Say You Love Me : An Enemies to Lovers Romance

by Sarah J. Brooks

  “Um, that’s my dad’s chair. He sits in it to watch football.” We both made a face.

  “Yeah, okay, a bedroom it is. Lead the way.” Jeremy smacked my ass and dropped me to the floor. I led him upstairs to the first door to the right.

  I turned on the light and wagged a finger at him. “Don’t make fun of the purple and pink hearts on my comforter.”

  He pulled me close and swept the hair over my shoulder so he could have clear access to my neck. “I would never,” he promised before sending shivers all through my body.

  There wasn’t much talking after that. It was all lips and tongue and hands. Jeremy stripped me naked in record time, laying me gently on my childhood bed. He undressed just as quickly and was between my legs before I could miss him.

  He worshipped my breasts, palming them and suckling on my nipples. “I swear these have gotten bigger,” he commented, running his tongue along with the taught bud.

  “Duh, I’m pregnant. That’s what happens,” I quipped.

  Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “I think I’m going to like you being preggo.”

  “Perv,” I snickered.

  He kissed the skin between my breasts. “I’m your perv.”

  I ran my hands through his hair. “Yes, you are.”

  When he finally entered me, it was tender and slow. “I love you, Marlena,” he gasped as he rocked into me.

  “I love you too,” I cried as he pushed me higher and higher.

  I clung to him, my nails digging into his back as he came. Then he moved his way down my body, his mouth sucking my clit into his mouth until I orgasmed.

  When we were finished, we stayed wrapped around each other, limbs entangled, my ear pressed against his chest, listening to his racing heart.

  “You know there’s another side effect of pregnancy,” I said, running my hands down his front and beneath the covers. I wrapped my hand around his dick. “An insatiable sex drive.”

  Jeremy groaned. “Fucking hell, could I get any luckier?”

  He had just started to roll me on my back for round two when I heard the front door open and slam shut, followed by “Lena?”

  Jeremy and I froze.

  “Shit. Is that your brother?” Jeremy whispered.

  “Yes. Hurry up and get dressed!” We jumped out of bed and started scrambling for our clothes. Jeremy, tangled in the blanket, fell with a thud.

  “Lena? Are you okay? What’s with all the noise—?”

  Adam pushed open the door to my bedroom and I let out a scream.

  “Get out, Adam! Close the door!” I shouted, trying to cover myself.

  Adam’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head before he turned his back on the scene in front of him.

  “Adam, did you find her? Oh, crap,” Meg said, coming up behind her fiancé. She gave him a shove. “Give them a minute. Don’t just stand there,” she chastised, shooting me an apologetic look.

  Once the door was closed, Jeremy winced. “Get ready for the fireworks.”

  I pulled him toward me and wrapped my arms around his waist. “It doesn’t matter what Adam has to say about it. It only matters how we feel.”

  Jeremy kissed my forehead. “But at the end of the day, he’s my partner. His feelings do matter.”

  “He loves you. And he loves me. So, he’ll get over it and want us to be happy. My brother isn’t a complete asshole,” I assured him, trying to convince both of us at the same time.

  Once we were dressed, we slowly made our way downstairs to find my brother and soon-to-be-sister-in-law sitting in the living room. Adam’s face was all hard lines while Meg was talking to him in quiet tones.

  They both looked up when we entered the room. Adam got to his feet. “What the hell is going on, Lena? Why is this dickhead here?” Adam demanded, glaring at Jeremy.

  I took Jeremy’s hand between mine. “Look, Adam, I know Jeremy has a lot to make up for, but we’re going to be together. He’s the father of my child. And I love him. I love him so much. And he loves me too. We don't need your permission to be together, but we’d like your blessing all the same.” I gave my brother a hard look and he stared back with an expression that was equally unyielding.

  “How can you trust him after everything? After all he’s done?” Adam fumed.

  Jeremy took a step towards Adam. “Look, man, I know I went about this badly. You told me to stay away from Marlena, and I didn’t. You warned me that it would mess up things between you and me. But I couldn’t ignore how I felt about your sister.” He looked back at me with a tender smile. “I didn’t mean to fall in love with her. But I did. And it happened almost immediately. She’s the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. She gets me and she accepts me. Even the ugly parts.” He turned back to face Adam again. “You should know that when you find someone like that, you don’t let them go. No matter what’s against you. Would you have let anything get in the way of being with Meg?”

  Adam drew himself upright. “That’s not even remotely the same thing,” he blustered.

  “Why isn’t it? Why is what you have with Meg any different than what I share with Jeremy?” I countered, coming to Jeremy’s side, presenting a solid unit against him.

  Adam looked from me to Jeremy. “You betrayed my trust, Wyatt. Then you got my sister pregnant and left her to deal with it alone.”

  Jeremy’s face was solemn. “I won’t make excuses for my behavior. How I handled the news of Lena’s pregnancy was fucked up. If I could go back and redo those few minutes over again, I would. But it doesn’t change the fact that I’m here now. And that I’m in this all the way. I want to be with your sister. I want to be a father to our baby.” He drew in a breath and let it out slowly as if steeling himself for what was coming next. “As for betraying you, I’m sorry you feel that way. But I won’t feel guilty for following my heart because it led me to Marlena. And for that, I have no regrets and I never will.”

  “Are you happy, Lena?” Meg asked, eyes searching mine.

  I pressed myself close to Jeremy and nodded. “I am. I really am. I love him. More than anything.”

  Adam had remained silent during Jeremy’s diatribe. We stood in a standoff in the middle of my parents’ living room, some crappy holiday movie playing in the background. The entire situation was slightly surreal.

  Adam and I stared at each other, his jaw tense. Meg took his hand and seemed to communicate something to him through her touch alone. He picked up a bottle of sparkling grape juice. “We brought this over, thinking we could ring in the New Year together,” he said, his voice rough.

  “That was thoughtful of you,” I replied warily.

  Adam looked at Jeremy again. “You and I have been friends for years. I thought we knew each other pretty well. It turns out I didn’t know you at all.”

  “Man, I’m sorry you got hurt—” Jeremy started to say but Adam lifted his hand, silencing him.

  “In all the time we’ve worked together I’ve never seen you like this,” Adam went on, glancing at Meg who nodded with a soft smile on her face.

  “Like what?” Jeremy asked gingerly.

  “In love, I guess. It’s changed you. I can see that now. I should know how it can alter you completely.” Adam put his arm around Meg and kissed her. “If I’m deserving of this kind of happiness, then you are too. And I’m sorry I tried to get in the way of that.” He directed his apology to both of us.

  “You don’t need to apologize, dude. If Lena were my sister, I’d be pretty damn protective too. Especially when it came to a guy like me. I’ve earned the reputation I’ve been given.” Jeremy sounded ashamed. “All I can say is that I never want to hurt your sister. She means the world to me. I’d give my life for her and our baby. I promise you that.”

  My chest felt full and I had to hold back the tears.

  Adam finally held his hand out to Jeremy who shook it. Then they were hugging, and Meg and I were hugging. Then Adam and I were hugging. It was one giant hug-fest.

  “Okay, now that
the threat of bloodshed has passed, let’s crack open this fine bottle of sparkling grape juice and maybe get out the playing cards for a round of Spades,” Adam suggested, wiping at his eyes. He was a big mushball.

  I pulled him in for one last hug. “I love you, big brother,” I whispered in his ear.

  He squeezed me tight. “I love you too, little sis.”

  We rang in the New Year together—the four of us.

  And when Jeremy kissed me at midnight and told me he loved me I knew that this was forever.

  Epilogue

  Jeremy

  Ten months later

  “I now pronounce you husband and wife. Let me introduce Mr. and Mrs. Adam Ducate,” the minister announced as Adam swept his new wife in an epic kiss. It started to border on a make-out session when Marlena cleared her throat and the two broke apart.

  Everyone stood up and clapped. I cradled my daughter, Daisy, to my chest and watched Adam and Meg walk back down the aisle.

  “Congrats,” I said when they stopped long enough to kiss their niece.

  “You’re next,” Meg winked.

  We both laughed. “Yep, come December you and Lena will be the ones up there,” Adam said.

  “I can’t wait,” I told them sincerely before they moved on toward the back of the church. Lena joined me in the throng as we made our way outside, the two-carat diamond I put on her finger three months ago glinting in the sunlight.

  Daisy started to wake, her beautiful little face scrunched up as she geared herself up to let out an ear-splitting yell.

  “That’s my cue,” Lena said, holding her arms out for our daughter. I handed her over, but not before nuzzling the baby’s soft dark hair. I loved the smell of her. My fiancé and mother of my child gave me a quick kiss on the lips. “I’m going to go in the back and feed her. Wait for me by the car.”

  “Okay, baby.” I kissed her again, cupping the side of her face. “You looking fucking gorgeous, by the way.” And she did. Her full-length yellow bridesmaid dress fit her body like a glove, which had acquired some fantastic new curves since her pregnancy. I loved the way the material flowed around her hips and I couldn’t stop fantasizing about removing the dress later.

  “You clean up pretty nicely yourself, Wyatt,” Lena grinned before disappearing into the crowd.

  I stood beside Adam and Meg’s parents’ watching Meg and Adam jog toward the limo that would take them to the Dandelion Hotel for their reception. I had been readily accepted as a member of the Ducate family. I was astounded at how quickly Marion and Tom had welcomed me as a new addition. Marion had even reached out to my mother, inviting her to dinner and talking to her about wedding stuff.

  “Where’s your better half?” Rob asked, coming up beside me.

  “Feeding Daisy. She’ll be out in a minute,” I told my partner.

  “One wedding down, another to go, huh?” he commented, watching our friend kiss his new wife again.

  I nudged him with my elbow. “Who knows, maybe you’ll be right behind us.”

  Rob snorted. “I don’t see that happening any time soon.” His words were decisive, but I noticed how he watched Meg’s friend Skylar as she walked out of the church with the rest of the wedding party. The two of them had been dancing around something for over a year, but I would never ask him about that. It’s not like he’d tell me anything anyway. Robert Jenkins was a mysterious guy.

  “Okay, I’ll meet you at the reception. I’ve got some calls to make first,” Rob said, pulling out his phone.

  “Can’t you give work rest for one day?” I asked him.

  “It’s not work,” was all he said as he walked away.

  As I said, Rob was a mysterious dude.

  I called out a greeting to Kyle who was carrying his daughter Katie and walking with Whitney toward the parking lot. Lena told me they had been spending a lot more time together. I knew there was a history there, but I wasn’t the kind of person to dig into people’s personal business. I liked Whitney and I knew instinctively she was a bit damaged, so it was nice to see her smiling.

  I headed to our car. I had insisted Lena and I trade in our vehicles for two child-friendly and safety tested SUVs. I tossed the diaper bag in the back seat. My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out to see a message from my mother. I had sent her a few pictures of Daisy dressed up for the wedding and she was gushing over them.

  Mom had stuck to her guns and hadn’t allowed Dad to come back. She was happy now; the happiest I had ever seen her. She was working at the local women’s shelter as a case aid and she was planning to come down and stay with Lena and me for the weekend to spend time with her granddaughter. Daisy was surrounded by people that loved her. She was one lucky little girl.

  Lena and I had both ditched our apartments and bought a house two streets from her parents. It was a nice colonial with a great backyard, perfect for a playset when Daisy was old enough. Meg painted Daisy’s nursery a nautical theme and we had settled into our life together almost too easily.

  Sometimes I still worried that I’d screw it all up, but Marlena had faith in me, and that was enough to assuage the worst of my concerns.

  “Sorry that took so long,” Marlena said, carrying Daisy who had fallen asleep in her arms. I carefully took her from Lena and strapped her into her car seat. We both stood there for a few minutes watching her sleep contentedly and I was filled with the most overwhelming sense of calm and joy I had ever experienced.

  I turned to my soon-to-be-wife and pulled her into my arms, kissing her long and slowly. “I love you so much,” I murmured against her mouth. I’d never been able to express how she had changed my world. How she saved my soul. How she mended my heart.

  “And don't you forget it,” she teased.

  “Never,” I promised. And I meant it.

  Because it was Marlena, me and Daisy.

  Always.

  Forever.

  The End

  Dear reader,

  First of all, thank you so much for reading my books! It’s passionate readers like you that allow me to live my dream and do the thing I love most on earth, which is writing books and entertaining people!

  Do you want more of Lena’s and Jeremy’s world? Then make sure to get your copy of “Say You’ll Stay” now! This time it’s Meghan’s and Adam’s turn to fight against all odds for the love of their life!

  Get your copy here!

  Until then, do you want more steamy romance?

  Then make sure to keep on reading! I’ve included a preview of my novel “Unexpected Heat”! ;-)

  Preview: Unexpected Heat

  Chapter 1

  Mila

  I love my studio, and right now, it’s super tidy with everything on my desk arranged neatly and the easels standing side by side. My gaze falls on my three work-in-progress portraits, and I know they’ll soon go to the trash can. They look terrible.

  A heaviness comes over my body.

  How long will it last, this inability to work? The last time I turned out a good piece was almost a year ago. Thankfully, I’ve been prolific over the last couple of years, taking in portrait jobs that have earned me a nice nest egg. Money is not an issue.

  It is the growing hole in my chest where my heart should be and the feeling of restlessness that can only be relieved by my work. And yet, I can’t paint. What if my ability to paint never comes back? Panic spreads in my chest.

  Painting is the one thing that has always belonged to me, that kept me sane no matter what was going on in the rest of my life. Clay took with him my self-esteem and my ability to love again. But worse than those things, is that since the day he left, I haven’t painted. It’s as if my hands have forgotten how to move the paintbrush across the canvas, and my brain can’t fathom what is expected of it.

  The doorbell rings. The sudden noise jolts me out of my thoughts. A rare intrusion. I tick off all possibilities. There is only one person who would come to my house without calling first. The one person I never want to see agai
n. The cause of my painter’s block.

  I leave my studio on the second story and sprint down the stairs. I peer through the keyhole. Clay’s dark eyes stare back as if he can see me. With a sigh, I fling the door open.

  “What do you want?” I say with no pretense of politeness. We are beyond that now. With the divorce final, there’s nothing to bind us together anymore.

  “Is that any way to greet your husband?” he says and leans on the door frame.

  Anger coils itself around my insides. I inhale deeply. I cannot show him how angry he still makes me. “Ex-husband,” I point out, my tone casual.

  He has bags around his eyes. Once, that would have made my heart squeeze and brought out my protective feelings. Now, I observe him impartially. As one would a stranger.

  I take in his bushy eyebrows, long hair that falls to his shoulders, and I can’t believe that I once found Clay hot. He’s wearing a leather jacket even though the weather is too warm. He peruses me too, his eyes lingering on my chest. He always loved my big boobs. I fight the temptation to cross my hands across my chest to protect myself from his stare. He frowns as he takes in my flared shorts. Clay hated when I wore shorts or spaghetti tops. He insisted I cover up even when I wasn’t going to leave the house.

  I can’t tell you how liberating it has been to stay in my shorts all day without someone breathing down my neck. I flash him a smile of triumph. A genuine one. He shifts his weight from one foot to the other.

  “I just came by to check on you,” he says, and I stare at him in amazement.

  “We’re divorced, Clay. You don’t get to check on me,” I say, imitating his voice.

  He adopts a hurt look. I don’t care. I just want him gone.

  “Where’s Terry?” I ask him.

  “I’m done with Terry.” A crease forms across his forehead. “I told you that in one of the messages I sent you. You didn’t read them, did you?” He narrows his eyes.

  “You’re right; I didn’t.” My phone has been flashing with messages from him all week. I delete them without even taking a peek.