by Rissa Brahm
Ben rolled his eyes and fumed. “Fine, but—”
“The baby turtle release is tonight!” Beth yelled as she trampled down the stairs in a white linen dress.
Ben found his smile. “You look very pretty, niece. Very grown-up.” Beth winked at her mom. “Thanks, Uncle Ben.” She smiled. “You should brush your hair and change…and then I might return the compliment.”
Stacy smirked; Ben huffed and shot a look at his sister. “I appreciate your honesty, Bethy.” He reached for Beth to knuckle her head.
“Stop, Uncle Ben! My hair is nice.”
She smoothed her hair as Ben hugged her—carefully. “Fine, I’ll change. But I’m wearing shorts if we’re doing another turtle release.”
Stacy cleared her throat. “Pants, Ben. The restaurant requires it.” He watched Stacy scurry for her purse and her laptop bag. How she forgot such important meetings, he didn’t know. “Yeah, just roll your pants up when you’re at the water. Oh, and a tie. You need a tie.”
“A tie? What the hell, Stace?”
“It’s their favorite place, Ben.” Her eyes got wide, imploring. “I saw one in your luggage so buck up and put it on. And please don’t bring that awful man purse.”
“You know what…I’m boycotting all women, you two included.” He heard Beth and Stacy snicker as he walked toward the stairs, then he glanced back over his shoulder. “And I’m bringing the murse!” He headed up to change. “Thank God I’m having a boy,” he muttered.
“A boy, Uncle Ben?” Beth bounced over to him. “A little boy—awesome! I can take him surfing and digging…a boy! It’s a boy, Mom!”
“I heard, sweetheart.” Stacy pulled Ben down from the steps for a hug. “Congrats, little brother.”
“Yeah, thanks.” It felt amazing. And not enough.
“So you’ve been in touch with the doctor?”
“Yes, actually, I have, to make sure she and the baby are good…but, I knew a couple of weeks ago…long story. But hey, tick tock, right?”
“Right, right…well, go—get dressed.”
Ben trod up the stairs, passing Peter on his way down. “A boy, huh? So, PJ or Peter, Jr.—just sayin’.”
Ben laughed. Yeah, a boy. A baby boy. He couldn’t wait to have and hold and love his son. Even though it would be without his Preeya.
*
Hidden from view, Preeya watched from behind the concierge partition as Stacy sent Ben to the reception desk—under whatever pretense—to be handed the letter.
It was her turn to bestow a handwritten message of her deepest sentiments to her truest love.
God willing, he’d read it.
*
Dr. Benjamin Trainer (aka Babe),
You.
How have you done it again?
Made me see?
See inside myself.
Given me a new lens. A lens that, hopefully, I am not too late in finding. You left it for me when you went away, when you escaped me, the one who is supposed to be your safe haven. I have failed you. I failed your heart, your ever-open, loving heart.
So here I am (don’t turn around yet, just keep reading), with reshuffled priorities. You and our child, our family, are my priority, the priority. All others need to wait in line.
Gigi (my best friend, my sister) included.
And as for my birth mother…I woke up to reason and logic (and to your wisdom) just in time. It turns out she’s alive in Tucson, but I don’t know anything more than that. Not worth our family’s well-being to find out.
But my mother by choice (and by law), Sylvia and my father are here, as is Stanton, and of course your sister (our child’s godmother) and our niece and nephew. They are all here to witness and celebrate our union (the union, I pray, you will re-agree to).
In other words, I am asking you, Ben Trainer, to marry me. With our Marietas and our families as witness—today, now (in a minute, you can turn around) on the beach behind this resort.
I want to walk through this life, this world, with you, and with no other.
Hand in hand, heart in heart.
Together.
Side by side.
I promise to choose us, Ben. I do. You—my escape artist, my heart—and me—the one at the bottom of the steepest learning curve ever known.
I choose us, if you’ll still have me (you can turn around now).
Marry me, babe. Make us, us.
Please.
For always.
All my love,
Your Preeya
*
Unsure about his grasp on reality, Ben took off his glasses then folded the letter with slow and precise care, blinking the emotion from his eyes. A lone tear rolled off his face and hit his hand. This is real, Ben.
And if it’s not…if just an illusion…if, when he turned around, she stood on a cloud of haze and pretend, he might disintegrate. Be done. If only a dream, he’d give up right here, right now.
Please. Please, let this be real.
His eyes shut tight as he forced his feet to pivot, turning him around to face…
*
His Preeya, in his arms—tight. Probably too tight. “I do, I will…take you for my wife, Preeya Patel—and I won’t let you go. Not again. I promise that I won’t let you go ever again.”
When he pressed his lips to hers, the world went away, pulled out from under and around him, them. A floating balance had been struck. Symbiosis. Blissful, pulsing silence filled his chest. Their kiss rolled in and out like the nearby tide—and anchored him to earth at the same time. And no one else existed…
Until Beth’s and Peter’s titters tickled his ears as they fled the “sickening scene.”
With Preeya’s tender, sweet lips still pillowed against his, he laughed then sighed, inhaling her in.
“You ready?” he asked, bringing his hands from her face to her hands.
She winced then dug out a smile. “Hmm. Yes, babe, we are both ready.” She pulled her hands from his and held her side. “Me and our little soccer player here.”
He laughed as he knelt down while holding Preeya’s hips in his grasp. He put his ear to her belly and listened. Whirling perfection. “I hear you, little one. I hear you.” He kissed her belly then rose to his feet. “I missed you both. Too much.” He planted another deep kiss on Preeya’s mouth, unable to resist.
“Mmm, babe.” Preeya giggled while obviously reluctant to break their connection. “The wedding planner wants to start before we lose the light.” But her lips remained skipping and dancing over his, as if unable to pull away.
“Oh yes, right.” But Ben wouldn’t let their lips’ entanglement end, either. Her taste, her softness; he needed this, his Preeya-replenishment. He’d left her for too long. God, too damn long. And he swore he wouldn’t fucking run again. Never again.
“You’ll have your lives, guys. Your entire lives!” Stacy called from the patio.
“And the honeymoon’s only a few hours off, buddy!” Stan shouted from the open doorway to the beach, the bay’s rolling tide echoing behind him.
They all laughed, Sylvia and Indra, Stan, Stacy…their witnesses. Their family.
“Hey, Mom, Uncle Ben, Aunt Preeya!” Beth yelled from the sand. “The baby turtle release, it’s happening! Hurry up, everybody!” Beth was gone again in a blink, before Stacy could catch her to tell her some motherly instruction.
Ben winked at Stacy then mouthed a thank you for her part in this “grand plan.” His sister nodded and blew a kiss to his bride-to-be, then headed off after the kids.
Ben took Preeya’s hand in his, their fingers woven together, a perfect fit. “Turtles, first…then we tie the knot?”
“That’s the plan,” she said with a coy smile, blinking those eyes of heaven-and-sea. “Then the party by torch light at Las Caletas.” She grinned, so proud of herself.
And he was proud of her, thankful for her, amazed by her. Hell, the woman hunted him down twice, for Christ’s sake. That’s a strong woman. And a strong love. A love that
he’d work his ass off every day of his life to eventually deserve.
“Sounds amazing, babe…but”—he nipped at Preeya’s ear and squeezed her close to him as they dug their toes into the white, silken sand—“I’m all about our Honeymoon. Our real honeymoon.”
Preeya smirked and licked her lips. “Yes, our real honeymoon.” She beamed. “In the morning, Pedro is taking us, and only us, to our hidden beach, then to our falls.”
“Oh…no Sun Hat and Charles?” Ben cracked a smile. “It just won’t be the same without our old friends.”
Preeya, in her white flowing dress and free-flowing hair whipping in the wind, broke out laughing and giggling—God that giggle. “I think we’ll have enough company this trip to the Mareitas”—she rubbed their baby bump—“don’t you? Just the three of us…”
“You, me, and the baby, Pree, is perfect. Always.”
*
Perfect light, sunset ushering in dusk. She stood at the start of the petal-lined aisle of white sand softness in disbelief. She’d never thought it could be. This. Any of this.
With the tide’s soft roar behind him, Ben stood glowing under the lattice altar laced with vibrant purple-and-pink bougainvilleas—Amy’s wedding planner, Isabel, had pulled together a last-minute miracle. While Stanton and Peter, Ben’s groomsmen, took their places next to her groom, she watched Ben pivot to face the bay.
Her chest locked. What? What was it?
Before she could heave a breath of panic, he pulled his arm back behind his head and flung something. She squinted her eyes. A gold ring trailed by a chain. His wedding ring. His and Jamie’s. It flew through the air like a comet out into the glistening blue bay.
She watched his shoulders lift then fall as he turned again to face her. Her chest warmed with his amber gaze, and the liberating smile on his face made her heartbeat pulse throughout her entire being.
When he disengaged his gaze once more and moved to the rear post of the altar, she bit her bottom lip, wondering what he was doing now, wanting whatever he’d planned—during her surprise wedding ceremony for him—to be fast. She needed to be his wife already. To have his arms around her again, his firm forever-hold, his mouth and lips and breath entangled in hers.
He stepped forward with an easel, placed it next to Stacy and Beth—her bridesmaids—and began to unroll…a large…photo of…Prana.
One quivering hand to her mouth, the other to her chest, Preeya let out a gasp as tears and laughter escaped her. She shook her head, just overwhelmed. With it all.
“Your maid of honor,” her father whispered in her ear, then held her arm to steady her.
Preeya had no words. It was perfect. With both Gigi absent and her sister gone…it was just too perfect for a single word.
For composure, she pulled in an enormous breath of sea air, of Prana, of family, of Ben, and nodded that she was ready.
More than ready.
To be with Ben—and his golden gaze—forever.
“Are you ‘good to be gone’, bitay.”
She glanced up at the man beside her and laughed while wiping one last tear away. “Good to go, Dad.” She gave him her hand and squeezed. Not in a million years, a half a year ago, could she have imagined being ushered anywhere by her father—let alone down an aisle. “And yes, I am very good…to go.”
On her other side stood a woman, a friend, a mother—Sylvia—tearful and proud.
Preeya’s heart swelled. She gave her parents a final nod and a smile of her thanks and love. “I’d say I’ve never been so good in my entire life.”
Soft music from somewhere lifted above the rolling waves.
Time now. Her chest grew hot and her temples and eyes burned.
Keep it together, Preeya—Ben’s right there.
Waiting for you.
She lifted her eyes to meet his—that soul-searing gaze that tore through her heart and made her whole at the same time. Dr. Ben Trainer, tall and strong and solid and gleaming-proud, waiting for her to reach him, to marry him—to love him forever. And she would; she’d love this man with all her being. Her Ben, the man of her wildest dreams.
The End
Author’s Note
I really hope you enjoyed Ben and Preeya’s story—it was a dream writing it for you!
Now, are you ready for more good stuff featuring Ben and Preeya and the other couples in the Paradise South series—for free?
Just go to [www.RissaBrahm.com/Join] and you’ll get deleted scenes from each of the Paradise South books as they come out:
Tempting Isabel — (Isabel & Zack)
Taking Jana — (Jana & Antonio)
Catching Preeya — (Preeya & Ben)
Satisfying Ali — (Ali & Dev)
Freeing Kyla — (Kyla & Liam)
And…
You’ll receive 1 Free Novelette called P.S. in Paradise — (Epilogues for all 5 Books which will only be sold as part of the Paradise South series Box Set) — for FREE! So, head to [www.RissaBrahm.com/Join] and get your free stuff on!
Also reserved for my newsletter subscribers: first-to-know news on release dates, fabulous giveaways and other cool bonus material like character sketches and interviews, failed flings, and more! So, go check it out! xo~Rissa
P.S. Your candid review of Catching Preeya posted on Amazon helps other romance readers know if my stuff is for them, makes me a better writer, and supports and spreads the word, allowing me to continue writing! Your opinion really matters and is so appreciated! [www.RissaBrahm.com/Catching-Preeya]
P.P.S. I always love hearing from you directly! Please, reach out to me anytime…
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Books by Rissa Brahm
Paradise South series
Tempting Isabel, Book 1
Taking Jana, Book 2
Catching Preeya, Book 3
Satisfying Ali, Book 4 (2016)
Freeing Kyla, Book 5 (2016)
P.S. in Paradise (The series’ Epilogue Novelette Collection, 2016)
All five soul-deep and sensual romances of the Paradise South series include diverse and alluring heroes and heroines to love and lust for throughout their impassioned journeys toward their happily ever afters. Enjoy them all: [www.RissaBrahm.com/Books]
Acknowledgements
Infinite thanks:
To my content editor, Tessa Shapcott; copy editor, Michael Mandarano, and
my proofreaders, J.F., and Markham Correct.
To my beta readers: June M., Saleena C., Lady P., Penny L., Kirsty F., Sandra L., Kerrie K., Gretchen H., Tiffany S.
To my Launch Team: June M., Saleena C., Lauren S. and the rest of the crew for their time, feedback, and energy.
To authors Jessie G., Kimberly Llewellyn, Lynn Carmer, and Joanne Rock for your expert guidance and support.
To romance bloggers and reviewers who share their love for romance with the world!
And to authors Tamara Lush, Desiree Holt, Rebecca Brooks, Jay Crownover, Gail McHugh and Laura Kaye for spreading the word.
To InkSlinger PR, Nazarea Andrews, KP Simmon for their support and time.
To the RWA TARA chapter for such solid support and encouragement.
To my Mom, who is always there for me.
To my husband for all the brainstorming, covering for me, and the inspiration.
To my daughter, for driving me to write the best, truest depths of smart, strong, enduring women that I can.
To VK and GRP, for backing me and for their endless love.
About the Author
Contemporary romance writer Rissa Brahm grew up in New York and has since lived in all four corners of the United States, and beyond. The beautiful paradise of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico—the core setting of her hot and heartfelt debut series, Paradise South—is Rissa’s most recent and beloved home.
When not
chained-by-choice to her MacBook, she is embarking on outdoor adventures with her husband and little girl, laughing to tears with a good rom com, eating amazing Indian food with something chocolate for dessert; reading good, hot scorchers in bed; biking, long walks, and yoga; zoning out to killer music from across the decades and the globe; and getting lost only to discover a new exciting route home again.
You can connect with Rissa on Facebook, Twitter or by email anytime by heading to www.RissaBrahm.com.
Copyright Information
This is a work of fiction. All of the names, lyrics, characters, organizations, businesses, places, brands, events and incidents portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 by Rissa Brahm CATCHING PREEYA / CATCHING PREEYA, BOOK 3 / CATCHING PREEYA BOOK 3 OF THE PARADISE SOUTH SERIES
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
ISBN 978-1-944557-09-6 (print)
ISBN 978-1-944557-10-2 (epub)
ISBN 978-1-944557-11-9 (mobi)
Published by: 108 degrees™
Brahm, Rissa (2016-04-01)
Illustrated Romance Cover design by: Damonza
Catching Preeya (Paradise South, Book 3)
TKA Distribution. Kindle Edition.
