by Jenny Penn
“Hey!”
“Sorry, that’s just the way it is,” Angie shot back. “Besides we don’t need rules. We have my intuition.”
“God save us,” Brett muttered, earning him a dirty look before Angie nodded at the growing stack of waffles.
“Now hook me up. I’m hungry.”
“We haven’t even put a ring on her finger and already she’s trying to boss us around.” Mike shook his head as both Angie and Brett turned to find him standing half-dressed in the doorway.
His brother had pulled on another pair of sweats that did little to hide the massive bulge that assured everybody knew that he was still hard and ready. Brett suspected that was just why Mike was wearing sweats. They came off a whole lot easier than jeans.
“Oh, waffles.” Mike perked up as he strode across the room to snatch up the stack of fluffy goodness. He paused only long enough to shoot Brett a hopeful look. “Syrup and butter?”
“On the table.”
“You’re the best brother.” Mike tossed Brett a wink, and it hit Brett in that second that something was a little different about his brother.
It had been a long time since Mike looked so relaxed, much less went around winking. Brett watched him settle down at the table beside Angie and knew just whom he had to thank for Mike’s transformation. She smiled over at his brother, and Mike melted like the butter he was spreading across his waffle. There was no denying it. Mike was in love.
So was Brett.
Flipping two more waffles out of the iron, he turned it off and pitched the empty bowl of batter into the sink before joining Mike and Angie. She turned to cast her smile over at him as he settled into the seat across from her, and Brett found himself nearly melting just like his brother beneath her praise.
“These are excellent. Thank you.”
“It was nothing,” Brett mumbled, actually feeling the heat tingeing his cheeks.
While Angie had the decency not to comment on his strange response, Mike snickered and pointed out his strange moment of bashfulness.
“Are you blushing?”
“No,” Brett spat, offended and lying.
“You are,” Mike insisted with a laugh.
“Oh go to hell,” Brett muttered.
“That’s enough.” Angie rallied between them to cast a disapproving look in Mike’s direction. “Stop picking on your brother.”
“And if I do, what will you give me?” Mike asked, shooting Angie a lecherous look that left no doubt what he wanted.
“It’s more of a question of what won’t I give you if you don’t,” she shot back with enough snotty distain to make Brett laugh.
“You better watch out, brother. I think our woman is challenging you.”
“No!” Angie’s finger shot up to ward Mike off as he started to ease closer. “Don’t even think about it! Stay back!”
Mike smiled and relaxed back into his seat with confidence that Brett knew well. Mike knew Angie’s weakness now, and his brother wasn’t above exploiting it. Angie knew it, too, if the way she narrowed her eyes on Mike was any indication.
“Fine.” Mike lifted a brow in her direction. “What is it you want to talk about?”
“I don’t know.” Angie shrugged. “Maybe talk about the gym I hear you two are opening? Or we could talk about those house plans you sent Hailey out to the club with? Or we can talk about what I expect in terms of a proposal, or where I want to honeymoon, or—”
“Hold up.” Mike held up his hand as he cut her off. “Let’s clear some of this up. Yes, we’re opening the gym.”
“And we can handle the proposal,” Brett chipped in.
“And you’re getting two honeymoons because we each want our own separate ones,” Mike quickly added.
“And the renovations?” Angie asked, going straight to the one question they both had skipped over.
She’d correctly deduced that there was a reason for that. Brett didn’t want to be the one to tell her what it was. Neither did Mike from the look he shot Brett. They silently waged a battle as Angie waited patiently for one of them to fold. That was always going to be Mike because Brett could sit there all damn day. He wasn’t the impatient one in the family.
Actually that was Hailey, but Mike was a close runner-up.
“We don’t have the money.”
“What?” Angie blinked as if that didn’t make any sense or it hadn’t been hard as hell for Mike to admit to in the first place.
“We don’t have the money,” Mike repeated, sounding as if he were strangling on the words.
“But I do.” Angie smiled. “In fact, I’ve been saving money for years.”
“We’re not taking your money.” Brett rejected that idea without hesitation. “That’s not right.”
“What?” Mike shot him a look as if he’d lost his mind. “Of course we’ll take her money.”
“Hold up.” Brett couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You’d take the money?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Mike shot back, only to be immediately seconded by Angie.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t he?”
“Because…” Brett didn’t want to say it, but Angie was clearly not going to let him avoid it.
“Because?”
“You’re the woman.” Brett knew he was wrong and digging a deep hole for himself, but he was just being honest. “We’re the men. We’re supposed to take care of you.”
“That’s sweet.” Angie offered him a smile that Brett didn’t trust for an instant. “Really sweet. Still, I think I’d rather take care of myself.”
“And how can you do that if you give us all your money?” Brett shot back, not certain how she couldn’t see the obvious.
“Because I’m investing in you.” Angie sounded just as exasperated as him. “You are my future…aren’t you?”
* * * *
Angie’s breath caught when neither brother answered. They shared a quick look and then pinned her with matching frowns. It was in that instant that she knew everything would be all right. They had a plan. She could tell. Even if she couldn’t have, they told her.
“Did we not just say we had the proposal under control?” Brett demanded to know, as if he had any right to sound upset. “And don’t try to change the subject. I love you. I am willing to spend the rest of my life with you, but I will not take your money.”
Angie blinked, torn between being overwhelmed by his pledge and outraged by his stubbornness. She didn’t get a chance to choose an emotion before Mike was offering her up his own solemn vow.
“I love you, too, and I have no problem with allowing you to help finance our future.”
Angie’s heart was a flutter. This had to be the best day ever. They loved her. She’d known it, but it was still good to hear. That didn’t mean she couldn’t figure out that they were teasing her. While their words rang true, the smiles tugging at their lips assured her both of the brothers were fighting back the chuckles. So she responded accordingly, giving them each a stern look.
“I love you both, too, but that had better not be my proposal.”
Epilogue
Sunday, July 20th
Angie smiled as she watched the ground float away. The deep-throated rush of the fire the hot-air balloon captain fueled with the mere pull of a cable added to the sense of adventure that had filled the day, and it wasn’t barely past noon. Who knew what else lay ahead?
Angie knew. Happiness. Contentment. Excitement.
Most importantly the future held promise. Standing there in the basket as the balloon sailed gracefully higher, Angie felt nothing but grounded and secure with Brett’s arm latched around her waist and Mike’s arm resting across her shoulders. She was tucked tightly between the two, just where she belonged. Finally, she fit in.
“Do you really like the property?” Brett asked for about the millionth time, clearly concerned that she didn’t approve the place they’d picked out to build their gym and obstacle course.
“It’s perfect,” Angie assu
red him with a smile. “Everything is perfect.”
It was.
The pink carnival they’d turned the barn on the property they were looking at had been a perfect expression of their affection. It had also been a little much. The balloon ride, on the other hand, was a soothing salve to her overstimulated senses.
“It’s beautiful up here,” Angie whispered, not wanting to ruin the soothing melody of the fire burning overhead. It had a tranquil kind of lull to it.
“But not as beautiful as you,” Mike murmured before dropping a quick kiss on her forehead.
“Not nearly as beautiful as the life we’re going to build together,” Brett added on as he dropped an identical kiss on the other side of her head.
He had that right. Visions of happy chaos filled Angie’s head even as she considered how calm the town below looked. Nestled among the trees and the fields, Pittsview small town center looked charming and welcoming. The image was completed by the lake sparkling off in the distance like some idyllic mirage.
The only thing that disrupted the illusion was the distant sound of an engine buzzing through the sky. Angie squinted into the sun as she looked for the small plane that sounded as if it were approaching. She’d just caught sight of it when smoke began to appear from its tail. For a brief second, Angie thought the pilot was in trouble, but then the plane began to twirl and twist, spelling out her name followed by the question everybody town could read.
Will you marry us?
There wasn’t a single hesitation in her answer. “Yes, but only if I get my bears and whales.”
* * * *
Wanda glanced up at the sound of a small plane circling overhead and frowned. Some idiot had wasted his money on another completely pointless romantic gesture. She didn’t go in for that kind of crap herself, but then she could pretty much guess how most relationships were going to end—badly.
“Well, isn’t that sweet,” Dean muttered, drawing Wanda’s gaze back to where he sat on the picnic table.
He was smoking a cigarette and looking shifty as hell. Then again, Wanda had a good radar when it came to spotting lies. That was about all this man was full of.
He was the no-good type, which probably explained why he’d been involved with Gwen. From her preliminary research, Wanda had figured out a few things about Gwen. She was a bitch and, worse, a blackmailer. While both were motives for murder, neither was a justification for her death.
Wanda planned to make sure Gwen found justice, even if it was too late to save her. After all, that’s what she did, hunt down men who hurt women and, especially, children. Dean and his attitude weren’t going to stand in her way.
“So you don’t know anything?” Wanda pressed. She was giving him a chance to come clean, though, she knew he wasn’t going to take it. Dean didn’t disappoint her.
“Gwen and I weren’t that close.” Dean shrugged as if he weren’t lying through his teeth. “Wish I could be of more help.”
“Oh, think you can.” Wanda smiled, showing all her teeth as she eyed him like a meal she was intent on devouring. “And I guess I should tell you right about now that I’ve talked to Gwen’s cousin, Kristen.”
That caught Dean’s attention. He stilled, glancing up at her with a speculative gleam in his eyes that matched the sudden tension holding him stiff.
“Is that right?”
“Yep.” Wanda nodded.
Dean studied her for a second before asking her the obvious question. “And just what did Kristen have to say?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.”
THE END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I live near Charleston, SC with my biggie, my dog. I have had a slightly unconventional life. Moving almost every three years, I’ve had a range of day jobs that included everything from working for one of the world’s largest banks as an auditor to turning wrenches as an outboard repair mechanic. I’ve always regretted that we only get one life and have tried to cram as much as I can into this one.
Throughout it all, I’ve always read books, feeding my need to dream and fantasize about what could be. An avid reader since childhood, and as a latchkey kid, I’d spend hours at the library earning those shiny stars the librarian would paste up on the board after my name.
I credit my grandmother’s yearly visits as the beginning of my obsession with romances. When she’d come, she’d bring stacks of romance books, the old fashion kind that didn’t have sex in them. Imagine my shock when I went to the used bookstore and found out what really could be in a romance novel.
I’ve worked on my own stories for years and have found a particular love of erotic romances. In this genre, women are no longer confined to a stereotype and plots are no longer constrained to the rational. I love the ‘anything goes’ mentality and letting my imagination run wild.
I hope you enjoyed running with me and will consider picking up another book and coming along for another adventure.
For all titles by Jenny Penn, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/jenny-penn
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
