Intertwined Hearts Series (4 book collection): (Intertwined Hearts, An Exceptional Twist, Tangled Paths & Grafted Vines)

by Kimi Flores

“Listen, Bri.” I carefully grabbed her hands, pulling her into the room then down on the edge of the bed with me. “I haven’t been with anyone since I moved out to the ranch, and I really had no intention on looking for someone, then you showed up. No matter what I’ve told myself, I just couldn’t let you go a second time. Tell me what you’re feeling, what do you need me to do? I don’t know what the next move is either, so—how about we figure it out together?”

  She didn’t look convinced. “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  “I listened to everything you said last night about how I treated other people, but what is it about me that makes you want to be with me?”

  Her eyes were so telling, I could see the emotions warring inside of her.

  She wants to know why I’m picking her. Okay don’t hold back, Josh. She deserves the truth.

  I placed my hand on the side of her face, looking deep into her eyes. “On top of what I told you last night, there’s something there. Between us. And it’s big. I’ve felt it for a while. I’ve never met another girl like you. Not only are you beautiful, but you’re pretty kick ass.”

  I smirked when she blushed. Since she remained silent, I went on, ticking things off. “I love that you’re ready to beat me in a competition, but willing to let me win if it means I’ll kiss you.” I gave her a pointed look. “The fact that you enjoy wearing killer heels and a short, sexy ass dress one minute, then you want to jump on a dirt bike with me the next—” I threw my head back, “—makes me crazy hot.”

  “You’re letting me get to know pieces of the real Bri, which I know is hard for you and it makes me feel—” I shrugged. “—special. I see what you’ve overcome and you still see good in the world. Honestly, you are pretty damn amazing, and I want you more than anything I’ve ever wanted in my life. That’s ‘why you’.”

  She let out a breath, looking at me with shock and awe in her eyes. And she was speechless, which was good, because there wasn’t one thing I’d told her that she could argue against.

  I pulled her onto my lap and into a hug. “Can you trust me, if only for today? Will you let me show you how much you mean to me?”

  With her face firmly planted against my heart, she answered, “I don’t know how to trust myself or my feelings. What if I’m wrong? What if I misunderstand something?”

  I moved her face away from my chest and planted a soft kiss on the end of her nose. “Lord knows, I wrote the book on mistakes and misunderstandings—some of them toward you—and here you are, still letting me do things that I don’t deserve. Like this.” I smiled softly and kissed the corner of her mouth. “So what do you say?”

  She blinked, thinking for a moment. “I’ll try, Josh. It’s the best I can do for now.”

  I let out a breath of relief. “Okay. Good enough.” I narrowed my eyes playfully and added, “For now.”

  Bringing her hand to my lips, I peppered her knuckles with tiny kisses. “As nice as this is, I really want to take you jet skiing before the girls steal you from me. We only have a few hours. I hate leaving you though.” I sighed.

  Excited, she sat up straighter. “Then don’t leave me. Let’s spend the day together. Can I go with you to the race after we jet ski?”

  I frowned. “I thought you said you should spend time with Alison? Will it cause issues between you girls?”

  She smirked. “You said to trust my feelings and follow my heart. My heart says I want to be with you today.” Making a silly face, she crossed her eyes. “Plus Alison knows how in love with you I’ve been all these years.”

  Jerking my head to the side, I wondered if she was being real. “Are you just saying that, or are you taking a chance by showing your feelings like we’ve been talking about?”

  Her eyes made their way down to her lap. “Josh, I told you I don’t know how to do this, but my answer is yes. I tried to convince myself over the years that I wasn’t, but—” She peeked up at my face. “—Ever since you opened up to me that night in the bar, I’ve never gotten over you.

  “I’ve compared every guy I’ve ever dated to you and none of them have ever measured up. I’ve never been able to stay in a relationship past a certain point because I knew they would want something I wasn’t prepared to give. I’ve never given myself to another guy because they weren’t you. Now that you’re here with me, I don’t want to run away from my feelings anymore.”

  Shocked, I leaned back on my elbows. “Um, Bri. I think you’re better at sharing your feelings than you thought.”

  Her eyes widened, and she slapped a hand over her mouth, mumbling, “I don’t know where that came from. I started talking and it all just came out.”

  Reaching forward with one hand, I swept my thumb across the side of her face, overwhelmed with my own emotions.

  Could it be true? It couldn’t. There was no way. Not this soon. And as much as I wanted her, shouldn’t I be freaked out? She just admitted to being in love with me. Holy shit! This was big. But deep in the recesses of my heart, I wanted it to be true. I was begging it to be true.

  “Is that really how you feel?”

  With a sweet smile on her lips, she admitted, “Yes.”

  “Then that’s the only thing that matters because I’m in love with you too.” I sounded out of breath and couldn’t believe I was admitting it, but I didn’t care anymore. “Alright, what the hell are we doing today because I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

  With a wicked smile, she climbed off my lap, pulling me on top of her. Hovering above, I looked into her wanting eyes before crashing my mouth down on hers. Her hands roamed under my shirt, igniting my hunger. I was totally down for this, but didn’t want her to regret anything. I wanted our second first time to be special. She deserved that.

  My lips made their way to her ear as she panted into me.

  Shit. I don’t know if I have enough restraint. “Babe, if we don’t leave right now, we aren’t going anywhere.”

  I moved up when she began to yank her shirt over her head. She breathed out. “I don’t want to go anywhere. I want you, Josh.” She brought her hips up to meet mine.

  Oh fuck. I definitely don’t have the strength to fight her on this.

  My lips made their way across the curves of her breasts popping out of the top of her bra. “I don’t have anything here. I’ll need to go down to the gift shop downstairs.”

  Maybe that will give us a minute to cool down.

  She shook her head. “No. I’m covered. We’re good. I promise.” Her hands greedily threaded through my hair.

  Well damn, there go all of my excuses. Letting go, my mouth traveled up her neck, savoring every spot my lips met her skin.

  “Josh, you’ve told me you love me. Now show me.” She begged me with her eyes, sealing the deal.

  She held my heart, and I would do anything she asked. Especially if the end result was her becoming mine.

  ⁂

  Bri

  Strolling through the lobby, hand in hand, with the man I loved, I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Josh loved me as much as I loved him. It did seem kinda early for us to have such strong feelings for each other but there was no denying it. It just felt—right.

  And now we’d missed out on breakfast and were both starving.

  “Where are you two headed?” Alison sat in one of the oversized leather chairs in the lobby, a smirk on her lips like she knew what we’d just been doing.

  Stop being paranoid.

  Josh blurted out, “Lunch and if we still have time, jet skiing.”

  Alison raised an eyebrow, looking only a little disappointed. “I’m not gonna see you at the spa today, am I?”

  I shifted nervously back and forth without answering.

  “Dammit.” She snapped her fingers. “Now I owe Paul twenty bucks. I should’ve known you’d rather hang out with the boys at the track.” She giggled, setting me at ease.

  “Do you mind?” I asked, hoping she was in fact okay with it.

  Sh
e waved me off. “Bri, I’d rather you guys spend time together than force you to hang out with Brandy.” She stuck her tongue out and scrunched her nose, obviously not a fan of her soon to be sister-in-law.

  That was music to my ears. Not only did I get to spend the whole day with Josh, but I didn’t have to feel guilty about choosing him over my friend.

  Reaching behind, Josh tugged on my hand, encouraging me to follow. My eyes roamed his backside, enjoying the view of his swaying hips under his board shorts. I heard a chuckle come from him, and realized I’d been caught staring at his ass.

  “I’m not embarrassed.” I strode up to his side, rather proud of myself. “You have a nice ass.”

  “I wasn’t trying to embarrass you. I like when you watch me. And by the way, you have a nice ass too.” He winked, sending my pulse into overdrive again.

  Swinging our connected hands, I asked as we passed the first food stand outside of the hotel. “So what’s for lunch?”

  With his free hand, he pointed a block up from where we were. “I spotted a deli over there the other day. Thought we could munch on some sandwiches now that we’ve worked up an appetite.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “The jet skis were reserved for earlier, but we can still see if they’re available after we eat. We’ll get them by the pier over there.” He pointed to the right.

  “You were pretty confident that I’d agree to go with you, weren’t you?” I teased.

  “Yep,” he popped his lips, looking way too cocky. “I had no doubt.” Reaching for the back of my neck, he pulled me close and kissed me in a much more passionate way than we had in public before.

  Now that’s a kiss. I could get used to those.

  Pulling away, he kept his fingers on the back of my head, tangled in my hair. “Bri, now that we’re together, I’ll keep doing new things that I think you may like. I’m gonna strike out here and there, but I’ll keep trying.”

  I held onto his hand, kissing the inside of his palm. “I’m gonna hold you to that. Even when we’re old and wrinkled, you’re going to try to woo me?” I joked.

  “Wait a minute, I never said anything about old and wrinkled.” He chuckled, ducking out of the way when I tried to smack his chest.

  Pulling me toward him once more, he kissed the top of my head. “Yes, Bri, even when we’re old and wrinkled.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Bringing Sexy Back

  Bri

  I was on cloud nine after spending the morning alone with Josh. This time was so different than the first. I was definitely up for doing that again, very soon. Once we made it out of the room and had lunch, I enjoyed the afternoon I’d spent with him, jet skiing, then hanging out with the guys at the motocross grand prix.

  Now it was time to play dress up and get all pretty for the wedding. Since we were running late, we’d decided to get ready in our separate rooms, but this was the last time I planned on being alone in this hotel.

  As I glanced in the mirror, I ran a hand over my outfit. Each piece had come from a different store along Mission Boulevard in Santa Barbara. The coral color of my sleeveless, silk chiffon-embroidered scarf dress was a beautiful contrast to my now sun kissed skin. As usual, my favorite part of my ensemble was the shoes. I’d eyed these cream-colored, heeled sandals with ankle cuffs several times but didn’t have anything to wear them with until now.

  I decided to wear my hair up, giving my summery outfit a more elegant look.

  There was a knock at my door as I struggled to clasp my beaded charm necklace.

  Lowering the handle with my elbow, I encouraged Josh to push it open. “Come in.”

  I walked up to the mirror again, adjusting all my jewelry. When I turned, I saw him standing in the doorway, mouth gaped open. I, too, felt my lips part as I took in the view. He looked mouthwatering in a fitted black tux that included a vest and bowtie.

  Clearing his throat, Josh finally spoke. “Bri, didn’t you get the invite?” He stepped up behind me, looking at me in the reflection of the mirror.

  Turning my head to the side so I could see his face, I asked, “Yeah, why?”

  “There was a specific dress code.” His fingertips ran up my arm.

  Panicked, I darted to my small white clutch purse and pulled out the embossed piece of paper. “What did I miss?” I quickly scanned the words as he pressed against me from behind.

  He wrapped his arms around my waist, kissing my shoulder, my neck, and across the nape. “It says you’re not allowed to be more stunning than the bride, her mother, her mother-in-law, her bridesmaids—”

  I spun around, bopping him on the shoulder. “You scared the crap out of me. I thought I missed something.”

  “Man, I was hoping to get a kiss for that, not a beat down.” Drawing my body close to his, he admitted, “Seriously, I’m one lucky bastard to be taking you to this shindig tonight.”

  Peering up, I blinked slowly a few times as a suggestive smile spread across my lips. “If you play your cards right, you may be the one taking me home from this shindig too.”

  His eyes widened before he gave me one quick, soft kiss. “Uh, let’s get out of the room before that king-sized bed gets the better of me.”

  ⁂

  Josh

  “That ceremony was torturous,” I whispered into Bri’s ear as she took her last bite of salmon and a sip of her wine.

  Dabbing her lips with a napkin, she tilted her head. “Why do you say that? I thought it was beautiful.”

  “Do you know how difficult it was to stand up there, when all I wanted to do was sit next to you and hold your hand?”

  “Oh, I thought you looked uncomfortable, but I assumed it was the monkey suit.” She let out a playful chuckle and finished off her wine. Scooting her chair back, she stood up. “Wanna dance?”

  I shook my head. “Not yet.” My other plan was much more fun but I didn’t want her to feel like I was shooting her down, so I told her, “When you catch the bouquet, and I snag that garter, you’ll get your dance.”

  “What makes you think I want to catch the bouquet?” Raising an eyebrow, she sat back down, placing her elbows on the table.

  I glanced around before leaning in discreetly. “Because you and I are the most competitive people in this room, and once you get the spotlight you deserve, I’ve got a little something special up my sleeve.”

  She raised the other eyebrow, tucking her chin down. “You’ve definitely peaked my interest.”

  “Good,” I grinned, “because it looks like the time has come.” I pointed to the dance floor where Alison was standing, holding onto her bouquet.

  The DJ announced over Abba’s, Dancing Queen, “Now’s the time for all the single ladies in the room to come onto the dance floor. Single Ladies!”

  “Go get ‘em, babe.” I helped her up after she took off her shoes and placed them on her seat. I kissed her cheek and lightly swatted her butt as she made her way onto the makeshift dance floor, with the gang of crazed female wedding guests.

  Taking in each of their expressions, I saw longing, want, and hope in their eyes. But, when I looked at Bri, I saw hard core determination.

  Damn, I love that about her.

  The women sneered at each other, as though checking out the competition. Not Bri. She kept her eye on the prize.

  Just as the bundle went flying, she launched into the air, as well as three other women. She caught it midair and landed with a loud oomph, chest down on the hard dance floor. Her survival instincts must’ve kicked in just in time, because as she rolled out of the way, the three other girls landed on top of each other—including Brandy—a couple feet from Bri’s sprawled out body.

  I felt pride radiating off me. That’s my girl.

  As ladylike as possible, she stood up, smoothing down the front of her dress before the roar of laughter bellowed through the room. She raised and shook the bouquet above her head, doing a little celebratory dance before bowing. I chuckled when I caught Alison making the universal ‘pay up’ sign to Paul by r
ubbing her index finger and thumb together.

  Cheers erupted as she made her way off the dance floor, toward me, with a victorious smile. She prowled her sexiest barefooted saunter toward me, which definitely got my attention. I swiped my tongue across my suddenly dry lips.

  "How was that?” She batted her eyelashes, placing her prize on the table.

  “Let me guess. You won the state championship in bouquet catching, as well?”

  With a devilish smirk, she retorted, “Yeah, something like that.”

  “That was really hot,” I growled, loving the goose bumps on her skin as I caressed her arm. “I can't wait to slowly drag the garter I catch, all the way up your leg.” Even quieter, I added, “It’ll match your tattoo."

  She looked flushed as the DJ announced, “Can I have all of the single men out on the dance floor now? Calling all the single men. Time for the garter toss.”

  “My turn.” Grinning confidently, I danced away, lip singing to Bon Jovi’s, You Give Love a Bad Name, playing in the background.

  Looking around, I stepped onto the dance floor. It was crowded, though I imagined none of these fuckers would be up here if Paul’s overly made up Aunt Mildred had caught the bouquet.

  I’m not letting any of you bastards slip that thing on her. I caught my brother beaming a few guys away. Including you little brother.

  Determined, I kept one eye on the garter and the other on my opponents. Bri may not care about her competitors, but I knew these assholes had more reason to catch that garter now.

  Paul smirked over his shoulder at the crowd of guys behind him, then he slung the ruffled elastic band over his shoulder in the complete opposite direction of where I was standing.

  Prick.

  Much like Bri had done, I dove for the garter, picking it up from the floor. With a victorious smile, I lifted it and waved it for all to see. As I stood, I realized all the other guys had stayed in their spots, watching me with their arms folded over their chests. Suddenly, Bri—and everyone else in the place— started laughing hysterically.