He took her hand again and walked them toward the maze. She grinned. This time when she made a wish at the well… Then again, her wish had already come true. What more could she want?
He stopped at the entryway. “Do you trust me to get you through this without getting lost?”
“I don’t believe we were lost last time, were we?”
He laughed. “No, we weren’t, but I don’t know who turned the lights out. That wasn’t planned. Although…I’m glad it happened.”
“Me, too.”
Brad took Breanna inside the maze. Tonight wasn’t dark, yet, and so it was easier to see everything. The hedges were neatly trimmed, and a few spots along the way flowers grew with the bushes, giving the air a fragrant scent. Another thing she noticed different was that she wasn’t panicked. She didn’t feel closed in at all. Then again, she knew what to expect this time.
When they reached the center, he stopped them beside the wishing well. “Look familiar?”
“Of course.” She sighed. “Too bad it’s not dark.”
He wagged his eyebrows. “Close your eyes, my lady, and your wish will be granted.”
Her heart skipped. Apparently, he wanted to go back to playacting again, just as they’d done that night in front of the pictures.
Following his suggestion, she closed her eyes. Immediately, his arms slipped around her waist as his chest pressed against hers. She held tightly to his shoulders. Within seconds, his mouth captured hers. Sighing with happiness, she relaxed and allowed the passion growing inside of her to take control. Her mind became dizzy with excitement, but that wasn’t anything new since she felt this way every time they kissed.
When he deepened the kiss, she slid her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. She’d always enjoyed the way he kissed her so tenderly, with so much emotion, and now she could actually feel the love he had for her. She hoped he could feel what she was experiencing as well.
The kiss was like a burning furnace, heating up her mouth and spreading like wildfire throughout her whole body. She released a throaty sigh, meeting his passionate kisses.
She didn’t know how long it lasted. All she knew is that they floated to paradise and back. But soon he slowed the kiss and pulled back. His dreamy eyes told her how satisfied he was.
“Oh, my sweet lady. You surely take my breath away.”
She knew how he felt since she was having a hard time breathing right now. She threaded her fingers through his long hair. “And you, my lord, know how to make my heart and soul melt with passion.”
He traced his fingers along her mouth. “Your lips, my sweet lady, were made for kissing.” He moved his fingers up to her eye lids. “And your mesmerizing eyes were made to beckon me further with my seduction.”
She grinned, but didn’t say anything.
He took her left hand and brought to his mouth where he kissed each finger. “Your delicate hands are so soft, like rose petals. They were made especially to calm me by just your touch. We haven’t really known each other for very long, but I feel as though we were made for each other. I have every inch of you memorized, and I wouldn’t change one thing about you.”
He placed kisses on her fingers again, but lingered on her ring finger. “And this finger, especially,” he caressed it lovingly, “was made to wear the proof of my love and devotion…for now and always.”
Her heartbeat thundered in her chest, and she caught her breath. Was he saying what she thought?
Brad reached into his pocket and withdrew a small, black velvet, square box. He opened it to reveal a large star diamond with sprinkles of little diamonds surrounding it. Tears gathered in her eyes as a lump grew in her throat.
He knelt on one knee, still holding her left hand. “Countess Tyger Breanna Loveland, my lady. My heart has just one desire and that is to be your soul mate throughout all time. Would you make me the happiest man in the world and agree to become my wife?”
Breanna was speechless…literally. She hadn’t expected this. But what he’d said made sense. They might not have known each other for very long, but her heart has been telling her since their first meeting that this was the man who would make her happy all the time. This was a man who would love her unconditionally. This was a man she always wanted to be with.
The sun was setting on the horizon, bringing shadows everywhere. The lights decorating the maze appeared like diamonds were sprinkled on everything.
She moistened her dry lips. “My lord, Brad Montgomery. It is indeed my pleasure, and my honor, to accept your proposal. You, my lord, have made me the luckiest woman on earth, and now you make me the happiest. My love has grown higher than the tallest tree and is deeper than any ocean. My love will surround you like fresh air that surrounds sunshine and like fragrance surrounds flowers. There is no other man I want to grow old with, because you, Brad Montgomery, are a wonderful man…and yes, the sexiest one alive.”
Brad’s eyes misted as he took the ring from the box and slipped it on her finger. “Tyger, with this token of my affection, I promise to love and honor and…make you happy for the rest of our lives.”
She chuckled. “And I, my lord sexiness, plan to hold you to all of your promises.”
He stood and took her back in his arms. “How did I get so lucky to find you?”
She shrugged. “It was bound to happen, you know.”
“It was?”
“Yes. We were made for each other. I believe that now more than ever.”
“I believe it, too.”
He kissed her again, and within seconds, her mind floated to paradise again. Nothing else mattered in the world because they were in love and together. Forever.
THE END
Look for book #1 that’s out – Prince Charming is a Liar, and book #2 – A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Altar. Book #3 – “Love Me, Leave Me…Just Don’t Shoot Me” will be coming soon!
**READERS**
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BONUS STORY!
PROTECTING THE HEART
Copyright © 2016 by Marie Higgins
Cover Design by Sheri McGathy
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For more information about author: www.mariehiggins.com
She needs money for her bar. He seeks incriminating evidence to close her. Will the auction be the key, or will her kisses melt his heart?
Cassidy Hilarion needs money to save her bar. She hopes that auctioning off her waitresses and herself for a night out on the town might do the trick. How can she protect her heart when a gorgeous hottie bids on her and all she wants to do is kiss him endlessly?
Mark Carrington is on a mission—to find some incriminating evidence to help his father close down the bar. For years, the Carrington’s have tried to get this land from the Hilarion’s, and Mark is determined to win. But when he gets to know the sexy co-owner he wants more than the bar. He wants her heart.
ONE
Cassidy Brown locked her legs in military stance and folded her arms across her breast. She scowled at her cousin Joan, the manager of the family bar, The Hideaway, as they stood in the back hallway. “I’d rather be thrown in piranha-infested waters than go out with a man.”
Clinking of glasses rang faint from inside the bar, mixed with loud chatter as the patronage continued to grow. Cassidy had never seen this many men in Coral Gables, Florida, in one place all at the same time. She tried not to think of the reason the bar filled so quickly, and conce
ntrated on her cousin. Lifting her chin a notch, Cassidy hoped to prove her stubbornness.
Her cousin rubbed her temple, her fingers digging into her forehead as if she were trying to get rid of something deep in her skull. “Cass, you have to go out with someone, especially tonight.” Heaving a deep sigh, she leaned around the corner and peeked into the bar. “Do you see how full we are? The bar needs this auction to stimulate business. Look at all those men.”
Cassidy glanced into the crowded room, her heart weighed with indecision, her mind arguing along with it.
Joan shook her head. “Most of those men are even dressed in business suits.” She looked back at Cassidy. “Suits mean business with more moolah than the usual Joe Schmo. Can you imagine how much money we’ll make tonight?”
Cassidy gritted her teeth. The sinking sensation of defeat pulled at her conscience, but she would hold firm to her decision. She had to. Her feelings rarely led her astray. “Yes, I can imagine how much money we’ll make. We’ll just do it with one less girl.”
Joan huffed and grasped Cassidy’s shoulders, looking her directly in the eyes. “Not if they plan on bidding on ten girls and we only have nine.”
“We’ll just explain that Linda—”
“No, Cass. We can’t. Our advertisement said ten women, which means we’ve got to give them that many.”
“But if I’m one of the girls to be bid on, who’ll wait tables?”
“My brothers will. They’re here to help for tonight’s auction, anyway.”
Cassidy’s stomach twisted, her palms moistened. Joan was right. The bar needed tonight’s entertainment to pick up business. If this function didn’t bring in money, The Hideaway would have to close. Joan and Cassidy’s fathers had operated the bar for twenty years, and she couldn’t let it go under now. But her father would turn over in his grave if he knew what they’d planned to bring back their patrons.
Joan swiped a wayward curl behind Cassidy’s ear and gave her a sheepish smile. “I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t think it was important. I understand Lyle ruined the way you look at other men, but tonight is different.” She shrugged. “Just think of it as a business venture that will help you grow.”
Demeaning myself is more like it. “But Joan, I feel like something bad is going to happen tonight.”
Joan lifted her brows. “Nothing bad will happen. I promise.”
Cassidy laughed. “I’m afraid the guy who buys me for the night will demand his money back.” If she hadn’t been good enough for Lyle . . .
Joan cupped Cassidy’s chin and grinned. “Just be the adorable and fun-loving woman we all know you are. Remember, tonight’s date is nothing personal. It’s just one night out on the town. That’s all.”
From inside the bar, the men’s chants, whistling and cheering grew stronger. The auction would start any moment, and Cassidy couldn’t do anything to get out of it. Being the Assistant Manager, she had no other choice, and although she didn’t have to like it, she’d do it for The Hideaway. This was the one thing her father wanted her to do—to continue making the bar a place for everyone to come and enjoy themselves. She couldn’t lose it now.
She gritted her teeth. “Fine.”
Joan beamed and clapped her hands. “Hurry and change into Linda’s dress.”
Cassidy grimaced. “Do I have to?”
“Yes, you have to look like the other girls.”
Pivoting on her heel, Cassidy spun around, her hair whipping over her shoulder. With her hands in fists, she marched toward the back room where the other women being auctioned had gathered to change. It was Joan’s idea to do the auction, and Cassidy’s younger sister, Katie’s idea to wear the sexy dresses. Cass would like to slap Katie for being so thin and shapely.
Of course, Cass remembered what she’d been like at age twenty-two, which is how she got tangled up with Lyle. Worst mistake of her life. Now, at twenty-five, she wondered if tonight she’d make another mistake.
The other nine giggling girls were applying finishing touches to their hair and face, all looking like Barbie dolls. Cassidy rolled her eyes. Mattel could market such a doll—night on the town Barbie, for hire.
She pasted on a smile as she passed the girls on their way out front. “Good luck.”
“You’d better hurry, Cass.” Katie shoved Linda’s dress into her arms. “You only have ten minutes.”
“Oh yeah, ten minutes to make myself into some man’s dream date. I can’t wait.”
Katie grinned, showing her pearly whites, the kind made by the dentist. “You’re gonna knock ‘em dead, Sis.” She spun on her three-inch heels and glided out the door like a model going down a runway.
Cassidy held the dress out in front of her and groaned. No way was her size six body going to fit into Linda’s size four dress. But she had no other choice. She hung the dress over the end of a chair and stripped off her jeans and T-shirt. As she struggled into the black spandex dress, she groaned. So this is what a hippo would feel like wearing a girdle.
Yanking the straps over her shoulders, she tugged it down her legs, but it wouldn’t go any further than her thighs. She growled and tried again, but the stretchy material bounced back. Throwing her hands in the air, she turned toward the full-length mirror. “Seriously?”
Grabbing the sides of the bodice’s deep opening, she pulled it together, and just as before, the stretchy material shrunk back to its original spot. Now she looked like a hippo wearing a girdle whose watermelons wouldn’t fit into cup-size holders. She scowled at her reflection.
Slowly, she surveyed her body again, twisting in front of the mirror to get the full effect. She hated looking like she wore a painted on dress. It wasn’t wise to give the men in the bar tonight the wrong idea, but how else could she let them know that the only thing they’d be getting out of her tonight was a dinner—and definitely not an expensive one—and maybe a movie. That was all!
Fluffing her long hair around her shoulders, she took deep breaths, trying to gain her courage and calm her nerves. It wasn’t working. In fact, she just might pass out. At least that would give her a good excuse to back out.
From down the hall, Joan’s voice boomed over the loudspeaker, starting the auction. Unfortunately, it was time to go, so on shaky legs, she made her way toward the bar.
The closer Cassidy came to the room full of men, the harder her heartbeat slammed against her ribs. She blamed all of this on Carrington Enterprises. If they hadn’t been bullying her endlessly about selling the bar so they could build an office sky-rise, she wouldn’t be wobbling toward the stage looking like a hooker. She and Joan only had a week to think up a way to raise the bar’s patronage, and since women ran the bar, this was the solution that came to mind.
When she stepped into the smoky, dimly-lit bar, she gasped and pressed her back against the wall. Men filled the room, sitting or standing, elbow to elbow. Some wore faded jeans and cotton T-shirts, and others were in three-piece suits. Their ages appeared to range from barely legal up to sixty-year-olds. By the way they waved their cash and their cat-calls, a passerby would think this was a strip club. She frowned. That would definitely make the bar popular, but in the wrong way.
She kept her gaze glued to the wall. Her heart hammered as she watched the proceedings. The girls on stage actually played up their parts, blowing kisses to the men, and even shaking their booty! Cassidy rolled her eyes. How pathetic—and how embarrassing! But it drove the men wild.
She swallowed the lump of fear in her throat. Hopefully, they wouldn’t expect that from her.
The men continued to bid. Her sister, Katie, went for six hundred and fifty dollars. Cassidy grinned. Knowing her sister, she’d give them their money’s worth. Katie was an exciting girl and always knew the coolest places that were entertaining. The other girls didn’t bring in quite as much, but still a fair amount.
Finally, the moment she dreaded came. Joan called her name, motioning with her hand for her to go up on stage. All eyes turned on Cassidy and fea
r stilled her limbs. She wanted to turn and run, but her legs wouldn’t agree to move.
She scanned the crowd of onlookers, her gaze falling to a gorgeous man at a nearby table. He sipped his coffee cup, watching her over the rim. His penetrating stare sent ripples up her spine. When he lowered his drink, his gaze moved over her exposed cleavage, down her stomach and then to her legs. Heat pierced through her. Not good! The corner of his mouth lifted in a knowing grin.
He was different from the rest of the men in a way. Wearing a blue, button-down shirt and black Wranglers, he looked more like cowboy than anything. He wasn’t as rugged, though. She’d classify him as casual, yet stylish.
Still, he was one good-looking man. His heated gaze let her know what he wanted, especially the lazy way his lips curved upward. His dark eyebrows slowly lifted up and down, suggestively. Obviously, he thought this was a sex-for-hire bar, too. Boy, was he wrong!
She groaned under her breath. Men like him probably thought women were only good for one thing. Gads, she hated men like that. She’d like to teach him a lesson, but didn’t want to get that close.
Her name echoing in the room drew her attention back to the stage. Joan scowled at her. Cassidy shrugged. Time to put on a show.
Finding strength she didn’t know she possessed, she straightened her spine and walked onto the stage on three-inch heels. She scooted past the local band squished in the back like sardines in a tin can, and moved closer to Joan.
When the roar of applause heightened, fear leapt in her chest. Her lips quivered as she smiled, and her knees knocked. She clasped her shaky hands together against her stomach. How can I look sexy when I feel like heaving my guts out?
“Gentlemen,” Joan yelled above the cheers. “Here is our last prize of the evening. Come on men, we’re trying to rescue our bar. Dig in your wallets and let’s begin. Who will bid on Cassidy Hilarion for tonight’s date?”
You Are My Everything (Your Every Day Hero Book 3) Page 16
