by Skye Jordan
Her mouth dropped open, a fist of emotion grabbed her heart, and her eyes instantly blurred with tears.
“Awww,” Ellie said. “That’s so sweet.”
A murmur of agreement passed among the other women while a mess of emotions jumbled with just as many conflicting thoughts.
“Oh my God.” The words came out in a choked whisper, and she covered the tightness at the center of her chest with one hand. Tears spilled over, and embarrassment clouded the joy. She covered her face with both hands and huffed, “I’m sorry.”
“Mom,” Justin’s bewildered voice cut into the moment. “Is Aunt Brooke moving out?”
“Shh,” Tammy told him. “Let her answer.”
“But she’s crying,” Justin said. “Can’t we just have Keaton move in with us? I’d share my room.”
Everyone busted up laughing, including Brooke. And when she cleared the tears from her eyes and looked at Keaton again, he was sharing one of those guy smiles with Justin. “Because I am just that cool, aren’t I, Justin?”
“Totally,” he said, utterly serious. “Aunt Brooke, I’d even clean the toys out of my closet to make room for his clothes.”
“Dude.” Keaton fisted the hand holding the key and held it out to Justin. “You are so freaking awesome.” Justin beamed as he met Keaton’s fist. Then Keaton gave Justin a secretive look and tilted his head toward Brooke, whispering, “But if Brooke comes to my house, then you have two places to live. How amazing would that be?”
His eyes went wide. “Oh, yeah.”
Brooke turned into a broken faucet. More tears leaked from her eyes. She tented her hands over her mouth and murmured, “God, I love you so much.”
He lifted the key again and gave her that look. The one that always floated in his eyes when he told her he loved her too. “Which is why you should take this. Because people who love each other should be together.”
“Mom says that all the time,” Justin agreed.
She reached out and stroked Keaton’s face. “I need to talk to Tam—”
“No, you don’t,” her sister cut in. “You should do it.”
“You should totally do it,” Justin agreed.
Keaton’s face broke into a beaming smile, and he laughed.
“Take it already,” Ellie said. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Thank you,” Rubi said, her voice brimming with attitude. “I almost split a seam holding that in.”
“Shush,” Brooke told everyone. “Jeez. Keaton’s spinning my head fast enough.”
“Welcome to Los Angeles,” Rubi whispered with an evil little edge. “Jump into the fire, it’s warm down here.”
“Baby,” Wes murmured, “save that good stuff for the bedroom.”
“Hello,” Tammy said, a reminder to Justin’s presence.
“Gah.” Wes rolled his eyes. “Kids.”
And more tears burned Brooke’s eyes. “Keaton,” she said softly, “I think we need to talk before—”
“Okay, okay,” he said with a dramatic you’re-crushing-my-jam flair. “Girl, you’re always demanding my A-game.”
His fingers disappeared into his wallet again and emerged this time with…
A ring?
Brooke gasped, along with every other woman at the table. Her heart jumped, tripped, tumbled, then got up and did it all over again. “What… What…”
Wes, Troy, and Jax pushed to their feet simultaneously as if they were choreographed and leaned in.
“Is that a fucking ring?” This from Troy.
“Mom,” Justin complained. “I can’t hear.”
“That’s the point,” Tammy told him. “Now be quiet so I can.”
Brooke pried her gaze from the gorgeous sparkling band she couldn’t even see because of the tears blurring her vision. Man, this wasn’t falling into the right fairy-tale order of progression at all, yet that didn’t make her want any of it less—no matter what order it came in.
“You bought her a ring,” Wes accused, “and you didn’t tell us?”
“What the hell?” Jax wanted to know.
“Girls, girls,” Rubi told the three of them in her sweetest tone, “don’t get jealous. You’ll all get yours when the time is right.”
Wes spun around and picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. Then smacked her ass. Rubi squealed and laughed, and as the other twittered with teasing and excitement, Brooke leaned in, pressed her cheek to Keaton’s, and said, “We need to talk.”
Rubi pushed against Wes’s back, struggling to shoot a glare over her shoulder at Keaton. “You, mister, had better get that fine ass of yours out of that chair and drop to your knees. As in now.”
Wes spanked her again. “Who’s ass are you calling fine? Those words have my name stamped all over them, so don’t be applying them to another guy. Understand?”
Brooke laughed at their antics, but everything inside her vibrated and jumped and snapped. She pressed her hands to her cheeks, utterly overwhelmed, whispering, “Oh my God, Keaton…”
“My knees are busy at the moment,” he told Rubi without looking away from Brooke. “What’s going on, beautiful? Talk to me.”
“Do you feel those daggers piercing your skull?” Jax asked Keaton. “’Cause I’m pretty sure Rubi’s eyes are registered as lethal weapons with every branch of special forces in the military.”
“It’s true,” Lexi agreed. “You should really just do what she says. Besides, it’s a photo op, and you know we always need promo material for the website.”
“Hell no,” Jax disagreed. “Don’t you dare let our groupies know Keaton’s off the market. We’re droppin’ like flies.”
“And what, exactly,” Lexi wanted to know, “is the problem with letting ‘groupies’ know you’re off the market?”
“The more you’re around them,” Keaton said, referencing the other Renegades and their girls, “the easier they become to ignore. But the natives are getting restless, so you’re going to have to tell me pretty quick, because the girls can only play smoke and mirrors for so long before those guys cut themselves loose again.”
“Oh my God…” She curled his T-shirt into her fingers. “I don’t think doing that here is a good idea. I’m not sure how you’re going to react—”
“To you being pregnant?”
Brooke’s breath caught. Her eyes locked on his. No one else seemed to hear what he said. They continued to chatter and tease, but it faded as a bubble seemed to close around Brooke and Keaton. Then her heartbeat grew really loud in her ears. And every breath she took sounded like a rasp across sandpaper.
“You…? How did you…?” Her stomach flipped so hard, she winced and covered it with her hand.
“That’s one of the ways,” he said. “Your exhaustion was another one. All these tears spilling out of you—when you’re happy, when you’re sad, when you’re mad, when you’re confused. The way you forget your keys and your phone. The way you keep knocking over your drinks at restaurants.”
“That doesn’t… How the hell do you…?”
“My sister is pregnant,” he said. “I may not have mentioned it because I only found out about two months ago and I only remember it when I call home, which is usually when I’m on the road, because that’s when I have time, hanging out in the hotel room. And every time I call home, all I hear about is the misery she’s going through, which sparks tales of how hard my mother’s pregnancies were with us. That, along with the way you’ve been feeling for going on two months, adding in that broken-condom episode about three months ago… Yeah, I’ve been suspicious for about three or four weeks. I’ve been pretty damn sure for about two.”
“Jesus.” She squeezed her eyes closed and rubbed her forehead. “I didn’t even figure it out until yesterday.”
“You’re juggling a shitload of stress, Brooke. Your mind is in a dozen other places, and you always put everyone else first. It doesn’t surprise me that your own needs weren’t on your radar.”
When she opened her eyes, the
first sight that registered in her brain was his soft smile. “You’re…not, I don’t know, upset?”
“Hell no.” God, his eyes sparkled with excitement. “I can’t fuckin’ wait.”
Relief washed in. Only to be followed instantly by the realization that his proposal had been prompted by the pregnancy.
Fuck. This. Roller coaster.
“Well,” she exhaled and pulled her whiny, pansy ass back into line. “That’s good news.”
“So…” He lifted his brows. “You’re happy about it too?”
That wasn’t exactly the right word. Shocked, terrified, already in love with the idea of having his child…but happy?
“Yeah.” She released a breath, and a smile fluttered over her lips. “But, look, I don’t want to rush into anything. Our schedules are crazy, we haven’t been seeing each other when we live in the same town… Maybe we should just stay where we are for a while and see how things go.”
A tarnish dulled his smile, but he ran a hand over her hair. “I bought the ring four months ago, Brooke. Long before any thoughts of kids came to mind.” His fingers came around and slid over her jaw. “I knew those first few days after you’d left Austin, I wasn’t going to be able to live without you. Like I told you in the beginning, I’m not good at this, and I’m going to make mistakes, but one mistake I will never make again is letting you go. Because I love you more than anything.”
She dropped her forehead against his and started bawling.
And Keaton started laughing.
“Hold on,” Ellie said. “I’m not tipsy enough to be hearing things. And I’m pretty darn sure I heard someone say pregnant.”
“What?” A chorus of voices followed, both male and female.
Then hugs and high fives went around the group, while Brooke rested her head on Keaton’s shoulder and let him support her and take care of her. And the feeling of having him there, wanting to be there for her, for them, for the family they would soon become…completed her in a way she’d never even known she needed.
And finally, Keaton pressed a kiss to her temple. “Are you ready to go home now, princess?”
“Princess?” She laughed the word. “No one’s ever called me princess.”
“Well, get used to it,” he said, his cocky attitude swaggering through his voice. “Because you’re going to get treated like effing royalty now, baby.”
She was smiling when he set her on her feet, then dropped to one knee.
“Rubi has a point,” he said. “We’re only doing this once, so we should do it right.” With his eyes on hers, he said, “Are you ready to do this with me? This crazy life? Together? Forever?”
She choked out a laugh. “As long as we’re together forever—absolutely.”
“Then let’s get some princess-level bling on this pretty finger.”
He slipped the sparkling band with a center diamond she’d have to appreciate in detail another time—maybe in another month or two when the hormones leveled out and she could stop crying at every little thing—onto her left ring finger so gently, she almost didn’t feel it. But she felt a shift inside her. A grounding force. A deep and honest love.
And when he tilted his head back and looked up at her with the same love filling every inch of his expression, Brooke wished she could capture the moment in time.
He sighed, an utterly content sound that resonated inside Brooke. “I love you—”
She cupped his face and bent, pressing her mouth to his. When she pulled back, the cheers of their friends and family filtered in, and Brooke matched and finished Keaton’s sentiment with, “—so very much.”
Dear Reader
Thank you for reading Rendezvous.
I hope you enjoyed Keaton’s and Brooke’s story. I loved helping Keaton get off his ass and make a move he’d been wanting to make for a while. And I always enjoy having my heroine’s whip their men into shape. Good job, Brooke!
Books in the Renegades Series:
Reckless
Rebel
Ricochet
Rumor
Relentless
Rendezvous
Keep up to date on all my new releases by signing up for my newsletter here: http://bit.ly/2bGqJhG
Until next time, happy reading!
~ Skye
About the Author
Skye’s New York Times bestselling novels are all about enjoying that little wild streak we all have, but probably don’t let out often enough. About those fantasies we usually don’t get the opportunity to indulge. About stretching limits, checking out the dark side, playing naughty and maybe even acting a little wicked. They’re about escape and fun and pleasure and romance. And, yes, even love, because Skye is ultimately a happily ever after kinda gal.
Skye is a California native recently transplanted to the East Coast and living in Alexandria, Virginia, just outside Washington DC with her husband of 25 years. She has two grown daughters in college in Colorado and Oregon. In her free time she’s always taking classes and attending seminars. She’s currently loving mosaics, sculling, writing retreats, watercolor, pastry and cooking classes and knitting.
Make sure you sign up for her newsletter to get the first news of her upcoming releases, giveaways, freebies and more! http://bit.ly/2bGqJhG
You can find Skye online here:
@Skye_Jordan
SkyeJordanAuthor
www.SkyeJordanAuthor.com
[email protected]
Also by Skye Jordan
RECKLESS, Renegades Book 1
REBEL, Renegades Book 2
RICOCHET, Renegades Book 3
RUMOR, Renegades Book 4
RELENTLESS, Renegades 5
RENDEZVOUS, Renegades 6
FORBIDDEN FLING, Wildwood Book 1
WILD KISSES, Wildwood Book 2
QUICK TRICK, Rough Riders Hockey Book 1
HOT PUCK, Rough Riders Hockey Book 2
DIRTY SCORE, Rough Riders Hockey Book 3
WILD ZONE, Rough Riders Hockey Book 4
INTIMATE ENEMIES, Covert Affairs Book 1
FIRST TEMPTATION, Covert Affairs Book 2
SINFUL DECEPTION, Covert Affairs Book 3
Get a FREE copy of THE RISK, Xtreme Heroes Book 1, by signing up for my newsletter here: http://bit.ly/2bGqJhG
