Ben chokes on his swig of beer. “Godparent?”
I smile as Beth does a little hop, then throws her free arm around Cass’s shoulders, giving her a hug. Lifting my chin in their direction, I say, “That’s what I call a happy reaction. Beth is ecstatic. If you’re not up for that kind of commitment—”
“No, I’m honored.”
When I lift a doubtful eyebrow, Ben gestures toward his castle masterpiece. “Did I not just build an entire sand hotel for a toddler?”
I tilt my beer toward him. “Fair point.”
“So are you going to tell Beth?” Ben asks, his gaze following Cass, Rose, and Beth as they head off for a walk down the beach.
I stare at Beth chatting with Cass. “As her godmother, Beth will get to be as close as she wants to be with Rose, but to protect my daughter, no, Beth can never know the truth.” Sliding my attention back to Ben, I narrow my gaze. “And if Phillip dares to send someone else to follow my family again, even prison won’t be safe for him.”
Ben rubs his arm where he’d been shot, his gaze shifting to the ocean as he takes a swig of his beer. “As far as I’m concerned, he’ll get what he deserves.”
Once his beer is gone, he gives me the side eye. “I just realized why Beth and I were invited to come for the day. When do I get to come for the whole week like Sebastian and Talia?”
I snort and shake my head, swallowing some of my beer. “Don’t push your luck, bro.”
His gaze locks with mine for a second, then he chuckles. “But that’s what I do best. I thought you would’ve figured that out by now. Speaking of which…when are you going to give me that blood sample?”
“What is your deal?” I snap, frowning at him. “Bash told me you didn’t ask anyone else for a sample.”
Ben rubs his neck and sighs. “Look, our father has Rheumatoid Arthritis. It has gotten worse the last couple of years. You’re in the field from time to time, and a strong grip is important in many aspects of security, including handling a gun.”
When I give him a mind-your-own-fucking business look, he shakes his head. “This isn’t about me trying to bench you, Calder. I just want you to know if you inherited his RA genetic markers.”
I turn my gaze to my family and take a long swig of my beer. “I don’t want to know, Ben. If it happens, it happens.”
“The thing about RA is, if you ignore the pain and let it progress, it can’t be reversed. There are good medicines on the market today that can arrest RA symptoms, but knowing what to look for and early detection is key. Just consider it. I’ll do all the legwork in getting it to the lab.”
Wouldn’t that be the fucking cherry on top if Phillip passed his crappy genetics on to me? I want to punch Ben for putting the thought in my head, but as I watch Cass walking up the beach with a tuckered out Rose sleeping on her shoulder, being the best that I can be for my family is most important to me. I glance his way and finish off my beer. “I’ll think about it.”
Nodding, Ben hands me another beer and shakes his head, his mouth quirking in amusement. “I can’t believe I’m going to be my sister’s godparent.”
I shrug. “I’m her father.”
Ben laughs and holds his bottle up in salute. “Here’s to one hell of a family tree.”
Snorting, I clink my bottle against his. “It might be all knotty and snarled, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Cass
After we finally get the girls to lie down under the baby tent for a short nap, Talia and I collapse in the seats Calder and Ben vacated. “While Ben and Beth are off hunting shells to impress the girls with once they wake up, I’m getting a drink.” Popping open the cooler, she cuts her gaze my way and huffs. “I can’t believe they drank all the beer. That’s the only reason my redheaded butt is still out here.”
I snicker as I finish winding my ponytail into a bun. “And look, you somehow managed not to burn up in a crispy poof. I really wish Mina could’ve come with Josi. All three little girls would’ve had the best time together.”
“I wish I knew what was going on with Mina. She’s never around when I try to call lately. Of course we invited her to come, but she texted that Josi had a cold and she’d plan to come next time we had a family get together.” Talia sighs as she digs through the cooler. “All I see here is water. Want one?”
“Yes, please. Beer just makes me thirsty in the heat.”
Handing me a water bottle, Talia pulls one out for herself as our husbands walk up, apparently bored with throwing a football back and forth.
“I won,” Calder says.
“Nope, I clearly won. Cass said the word traditional during her vows.”
“What are you two going on about?” Talia asks.
After Sebastian explains the bet he and Calder made, Talia rolls her eyes and proclaims, “It’s a draw.”
When both guys start to argue, she narrows her gaze. “First of all, did you plan on being my officemate, Calder?”
“We made the bet before that door between your offices was installed,” Calder admitted.
“That door makes your bet null and void.” Turning to her husband, she says, “By the way, there’s no beer for you. You can thank the lush brothers for drinking it all.”
“I can’t believe you guys were betting on me,” I mutter as I check my phone for the time. Calder’s last text pops up, reminding me of the hilarious photo he texted me of Rose tasting a lemon for the first time.
When I show it to Talia, she laughs. “Aren’t kids so funny?” Glancing up at Calder, she smirks. “Master Puzzler, huh?”
Her gaze shifts to her husband, an auburn eyebrow cocked. “Tell me he didn’t rag on you about ‘Rainbow Master.’”
“Rainbow Master and Master Puzzler.” Calder brushes sand off his six-pack abs, then gives Talia an arrogant grin. “Hmmm, I’m sensing a dominant theme here, right, Bash?”
When Sebastian smirks and folds his muscular arms against a tan chest, I roll my eyes. “Rainbows and puzzles? The only theme I’m seeing is that our men never grew up.”
Just as Talia bursts out laughing, Joey rolls over and starts to cry. Her father quickly swoops her up, drops a kiss on her cute little red head, then lifts her up and sets her on his shoulders. “Ready to go for a ride, Joey-Roo?”
Rose is whining a little and rubbing her eyes, so Calder swings her up onto his shoulders too. “Let’s go, Rose.”
As the guys zoom along the beach and into the surf, while holding their hands protectively on their daughter’s backs, the girls squeal their excitement and grab onto their fathers’ hair. Talia nods toward our husbands’ crazy antics. “Aren’t you glad they never grew up, Cass?”
I watch my husband being such a wonderful father to Rose, and think about our second child growing inside me. I’m nervous and hopeful, but I’ve never felt safer or more loved. “I’m thankful every single day, but…” I pause and hold out my pinky, wrinkling my nose. “Let’s not tell them that.”
Talia snags my pinky with hers and we laugh at our husbands being big kids, while absolutely adoring the wonderful, big-hearted men we fell in love with.
“Oh, there was a beer buried in the bottom,” Talia says a few minutes later. “I’m going to take it to Sebastian.”
I look at her in surprise. “I thought he doesn’t drink?”
“It’s incredibly rare.” Standing, she nods. “This one beer will probably be all he has all week.”
When she walks away, I close my eyes for a minute, surprised at how tired I am.
A shadow suddenly blocks the sun and I open my eyes to see Calder standing in front of me. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah, just a little tired. It could be the sun too. That always wears me out. Where’s Rose?”
He turns his head and I follow his line of sight, laughing to see both girls clinging to Sebastian’s long legs like strips of Velcro as he walks with giant steps in and out of the surf. “She’s in good hands. Speaking of which…”
He
holds his hand out and I instantly take it. I’m pulled to my feet and Calder spins me into his arms, then twirls me away. “Are we dancing?” I ask, enjoying this playful side of my husband.
Tugging me back into his arms, he turns me around so our backs are to our family. As we slowly sway to the ocean’s rhythmic waves, he rests his hand on my belly and whispers in my ear, “We’re making memories, Raven mine.”
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Thank you for reading BLOOD ROSE! If you found BLOOD ROSE an entertaining and enjoyable read, I hope you’ll consider taking the time to leave a review and share your thoughts in the online bookstore where you purchased it. Your review could be the one to help another reader decide to read BLOOD ROSE and the other books in the IN THE SHADOWS series!
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Coming up next is NOBLE BRIT (IN THE SHADOWS, Book 9). Turn the page to see the cover and summary.
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NOBLE BRIT
The last thing I need is to be assigned as Mina Blake’s bodyguard. I’m too blunt, too experienced, and too damned jaded to treat the coddled heiress like the men in the Blake family do.
* * *
She has never known tough love.
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Until me.
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Dear Readers: NOBLE BRIT is a stand alone story in the IN THE SHADOWS series, but if you haven’t read the previous books in the series, you’ll miss out on seeing Mina and Den’s interactions with the Blake family and learning why they deserve their own happy-ever-after.
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Did you know there are audiobooks for the IN THE SHADOWS series? The audiobooks bring these stories to a whole new level. You can listen to samples and check them out on Amazon and iTunes.
* * *
To keep up-to-date when the next P.T. Michelle book will release, join my free newsletter http://bit.ly/11tqAQN . An email will come straight to your inbox on the day a new book releases.
Other Books By P.T. Michelle
In the Shadows
(Contemporary Romance, 18+)
Mister Black (Book 1 - Talia & Sebastian, Part 1)
Scarlett Red (Book 2 - Talia & Sebastian, Part 2)
Blackest Red (Book 3 - Talia & Sebastian, Part 3)
Gold Shimmer (Book 4 - Cass & Calder, Part 1)
Steel Rush (Book 5 - Cass & Calder, Part 2)
Black Platinum (Book 6 - Talia & Sebastian, Stand Alone Novel)
Reddest Black (Book 7 - Talia & Sebastian, Stand Alone Novel)
Blood Rose (Book 8 - Cass & Calder, Stand Alone Novel)
Noble Brit (Book 9 - Mina & Den, Stand Alone Novel - Coming March 2019)
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Brightest Kind of Darkness Series
(YA/New Adult Paranormal Romance, 16+)
Ethan (Prequel)
Brightest Kind of Darkness (Book 1)
Lucid (Book 2)
Destiny (Book 3)
Desire (Book 4)
Awaken (Book 5)
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Other works by P.T. Michelle writing as Patrice Michelle
* * *
Bad in Boots series
(Contemporary Romance, 18+)
Harm’s Hunger
Ty’s Temptation
Colt’s Choice
Josh’s Justice
* * *
Kendrian Vampires series
(Paranormal Romance, 18+)
A Taste for Passion
A Taste for Revenge
A Taste for Control
* * *
Stay up-to-date on her latest releases:
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Join P.T’s Newsletter:
Newsletter Sign-Up
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Visit P.T’s : Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest | Instagram
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P.T. Michelle’s Facebook Readers’ Group
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Acknowledgements
To my truly awesome beta readers: Joey Berube, Amy Bensette, and Magen Chambers, you ladies are so wonderful to read so quickly and come back with such great notes on BLOOD ROSE. You always help make my books the best they can be!
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To my fabulous critique partner, Trisha Wolfe, thank you for reading BLOOD ROSE at the speed of light! You’re such a great sounding board and give fabulous feedback!
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To my family, thank you for understanding the time and effort each book takes. I love you all and truly appreciate your unending support.
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To my amazing fans, thank you so much for your love and support of my IN THE SHADOWS series and characters! Every time you post a review or tell your reader friends about the series, more people discover my series. Which means there will be even more readers to discuss the books with. I appreciate you all so much!
About the Author
P.T. Michelle is the NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, and International bestselling author of the contemporary romance series IN THE SHADOWS, the YA/New Adult crossover series BRIGHTEST KIND OF DARKNESS, and the romance series: BAD IN BOOTS, KENDRIAN VAMPIRES and SCIONS (listed under Patrice Michelle). She keeps a spiral notepad with her at all times, even on her nightstand. When P.T. isn’t writing, she can usually be found reading or taking pictures of landscapes, sunsets and anything beautiful or odd in nature.
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To keep up-to-date when the next P.T. Michelle book will release, join P.T.’s free newsletter.
www.ptmichelle.com
Blood Rose: In the Shadows - Book 8 Page 20
