Sweet, Sexy Heart – the Bradens & Montgomerys (Pleasant Hill – Oak Falls)

by Melissa Foster

“I’m sorry to keep you holding.” Andi sounded overly professional.

  “No worries.” Dash could tell by the cadence of her voice that she was walking. He pictured her in one of her many proper business outfits, stick-straight posture, long dirty-blond hair hanging down her back, and black-framed glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, so different from bubbly Dawn, who lived life on the fringe.

  “You are a godsend,” Andi said in a hushed tone.

  Dash bristled. “What is going on? Is someone giving you trouble? I can get Troy’s old man there in two minutes flat.” He’d grown up with Joey and Troy Stewart in Port Hudson. Joey had gone on to play for the Jets and Troy had been Dash’s teammate on the Giants, but their father still coached football at Boyer University.

  “I’m on a date with a guy Becca knows, but his idea of good reading material is a comic book.”

  Becca was a co-worker of Andi’s at LWW who dressed like a pinup girl and could give Sable a run for her money in the sass department. Dash liked her, save for her constantly setting up his sisters on dates. “She should know better.”

  “No kidding, but you know Bec. She refuses to believe that I like brains over brawn.”

  “That’s just one more reason you should get into your field instead of wasting your talents as a research assistant to a woman who’s faking her way through her career.”

  “Sutton’s learning the ropes, not faking her way, and you know I love my job. Besides, not all of us need to plow into our careers headfirst like you. It’s not like I’ll ever leave Port Hudson.”

  Same conversation, different day. His sister wanted a family and a career, but more than anything, she wanted to remain in their hometown. The trouble was, she would never have the career she wanted if she stayed there. His thoughts turned to Amber and how much she loved Oak Falls. “I’m not saying you have to go far, but you’ll never find the career you want there.”

  “Calm down, Mr. Motivation. I’ve heard it a million times, and I know you want what’s best for me, but even I don’t know what that is right now.”

  “Yes, you do. You’ve wanted to be out there saving sea turtles since you were a kid. I told you I can have Clay put a good word in for you with his brother Noah or his cousin Dane. That’s one phone call and two great options. They could probably hook you up with something at the Real DEAL or with Brave.” His ex-teammate and buddy Clay Braden’s brother Noah and their cousin Dane were co-owners of the Real DEAL, a total immersion exploratory park for kids that included educational exhibits and hands-on activities, in Colorado. Noah ran the marine biology lab, and Dane, the founder of the Brave Foundation, which used education and advocacy programs to protect sharks and the world’s oceans, ran the marine activities and exhibits.

  He heard his sister sigh as he set down the weights he was using and began doing push-ups.

  “I’ll think about it,” Andi said.

  “Mm-hm.” He knew she was appeasing him. “I just don’t want you to lose sight of your dreams. If you wait too long to gain the experience you need to get your foot in the door, you’ll get locked out of your field. You’ll get a rep as the girl who played it safe for too long.”

  “Says the guy who is currently trending on Twitter as hashtag Dash Pennington Reads Porn. Do you really want to talk about reps?”

  “What?” Dash snapped.

  She giggled. “I guess you haven’t been on social media since your flight. Some guy got a picture of you on the plane reading an erotic romance novel and posted it.”

  “Shit.” He’d wanted to see what Amber was into and had been reading the novel he’d bought from her. “It’s not porn. It’s a love story.” Those were words he never thought he’d say.

  “I read hot romance. I know what it is. I just have two questions. Why is my badass brother reading it? In public, no less. And why are you breathing so hard? You’re not reading it now, are you? Ew.”

  He uttered a curse as he pushed to his feet and wiped his face with a towel. “I’m in the hotel gym, getting my workout in before I meet Shea for dinner.”

  “And the answer to my other question?”

  “Research.”

  “Research? Did you get a complaint in the bedroom? Don’t tell Damon, or you’ll never hear the end of it.”

  “I didn’t get a complaint. Jesus, Andi.”

  “Just making sure you’re up to par on all the latest moves?” she teased.

  He gritted his teeth. “Listen, how are things with you? I wanted to check in, but I don’t have much time. I need to call Dawn before I hit the shower.”

  “I’m fine, except for my loser date.”

  “Good. Get rid of him fast. Tell him you have to take care of something for work.”

  “Yes, Dad,” she teased. “Why were you really reading that book?”

  “Goodbye, Andi.”

  “Wait! If you really want to impress women, check out Crazy, Sexy, Sinful by Charlotte Sterling—”

  “I’m hanging up now. I love you.” They’d grown up with Charlotte in Port Hudson, and now she lived in Colorado and was a bestselling romance author.

  “I love you, too. Remember, Crazy, Sexy, Sinful!”

  “I don’t want to think about Charlotte writing romance. Bye, Sis.” He ended the call and sent a text to Shea. You might want to check out Twitter. I’ve been outed. Sorry.

  His mind returned to Amber. It never drifted far. He’d sent her a text first thing this morning saying he’d had a great time last night, and she’d teased him about having dreamed about Zac Efron. She was a feisty one. He wondered if she’d seen the hashtag, and if so, whether she’d gotten a kick out of him reading the book.

  He navigated to Twitter, took a screenshot of the picture and the ridiculous hashtag, and thumbed out a text to Amber. Looks like I need lessons in how to be a secret sexy reader. I hope you’re ready for the rewrites. He added the screenshot and sent it to her. As he navigated to Dawn’s contact information, Amber’s response rolled in. Brindle and Lindsay showed me. I can’t believe you’re reading it! Maybe I should tweet about what you’re really into. A picture of her leg from the knee down popped up. She was wearing a pretty pale green sock with a lace ruffle at the top.

  He typed, Only yours, my fiercely feminine wild thing. I have to finish my workout and get ready to meet Shea. I’ll call around 11 your time. Can’t wait to hear your voice. He sent the message, and for a moment he stared at it. The last line had come so naturally, he hadn’t even thought about it. He chalked that up to just another of the many ways she’d affected him. His gaze moved to the picture of her leg and the pretty sock, but he was thinking about her smile, her laugh, and how much he’d hated that she’d spent yesterday thinking he had ghosted her.

  He’d make damn sure she never worried about that again.

  Another text appeared from Amber. Me too. She added a kissing emoji. Hell if that little yellow image didn’t make him miss her even more. He glanced at the clock and realized it was after five. He needed to get a move on and quickly called Dawn.

  She answered on the second ring. “Hey. I have a bone to pick with you.”

  “Please tell me you have your pepper spray.” It was after eight o’clock in New York, and he could tell by the way she was panting that she was out for her evening run.

  “Nope, and I’m wearing a shirt that says Easy target. Nobody cares if I go missing across the chest.”

  “You’re a pain in my ass.”

  “You’re welcome. Now, that bone I need to pick—”

  “If it’s about the hashtag, I don’t want to hear it.”

  “I’m way past the hashtag, and I have a lot of questions about you reading romance. But first I want to know why you didn’t stop by to see us when you were in New York yesterday.”

  “I was only in the city for an hour to pick up a few things, and I guess if you saw the hashtag, you know I’m in LA now.”

  “That’s old news. Everyone in the world has probably seen the hashtag and kno
ws you’re in LA. But next time you’re in New York, I expect a call.”

  He smiled to himself. He’d raised his siblings to speak their minds, and Dawn was tough. But after knowing how bad Amber had felt when she hadn’t seen his letter, he cut his sister some slack. “Sorry.”

  “If you had called, I would have told you that Mom has a boyfriend.”

  “What do you mean, a boyfriend?”

  “I realize it’s an unfamiliar term for you, but for the rest of us, a boyfriend is a man who regularly takes a woman out on dates and diddles her fiddle.”

  “That’s our mother you’re talking about.” He paced, rubbing a knot in the back of his neck.

  “If you think Mom isn’t getting it on, then you’re living in a fantasy world.”

  “Would you stop?” He shook his head to try to delete that thought, but it stuck like glue. “I know she went out with a guy from the school a few times, but she hasn’t said anything to me about having a boyfriend.” He’d called Coach Stewart to check out the guy, and Coach had assured him that Mitch Grayson was a stand-up guy.

  “That’s him. Professor Hottie Pants.”

  Dash gritted his teeth at the nickname. “Have you met him?”

  “Yes. I had dinner with them last night. He’s a total geek with a pocket protector and everything, but a hot geek. I asked him if he had a son Andi’s age. She’d love this guy. I like him, and more importantly, Mom likes him.”

  “I just talked to Andi. She didn’t say anything about this.” A text from Shea popped up, and he quickly read it. Already on it. In a meeting. We’ll talk at dinner.

  “Andi was worried you’d freak out.”

  “That’s ridiculous. Mom’s allowed to have a social life.” Even if he didn’t know how he felt about it.

  “The last time you met a guy Mom went out with, you scared him off.”

  “That was five or six years ago, and any guy who gets scared off by a few questions has no business going out with our mother.” The last thing he wanted was for a guy to go after his mother or sisters, thinking he could get to Dash’s money. “This guy must be something special if he caught Mom’s attention after all these years.”

  “It was four years ago, and Mom has gone out with other guys since you scared that last guy off. She’s just too smart to tell you about them.”

  “Are you shitting me? Someone’s got to check out the guys she goes out with. Did Damon or Hawk know about the other guys?”

  “I don’t think they care as much as you do, but I don’t think she introduced them to anyone. This guy is different. She lights up whenever she talks about him. I think she’s going to introduce him to everyone.”

  He didn’t have time to argue with her about his brothers, much less to get too deep into this conversation. “I’ll call Mom tomorrow and get the scoop.”

  “Ask her about the diddling,” she teased.

  “You’re making me lose my appetite. Listen, you know that favor I texted you about this morning? Did you have time to take care of it for me?”

  “Yes. I got it out right in the nick of time.”

  “Thanks. You’re the best.”

  “I want you to know that I’m taping this conversation and sending a copy to Andi, Hawk, and Damon, so they’re aware that I am the best.”

  “Smart-ass. I’ll say I was coerced. I’ve got to go. Love you.”

  “Wait! Why were you reading romance? You were looking for pointers, right? Wait until I tell Damon!” She cracked up.

  Christ Almighty. His sisters were going to be the death of him.

  “KISS HIM ALREADY!” Amber yelled at the Hallmark movie she was watching while she waited for Dash’s call.

  Reno lifted his head from where he was sleeping at the foot of the bed.

  “Sorry, buddy.” She reached down to pet him, then settled back against the pillows, eating another spoonful of ice cream as the couple in the movie leaned in so close, she found herself leaning forward, too. Come on. One kiss. Just do it!

  She groaned in frustration as they said good night with nothing more than a wanting look in their eyes. She’d always loved Hallmark movies, but she was beginning to see why her sisters had a hard time watching them. Had Dash ruined them for her? She couldn’t stop thinking about the way he’d kissed her like he never wanted to stop and touched her, unhurried and greedy, as if he were savoring every second of it. She closed her eyes, and his face bloomed in her mind, his dark eyes full of desire, just as they’d been as he’d lowered his mouth between her legs. Her entire body shuddered with the memory. She’d been revved up all day. All it took was one thought of Dash for her body to go into some sort of sexual frenzy. She’d never reacted so viscerally to a man, much less thoughts of a man, and she had no idea what to do with the sexual energy that clung to her like a second skin. It had been embarrassing at work. It wasn’t like she could disappear into her office and whip out a vibrator to ease the tension.

  Who was she kidding? A vibrator couldn’t butter her biscuit the way Dash could.

  She ate another bite of ice cream, thinking about the dirty romance movies her sisters and friends watched. She’d never been too curious about them, because she’d always felt like her sisters and friends were miles ahead of her with their sexuality. They’d owned theirs since they were teenagers, while Amber had been a late bloomer and she’d never really learned to own it. But with Dash, she seemed to have skipped over owning it and had charged into uncharted territory, not only relentlessly replaying the dirty things he’d done to her but also fantasizing about the wicked things she wanted to do to him, which she’d experienced in great detail in her dreams last night. In her dreams, he’d talked dirty to her as he’d pleasured her, and she’d given that pleasure right back to him. It had only been a dream, but she could still feel his hard length in her hand and sliding through her lips, could still hear the filthy things she’d said that made her cheeks burn just thinking about it.

  Lord have mercy.

  She was as hot and flustered as she’d been when she’d woken up this morning. She glanced at the clock. Dash wasn’t supposed to call for another forty minutes. Giving in to her newfound curiosity, she picked up the remote, trying to remember the name of the movie Brindle and Lindsay gushed about a few weeks ago. Brindle had said the sex scenes were so hot, she and Trace had watched them together several times.

  She grabbed her phone and texted Brindle. What was the name of the movie you told me about with the girl who gets abducted and falls for the guy?

  Her phone rang, and Brindle’s name flashed on the screen. She answered it, but before she could say hello, Brindle said, “You want to watch 365 Days?”

  Amber scrambled for an excuse. “One of my book club friends was asking if I knew any good billionaire romance movies, and you seemed to like it.”

  “One of your book club friends? Really? Because I’d think they’d all be in the know about that particular movie, especially since it was a foreign book first, and when the movie came out here, bookstagrammers posted about it for weeks in anticipation of the English books.”

  Shoot. “I guess not.” Amber fidgeted with the edge of her sleeping shorts.

  “I heard your friend is out of town. Are you feeling a little lonely? Looking for some visual inspiration to get you through the nights while he’s gone?”

  Amber had spent a lifetime listening to her sisters and friends rave about guys and the way they made them feel. Part of her wanted to claim her turn, to gush about Dash and how wonderful he was. To rave about the letter he’d written her, the gift he’d given her, and the incredible way he made her feel special. But a bigger part of her wanted to treasure those things and keep them all to herself. She didn’t even know what it was between them yet or where it would lead. But she wanted to find out.

  “No, I am not,” Amber answered.

  “If you say so. You know I’m cool with Dash getting all up in your end zone, right?”

  “Ohmygod…” Another call rang t
hrough, and Dash’s name flashed on the screen. Her pulse skyrocketed. “Thanks for the name of the movie. I’ve got to go. I have another call.”

  “From the sound of your voice, I’m guessing it’s Dash?” When Amber didn’t answer quick enough, Brindle’s all-knowing voice came through the line. “Girl, forget the movie. Let him ease your loneliness. Have fun!”

  Amber turned off the television and switched over to Dash’s call. “Hi.”

  “Hey. I hope it’s okay that I’m calling early. Are you busy?”

  The sound of his deep voice made her forget all about the movie. “No. I’m glad you called. How was dinner? The few times I spoke with Shea, she seemed really nice.”

  “Shea’s the best. A little pushy, but that’s her job. And dinner would have been better if you were there.”

  “You say the nicest things.”

  “I’m just being honest. How was your day?”

  “It was good. Work was busy, and I chose a winner to decorate the front window for November, which is always fun.”

  “You let other people decorate your front window?”

  “Some months I do. I like letting the community be part of the bookstore, and it’s fun to see how excited they get when they win. They put a lot of effort into the display. It’s become a coveted contest. Believe it or not, I get hundreds of entries.”

  “That’s amazing, but it’s not surprising. Your shop has a really great vibe, and you’re so personable, sending out cards to your customers. It sounds like they like giving back to you.”

  “I’m glad you think so. I want people to feel like they’re stopping in to see an old friend, even if they don’t know me that well. But I do the window display every October. It’s my favorite month of the year.”

  “The display is gorgeous. Why is it your favorite month?”

  She settled back against the pillows. “Because the sky is blue, but the air is crisper than any other time of year. Except winter, but winter skies are whiter. I love fall flowers and seeing the leaves change colors. Autumn is like Mother Nature’s gift, and knowing that soon the branches will be bare and the blue skies will fade to white makes them even more special.” She waited for him to respond, but silence stretched between them. “Sorry, did that sound weird?”