“Wow, you’ve got it bad,” murmured Isaac, thoughtfully evaluating Luke’s interest in the woman with annoying accuracy.
Blinking back the unwelcome demons from his past, Luke shrugged and quietly admitted to himself as much as Isaac, “There’s something about her.”
“Well if you’re going to go meet her, now’s your chance,” he nodded over at the bar.
Like a first-time addict going from zero to sixty on a rush, Luke immediately swung his gaze around to find the brunette again.
Jesus, she was so impishly sweet a person couldn’t help but smile upon seeing her.
Of course in his case, it was growing painfully obvious that smiling wasn’t the only reaction he’d be having to the woman.
Hell, anyone with eyes could see the hard time he was having keeping his reaction to himself; and it didn’t help one bit when her lips parted on a soft breath at just that moment.
Good grief. A brain simply couldn’t be expected to function with all its blood racing to command central south. His brows dipped low in reflection as he adjusted his jeans. Had anyone ever affected him this way before?
This wholly, this swiftly?
He shot to his feet. Nope, never. Fixing his gaze on her with an intensity that made it clear this wasn’t just aimless flirting for him anymore, he saw her eyes fire wildly for him once again.
He cut a path straight for her.
…Only to have his ego take a hit when she jerked her attention to the invisible watch on her wrist as reason to retreat away from the bar.
Undeterred, he picked up the pace.
Equally stubborn, so did she.
And this round went to her.
She vanished behind a door to the back just as he reached the spot she’d vacated beside Isaac’s exotic bartender.
“Where’s she going?” he demanded.
The bartender extinguished a delighted grin and tilted her head with an innocent double-blink. “Who?”
His normal easy-going patience strangely on hiatus, he replied with just a smidgen of impatience, “The other worker you were clearly pointing me out to earlier.”
She shrugged, now visibly entertained. “That other worker had work to do.”
Luke narrowed in on her amused expression. “What game are you two playing at here?”
That made her expression sober quickly. “My friend isn’t into games.” She spoke now in full protective-friend mode, staring him down. “Competitive? Ridiculously so. A player? No.”
Luke felt his frown dissolve into a smile, liking both that compelling character profile and oddly, the bartender as well, in all her strange and candid glory. “Unlike you, you mean.”
A pleased laugh bubbled out of her. “God, you’re perfect for her. As sharp as you are blunt.” She studied him for a second before coming to some sort of conclusion. “She’s lugging liquor boxes out from storage, back near the brewery pass-through. You should go help her.”
He squeezed her forearm in thanks and set out to do just that, hurrying through to the back, down an empty hallway. Noiselessly, he opened the storeroom doors and was greeted by the sound of his mystery woman’s voice…softly cursing up a string of very creative expletives.
Oh yeah. He grinned. This was going to be interesting.
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OTHER BOOKS BY VIOLET DUKE
The CAN’T RESIST Series
RESISTING THE BAD BOY *
FALLING FOR THE GOOD GUY *
CHOOSING THE RIGHT MAN *
FINDING THE RIGHT GIRL
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The CACTUS CREEK Series
LOVE, CHOCOLATE, AND BEER
LOVE, DIAMONDS, AND SPADES
LOVE, TUSSLES, AND TAKEDOWNS
LOVE, EXES, AND OHS
The UNFINISHED LOVE Series
BEFORE THAT NIGHT (Summer 2015)
HIS TO LOVE (Summer 2015)
BEFORE THAT KISS (Fall 2015)
HIS TO HOLD (Fall 2015)
BEFORE THAT PROMISE (Winter 2015)
HIS TO KEEP (Winter 2015)
BEFORE THAT CHANCE (Spring 2016)
HIS TO PROTECT (Spring 2016)
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The FOURTH DOWN Series
JACKSON’S TRUST (Spring 2016)
BENNETT’S CHANCE (Summer 2016)
DONOVAN’S TRUST (Fall 2016)
ABOUT VIOLET DUKE
New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Violet Duke is a former professor of English Education who is ecstatic to now be on the other side of the page writing wickedly fun contemporary romance novels. Her bestselling books have been Top Ten bestsellers across the major e-retailers both in the U.S. and internationally. When she’s not writing or feeding her book-a-day reading addiction, Violet enjoys tackling renovation projects with her power tools, trying pretty much anything without reading the directions first, and cooking ‘special edition’ dishes that laugh in the face of recipes. A born and raised island girl, she spends her days getting into creatively fun trouble in Hawai‘i with her two cute kids (daughter Violet and son Duke) and similarly adorable husband.
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Promise My Love
ISBN-13: 978-1-941480-14-4
ISBN-10: 1941480144
This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.
PROMISE MY LOVE
All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2015 Melissa Foster
V1.0
This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Cover Design: Natasha Brown
WORLD LITERARY PRESS
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A Note to Readers
Loyal, wealthy, and wickedly naughty, that’s the definition of our Bradens, and Rex Braden never disappoints. His love for Jade Johnson knows no boundaries, as you’ll see in PROMISE MY LOVE, the follow-up novella to DESTINED FOR LOVE (The Bradens, Book Two).
If this is your first Braden book, then you have a whole series of loyal, sexy, and wickedly naughty Bradens to catch up on, as well as several other hot heroes and heroines. You might enjoy starting with SISTERS IN LOVE, the first of the Love in Bloom series. The characters from each series (Snow Sisters, The Bradens, The Remingtons, and Seaside Summers) make appearances in future books. Please visit my website for details on the full Love in Bloom series.
Chapter One
JADE JOHNSON TRIED to concentrate on what Caitlyn Ray, the florist she’d hired for her wedding, was saying, but she couldn’t think past the idea that in three days the handsome cowboy sitting across from her was going to be her husband. Just a few years ago she didn’t think anything would ever end the feud between their two families. Who would have guessed that Rex Braden’s love for Jade would finally bring their stubborn fathers’ walls down so they could be together? Rex had given the feuding men an ultimatum—love them as a couple or lose them forever. Jade hadn’t seen the threat coming, and she’d been terrified of how their fathers would react. She’d loved Rex from afar for almost fifteen years—and because of his courage to stand up to their fathers, she’d been able to love him up close for th
e last four. She couldn’t wait to spend the rest of her life falling even deeper in love with the most courageous, loving man on the planet.
“The roses, lilies, and orchids will be gorgeous. We have everything under control. Your wedding will be perfect.” Caitlyn flashed a smile that Jade was sure to put most brides’ minds at ease, but Jade was still too excited about marrying Rex to be anywhere near at ease.
Rex squeezed Jade’s hand. “See, babe? Caitlyn’s got it covered. Now you can relax.” His hands were big and square and as powerful as the rest of his mountainous body.
Rex was the most beautiful man Jade had ever known, inside and out, a gentleman to his very core. He was also the most seductive, talented lover Jade had ever had. Even after four years, the passion between them hadn’t dimmed. She flushed just thinking about how intense their lovemaking had been that morning, first in the bedroom, then in the shower, and when Jade still hadn’t had enough of him, she’d seduced him while he attempted to clothe all his magnificent muscles. She’d never get enough of him. They’d been living together for four years, and she couldn’t wait to get married and start their family. She’d worried lately that she might have trouble getting pregnant. There was no reason for concern. Her doctor had assured her of that when she’d gone off the pill. But still, she worried. Her mother had wanted a big family, as many as six, like her best friend, Adriana Braden—Rex’s mother—had had, but she’d been blessed with only two children, Jade and her brother, Steven. Her mother was in good health otherwise, while Adriana had died of cancer when Rex was just a boy, leaving him and his five siblings to be raised by their father, Hal.
Jade pushed aside the worry and told herself to think positively. She and Rex wanted a big family. But when it came to family, Rex had old-fashioned values, and he’d been clear about his feelings of weddings coming before babies. In three days they’d have that first box checked off. Then time would tell if babies were in their future.
“…so as I was saying, I’m confident that we won’t have any issue.”
Jade realized Caitlyn was speaking to her. “Great. Thank you.”
Caitlyn leaned closer to Rex and pointed to his necklace. “That is the most unique necklace I’ve ever seen.”
Rex pushed his Stetson farther back on his thick black hair, and his lips curved into a proud smile as he touched the charm.
“This necklace has a very special meaning to us. It’s the Dance of Two Lovers.” He draped an arm around Jade’s shoulder and kissed her temple.
“Legend has it that everything in their lives was meant to keep them apart, and against all odds, they found their way to each other. Just like me and Jade. Supposedly, when the two lovers danced, their souls became one, and from that moment on, they lived within each other no matter if they were together or apart.”
He gazed into Jade’s eyes, and the worry she held melted away. He had that effect on her. His love was an elixir, a remedy for all things that needed healing.
“The charms come together to form two bodies intertwined,” Rex explained. “Jade wears the other half, and we never take them off. They were once my mother’s.” The myth fit them perfectly. When Rex and Jade had finally come together, they’d had to carry out their relationship in secret so as not to upset their parents. Until one day when Rex couldn’t take the secrecy anymore—and to Jade’s surprise, the painful confrontation that had taken place between Rex and their parents had finally begun to mend the fence that never should have been broken in the first place.
“May I see yours?” Caitlyn asked.
Jade pushed her long hair from her shoulders and opened the collar of her shirt.
“Um…” Caitlyn’s eyes shifted to Rex.
Rex’s eyes narrowed with confusion. Jade touched her neck. “Oh God.” She felt frantically for the necklace. “Rex? Where is it?” She pulled open her shirt and peered into her bra, then stood and scanned the floor. She couldn’t have lost it. Not now, three days before their wedding. The necklace was a treasured link to Rex’s deceased mother. His father had given the necklace to his mother, and before they’d even been married, she’d given it to a high school friend with the message that she’d know who it was for. More than twenty-five years later, Jade and Rex had walked into an eclectic shop in the Village in Allure, Colorado, and the owner had instinctively known the necklace was meant for them. She’d tucked it away all those years ago when Adriana had given it to her. Jade would never forget the way Rex had lost his breath, broken out in a cold sweat, and collapsed into a chair when he’d seen the necklace. That was the moment he’d confessed that he was falling in love with Jade, and their love had grown stronger ever since. The necklace symbolized the strength of their love, and now it was gone.
Jade had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Rex was on his feet, searching the floor beneath the table where they’d been sitting and then all the way to the front door. “We’ll find it, babe.”
“Maybe it came off in the shower? Mine do that sometimes and I don’t notice until it’s gone down the drai—” Caitlyn bit her lower lip. “Oh, yikes. That’s not helpful. I’m sure that’s not what happened.”
Jade felt her eyes well with tears. “Rex?”
His arms encircled her, and he drew her against his muscular chest. “It’s okay, babe. We’ll find it. We’ll go home and retrace your steps.” At six foot three, Rex towered over Jade. She’d always felt safe in his arms, his heart beating against her cheek, sure and strong. If she’d lost their cherished necklace, she wondered how he could ever trust her again.
Her cell phone rang, and she dug it out of her purse. “It’s my mom. Maybe the necklace fell off during dinner last night and she found it.” She answered the call filled with hope.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Honey…” Her mother’s voice was thin, strangled.
“Mom? What’s wrong?” Jade felt Rex’s hand grip her shoulder.
“It’s…your father.”
Her mother paused, and Jade heard her crying. Tears sprang from Jade’s eyes as she imagined the worst. Her father was a big man at three hundred pounds, and she’d feared for his health for a long time.
“Mom? What happened?” She looked up at Rex, and his arms came around her again. Jade listened as her mother told her that her father was in the hospital. He’d had a heart attack. They were still waiting for a prognosis. Jade’s legs weakened, her heart shattered, and the phone crashed to the floor as her world spiraled out of control.
Chapter Two
HOURS AFTER ARRIVING at the hospital, Rex stood beside Earl Johnson’s hospital bed with one arm around Jade, the other around Jane Johnson, Jade’s mother. There was a time when Earl had despised Rex simply because he was Hal Braden’s son. Hal was a highly respected horse breeder in Weston, Colorado, and was one of the wealthiest men around. He and Earl had been close when they were growing up, but when Earl fell on hard times, he’d been too proud to ask Hal for financial help, and he’d gone behind Hal’s back and trusted the dirtiest horse trader in the business—a man who had done everything he could to keep Hal and Adriana apart. Buying horses from that man had been the fuel behind the forty-year feud between the Bradens and the Johnsons. Rex remembered the night he’d stood up to the two men, supported by his brothers standing behind him as a united force.
It had been a long, hard road to reconciliation, but it was worth every heated moment. Now, as Rex held Jade, the woman he loved most in the world, and Jane, the woman who had been his mother’s best friend until the day she’d died—including several years when they’d kept their friendship hidden from their feuding husbands—he couldn’t imagine a life without any of them. Earl was a bullheaded man, but his love for his family was never ending. He’d raised Jade and her brother with morals and purpose, and Rex was reaping the benefits. Jade was the most loving woman he’d ever known. She was smart as a whip and stubborn as a mule, which was good, because Rex was a broody man and he often needed Jade’s gumptio
n to set him straight. He smiled, thinking about how many times her smile had melted his determination. And her touch—holy hell, her seductive touch—he was always putty in her hands.
Jade held her father’s hand in both of hers. He’d come out of surgery a few hours ago, after having a stent put in. The surgery had disrupted his heartbeat, and they’d had to give him an external pacemaker as well. He had a line going into his groin from the pacemaker, which was now strapped to his thigh. It was strange how a hospital gown could diminish the severity of a man’s presence.
“Daddy, how are you feeling? Are you in any pain?”
“I’m okay, darlin’. Just tired. Don’t you worry about me. You just keep getting ready for your wedding. I’ll be fine.”
“Earl, we’re postponing the wedding,” Rex said.
Earl shifted his blue-gray eyes to Rex. His jowls swallowed any hint of the neck he’d once had. “You are not to do any such thing. My baby girl is walking down that aisle on Sunday.”
“But, Dad, I want you to give me away.” Jade looked up at Rex, her blue eyes pooled with worry.
He’d waited four long years to marry Jade. He’d wanted her to have the perfect life. With Jade he was a whole different man than he was around anyone else. She’d softened all his rough edges and had unveiled a romantic side of himself he’d never known existed. He’d wanted her to have the perfect wedding and had even tried to plan it, but Jade wanted to plan her own wedding. At least they’d agreed on the importance of having the wedding at his father’s ranch, which Rex had run for the past twenty years. He had visions of Jade riding up on Flame, her stallion, and Hope, his mother’s aging horse, standing calmly by. They would be surrounded by both of their families, on the same grounds where his parents had raised him.
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