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

by Melissa Foster

  “Daisy, congratulations on your engagement.” Rebecca hugged Daisy, realizing that she wasn’t carrying any more baggage than anyone else was. Rebecca’s baggage was just different. She looked over Daisy’s shoulder at Pierce, who had one arm over Luke’s shoulder. He glanced up, and their eyes connected and held just long enough for her pulse to quicken.

  “Thanks,” Daisy said. “We’re excited. Of course, no one around Trusty can believe that one of the Braden boys is actually going to tie the knot. Luke, come say hello to Rebecca.” Daisy leaned in close to Rebecca and whispered, “When they fall in love, they fall hard. Luke had to convince me to get married.” She reached for Luke’s hand. “I can’t wait to get to know you better, Rebecca. We’ll catch up when the boys are busy talking. I swear when Luke gets together with his brothers, they could chat for hours.”

  “A relative hen party—oops, cock party,” Emily said as she crouched to love up Sweets. The pup rolled onto her back, and Emily scratched her belly.

  “Emily.” Catherine shook her head. “Daisy’s right, though. They’re worse than a pack of teenage girls.”

  “My masculinity takes offense to that statement, Mom.” Luke was the youngest of Pierce’s siblings. Rebecca could imagine him as a badass troublemaker with at least three days’ scruff on his strong jaw and the barbed-wire tattoo on his biceps, but when he stole a kiss from Daisy before opening his arms to Rebecca, all that toughness rolled away.

  Rebecca glanced around the room. To the right of the fireplace was a leather love seat with two colorful blankets draped over the back. A deep burgundy armchair and a leather recliner, separated by what had to be a hand-carved cherrywood table, were situated on the far side of the fireplace. Just beyond the living room was a large dining room with a wooden farmhouse-style table that was longer than any table Rebecca had ever seen. French doors led from the dining room to an enormous deck, with a spectacular view of Trusty and the mountains. The house felt warm and homey. It might have been the enormous men flopping on the couches, or Emily cozying up with her legs tucked beneath her in the leather chair, or it could have been Pierce’s arm around her shoulders. Catherine’s house overflowed with the feel of a big, close-knit family. Rebecca half expected to feel sad, as she had no family to speak of, but she had Pierce, and she could see herself embracing his family as if it were her own.

  “I hear you have a hell of a punch,” Luke teased.

  “Luke!” Daisy smacked his arm.

  Luke’s comment brought Rebecca back to the conversation. She waited for her cheeks to flush and embarrassment to send her sprinting from the room, and when those things didn’t happen, it shocked her as much as she could tell it surprised Pierce, who was watching her from a few feet away.

  “I guess Pierce told you how we met?” She eyed Pierce as he came to her side.

  “Sorry, babe, but I was proud of you.” Pierce kissed her cheek.

  His family was so openly affectionate that she couldn’t help but slip her arm around his waist and snuggle in close.

  “It’s okay,” Rebecca said. “I’m kind of proud of it, too.”

  “You go, girlfriend. I would never have the guts to do that,” Daisy said. “But I can’t even count the number of times that it would have been amazing to knock some jerk to the floor.”

  “Well, I admire the hell out of you for it. I heard you also turned Pierce down the first time he asked you out.” Luke stared at Pierce, and a coy smile formed on his lips. “Daisy never turned me down.”

  “You’re a liar.” Daisy poked him in the side. “Don’t mind him. I swear they’re so competitive it’s crazy.”

  “The only girls who never turn you down are the ones in your pasture, and they only hang around you because you feed them,” Pierce said.

  “Hey, don’t knock my girls.” Luke turned at the sound of the front door opening.

  Pierce nuzzled against Rebecca’s neck. “His girls are his gypsy horses. I told you about them, right?”

  “Yeah.” She hoped to see the beautiful horses one day.

  “Those horses really do adore him. I’m just giving him hell,” Pierce said. “You should probably get used to it.”

  “I love how you guys bait each other.”

  Pierce touched his forehead to hers. “And I love that you’re here with me.” He lifted his head as Ross arrived and joined them in the living room.

  Ross looked just like his pictures, with serious eyes and dark hair worn longer on top and cut close on the sides. She knew Ross was the Trusty town veterinarian, and he was the brother that was closest in age to Pierce, but while she’d seen a similarity to Luke in the pictures in Pierce’s house, in person, Ross and Luke looked even more alike.

  Sweets scampered across the hardwood and pawed at Ross’s legs. Ross crouched beside her, scratching her head behind her floppy ears.

  “How’s the best girl in town?” Ross kissed Sweets’s snout.

  “Hey!” Emily snapped. “I currently hold that title, thank you very much.” Then, more softly, she added, “Only no one knows it yet.”

  Catherine sat beside Emily on the couch and draped her arm over her shoulder. “Oh, honey, your time will come. You can’t force love. It comes when it’s damn good and ready.”

  “Sis, you know any man you think you love will have to pass our judgment first,” Pierce said with a serious tone. He and Ross exchanged a nod full of brotherly goading.

  “Oh, please.” Emily rolled her eyes.

  “Speaking of judgment.” Ross arched a brow. “You must be Rebecca. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Ross.” He leaned in for a hug. It wasn’t a hug full of brawn and bravado like Wes and Luke had given her. It was a warm embrace, as if he’d known her forever.

  Pierce pulled her out of his arms. “He’s a smooth one, Bec. You’ve got to watch him.”

  Ross shook his head. He was more reserved than Pierce’s other brothers, as if he were taking in his surroundings rather than taking them over.

  “Yeah, I’m the one to watch, all right. Me and all my women.” Ross crossed the floor and kissed his mom on the cheek, then sank into the couch on Emily’s other side and draped an arm around her shoulders. Sweets curled up at his feet. “Were you complaining about meeting a man when I came in?”

  “Maybe.” She flashed a cheesy grin.

  “You’re leaving for Italy soon. Romance capital of the world.” Ross’s eyes widened. “I’m sure you can hook up with someone there.”

  Jake was sitting on the other couch. He kicked his boots onto the coffee table and crossed his arms. “Hey, don’t encourage Emily to hook up.”

  “Says the man who bed Ready, Willing, and Able the other night.” Pierce shifted his eyes to Jake, who shrugged.

  “I don’t want to know this about you.” Emily covered her ears.

  Jake grinned at Pierce. “Hey, jealousy will get you nowhere.”

  Pierce didn’t have any visible reaction to what Jake said. Rebecca didn’t worry if he missed his bachelor lifestyle. It was apparent in every glance, every touch, every kiss, every word he spoke and the look in his eyes that he adored her—but she did wonder if he’d even respond to Jake. He was casually filling the champagne glasses; then he handed them out, slowing by Jake and holding the glass just out of his brother’s reach.

  After a minute of an alpha stare down, he handed the glass to Jake and sat down beside Rebecca on the couch.

  “Jealous?” Pierce settled his hand on Rebecca’s thigh and spoke in a smooth, even tone. “I’ve got news for you, Jake. There’s nothing and nobody in the world who would be worth missing a single night with Rebecca.”

  As Pierce rose to his feet with a champagne glass in one hand and her hand in the other, she knew that she didn’t have to worry about his family seeing how in love with Pierce she was. She had a feeling that in this family, it would be more of a problem if her love wasn’t evident.

  “Okay, now that we’ve all had our fun, I’d like to make a toast to Daisy and Luke. T
his is their engagement party, after all.” Pierce lifted his glass. “Daisy, I still have no idea how you tamed my baby brother.”

  “Pfft.” Luke shook his head and looked away.

  Pierce lowered his chin and stared at Luke until Luke met his gaze. “But I’m damn happy you did, because I’ve never seen Luke so centered or so happy. I never realized that he was missing something in his life.”

  He looked across the room at Callie and Wes, snuggled so close they could have climbed under each other’s skin, and then his eyes shifted to Rebecca. Her pulse quickened with the look of love in his eyes that blazed a path straight through her.

  “I never knew I was missing something—or someone—either.” He held Rebecca’s stare for a beat, then shifted his attention back to Luke and Daisy. “Daisy, Luke, you opened my eyes just enough for me to slow down and take notice when Rebecca came into my life. So while I’m toasting the two of you with great hopes that your life together will always be more than you could ever hope for, I’m also saying thank you. Because now my life is just that.” He leaned down and hugged Daisy, then kissed her on the cheek and whispered, “You’re the best thing that ever happened to him.”

  Daisy’s eyes dampened.

  Pierce pulled Luke up to his feet and wrapped his arms around him. They patted each other’s backs, and Rebecca couldn’t hear what Pierce said to Luke, but whatever it was, Luke’s hand stilled on Pierce’s back, then pressed harder, pulling him closer.

  Each of Luke’s siblings stood and said something sweet about Daisy and Luke, and when their mother rose, the room grew quiet. All eyes were on Catherine, but it was the look in her children’s eyes that nearly stopped Rebecca’s heart. Their love for their mother stirred her longing for her own mother. Pierce, who was sitting beside her again, wrapped his strong arm around the back of her neck, his large palm pressed flat against her cheek, and drew her to his chest. He kissed the top of her head, and as his mother spoke about Luke and Daisy and said things Pierce should be listening to, he wrapped his other hand around Rebecca and touched his forehead to hers.

  He held her so tightly she could barely breathe. How did he always know exactly what she needed? She needed to feel Pierce’s protective, loving arms, his heart beating strong and sure, as her chest ached with sadness for the mother she’d never hold again. And from his embrace, his love filled every empty crevice that it could claim with the promise of the future she and Pierce were destined to have.

  “I’m sorry, babe,” he whispered. “I know you miss your mom. I can’t bring her back, but I’m here, I love you, and I’m not going anywhere.”

  Rebecca felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned, her eyes damp, too. Pierce’s mother held her arms open and motioned for Rebecca to come to her. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. She felt Pierce’s grip ease, his hands slide from her back as she rose to her feet, and then Catherine’s arms were around her and her soft cheek was pressed to Rebecca’s.

  “It’s okay, sweetie. Let those tears fall. Pierce loves you, so we all love you. That’s how families work.”

  Sweetie. Sweet girl. Mi dulce niña. Family.

  She felt a wall of muscle press against her back. Pierce. She heard Daisy and Callie whispering, then felt Callie’s arm squeeze between her and Pierce. Daisy did the same on the other side.

  “Aw. I want to hug her, too.” Emily pushed herself into the fold.

  Rebecca heard Jake, Luke, and Wes talking. She couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it didn’t matter. She could only imagine how ridiculous they looked, all huddled together around poor Pierce’s girlfriend who’d lost her mother.

  She couldn’t hold the thought long, because she didn’t believe it. This family would no sooner pity her than they’d turn away from helping one another.

  “See? I told you they were the best family ever,” Daisy said.

  “It’s like I have three sisters now,” Emily said. “Rebecca, you can share my mom anytime you want.”

  “That’s right, honey. Whether you need a hug or someone to go watch a chick flick with, I always have room for one more person in my heart,” Catherine said as she drew apart, and the others followed suit.

  Except Pierce.

  He pulled her in closer and pressed his cheek to hers. “I was just thinking of the night I first saw you storming across the bar. You were so beautiful. I think I knew I loved you right then.” He paused, and as his words took hold, he asked, “That night you told me that your mom had warned you about men like me,” Pierce whispered. “Was she right?”

  Rebecca looked into his smoldering dark eyes and swallowed against the emotions threatening to steal her voice. While the others talked and poured more champagne, Rebecca wasn’t embarrassed over missing her mother, or the group hug, and she wasn’t worried about anyone else hearing what she was about to say.

  “I was confused,” she began. “You weren’t the guy she warned me about. You were the guy she hoped I’d meet—the one who loves me as much as she did.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Five weeks later…

  PIERCE AND REBECCA arrived at Punta Allen just before sunset and settled into their beachfront cabana. Punta Allen was a small Mayan fishing village at the end of the Boca Paila peninsula. With fewer than five hundred residents and only one way in or out, the village didn’t need much to maintain its population. Punta Allen was on the opposite end of the luxury spectrum from the resorts Pierce owned and was used to, but even though the village was run by two generators that ran for three hours only in the morning and seven hours in the evening, from the moment they stepped onto the white sandy beach, he felt as though they’d found the most romantic spot on earth.

  The cabana was made of concrete, with two columns out front supporting a roof over a small patio area—minus the patio. An inviting white hammock hung from the columns, and although the cabana was built on the beach, there were pockets of verdant foliage with long spiky leaves and full spiny bushes. Tall palm trees made the simple, one-room cabana feel like it was on an island by itself.

  Rebecca’s hair was piled on her head in the messy bun he loved so much. Quintessential Rebecca style—thrown up in a hurry with a few tendrils falling in gentle waves around her face. She looked sexy as hell. While she unpacked, he went into the small bathroom with a suitcase that contained her mother’s urn and the items he needed to open it. When Rebecca was ready to spread the ashes, he wanted it to be easy for her. Removing the lid was no easy feat—or so he’d been told—and he didn’t want her to become upset if she had trouble. They’d talked about it ahead of time, and Rebecca had been relieved that he offered.

  He set the urn on the sink and dipped a Q-tip into fingernail polish remover; then he ran the wet end along the lid to remove the gluing. It took several minutes to clear enough glue away to allow the next step. He used a butter knife to gently pry open the space between the lid and the urn, then repeated the acetone process until the lid finally came off. He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking of Rebecca. On the trip over, she’d said that she had a surprise for him, and as he held her mother’s urn, he couldn’t fathom that she was thinking of him at all during such an emotional time. He thought of their first date, when she’d told him that her boss at the bar hated how she talked to the customers. He remembered the way she’d unbuttoned the top two buttons of her blouse and let her hair down as she’d said, I think people come into bars to unload, you know? Talking seemed to help them…

  He smiled. That was Rebecca, always thinking of others. She had a heart the size of the moon, a spirit as bright as the sun, and he wanted—God, he wanted—to give her the happy world she deserved.

  He found her standing by the screen door, looking out over the beach.

  “Are you ready, babe?”

  Rebecca had opened up to him so much over the last few weeks, and she’d been sure of her need and readiness to say goodbye to her mother, but Pierce was still worried. Rebecca had insisted that she was ready, and now, as she glan
ced at her mother’s urn, and her eyes warmed, he saw relief pass over her face. She really was ready.

  “Yeah,” she said just above a whisper. “I am.”

  She held his hand tightly, rubbing her thumb over his as they carried the urn onto the beach. Her feathery thumb stroking was one of her nervous mannerisms he’d picked up on over the last few weeks, as they’d come to know each other so well that sometimes words weren’t necessary to convey their thoughts. They’d become perfectly in tune to each other with every aspect of their lives, from their work ethics to how they spent their downtime. Pierce had taken to discussing his business ventures with Rebecca. She was like a sponge, listening intently, scribbling notes, and pulling out the information from some secret compartment in her brain weeks later after hashing it over in her mind day after day. She always came back with a unique perspective. Rebecca had a knack for thinking outside the box and conveying her thoughts succinctly. She also had the ability to drive him out of his mind. In the midst of an in-depth conversation, she’d climb onto his lap with a playful smile and lavish him with sensual kisses, while he rattled on about whatever issues they were discussing. She’d kiss his cheeks, his lips, his forehead, nibble his ear, and whisper all the things she wanted to do to him until all his blood rushed south and he couldn’t think past loving her.

  The sand was warm beneath their feet as they made their way across the beach toward the dock.

  “I can almost see her here, as a little girl, running across the beach toward the dock with her hair hanging in a thick, tangled mass.” Rebecca smiled. She’d been much more relaxed lately, and he assumed some of that came with the settling of her life, but he’d seen other changes that could only be attributed to her believing, really knowing in her heart, that he loved her unconditionally and letting go of all of the lingering worry that she never voiced but he knew she felt—that at any time, her stable, happy life could spiral out of control and she’d lose everything as she’d lost her mother and too many jobs to count. She talked more about her childhood and, thankfully, her mother. Pierce felt as though he knew Magda Rivera, and he desperately wished he could have met the woman who’d raised such a remarkable, loving daughter.