Romancing My Love (Love in Bloom: The Bradens) Contemporary Romance (16 page)

REBECCA HAD BEEN trying to find a quiet moment to talk to Daphne, but the morning had been crazy busy, and now that it was lunchtime, she bit the bullet and pulled Daphne aside.

“Daphne, I need to tell you something.”  

“Sure, hon. What’s up?” Daphne picked up an order from the counter and reviewed the ticket, matching the items to the order.

“You know how I told you that my boyfriend was a businessman?”

“Sure. Oh, Henry wants me to check him out.” She winked. “He’s such a worrywart. I knew he liked you.”

“Well, you’ll get a chance to in about five minutes.”

Daphne’s eyes lit up. “He’s coming here?”

Rebecca fidgeted with her order pad. “He sort of owns the place.”

“What place?” Daphne cocked her head.

Rebecca lowered her voice. “He owns the resort.”

Daphne pulled another waitress over. “Wilma, can you take this to table six, please? I need to talk to Rebecca.”

Oh shit.
Daphne sounded so serious that Rebecca didn’t know what to expect.

Daphne pulled her over to the break room. “Honey, are you talking about Pierce Braden? Tall, dark, and scrumptiously handsome? The gentleman of all gentlemen, Pierce Braden?”

Scrumptiously delicious, too.
“Yes.”

“Oh, hon.” Daphne hugged her. “Everyone here loves the man. We’re talking serious big boss crush by every woman in the place.”

“It’s not like that, Daphne. I had no idea who he was when we started dating, and I don’t care what he has. I care about who he is.”

She searched Rebecca’s eyes. “Good. Okay, good. That’s good.”

“I just wanted you to know, because you asked me who I was dating and I didn’t want you to think I didn’t trust you. It’s all kind of new, so I wasn’t even really sure how to handle it, but we talked about it and he doesn’t want to pretend we’re not together, so…”

Daphne hugged her again. “Sweetie, he’s such a nice man. Everyone loves him.” A flash of worry passed over her face, then faded just as quickly.

“What is it?”

Daphne leaned in close. “It’s just that, you know, he is a good man, Rebecca, and we all want him to end up with a good woman, and you’re
definitely
a good woman, but…Word around this place is that he’s kind of a ladies’ man, if you know what I mean.”

She’d expected to hear just that, but she hadn’t expected it to hurt the way it did, like a paper cut, quick and sharp. “I know. He told me.”

“He did?” Daphne patted her chest like she was trying to calm her racing heart, which, knowing Daphne, she was. “Good. Good, Rebecca. Then—”

“I know all about his past. He was very honest, and I trust him, Daphne. I mean, I really trust him, like I’ve never trusted anyone before.”

Daphne reached for her hand and gave it a thoughtful squeeze. “Trust your heart, Rebecca. That’s what I would do. Henry was no saint when I met him, the little dog.” She smiled. “Heck, girl. I wasn’t very pure either, but we knew from day one that we were meant to be together. The universe has a way of figuring out the things in life that get hung up between our heads and our hearts.”

“Thanks, Daphne. I was worried that people around here might treat me differently.”

“Oh, they may. You are
dating
not only the best-looking man in Reno, but the big guy on campus, too.” She patted Rebecca on the back. “Just ignore any snide looks and keep being who you are, darlin’.”

“Pretty easy, since I have no clue how to be anyone else.”

They went back to work, and Rebecca felt much better having come clean to Daphne. She hated keeping secrets. It wasn’t part of who she was, despite her
Secrets are a girl’s best friend
comment she’d tossed out on her first date with Pierce. Not telling him about staying in her car was also weighing heavily on her mind, but that was a secret of a different kind. She had every intention of telling him about that at some point. She just wasn’t sure when that point was going to be.

She was finishing up with a customer when Pierce walked into the restaurant. Her heartbeat didn’t just quicken; it sprinted. The employees lifted their eyes in his direction, stood taller, and watched as he weaved through the tables, heading directly toward Rebecca with a confident gait and a look in his eyes that shot right to her heart. Everywhere he went, he commanded attention. Even Rebecca’s customers glanced his way as she waited off to the side.

Oh God!
Her legs had turned to jelly and she wasn’t thinking straight. The last few nights came rushing in, swirling inside her and warming her all over. She was dating the boss. Did everyone in the restaurant know who he was? She felt her cheeks flush as she tried to figure out what to do. Should she go right to him? Go back and place the order? She had no idea where her boss was, but it didn’t matter, Pierce didn’t give her a chance to decide. As she walked away from the table, he came to her side—in a cloud of heat that sizzled and burned. He casually placed a hand on her hip, leaned down, and kissed her cheek.

“Hey, babe.”

It was a simple, sweet kiss. She’d made love to him, touched and tasted every inch of him, and that simple kiss blew away her brain cells like fluff in the wind. It was all she could do to smile.

“Almost ready?” he asked.

She cleared her throat and forced herself to answer. “Yeah. Just let me get my purse from the back.”

“I’ll come with you.” He kept a possessive—protective?—hand on her lower back as they walked through the kitchen. The chef looked up and smiled.

“Hey, Mr. B. I’ve got your order up in two minutes. Robin has your table ready in the courtyard.”

“Thanks, Bob.”

Bob ran his eyes between the two of them as they headed into the break room. Rebecca tried to act calm, cool, and collected but feared she failed miserably and that everyone could see her insides were doing some sort of shake, rattle, and roll dance. She grabbed her purse from her locker and drew in a few deep breaths before returning to Pierce’s side. He was reading the schedule that hung on the wall, with one hand in his pocket, his hair brushed back from his face, and his clean-shaven cheeks calling to her to touch them. She pictured him going gray around the temples, fine wrinkles around his eyes. She could see the two of them together as they got older, Pierce wanting to fix all the things that were difficult for her and her wanting to stand her ground. She could see them making love and waking to the sound of a crying infant, chasing a toddler through the park. Oh Lord, she could picture forever with him and they’d known each other only a few days—and, by golly, it felt real. How could she be so certain? It made no sense and perfect sense all at once. From her head to her toes, and everywhere in between, she was one hundred percent in love with Pierce. She lifted her hand to cover her mouth, as if she could silence her thoughts.

She might be able to quiet her mind for now, but there was no way she could silence her heart.

PIERCE AWOKE THURSDAY morning with Rebecca’s arm draped over his stomach and her cheek pressed against his chest. He pulled her closer, and she snuggled in with a sleepy, contented sigh. She wore a camisole and panties, and looked sexy and adorable at once. In sleep, her face was totally relaxed. The pucker of stress he’d sometimes noticed around the corner of her eyes was gone and her lips were slightly curved upward. He usually sprang out of bed to fit his run in before work and then arrived early at the office so his day stayed on track. That jolt of get-up-and-go wasn’t there. His mind was laden with
Don’t-move-a-muscle
.
Hold her. Enjoy her
. And his body was enjoying the feel of her against him entirely too much to move.

His efficient and overachieving business mind tried to sever his lovesick thoughts with reminders of his due diligence team’s discovery of liens against the Grand for unpaid payroll taxes, which were not reflected in the books, and according to the books, made no sense. He had his team doing more discovery today, going through the actual books, not just tax return and financial statements. Based solely on what he knew at this point, the Grand was worth several million dollars fewer than what they’d been led to believe. He’d spoken to William Benson, the owner of the property, and Benson was adamant about the asking price. The end of the day would bring answers.

Those powerful thoughts tried to push him out of bed, to get his legs moving so he could work the numbers over in his head a million times during his morning run. Rebecca opened her eyes and spread her hand across his stomach, then lifted her head and looked at him, her eyes reflecting the same love that had held him in place.

“Hi,” she whispered.

His stressful thoughts were no match for Rebecca. Nothing was. He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. “Hi, babe.”

“I’m sorry. I have you trapped.” She pushed away and he pulled her back.

“I like feeling trapped by you.” He kissed her forehead and she smiled. They didn’t have to fool around; he just wanted her close.

“Are you okay? You look stressed.” She touched his cheek, and he leaned in to her palm.

He thought he’d rid himself of the stress, but she saw right through him. “I’m fine. Just work stuff.”

“That acquisition you mentioned?” She leaned up on one elbow.

He tried to play it off as no big deal, even though it was one of the biggest deals he’d considered in a long time. “Yeah, we’ll have answers later today.” He still didn’t want to move away from her. She calmed the nagging business voice in his head that had pushed him into overdrive for so many years. She tempered it, adding a balance to his life that he hadn’t realized was missing.

“You said you had to make a decision in twenty-four hours. Why is that?”

Rebecca didn’t ask many questions about his work, and he found the questions she did ask curious. “Because they need to sell, and I’m ready to buy.”

“Self-imposed deadline, then.” Her eyes sharpened.

“Pretty much.”

“That makes sense. You like to move fast.”

“Yeah, I do.”
You have no idea
. It had been only a week and he was ready to move her into his house.

“I like that about you. You’re decisive, which is probably why you’re so successful. But what if you needed more time to make a decision? What if it didn’t feel right?”

He thought about it for a minute. He only made decisions that felt right, and they usually came quickly. “I don’t know. I haven’t had that happen yet.”

“Would you grant yourself time to think about it or force yourself to decide? I’m asking because in one of my business classes, that was a major topic. What drives entrepreneurs, and do their hasty decisions weaken or strengthen their efforts?”

“Your business class, huh? Well, I think if I wasn’t sure, I’d take the time until I was sure, but I’m pretty decisive.”

She nodded and her eyes grew even more serious. “I think I’m the same way. I wanted to tell you something last night, but I thought it might sound funny. I gave myself time to think about it, but it’s been bugging me, so I’m just going to say it. I’m glad you came in to get me at work. I hated feeling like I had to hide our relationship, even for just a couple days.”

He’d struggled with that decision. He knew it might backfire and make things more difficult for Rebecca, but Pierce wasn’t the kind of man to pretend, much less let the woman he was falling in love with go unclaimed in the public’s eye. She was the woman he adored, and he wanted the world to know it.

“When I saw you standing there talking with that elderly couple, I was so proud to be with you. I probably shouldn’t have kissed you in the restaurant, even if on the cheek, but I couldn’t help myself.” He lifted her gently so they were eye to eye.

“Apparently, the women have major crushes on you.” She kissed the corner of his mouth. “But they’re happy for us.”

“Major crushes, huh? Maybe I need to reconsider the dating pool.”

She cupped his privates with a wicked grin. “Oh yeah?”

“Kidding. Kidding.” He carefully lifted her hand and laughed. He shifted her onto her back and pinned her to the bed with his weight. “Do you know how much you turn me on? Just being with you? Hell, Bec, just thinking about you?”

“Well, I am pretty hot.” She flashed a mischievous smile.

He laughed again. “Yeah, you are, you little vixen.”

She giggled and then her eyes grew serious. “I want to tell you something else.”

“Uh-oh.”

“It’s nothing bad. I was thinking that we could drive in together today.” She bit her lower lip.

“What about needing to know your car is there?” He rolled to her side, giving her space to think without the added pressure of feeling how aroused he was.

She turned and faced him, so close their noses touched. “I would rather know you’re there.”

It was a small thing, something that shouldn’t make him warm all over, but this was the same woman who’d decked a man and had turned Pierce down for a drink. It was
huge
. He nuzzled against her neck.

“Thank you.”

“But I have to go by my old apartment after work and drop something off with the landlord, and if you want me to stay over again, then I need to pick up clothes for tomorrow from my place.”

“Baby, I’ll do those things with you. Tonight’s dinner with Treat and Max, too.”

He glanced at her bag on the floor by the closet. “Why don’t you bring a week’s worth of clothes tonight? A month’s, whatever.”

“Pierce, I’m not moving in.” She touched his cheek.

“Not exactly the reaction I was hoping for,” he admitted. He’d thought that Rebecca was in sync with him on how fast they were moving. Now he worried that maybe he was moving too quickly for her comfort.

“I’ve got my own place, even if I only stay there sometimes. It’s a good thing. You could get sick of me.”

“Not a chance.”

“You might want time alone.”

“Wrong again.” He kissed her softly, relieved that she was only worried about him not being fully committed and not something bigger, like her own feelings for him. He could assuage her worries because he’d been committed to her since the first night they met.

“You might want to go back to your old playful ways.” She traced his arm from shoulder to wrist.

He pulled her beneath him again. “The only person I want to play with is you.” He couldn’t hold in his feelings any longer, even at the risk of scaring her away. He searched her eyes and took the plunge. “I fell over the edge, Rebecca. I tried to hold it back, but I can’t. I love you.”  

He could feel her heart racing. She opened her mouth to speak, and he kissed her again before she could say a word.

“You
love
me?” She searched his eyes.

“I do.” He kissed her again, and when she drew back, she gulped in air. “Are you okay?”

She nodded, her eyes damp with tears. “I fell, too. I was too scared to say anything, but you were right there. You caught me.”