Swept Away: A Small Town Romance (The Moore Brothers Book 3)

by Abby Brooks

  Even if she couldn’t stop thinking them.

  Instead, they talked about the wedding and joked about old times. Talked about how nervous Juliet was to have her parents here in Bliss, meeting her fiancé for the first time on the same day she married him. Talked about the day Ian took Juliet skydiving. They laughed through entire visit to the nail salon—great big belly laughs that made their technicians sit back and wait for them to be done before leaning into their work again.

  It was good. It was really, fucking good. And Willow realized how much of a big, gaping, Juliet-sized hole she had in her heart now that she couldn’t see her every day anymore. Now that it had been months since she had seen her at all. As Juliet started into a ridiculous story about Harry’s sister Lilah and her complete inability to understand what it meant to work for anything, Willow found herself wondering if she could have a life here in Bliss, too.

  With Juliet.

  With Harry.

  She pushed the thought away because, other than Harry and Julz, what was there for her here? Her career only existed in New York City because she couldn’t imagine dancing for a company other than American City Ballet. She had spent her whole life being groomed by her parents to excel in the field and then, at some point in her childhood had taken the responsibility on herself, pushing harder and harder, and then harder still in order to continually improve on each skill presented to her. How could she consider just walking away from that? She wasn’t just living her dream. She was living the dream of so many hopeful dancers out in the world.

  She was something in New York. Here? What could she possibly be here in Bliss?

  With Harry. You could be with Harry, her heart answered for her and she pushed the thought away.

  Of course, Juliet noticed something was off with Willow and arched an eyebrow at her. “You good?” she asked and reached across the space separating their pedicure chair to place a hand on top of Willow’s hand.

  “Yep.” Willow smiled and sighed. “Did you know I thought you were crazy for moving down here? For leaving the city behind for a tiny little town and a tiny little life.” Willow heard how judgmental the statement sounded and made an apologetic face.

  “Did you?” Juliet actually looked surprised.

  Willow nodded. “I sure did.” She swallowed hard and met Juliet’s eyes. “But the thing is, I don’t now. Not one bit.”

  * * *

  “Why am I not surprised that you want to have dinner at Harry’s restaurant tonight?” Juliet asked from her bedroom door. At the last minute, Harry and Willow had decided that the party they were throwing for Juliet and Ian would be a surprise, so Juliet had no clue why Willow wanted to go there for dinner other than Harry might be there.

  And Willow had to admit, that was a damn good reason all in itself. She peeked out her own door, tilting her head as she fastened an earring. “Why am I not surprised that you’re giving me a hard time about it?”

  Juliet widened her eyes when she saw Willow’s outfit—a form fitting sapphire blue sheath dress and a great pair of strappy heels that cost way more than Willow would admit to spending. “Damn girl! You look amazing.” She looked down at her own outfit. “Should I change?” Juliet had chosen a simple white sundress and paired it with a denim jacket and boots. “This is the dress I wore the second time I met Ian. The day he gave me a place to live.” She smiled, her eyes a million miles away, and she looked so fucking, blissfully happy that it sent a little crack of happiness rippling across the terrain of Willow’s heart.

  “Then no,” Willow replied. “It’s absolutely perfect.”

  Juliet continued to tease Willow about choosing Moore Good Eats as their dinner destination the entire drive there. Willow just smiled through the abuse and went over the Surprise Party Checklist she and Harry had come up with yesterday. The party had come together so easily once they decided to have it at Harry’s restaurant and the hardest thing had been notifying all the guests. They had gotten a lot of flack for waiting so long to contact people, but pretty much everyone was going to be there.

  All the Moores, of course—Lilah had been the worst, reminding Harry that when she had been the one throwing an engagement party, it had been on time and well planned. Ellie Charles, who was carrying a Moore in her belly and no one thought twice about her not wearing James’s ring yet. Some of the people Ian worked with. A few friends. The list hadn’t seemed all that big when they made it, but when they pulled into the parking lot, they had to drive around for a bit before they found a spot.

  “Wow.” Ian nodded at the full lot as they climbed out of his car and offered an elbow to Juliet. “Good for Harry. He deserves this kind of success.”

  Willow beamed as she mentally ticked off all the reasons Harry deserved success.

  “Oh, my goodness,” Juliet said, rolling her eyes and linking her other elbow with Willow. “Just look at your face.” She turned to Ian. “My best friend has it bad for your baby brother.”

  Ian leaned around Juliet and took a quick look at Willow. “Good,” he said. “Like I said, he deserves to have good things in his life.”

  Willow blushed and looked at the ground. Took a step back as Ian pulled open the front door and ushered Juliet inside, then she gestured for Ian to go in next. All the guests had gathered near the hostess station and were ready and waiting.

  “Surprise!” The word was yelled by a cacophony of exuberant voices as the door closed behind Willow.

  Juliet shrieked and put her hands to her mouth while Ian laughed and turned on Willow. “You little vixen!” he said and looked back to the guests, where Harry was walking out of the crowd with his hand extended. “I knew you wouldn’t let me down, little brother.”

  “No way in hell.”

  “This is perfect,” said Juliet, turning to give Willow a hug. “All of us together like this…” Tears glimmered in her eyes. “You’re the best.”

  Willow swiped at her own eye. “No, you are.”

  Juliet and Ian disappeared in a crowd of family members and well-wishers and Harry pulled Willow off to a not-so-visible corner near the front door. “You look amazing in this dress,” he said, running his hands over her body. “But I can’t wait to get you out of it.”

  Willow smiled up at him, not sure what she liked more, being wrapped up in his arms in a secret corner of the restaurant, the way his hands felt on her body, or the idea of their clothes in a pile at their feet. “I missed you all day,” she said, pressing into him, loving the way her body molded itself to his.

  “I doubt that,” he said, nuzzling her neck, kissing that shiver-inducing spot just below her ear.

  With Harry’s mouth busy building need like a fire in her belly, Willow didn’t feel it was fair not to share the love. She slid her hand between them and massaged his already slightly hard cock. “I missed this all day, too,” she said, giving him a little squeeze.

  Harry groaned and his dick jumped in her hand.

  “And I couldn’t get you out of my mind because I’m so sore from having you inside me. I can’t move without aching for you.” She gave him another little squeeze. “It’s so good.”

  “Damn, that’s hot,” Harry breathed. “You have no idea what you do to me.|” He leaned in and kissed the very edges of her ear. “But if you’re a good girl, I’ll make sure to show you later tonight.”

  “Oh, I’ll be good,” Willow promised, stroking him until she felt him straining against the zipper in his pants. “Very, very good.”

  “You’re not being a very good girl right now. In fact, you’re being very, very bad. You know what happens to bad girls, don’t you?” Harry grabbed her ass and pushed her against him.

  “Mr. Moore?” The voice came from behind them and Willow spun to find one of his waitresses holding a tray of hors d'oeuvres and looking slightly embarrassed. “They need you in the kitchen,” the girl said, looking everywhere but at Willow. Harry promised he would be right there and the waitress practically ran away.

  “You can
bet you’re gonna get it now,” he whispered into her ear and pressed his hips forward so she could feel his erection digging into her back. “You dirty, greedy little girl.”

  Willow giggled and leaned back into him, turning her head over her shoulder. “I’ll hold you to that, you know. A man is nothing without his word.”

  18

  Juliet absolutely sparkled with happiness and Willow found herself battling a gigantic lump in her throat more than once. Juliet so completely deserved to be this happy. So completely deserved to have such a large, welcoming family surround her. So completely deserved to have a man like Ian wrap her up in his life and unite himself with her.

  But the truth of the matter was, that as the Moores welcomed Juliet into their life, the reality of the fact that Willow was going back to New York alone really started to hit home. Sure, Julz had been living here in Bliss for months now, but there was nothing like wedding vows to add a sense of permanence to things. Willow would be leaving for home in just a few days and she would be going back to a life she loved, but a life that somehow felt diminished in the face of this week here in Bliss.

  Willow purposefully chose a chair on the outskirts of the family. She told herself it was so she could have a better view of all that was going on, but she wasn’t fooling herself. Not in the least. She knew that she was trying to put some distance between herself and everyone here. Because the truth of the matter was that in just a few days, there would be over seven hundred miles of distance separating them all.

  The quick glimpses she got of Harry almost physically hurt. She yearned for him. Hated the fact that an entire room of people stood between them and started to worry about the way it would feel when she had to leave for good. Started to realize just how foolish she had been, letting herself get all swept up in Harry when the reality of things was that there was no chance of anything ever happening between them. Powerful signs from the Universe or not, the facts were that he lived here and she lived there and both of them were married to jobs that couldn’t relocate.

  Willow swallowed the rest of her wine and stared blearily into the empty glass. Maybe she needed something a little stronger to get her through the night. She made a beeline to the bar and ran straight into Harry instead.

  “Hey,” he said, his hands coming to her waist. “You look like someone ran over your kitten. What’s wrong?”

  Willow closed her eyes, desperate to remember this moment and forget it all in the same instant. The concern in his eyes, the warmth of his hands on hers, the strong, masculine scent of him, how good she felt standing this close to him. All those things managed to both break her heart and put it back together again all in the same instant. She shook her head, not trusting her words to come out sounding like words in the least. In fact, judging by the growing lump in her throat, there was a huge chance that she was about to lose it in the middle of her best friend’s party.

  Harry put a hand to her cheek and pulled her further away from the others. “Hey, hey, hey,” he said, his voice gentle while his touch was firm. “What’s going on? Talk to me, my angel.”

  That was all Willow needed to lose control of herself. She took one shuddering breath and tears welled up in her eyes. “I’m sorry.” She swiped at her eyes and tried to calm the spasm in her chest. “I’m okay.”

  “You’re clearly not okay.” Harry wiped a tear from her cheek. “Come on. Follow me. I’ve got a place we can talk.” He led her through the restaurant, expertly guiding her away from the guests so she wouldn’t have to talk to anyone and pushed through a door that opened out to an outside seating area overlooking the ocean.

  “I’m sorry,” she said when they came to a stop out of the view of the windows and therefore invisible to all the happy people inside Moore Good Eats. “I’m being silly.”

  “I doubt that.” Harry pulled out a chair at a table overlooking the ocean and sat down, pulling her into his lap. “Now, stop apologizing and tell me what’s going on.”

  Willow nuzzled her cheek against his chest and took a moment to appreciate being this close to him. Of course, that only reiterated how much she liked being this close to him and how soon she was going to have to leave Bliss. She choked on another sob and buried her face in his neck.

  “I don’t want to leave,” she finally managed between deep, hitching breaths. “I love it here. I miss Juliet like crazy and I’m so super happy for her, but I don’t have anyone in New York any more.” She pulled back and looked Harry in the eyes. “And…” She sniffled, trying to decide the perfect way to say what she meant. “And…” She licked her lips. “Damn it. I’m gonna miss you so much. I can’t believe how attached I’ve gotten to you in just a few short days.”

  Harry pulled her in close. “I’m gonna miss you, too. A lot. Every second of the day. You’re something special, Willow Tamran.” He kissed the top of her head and put a finger under her chin, tilting her face up to his. “But, there’s email and phone calls and texting. There’s video chat. There’s the plane ticket I’ve got booked to fly out to New York to see The Nutcracker here in a few weeks.”

  Willow’s eyes went wide and something exhilarating started jumping around in her heart. “You’re coming to New York? To see The Nutcracker?” She knew the smile on her face was too big, the tears making her eyes all squinty and that this surely wasn’t her best look, but she couldn’t stop smiling if she wanted to.

  Harry smiled widely. “I love making you look this happy.” He ran his thumb across her lower lip. “And yes, I’m coming to New York, but no, it’s not to see The Nutcracker. I’m coming to see you. To get to know you better. And how can I know you better if I don’t start understanding something that you’re so passionate about?”

  This man. How could she ignore this man? He came into her life in a trumpet’s blast of unignorable signs and here he was continuing to prove himself to be everything she ever needed. Without thinking, she kissed him. Flung her arms around him and pressed her mouth to his and an explosion of need overcame her. Her body yearned for him in the same way her heart yearned for him. She needed him inside of her, part of her. She needed him to claim her and promise to be hers and she did her best to communicate that to him with her kiss.

  He returned the kiss with just as much passion as she put into it, his tongue darting into her mouth as his hands traced her back. She opened to him. Gave herself to him. She knew there was no going back. In this moment, sitting on a darkened deck overlooking the ocean, she acknowledged that she was irrevocably his. That no matter what the next couple months brought, no matter how much distance was between them, that her heart would live here with him.

  Harry slid his hand up under Willow’s dress, sighing into her mouth as his fingers found the edge of her panties. She parted her legs for him and let her head drop back as he dipped into her.

  “Stand up,” he said and she did. “Come here.” He took her wrist and led her to a dark corner of the deck. “Put your hands on the railing.”

  Willow grabbed the railing and stared out at the ocean, shivering as Harry ran his fingers ever so lightly up her arms before he reached under her dress and pulled her panties down to her ankles.

  “Harry!” She gasped in protest even as she stepped out of her underwear, careful not to get them caught in her heels. “We’re outside. Someone might see.”

  “Don’t worry. This will be quick. Part punishment for being such a bad girl earlier tonight. Part reminder that you are mine and I am yours and that nothing, not distance, not a party filled with people who might look out the window at any time can come between us.”

  Harry lifted her dress and smacked her ass. “That’s for being a bad girl.” He ran a finger up her slit before dipping first one, then two, fingers inside her. “And that’s because you’re my bad girl,” he said as Willow moaned and arched her back, trying to look over her shoulder and see him.

  There was a moment of emptiness as Harry withdrew. Willow heard the rustle of foil as Harry pulled a condom out of his
pocket and then the sound of his zipper coming down and the condom going on. He pressed just the tip of his dick against her opening and Willow quivered with desire, both delighted and horrified to realize that she was so wet, moisture was dripping down her inner thighs.

  Harry thrust himself inside her, so fast, so deep there was no time to think about anything else. She cried out—unable to hold back the sound as he slammed inside her—and bit her lip. Pain melted into pleasure, each thrust bringing him deeper and deeper and deeper still. She lost control and cried out again and Harry reached around to cover her mouth with his hand.

  Harry was right. It was quick and dirty and Willow’s body responded to his with such fervent desire that her orgasm built faster than she expected it. She was thankful for his hand over her mouth as he slammed into her again and again because with her inner muscles clenching ever tighter around him, with her wetness dripping in between them, she found she couldn’t keep quiet, punctuating each of his thrusts with a sharp cry.

  Harry gained speed, pumping into her faster and faster until she finally gave in and came, her body contracting around his, her legs melting and each time he thrust inside her, hitting the same wonderfully deep and almost painful spot, she lost another piece of herself to him.

  “Willow,” he whispered, pausing to make sure she heard him. “You. Are. Mine.” He punctuated each of his words with another thrust of his hips, slamming his cock ever deeper inside her and waves of pleasure consumed her.

  Spurred on by a slur of unrecognizable words from Willow, all garbled by his hand pressing so tightly against her mouth, Harry picked up speed, ramming into her until he finally came, pressing into her with one great shudder. Spent, he bent forward and kissed her neck and shoulders before he pulled out of her. Willow sagged against the railing, totally unable to trust her legs to hold her up.