Merrily in Love

by Melissa West

  Brady cradled her face with his hands and pressed another kiss to her lips, and Kylie thought finally, she would have her happily ever after. Until the sound of a man clearing his throat from behind them had them separating.

  “I’m sorry to disturb you,” the mailman said, a sheepish expression on his face. “But you didn’t say where you wanted me to leave this when you asked me to leave it inside. Plus, I have three more boxes.”

  A grin split Kylie’s face. “Three more boxes?”

  Brady cocked his head. “I might have gone a little overboard.”

  “You think?”

  “What can I say? I’m a little obsessed with the manager.” He kissed her cheek, then her neck, and pulled her closer.

  “So the contract?” she asked, feeling uneasy again.

  “Is void. You met your sales goal, we keep half, you keep half.”

  “Brady, I can’t let you do this. You’ve spent a fortune.” Kylie eyed the boxes again as the mailman brought around the other boxes and set them with the stacks in front of them.

  “You can and you will. It’s just money. I don’t need it. What I need is you, and I couldn’t live with myself if I caused Merrily to shut down.”

  The mailman brought around another box, and then waved good-bye, leaving Brady and Kylie alone again. She smiled up at him, relief hitting her. “So we’re partners again?”

  Brady pulled her to him, his eyes on hers. “Partners for life, if you’ll agree to put up with me that long. I’m yours for as long as you’ll let me stay.”

  Kylie rose onto her toes and kissed him again. “How about forever?”

  Brady hugged her close. “Forever sounds perfect.”

  Epilogue

  Ten months later

  “I’ll take a large—no, maybe a medium. Do they shrink?”

  Kylie beamed at the woman before her counter, the woman’s focus on the wall of T-shirts behind her, and the bubbly feeling inside Kylie soared. “They’re preshrunk, so I think you can do a medium.”

  The woman placed a finger on her lips in thought. She had golden-tanned skin and short blond hair. Her two kids played in Merrily’s kid center while their mama shopped. “I’ll take the yellow and turquoise. No, white and yellow. No, white and turquoise. Oh…how do you not buy them all?” she asked Kylie, who laughed.

  “I have every design at home, long-sleeve and short-sleeve. They’re addictive.”

  The woman shot Kylie a pained expression, and Kylie decided on a new bulk sale for the T-shirts. “How about if you buy two you get one for half price?”

  “You would do that?” the woman asked, already pulling out her wallet like she was afraid Kylie would change her mind.

  “Absolutely.”

  “Yay! Okay, I’ll take the white, yellow, and turquoise, and then these.” The woman placed a set of candles on the counter, and Kylie’s grin spread.

  When Charlie first came to her about designing shirts for the new business, she’d been hesitant. What if no one wanted one? But then she saw the designs, each new one more adorable than the last, and she was sold.

  It had been scary to add a new product after the expansion from Christmas to home goods, but then Charlie showed her the uptick in sales for Southern Dive when he added the shirts, and she decided to trust her soon-to-be brother-in-law.

  Wow. Brother-in-law.

  The butterfly feeling in her stomach flittered back to life. It was always there, right below the surface, but she tried to keep it under control at the shop, otherwise—

  “Good God, are you ever going to stop smiling like a fool?” Ally asked as she wrapped up the T-shirts.

  “Oh! Are you engaged?” the woman asked, reaching for Kylie’s hand.

  “I am!” Again, Kylie beamed like a fool, and Ally rolled her eyes.

  “You know, you’re the one who told me I’d be crazy not to marry him.”

  Ally finished bagging the purchase and passed it over to the customer. “I still say that. The man’s hot as sin,” she said to the woman, causing her to laugh.

  “Do you have a picture?” she asked.

  “I do.”

  Kylie bent down to grab her phone from where she’d tucked it under the counter, when a voice said, “Or you could just introduce him.”

  Kylie jumped to her feet, her heartbeat picking up speed as a slow smile spread across her face. “I thought you would be in Atlanta for another week.”

  Brady started for her. “What can I say? I left something pretty important at home, and I couldn’t function right without her.” He stopped in front of her, ignoring the stares of all the women in the shop.

  “Wow, he is hot,” the customer said.

  “See, I told you.” Ally propped her elbow up on the counter. “The whole family’s like that. It’s ridiculous.”

  A laugh broke from Brady, but he didn’t pull his eyes away from Kylie. It had been over a week since she’d seen him, and while it was hard, Kylie knew that he would come back to her.

  Southern Dive’s franchising had taken a lot of effort from all the brothers, but each new city brought on more success and security for the family, and Kylie couldn’t be happier for them.

  “Miss me?” Brady asked, coming in closer. He brought his mouth down to hers, kissing her lightly, but after a week, that wasn’t going to get it done.

  “Come with me.” She took his hand, earning a fresh eye roll from Ally.

  “They’re going to get it on in the back,” Ally said to the customer.

  “Ally!” Kylie scolded, but Brady only winked in reply.

  Kylie pushed through the swinging door, not bothering to see if anyone was in the back, and spun around, her arms snaking around his neck and her lips crashing against his before he could say a word.

  His tongue slipped into her mouth as he pulled her closer, and Kylie thought, Now, this? This is happiness.

  Brady leaned away from her and chuckled. “Don’t look so disappointed. I came bearing gifts.”

  That perked her up. Brady had brought her something back from each of the cities he’d traveled to for Southern Dive’s expansion. Some were ornaments for their tree, others were keepsakes that could only be found in that town or city.

  “Stay here and close your eyes. It’s in my car.”

  Kylie smiled at him, but obeyed. She closed her eyes and listened as he opened the back door. A minute or two passed, then the door opened again, and she heard him near.

  “Okay, open.”

  She opened her eyes, and immediately covered her mouth with her hands. “Is that…?”

  Brady held out the bright red bag to her, a star and the words American Girl printed on the outside. “Early Christmas present. Open it.”

  Beaming, Kylie set down the bag on a packing table near them and slipped out a long, rectangular box. She slipped the top of the box off, and there were no words. Tears pricked her eyes as she took in the doll—light skin, brown curly hair, brown eyes. A handful of freckles dotted her nose.

  It looked exactly like her.

  “You bought me an American Girl doll.” All the memories of her asking for one for Christmas and her parents never buying it came rushing to the surface. All the sadness, all the disappointment. And Brady had bought her one.

  “I know it’s not that Samantha doll you wanted when you were little, but there’s an American Girl store in Atlanta, and they have these ‘Truly Me’ dolls, and I thought maybe you wouldn’t want a doll that would remind you of what you didn’t have as a little girl. Maybe you would want one that reminded you that you’re with me? You will always have what you need. I will never let you down.”

  Her tears slipped down her cheeks as she set the doll back on the table and wrapped her arms around him. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you, too,” Brady said, kissing her. “And
I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  USA Today bestselling author Melissa West is the author of more than fifteen novels, each set in the South and ready to steal a reader’s heart with Southern charm, sweet tea, and a whole mess of gossip. Her novels have received high praise and recognition from RT Book Reviews, Seventeen Magazine, Fresh Fiction, and Harlequin Junkie, among others.

  When not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family in Georgia.