS

  Seized by Love

  Claimed by Love

  Chased by Love

  Rescued by Love

  Swept Into Love

  THE WHISKEYS: DARK KNIGHTS AT PEACEFUL HARBOR

  Tru Blue

  Truly, Madly, Whiskey

  Driving Whiskey Wild

  Wicked Whiskey Love

  Mad About Moon

  Taming My Whiskey

  The Gritty Truth

  SUGAR LAKE

  The Real Thing

  Only for You

  Love Like Ours

  Finding My Girl />
  HARMONY POINTE

  Call Her Mine

  This is Love

  She Loves Me

  THE WICKEDS: DARK KNIGHTS AT BAYSIDE

  A Little Bit Wicked

  The Wicked Aftermath

  WILD BOYS AFTER DARK

  Logan

  Heath

  Jackson

  Cooper

  BAD BOYS AFTER DARK

  Mick

  Dylan

  Carson

  Brett

  HARBORSIDE NIGHTS

  Includes characters from the Love in Bloom series

  Catching Cassidy

  Discovering Delilah

  Tempting Tristan

  Standalone Books by Melissa

  Chasing Amanda (mystery/suspense)

  Come Back to Me (mystery/suspense)

  Have No Shame (historical fiction/romance)

  Love, Lies & Mystery (3-book bundle)

  Megan’s Way (literary fiction)

  Traces of Kara (psychological thriller)

  Where Petals Fall (suspense)

  Acknowledgments

  I had as much fun writing Zev and Carly’s story as I did researching their careers. Now I want to be a treasure hunter and a chocolatier! I am forever grateful for the patience and assistance of admiralty and maritime lawyer Scott Bluestein, of Bluestein Law Firm in South Carolina. Scott answered my endless questions, and though I have yet to find a character to name after him, I will definitely find one. A special thank-you to Lisa Filipe, my friend, employee, and sister from another mother, for talking me off the ledge, researching at a moment’s notice, laughing, crying, and fighting me tooth and nail over the little things that matter. I truly appreciate you. As with all of my stories, I have taken fictional liberties; any and all inaccuracies are not a reflection of the people who generously shared their time and knowledge with me.

  Thank you to my team and my friends for always having my back, and my fans, who inspire me on a daily basis. If you haven’t yet joined my fan club on Facebook, please do. We have a great time chatting about our hunky heroes and sassy heroines. You never know when you’ll inspire a story or a character and end up in one of my books, as several fan club members have already discovered.