Romancing My Love (Love in Bloom: The Bradens) Contemporary Romance

by Melissa Foster

  “You asked me what I wanted.” Her voice was thick with emotion.

  When he opened his eyes, she smiled.

  “You, Pierce. Holding your hand, sitting beside you, talking to you. Making love to you. I want you, Pierce. Just you.”

  He settled his lips over hers, kissing her tenderly. He touched her gently, savoring the feel of her beneath him, and brought her right up to the edge again. Holding her there, drawing out her pleasure as much as his own, and then finally—blissfully—they gave into the passion and spiraled over the edge together.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  THE REST OF the week passed in a blur with one shining night. They’d celebrated Pierce’s ratification of the deal on the Grand with a romantic candlelit dinner and a walk in the park. He credited the deal to Rebecca’s suggestion of proposing an earn out, and when she’d tried to dispute it, he’d stuck to his guns and forced her to accept the accolade. She was still trying to get used to compliments and recognition for her efforts, but she had to admit that it felt damn good to have come up with a winning solution for something so meaningful in Pierce’s life after how much he continued to do for her.

  Pierce reached across the console of the rental car as they drove from the Denver airport toward his mother’s house in Trusty. He squeezed her hand.

  “I’m glad you came with me.”

  “Me too. I’m kind of getting used to doing everything with you.” They’d been driving into work together, and when Rebecca worked an evening shift last night and Pierce had a late meeting, he made arrangements for a security guard to walk her to her car. She didn’t complain, and it had been a big step for both of them. He worried about her in ways she sometimes felt were unwarranted, but then again, who was she to judge what gave him peace of mind? She’d struggled with gaining her own peace of mind, and he’d been supportive. They were working on that aspect of their relationship—the art of compromising, which was difficult for two people who liked to control, but Rebecca knew that they’d come out on top of that, too.

  He pressed her hand to his lips. “Good, because I’m already used to it.”

  SHE STAYED AT Pierce’s house each night, and there was no better feeling than waking up beside the man she loved, except maybe falling asleep in his arms.

  “Thank you for not wearing the skintight minidress.” Pierce flashed a teasing smile. When they’d woken up this morning, he’d grabbed the calendar by the bed and reviewed the things he’d written the night before. Then he’d handed the calendar to Rebecca with a coy smile. She read his notes—Turn on phone. Remind Rebecca to wear something homely so my snake brothers don’t hit on her. Fly home—and she’d baited him by saying she’d wear a skintight minidress and four-inch heels.

  “I figured I should check out your brothers in person before I go flashing all my hotness around like that.” She knew that he wasn’t worried, and she loved that they could tease each other without worrying about offending each other. There wasn’t a man alive who could take her away from Pierce, but his heart was in the right place.

  He rolled his eyes.

  Now, as they drove up the long tree-lined driveway toward his mother’s house, her stomach knotted. She smoothed the skirt of her summer dress. It was one of her favorites, and the fact that it was a gift from her mother before she’d gotten sick made it all the more special. She hadn’t had many occasions to wear it. They’d moved most of her clothes to Pierce’s house, and when she’d seen it in his closet, she’d known this was the perfect occasion. The dress was easy to wear, with an empire waist and an A-line skirt. The intricate designs in browns, grays, and beige made it the perfect mix of dressy and casual for an afternoon engagement party. Her favorite part of the dress was the elegant detailing, with contrasting striped piping all over, rose-button placket, and straight neckline. She felt pretty and feminine in the sleeveless dress. Pierce was holding her hand across the console of the rental car, and as always, he read her body like a blind man reads braille.

  “Relax, Bec. They’ll love you as much as I do.”

  “I’m not nervous about that. I’m nervous about how much I love you.”

  She stole a glance at Pierce, in his faded Levi’s and black polo shirt. He looked so damn hot that she had been looking at him all morning. Things in the keeping-her-attraction-to-him-to-herself department were easier before they came clean about everything—their feelings, their pasts, their secrets. Those things had given her something else to focus on, even if only subconsciously. With them pushed out of the way, when she looked at Pierce, emotions flooded every inch of her body, and she knew his family would see that.

  “Don’t worry. I know people see it written all over my face when I’m around you, too. Kendra said that since we’ve been dating, I’m lighter on my toes, whatever the hell that means.”

  “It means—”

  Pierce slammed on the brakes, and they both flew forward as a body flipped across the front of the rental car.

  “Oh my God.” Rebecca clutched her heart and bolted from the car. She raced around to the front of the car and crouched by the man lying facedown on the pavement, while Pierce moved like he was walking in slow motion with a pinched look on his face. She wanted to smack him. Didn’t he see the man lying on the ground?

  Pierce stood with his hands on his hips and an angry look in his eyes.

  “Call nine-one-one. Pierce! Oh my God.” She touched the man’s head with a shaky hand. “Are you okay?”

  “Get up, you jackass.” Pierce kicked the man’s black leather boot. “This is such bullshit.”

  “Pierce!” She couldn’t believe he would treat anyone like that. With her heart in her throat, she lowered her ear to the man’s mouth to see if he was breathing. She couldn’t see his face very clearly, as it was smushed against the pavement. She held her breath and listened for breathing sounds.

  “Pretend I’m not breathing,” the man whispered.

  Rebecca stumbled backward and fell on her ass. She shot a look at Pierce, realizing finally that she’d been had.

  “Rebecca,” Pierce said flatly. “Meet my jackass stuntman brother, Jake.”

  Brother? She didn’t understand. Her heart was racing from the shock of seeing him hit.

  Jake jumped to his feet with a shit-ass grin on his face and a sparkle in his eyes. He opened his arms. “Rebecca, what a pleasure to meet you.”

  She was still so shaken she was panting. She pushed to her feet. Her eyes darted between them, and in the space of a breath that fear turned to anger.

  “Brother?” She smacked Jake’s rock-hard abs, then pushed Pierce’s chest. “How could you do that? I was scared shitless. That’s not funny. That’s…that’s…”

  “Hey, it was him, not me.” Pierce reached for her and she pushed him away.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Jake laughed, and Pierce silenced him with a dark stare.

  “You’re an ass, Jake. You really scared her.” He looked at Rebecca as she paced, trying to calm her racing heart; then he shot Jake another heated look. “Jackass.”

  Rebecca wrapped her arms around herself, and after a few deep breaths, she realized she’d just hit Pierce’s brother. Shit. She hadn’t even met him yet. Shit. Shit. Shit.

  Pierce placed his hands on her arms from behind. “I’m sorry, babe. I should have warned you that he does that stuff. I wasn’t thinking.”

  She pulled from his arms and forced herself to turn and face Jake. Great, now she saw the family resemblance.

  “I’m sorry I swatted you.” She hated that she couldn’t keep the annoyance from her voice, but damn it—she was annoyed, and still a little frightened.

  “You know what? I’m not sorry. That sucked. Jesus, Jake. I’m sure you’re a great guy, but you nearly gave me a heart attack, and you had me thinking that Pierce had lost his flippin’ mind because he stood there calling a dying man a jackass.”

  Jake’s brow furrowed, his smile faltered, and he dropped his eyes for a bea
t. “I really am sorry, Rebecca. Pierce, man, I didn’t mean to freak her out.”

  “She should have leveled you.” Pierce draped an arm around Rebecca’s shoulder and kissed her temple.

  “Yeah,” Jake admitted. “You’d have had every right to level me. I am sorry, Rebecca. I didn’t mean to frighten you. This is kind of what I do with my family, but I guess you wouldn’t know that.” He stepped forward, and he looked so apologetic that Rebecca’s anger faded as quickly as it had appeared. “Forgive a stupid man?”

  “Of course. I probably overreacted.”

  “Like hell,” Pierce said.

  Jake opened his arms, and Rebecca smiled up at him and mumbled, Jackass, as she met his embrace with her own.

  Jake turned to Pierce with open arms. “Bro?”

  Pierce faked a punch to his gut, and the two of them feigned punches and laughed. Rebecca couldn’t help but laugh with them. She’d never seen this side of Pierce, and she loved the way their playful taunts enlivened him. A car pulling down the driveway parked behind their rental car. Both men turned as a gorgeous pixie of a woman with long brown hair and dark, unmistakably Braden eyes, dressed in jeans and a glittery gold tank top climbed from the car in black heeled boots and sprinted to them as if she were wearing sneakers. She launched herself into Pierce’s arms, sending him stumbling backward with a laugh.

  “I missed you, too, Emily.”

  His sister wore a wide smile as she hung on to Pierce for all she was worth.

  “You’re here!” She dropped to the ground and fell into Jake’s arms. “I missed you, too, you big lug.” Emily flashed her smile toward Rebecca. “Rebecca?”

  “Hi.” Rebecca had the urge to get in on the family fun and hug her. It had been so long since she’d had a family of her own, and Emily’s energy was contagious.

  “I love your dress.” Emily embraced her.

  “Thank you. I love your top.” Rebecca relished how comfortable she felt with Emily already, and how easy the three of them were with one another. She’d always wondered what it might be like to have siblings. It didn’t take more than a minute for her to see how much they enriched one another’s lives, even with Jake’s prank. The love they had for one another was evident.

  Emily looped her arm in Rebecca’s. “Come on. We’ll talk on the way to the house and leave the boys to play in the dirt.” She tossed her keys to Jake.

  “Sounds good to me.” She glanced at Pierce. “Do you mind?”

  “Yes, but I know better than to argue with Emily. Go. Have fun. I’ll be in in a sec.”

  PIERCE WATCHED REBECCA walk away. He was sure that by the time they reached the house, she and Emily would be as close as sisters, and it brought him comfort. Emily would probably share embarrassing stories about Pierce, and he imagined Rebecca would think they were cute. When she was safely out of earshot, he pushed those warm, loving feelings aside and turned on Jake.

  “You’re an idiot.” He closed the gap between them so they were eye to eye. “Her mother died two months ago.”

  “I’m sorry, man.” Jake held his hands up.

  Pierce wanted to grab him by his goddamn collar and knock some sense into him, but Jake hadn’t known about Rebecca’s mother, and Jake was just being Jake. He clenched his jaw and fisted his hands, squeezing the fury out of his muscles.

  “Grow up, Jake. Christ Almighty.” He spun around and stepped away to walk off the lingering anger. “I love ya, man, but you’ve got to climb out of your own head and grow up.”

  “Tsk. Hey, whatever.” Jake waved a hand in the air. “I apologized, and I am sorry, but let it go already.” He arched a brow.

  Pierce turned on him again. Even though he knew Jake had been kidding around, he couldn’t help it. When it came to Rebecca, his claws came out. “Let it go? I love her, Jake. Did you see how scared she was? If you weren’t my brother, I’d have kicked your ass and left your ragged body on the side of the road.”

  “Damn, Pierce. It was a joke.” His voice softened.

  “Yeah, I get it, okay? But when it hurts Rebecca, it goes from joke to serious pretty damn quick. You hurt her, I hurt you. Got it?” Pierce sucked in a breath to calm his anger.

  “Yeah. Got it.” Jake shook his head. “Man, I really had no idea.”

  “No shit, you had no idea. You’ve been clueless ever since Fiona fucked you over in high school. Get over it already. Grow up and think of someone else for once.” Jake and Fiona had dated for more than two years in high school, and though they’d planned on going to the same college, after their high school graduation, Fiona had dumped Jake out of the blue. He’d never let anyone get close to him since.

  “Shit. My life has nothing to do with her.”

  The anger in his eyes told Pierce otherwise. Jake would never get over Fiona, and now that Pierce had Rebecca in his life and understood what it was like to love someone so completely, he felt bad for Jake. Pierce shook his head and exhaled loudly before slinging an arm over Jake’s shoulder and muscling his forearm against his neck.

  “Come on, asshole. Let’s get inside before Emily messes with Rebecca’s head.”

  Jake laughed. “Too late. You know Emily works fast.”

  Pierce wasn’t worried. Emily adored each of her brothers, and there wasn’t anything she could say that would upset Rebecca. Rebecca already knew that the Braden men weren’t exactly a monogamous crew—that is, until they fell in love and handed their hearts over to the women they loved.

  Chapter Thirty

  EMILY AND REBECCA crossed the wide hardwood foyer into a large great room with thick throw rugs over more hardwood. There were bottles of champagne on the tables, finger foods, and napkins that read Daisy and Luke and today’s date. The house wasn’t overly decorated, and although it was large, it wasn’t ostentatiously furnished. Two oversized white sofas faced a stone fireplace that climbed the two-story wall to the cathedral ceiling. The mantel was littered with framed photographs of Pierce and his siblings at various ages. Rebecca lingered on them for a minute, instantly picking out Pierce from the others. His eyes were serious, and in most of the photos, he had an arm or a hand on a sibling.

  “Mom,” Emily called into the kitchen, which was off to their left. “Come meet Rebecca, Pierce’s girlfriend.”

  Catherine was a few inches taller than Rebecca and shared the same high cheekbones and wide smile as Pierce. She had almond-shaped eyes with thick lashes, and seeing her and Emily together, Rebecca realized that Emily had those traits, too. Catherine looked comfortable in jeans and a blue blouse, and when she opened her arms, Rebecca understood why Pierce and his siblings had such easy natures.

  “Rebecca, it’s such a pleasure to meet you.” Catherine hugged her and kept her hands on her arms when she drew back. “Pierce has told me so much about you.”

  “Uh-oh, should I worry?” She was only half teasing.

  “Not unless it’s a crime to rave about a woman,” Catherine answered. “Did you meet Jake? He said he was going to greet you and Pierce.”

  Rebecca relayed the story of Jake’s prank to Catherine and Emily.

  “He really is a great guy,” Emily insisted. She moved in closer to Rebecca and said, “But his pranks can be a pain.”

  Rebecca could see how much Emily loved him, and in the short amount of time she’d known her, she felt like they’d already become friends.

  “I’m sorry, Rebecca. I can’t even make up an excuse for him.” Catherine smiled, and as with Emily, her love for Jake was evident.

  “I see you met my mom,” Pierce said as he came through the front door and joined them.

  Jake closed the door behind them. Catherine pressed her lips together and dropped her shoulders.

  “Jake Braden, didn’t I tell you not to pull any pranks?” Catherine touched Rebecca’s hand. “I’m sorry if he frightened you. He’s forever pulling stunts around here.”

  “Don’t worry,” Pierce said. “She gave him shit for it already.”

  Catherine rai
sed her brows toward Rebecca. “You did?”

  Gulp. Rebecca shrugged and smiled. “I kind of couldn’t help myself. I was really scared.”

  “A woman after my own heart. You’ve got to give it right back to these boys.” Catherine reached for Jake’s hand. “They play hard, but they love hard, too.”

  Jake stepped from his mother’s grasp and held up his hands. “I don’t want any part of this discussion. Just because my brothers bit the monogamous bullet doesn’t mean I’m going to.”

  Emily rolled her eyes. “With my luck, even you will find love before me.”

  “No way in hell,” Jake said.

  “Hey, maybe you’ll find a guy in Tuscany,” a deep, masculine voice boomed from the stairwell.

  “I wondered where they were,” Pierce said.

  A young bloodhound bounded up the stairs and into the room with her tail wagging, anxiously rubbing against everyone’s legs.

  “Oh my gosh, she’s so cute.” Rebecca stooped to pet the dog, and the pup climbed up her legs and licked her face.

  “Sweets!” The deep voice stilled the excited pup into sitting by Rebecca’s feet. Two more of Pierce’s handsome brothers entered the room, followed by two gorgeous women, whose eyes lit up when they saw Pierce and Rebecca.

  “Sorry about that,” the petite brunette said. She smiled as she crouched to pet the dog. “Sweets gets a little excited. I’m Callie, by the way, and this is Wes.” She touched Wes’s leg, and he reached for her hand and drew her up beside him.

  “Hi, Rebecca. Sweets is ours. She’s still learning her manners.” Wes opened his arms and hugged Rebecca. “We’ve heard a lot about you.”

  Callie leaned in for a hug next. “All good things,” she whispered in Rebecca’s ear.

  Rebecca had to stifle the urge to say, Really? Yay!

  “And I’m Daisy, Luke’s fiancée.” Daisy had white-blond hair and vibrant blue eyes. Rebecca knew from Pierce that she was a doctor, and he’d shared with her the struggles that Daisy had encountered growing up model gorgeous. He’d said that she’d had a hard time being taken seriously, and she’d dyed her hair after she’d gone away to college in an effort to escape the stereotypical Barbie taunts. She’d eventually come back to Trusty and made amends with the people who used to harass her. He told her that she and Luke falling in love had helped them both to accept parts of themselves that they’d previously had trouble accepting.