You're The One: BWWM Romance (Brothers From Money Book 12)

by Shanade White

  Righting himself, he looked around to see if anyone had seen him trip. Luckily, there was no one in the shop. He opened his mouth to call out, but just then Tabitha stepped out from the back of the shop in a dress that literally made his mouth hang open. When she smiled shyly at him, he couldn’t hold back the huge smile that spread across his face. She looked more beautiful than he’d ever thought possible.

  The dress she was wearing had definitely not been on his list, but he couldn’t have picked anything more perfect if he tried. All his previous apprehension vanished when she walked toward him, the dress hugging all her curves, a tantalizing flash of skin making his hands itch to touch her. Searching for the words to tell her what he was feeling, he met her in the middle of the shop and pulled her into his arms.

  “You look beautiful.” He said, desire making his voice husky.

  “Thank you. Betty thought this might be perfect for dinner tonight.” Tabitha said, feeling her cheeks getting hot as the blush spread across her cheeks. “I hope it’s not too fancy.”

  “It’s perfect and so are you.” Owen said, then unable to resist her, he bent his head down and kissed her.

  Unlike the kisses he’d been giving her at the end of her riding lessons, this one was full of all the passion he’d been suppressing, something deep inside him telling him that now was the time to make her understand just how much he wanted her. When his tongue slipped into her mouth, Tabitha’s knees buckled and she was forced to hold on to Owen or risk falling right there. As his tongue dipped into her mouth to explore, she became conscious of his hard body pressed against hers, his body heat seeping through the thin fabric fueling a fire that began to burn deep inside her.

  She recognized it as desire, but was unprepared for the force of what she was feeling. Moaning deep in her throat, she wrapped her arms around Owen’s neck and pulled him even closer, pleased when he growled and began to nibble on the exposed skin of her throat while his hands began to explore her body. When he found her breasts with his large hands and cupped each one, she arched her back as powerful waves of pleasure washed over her. Owen used his thumb to tease the stiff peak of first one nipple then the other until Tabitha felt like she was on fire, her breath coming in short gasps as he drove her nearer and nearer to the brink of desperation.

  Betty was standing in the back room, and as much as she hated to interrupt the two of them, she needed to get home. Making as much noise as she could, she said, “Well, I guess I better lock up and get home.” Then came out of the back room after giving them enough time to recover themselves.

  Tabitha stood staring at Betty, hoping that she hadn’t seen what they were doing. But Owen managed to say, “I’m sorry Betty. Let me load these into the truck and we’ll let you get home.” Then calmly began picking up the bags and boxes.

  Tabitha had almost forgotten about all the stuff Betty had sold her. “Owen, I really don’t think I need all that. Surely some of it can stay here. I…..”

  Owen stopped picking up the bundles, “I want you to have it.” Then went back to loading himself down, clearly finished with the subject.

  Tabitha already knew when not to push Owen so she let it go, but she promised herself that she wouldn’t let him do it again. She followed him out the door, thanking Betty again before she shut the door and locked it for the night. They were quiet as Owen loaded her purchases into the truck, but when he’d finished and walked over to her, she knew that she had to say something about everything he’d just bought her.

  “I really like everything, I just hope I’ll be able to wear it all. Thank you, Owen.” Then feeling brave, she stretched up on her tip toes and kissed him, darting her tongue into his mouth quickly then pulling back.

  Owen was tempted to pull her back into his arms, but they had dinner reservations and he’d made special arrangements, so he asked, “Are you hungry?”

  Tabitha suddenly realized that she was starving. “Yes, shopping is hard work.”

  “Good, I made reservations at the nicest restaurant in town. I’m sure it won’t be as good as yours but….” Owen was suddenly worried that Tabitha might not like the food.

  “I’m sure it will be fine. It’s always a treat to eat something someone else has cooked.” Tabitha reassured him.

  “Then shall we?” Owen said, offering her his hand, which she took, enjoying the feel of her small hand securely wrapped in his large one.

  The restaurant was everything you’d imagine a romantic restaurant to be, booths in dark corners and intimate tables were spread far apart around the room, dividers giving diners even more privacy. When Owen and Tabitha walked in the door, the girl behind the podium came around with a warm smile and without a word led them to the back of the restaurant to what Tabitha knew had to be their best table.

  Once he’d helped her into her chair, he scooted his a little closer and sat down next to her. Their hostess quietly handed Owen a wine list, then left them alone in the little alcove where their table was hidden from the rest of the diners. Owen’s breath caught in his throat when he finally looked at Tabitha, the candlelight making her face glow and her hair shimmer.

  Tabitha was equally entranced with Owen, who’d changed into a pair of slacks and a dress shirt, the formal clothes only accentuating his rugged good looks. “You look nice tonight.” She finally managed to say.

  “Thank you, I can clean up when I want to.” Owen said, giving her a smile to let her know he was teasing her.

  “Well, you should do it more often.” She teased back.

  When the waiter arrived to take their drink order, Tabitha was surprised to find out that Owen had preordered their dinner earlier that day. “I stopped by and talked to the chef when I made the reservation; I wanted to make sure dinner was really special.” He explained, looking a little embarrassed.

  “I bet it’s going to be wonderful. I met the chef right after I moved up here. We ran into each other at a farm market, had a bit of a fight over some fresh greens.”

  Owen stared at her in disbelief, “You got in a fight over greens?”

  Tabitha laughed, then looked a little sheepish, “They were really nice greens.”

  Chapter 6

  Dinner was everything Owen had hoped that it would be, and as wonderful as the food was, the best part of the night was that he found himself opening up to Tabitha. He talked about Australia and growing up on a sheep ranch. He even talked about his parents, something he hadn’t done much since they died. He talked about how much he hated change, but was learning to embrace it rather than fight it.

  “I know it sounds strange, but you are part of the reason I’ve learned to embrace change Tabitha; you’ve helped me see that good things can come from change, not just bad.” He said, running his thumb over her cheek. “Just promise me that you’ll be patient with me, I’m trying.”

  “Owen, please know that you don’t ever have to change for me. I like you just the way you are, but I do like it that you’ve been sharing your life with me tonight.” Tabitha said, meaning every word of what she said.

  “I like it too.” Owen said, lowering his mouth to hers, thinking about all the other things they might share.

  When his lips found hers, the passion between them exploded as it had never done before, had they been alone Tabitha knew exactly where the kiss would have led. But the waiter appeared with their deserts, quietly clearing his throat until they reluctantly parted. Tabitha was embarrassed by their behavior, but the waiter pretended that nothing was out of the ordinary, then disappeared.

  “That was embarrassing.” Tabitha said, with a little giggle, unable to wipe the silly grin off her face.

  “Not nearly as embarrassing as it could have been.” Owen said, then ran his hand up the inside of her leg, making her gasp.

  The ride home was quiet, but Tabitha didn’t mind the quiet this time. She’d just had one of the most romantic nights of her life. When they got back to the park and the four-wheeler, he help
ed her on then said, “I’d invite you back to my house, but I’m sure Flynn is home.”

  Tabitha wasn’t ready to go home with Owen as much as she wanted to, it just seemed too soon. “That’s okay, I have an early morning tomorrow.” She said, as they rode toward Cedar Ridge.

  “But I still owe you a trail ride and know you have the right clothes, which by the way I’ll bring over tomorrow.”

  Tabitha had completely forgotten about all the clothes she’d bought that day. “Oh, I forgot about them.” She said, making Owen laugh.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “You’re the only woman I know who would have forgotten about 2,000 dollars’ worth of new clothes.” Owen said, slowing down to give her a quick kiss on the lips.

  Tabitha was so shocked by the amount of money she’d spent that she couldn’t reply for a second. But after it had sunk in, she said, “Owen, that’s too much…...”

  But he interrupted her before she could finish, “I thought we settled that, it was a gift Tabitha, no strings attached and just know that I’ll probably do it again. I like taking care of you.” This time completely stopping the four-wheeler and turning her around so he could look into her eyes.

  Tabitha had never really had anyone take care of her before, her parents had always given her everything she needed, but there had never been much extra money. “It’ll take some getting used to but I’ll try.” She said, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him until he relaxed against her.

  When they’d started towards Cedar Ridge again, Owen asked, “When is your next day off? It’s time to get you on the trail.”

  “I don’t have another day off until next week. I think Monday will be my day off for a while, it’s the slowest day at the restaurant.” She said, already excited about riding the trail.

  “Then next Monday it is.” Owen said. “But we need to leave in the morning if we want to have time to get where I want to go, better yet is there any chance you could arrange to have Tuesday off too?”

  Tabitha’s heart skipped a beat, he wanted her to spend the night with him, without even hesitating she said, “I might be able to, I’ll have to talk to Joe.” Then snuggled deeper into Owen’s arms, but she could sense that Owen was tense again and she wasn’t sure why.

  When they got back to the restaurant he walked her to the door, and waited while she unlocked the door. “Looks like Joe’s already gone to bed.” She said, when they stepped into the dark restaurant.

  “I’m surprised he didn’t wait up for you.” Owen said, unable to hide the jealously in his voice.

  Tabitha was shocked by the tone of Owen’s voice at first, then realized what the problem was. Owen was jealous, it shouldn’t have made her as happy as it did, since Joe was her best friend but it did. “Owen, Joe and I are just friends.”

  “It didn’t look like it the other night.” Owen couldn’t help himself.

  “What are you talking about?” She asked, confused.

  “I came back to talk to you last Friday and you two looked pretty cozy.” Owen said, crossing his arms over his chest.

  Owen’s jealousy quickly went from amusing to annoying, not only was he way off base, he’d been spying on her. “I shouldn’t have to defend myself, but just so you know we were talking about you.” Tabitha said, then turned and walked over to the door to the apartments. “I’m going to bed, thank you for a wonderful evening.” Then disappeared up the stairs.

  He stood in the middle of the dining room for several minutes getting his emotions under control. Then he realized that he’d let his jealousy ruin a perfect evening, now he’d have to find a way to fix what he’d done. Cursing his stupidity, he locked the door and headed home, trying to figure out how to bridge the new gap he’d created between them. With a big sigh, he realized he was going to have to talk to his brother again, an unpleasant prospect, but he needed help, again.

  Flynn roared with laughter when Owen told him what he’d done, when he’d finally gotten himself under control, he said, “First, you have to realize that not all women care about your money and what it can buy them. You probably made her really uncomfortable with that big of a gift. Then you got all possessive on her, that’s what jealousy is you know. A form of possessiveness.”

  Owen thought about Flynn’s words and realized he had probably gone too far, “I was just trying to make her happy. I probably should have just bought her a pair of boots.”

  “Now you’re thinking. And?”

  “And I need to get to know Joe.” Owen said, then smiled when Flynn gave him thumbs up.

  “That’s a good place to start.”

  “Why does this have to be so hard? I like her and she likes me. All this other stuff just confuses me.” Owen sounded so vulnerable it was hard to believe that he was talking his brother for a second.

  “All the other stuff as you call it is what building a real relationship is all about. You have to work at it.” Flynn said, then stood up and added, “I’m going to bed and so should you, things won’t look so bad in the morning.”

  When Tabitha awoke the next morning, she was still annoyed with Owen, he’d acted like the typical man. First, he’d assumed that because Joe was a man they couldn’t be friends. If he’d been a woman, the scene he’d witnessed wouldn’t have made him jealous. Then there was the issue of his jealousy, something Tabitha had never had to deal with before. Most of the men she’d lived with over the years wouldn’t have cared if she’d slept with someone else, as long as she was paying her share of the rent everything would have been fine.

  She had no idea how to deal with it, part of her was pleased that he cared enough to be jealous, but she also knew that jealousy had a way of destroying an otherwise healthy relationship. It was frustrating that every time they made a step forward, they seemed to take a step backward, and for a second she wondered if Owen Montgomery was worth all the heartache he seemed to cause.

  To her surprise, he showed up at the end of the morning, looking sheepish when he sat down at the counter. She let him sit there stewing for a while before she came out of the kitchen. He looked nervous when he saw her and she realized that she was nervous as well. How he handled last night would affect where their relationship went from there, so she waited for him to speak.

  “I’m sorry about last night, I jumped to conclusions and I shouldn’t have. I…um…. well I got jealous.” He finally said, not able to meet her eyes.

  He looked so sad Tabitha was tempted to let him off the hook, but she wasn’t quite ready to let it go. “There are so many reasons I should be mad about last night, but the one that bothers me the most is that you instantly jumped to the conclusion that there’s something going on between us.”

  “I’m sorry Tabitha, I’m not usually a jealous person, honestly I don’t know what I was thinking. I’d like to meet Joe and get to known him, if that’s okay with you.” Owen said, hoping that he’d been able to convince her to forgive him.

  Tabitha’s heart melted, Owen seemed so genuine she couldn’t help but take him at his word. “Okay you’re off the hook, but next time promise me that you’ll trust me.” Tabitha said, glad that they’d talked it through.

  Just then Joe came out of the back, and headed straight over to Tabitha, “Hey, I was looking for you. We’ve got an hour before the next tour arrives, I’m going to grab something to eat.”

  Tabitha looked from Owen to Joe, clearly thinking that now would be the perfect time for them to get to know each other. As if he’d read her mind, Owen said, “I’m starved, would you mind if I joined you?”

  Joe looked at him suspiciously, then shrugged his shoulders, “I guess that’s okay, but I’m just eating the leftovers from breakfast.” Joe said, then headed for the kitchen, not sure if he really wanted to share his breakfast with Owen, who until now had been just on the edge of hostile toward him.

  Owen followed him, stopping as he went by Tabitha to give her a kiss, something he’d been wanting to
do since he’d walked in the door. “Wish me luck, I think I’m going to need it.”

  “You might.” Tabitha said, knowing that Joe wasn’t going to go out of his way to become buddies with Owen.

  When the two men emerged more than an hour later, the lunch rush was just starting so she didn’t have time to talk to Owen, but they were both smiling, so she knew that it couldn’t have gone too badly. After they’d served the first round of customers, Joe came back to the kitchen and Tabitha couldn’t wait another second to know what had gone on between the two men.

  “So, what happened?” She asked, practically jumping up and down with nerves. If Joe didn’t like Owen it was going to make her life extremely complicated.

  “I hate to admit it but I like him. He’s a bit stuffy for my taste, but if you like him that’s your business.” Joe said, then laughed when Tabitha breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Was it that important that I like him?”

  “I guess it was. Now that you’ve given him your seal of approval, I was wondering if you might consider covering for me next week. Owen wants to go on an overnight trail ride.” Tabitha could feel herself blushing and knew that Joe wouldn’t miss it.

  “Oh, I see.” Joe said, with a wink. “Hmm, I might need to check my schedule, I have so many pressing engagements next week.”

  Tabitha knew that Joe was teasing her and she blushed even deeper. “Joe, knock it off. This is weird enough as it is.”

  “Okay, sorry. I just couldn’t help myself.” Joe said, then crossed the kitchen and gave her a hug. “Just so you know, I warned him about what I would do to him if he hurts you.”

  Tabitha was touched, but also a little bit alarmed by Joe’s threat. “Oh, Joe you didn’t have to do that. I want you two to be friends.”

  “I did and I’d do it again. But don’t worry, it was all friendly.” Joe said, laughing.