Bespoken: An Opposites-Attract Standalone Romance (Carmel Cove Book 2)

by Dr. Rebecca Sharp

  “She wants to try to teach me how to bake apple fritters again.” Laurel groaned. “She doesn’t understand I’m incapable of baking. I think you really need to tell her about the time I almost burned down the house.”

  “I’m staying out of this.” I put my hands up and walked back toward the front, hearing the two of them follow not that far behind.

  I stumbled when I saw Gwen’s smiling face, but it was Mick standing in front of her, staring at me intently with his elbows resting on the counter, that halted me entirely.

  “I tried to take this gentleman’s order,” Eve teased tartly. “But he insisted there was only one thing he wanted to order from here, and it had to come from you.”

  “Oh, did he?” I sauntered up to him, letting the counter still separate us. “And what would that be?”

  “A kiss.” He grinned. “Actually, make it a double.”

  My head shook even as I leaned forward and let him claim my lips, thankful he always managed to pull away before it became too heated for public display.

  “I have something for you,” he murmured.

  “More than that?” I raised an eyebrow even as he reached in his pocket and pulled out an envelope.

  Perplexed, I reached for the thick piece of mail, wondering what had prompted him to bring it here rather than just wait until we got home.

  For a moment, I worried it was something from my parents.

  Like I’d demanded, I hadn’t seen or heard from them since that day. There were always rumors going around about what was happening at Rock Beach, but after living there my whole life, I knew better than to believe any of them. I’d worried a lot at the beginning that they’d find another way, another scheme or threat to lock me into their plan, but as the weeks ticked by, I settled into the surety that I’d been heard and our relationship severed.

  All that anxiety melted when I saw the return address was the admissions office at the school.

  I dragged in a small shocked breath as my eyes jumped back to his. “Should I open it here?”

  “Whatever you want, darlin’. I can certainly take you home right now, but I know you’ve been waiting…” His voice faded as I looked around the room.

  Eve stood next to me with Laurel and Eli over my other shoulder. Josie stood at the side counter, her conversation with Ash and Taylor dwindling as she noticed something was going on.

  Miles sat in the corner; he’d been waiting for Mick to get here to discuss a project and had been chatting with Ace in the meantime. Gwen stood beaming over Mick’s shoulder, like she already knew what the letter said. And Mick, who protected my dreams like they were his own and loved me because I was his, waited patiently for my decision.

  I looked around and saw all the people in my life who made it so full over the past few months. People who’d welcomed me, protected me, and encouraged me to follow my dreams. And as nervous as I was about whether I was accepted or not, the last thing I wanted to be was alone when I found out.

  I’d been alone for so many important moments in my life, whatever the news was, good or bad, it didn’t matter as long I had these people standing here beside me.

  “You got this, darlin’,” Mick said with a low voice, like he knew my decision without me even having to say it.

  Maybe it was just me, but it felt like the whole coffee shop went silent as I tore open the envelope and pulled out the letter, quickly scanning the printed lines.

  “I’m going to be a nurse.”

  Screams and hollers filled my ears as Mick pulled me over the counter and into his arms, spinning me around and showering me with kisses as I laughed and cried.

  My heart had never felt so full as this moment.

  “I’m so happy for you, Jules. So happy,” Laurel bawled as Mick released me long enough for my cousin to take his place. As she got close to my ear, she added, “Pap would be so happy, too.”

  I pulled back slightly. “For the both of us.”

  And we both cried again.

  “Drinks are on the house!” Eli yelled from somewhere behind the bar, a new round of cheers echoing through the crowded space.

  “I knew it! I knew it. I so knew it,” Gwen cheered as she squeezed and danced around with me. “I’m so happy for you, Jules. It’s going to be such an honor to work with you.”

  My nose sniffled. “Thank you so much for everything, Gwen. I don’t know where I would be—”

  “Hey, hey, hey. You’d be right here, missy,” she insisted, poking me in the chest. “I just helped you sort out the medical road map but this… this is all you.”

  And I cried even harder.

  I was going to be a nurse.

  As I turned around, my eyes caught on the wooden plaque above the espresso machine, my own version that Mick had made now hung in our living room above the orange couch.

  Some might see me and think I was behind, starting college a decade later than most, but as I looked around, I couldn’t help but believe that I was exactly where I needed to be.

  Because at the end of the day, it’s not the past that matters, it’s where you choose to start that counts.

  Hours later, after we’d finished up early at Roasters, after we’d gone down to the Lookout for an impromptu celebratory dinner courtesy of Ash, complete with spaghetti and meatballs and magic marinara, I hung on to Mick’s neck as he carried me into our apartment; it was one of the things he did that I loved, and judging from how frequently he did it, he loved it, too.

  “I love you,” I murmured, nuzzling against his neck before darting my tongue out and licking a trail up to his dimple that grew underneath the touch.

  He hummed and I kissed the corner of his mouth, the sound peaking my nipples and leaking warmth between my thighs.

  “Love you so damn much, and I’m so damn proud of you, darlin’,” he rasped against my lips and skin as our clothes fell away and he laid me on the bed. “Do you know that? So damn proud…”

  I nodded, trying not to cry for the millionth time today.

  He’d whispered those words to me countless times tonight, when I was expecting them and when I wasn’t, and every time, my heart swelled until it felt like it would burst.

  His kiss migrated to my cheeks before leaving a trail of fire down to my chest. My eyes drifted shut and a small sigh escaped as his mouth latched on to my breast, licking and sucking on the sensitive tips until I was arching underneath him, my fingers spearing into his scalp and pulling on him for more.

  He would spend all night on my body, treasuring every inch without a thought for himself if I wanted… if I let him. He’d told me once that watching me come was like Christmas morning—no matter how many times it happened, the beauty, the magic never dulled.

  I shivered as his fingers slid down my side and over the top of my thigh, their roughness heightening my desire. It was hard to believe that he used to be worried about the dirt, about his size, about his hands… that none of it was good enough for me, when it was really everything I needed.

  “Mick…” I whimpered as his fingers teased near my core.

  As much as I loved celebrating with everyone tonight, there’d come a point where all I could see was him and all I wanted was to make it home to this moment.

  He slid one finger inside me, the stretch pushing my body deeper into need.

  “So wet and ready for me, darlin’,” he muttered as his lips climbed their way up my neck. “How long you been like this?”

  “A long time,” I gasped as a second finger joined the first. My hands found their way to his broad shoulders, gripping into the muscles tightly but hardly leaving a dent. “Since the salad. At least.”

  He growled against my skin, his teeth clamping lightly down as he fought for restraint. “I would’ve taken you home.”

  “Didn’t want to leave.” My words ended on a moan as his fingers slipped in and out easily.

  “I would’ve at least taken you to the truck.” He pinched my clit and my hips rocketed off the bed as desire s
hot straight up my spine.

  Even though the truck was cramped, we’d found ways over the last few weeks to make it work.

  It was still hard to believe I could want someone so much. His touch. His kiss. Even just to hear his soft drawl in my ear as he stole kisses and left dirty promises to me in the storage room at work.

  “I wanted… this…” I whimpered, my whole body shaking with need.

  His lips covered mine as my tongue begged him for more. Compared to his touch, our kiss was far more ravenous. And when I reached between us and gripped his swollen length, his entire massive form shuddered as I stroked him toward my entrance.

  I moaned into him at the feel of his blunt head probing into my slickness, just briefly, before he eased inside.

  “Jules…”

  My sex clenched at the way he moaned my name like it was the most perfect torture.

  I loved the feel of him the moment he was fully seated, my muscles shifting and stretching to accommodate him, preparing for what came next. I loved the way he whispered in my ear how good I felt, how wet and tight and perfect I was.

  And then he began to move and the world fell away.

  It was never about the things, the stuff I’d grown up with at Rock Beach. And, as happy as I was, it wasn’t even about nursing school. Life was about the dreams and finding someone who would share in them with you.

  Mick was my someone. My gorgeous Goliath. My good man.

  I moaned his name, unable to stop it from escaping my lips like a prayer. My hips rocked against his, craving more of his cock as he began to slam into me. I craved him like raw sugar, sweet and yet unrefined. He was perfect sweetness packed in a coarse grit and the most delicious of all addictions.

  My body spiraled higher and higher until there was nothing left to it except for the pieces that were attached to him.

  I screamed his name as my body detonated around him, clenching and pulling until his roar drowned out my cries and I felt the warm rush of his release inside me.

  Our bodies strained through the pleasure, fracturing in order to be put back together. Slowly, our breathing returned to normal, Mick sliding to the side of me and tucking me under his arm and against his chest.

  “Thank you,” I whispered, my finger trailing soft circles against the coarse hair on his pec.

  “For what, darlin’?”

  “For everything,” I murmured. “For saving me. For protecting me. For listening to my voice when I wasn’t sure I had one.” I tilted my head up to his. “And for loving me like you do.”

  He brushed a strand of hair out of my face—the consequence of always leaving my hair down. Then again, I think he loved the excuse to touch me, not that he needed one.

  “You don’t ever have to thank me for that, Jules. I’m the luckiest man alive to be able to love you.”

  Sometimes, it felt like my face wasn’t big enough to be able to contain the smiles he caused, my heart wasn’t big enough to fit how much I loved him, and my voice wasn’t loud enough to scream just how incredible he was.

  “Will you hold me?” I asked even though he already was.

  He grinned. “Always, darlin’. I’ll hold you for always.”

  Jules

  Six months later…

  “Laurel?” I called into her house.

  The front door was unlocked, and I wondered if that was for me, or if it was always the case. Our grandfather used to say that if someone here wanted to steal from him, whatever they took, they needed more than he did.

  I admired his generosity, but I doubted Eli would let the kind tradition continue when so many things were changing in Carmel.

  “Laurel, I’m here! Are you ready?” I set my purse and phone down on the dining table, adjusting the neckline of the wrap dress I had on.

  The light blue, floral fabric crossed over my chest, giving a healthy view of my décolletage before it tied at my waist and then draped down over my hips. The skirt opened in a similar fashion in the front, the material separating just above my knees, and grew longer as it worked its way to the back. Laurel informed me the style was called a high-low dress when she told me it was definitely the one I should wear for the rehearsal and dinner.

  All I knew was with the tiny straps as sleeves, the low neckline, and my knees showing, it was called something I never would’ve been allowed to wear before.

  “You don’t want to be late to your rehearsal.” I smiled softly.

  It was hard to believe she was getting married tomorrow.

  “I’m here. I’m ready.” My cousin charged around the corner, her small form carrying so much might. She stopped just in front of me, her hand covering her mouth.

  “Jules… you look… you look—” she broke off and pulled me in for a hug, finally finishing, “You look so beautiful.”

  “Me?” I pulled back with a laugh, taking a look at her. “You look so gorgeous. Eli is going to go crazy.”

  Her cheeks flushed.

  She had on a simple white dress, the top twisted just over her chest before looping around her neck. Simple, but her arms and back were completely bare, and the way the fabric pulled over her breasts—

  “Are you not wearing a bra?” I asked, my eyes widening.

  Laurel grinned. “Oh, Jules. Today, it’s the high-low dress. Tomorrow we explore bra-less attire.”

  I balked.

  It had only been six months since I walked away from my old life and the way I’d been raised. I didn’t expect the habits and thought processes from those decades to disappear overnight, and they didn’t. Like this, some lingered, but I challenged them at every turn.

  “I’m… curious.” And then I thought about how Mick would react to finding out I wasn’t wearing a bra underneath something and a hot thrill zinged through my cells. “And excited.”

  “I had a feeling you would be.” She winked.

  “But not tomorrow.” I reached for her shoulders. “Because tomorrow you’re getting married.”

  Like the reality sank in all over again, she stared at me for a second and then a wide smile split her face, a small squeal erupting before she hugged me all over again.

  “I’m so happy for you, Laurel,” I murmured.

  I cherished every moment I’d had with friends and family over the last six months. It was surprising just how quickly love and friendship could fill the decades’ deep hole my parents had left inside me.

  She shuddered against me. “I wish he was here,” she confessed.

  I didn’t need to ask who.

  “Pap would be so happy to see you happy. To see you here,” I told her, my voice thickening with the onslaught of unshed tears. “To see you with Eli.”

  “I know. I just wish he was still here.” We all did.

  I held her tight and then drew back, grabbing two tissues from the box on the table next to us along the way and handing them to her.

  Maid of Honor duties.

  “He will be there,” I promised her, trying to hold it together. Her watery blue gaze met mine. “He will be there in all of us—all of us who knew him. We all will bring a piece of his memory with us.”

  She stared at me, giving a series of small nods as tears leaked down her cheeks. We stayed like that for several moments of silence, comforted by the love that grew even in the midst of our grandfather’s loss.

  “Thank you,” she said quietly.

  “Of cour—”

  Laurel gasped, drying the rest of her face and reaching for my wrist. “We have to go! We’re going to be late.”

  I gaped, barely getting ahold of my things before she tugged us out of the door.

  “You weren’t in such a rush when I got here,” I charged, laughing as we approached Mick’s truck.

  I’d dropped him off at the Lookout first. It was where the wedding and all of the before and after events were taking place. Everyone else was already there but, as maid of honor, I’d been sent to go procure the bride while they finished setting everything up.

  “
Yes, well, I was handling some last-minute…things…with Mick.”

  “Mick?” I glanced at her, starting the engine.

  She shrugged, not meeting my gaze. “You know, just making sure Eli was still there.”

  I laughed.

  “He could get cold feet,” she insisted.

  “I’m pretty sure you burned away any chance at cold feet when you almost burned down your house,” I teased, turning off the driveway toward the restaurant.

  “I’ll never live that one down,” she mumbled, and we both laughed.

  A few seconds later, I realized she was still staring at me.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” Her head shook. “Are you ready to move?”

  My breath caught.

  While helping Laurel get everything ready for her wedding, I’d also been navigating the preparing for school process. Once I’d been accepted, Mick and I decided it didn’t make sense for us to live in Carmel. It would be too much of a commute, and Mick refused to take any chance that it would make things more difficult for me.

  So, we’d decided to move to Monterey.

  I thought it would be a harder decision—to choose to leave the home I’d just gotten back to.

  But it wasn’t.

  Mick was my home.

  And Carmel? Carmel would still be here. Not that far away at all. And we’d come back once I was done.

  We’d found an apartment there already. Mick was working on securing a renter for his place here. And our official move-in date was in three weeks, just about a month before I started orientation in August.

  “I’m ready for what comes next,” I replied, my smile widening.

  “With Mick?”

  I sucked in a quick breath, dragging my tongue over my lips and admitting guiltily, “I’m ready for anything with him.”

  She reached over and squeezed my hand, and I swore I saw her eyes glistening with unshed tears once more. “I’m so happy for you.”

  I playfully swatted her, wiping my own cheeks. “Don’t make us cry again. Tonight… tomorrow… is about you and Eli.”