Must Have Been Love (Camp Firefly Falls Book 20)
Page 4
I hear footsteps. They are too heavy to be Abigail’s mother. Damn it.
“What are you doing to my niece?” Brandon takes pity on us both and takes Abigail from my arms. Thank Christ. She quiets down immediately, snuggling right into his strong, capable chest. He’s a natural with babies. And dogs. And cars. And gay men, obviously.
“Why does the family think it’s so funny that I make the baby cry?”
“It’s just that you’re so perfect all the time. They enjoy seeing you ruffled by a tiny human.” He settles into the Adirondack chair, kicking his massive legs out in front of him.
“Well, it’s cruel. To both of us. How is it you’re so good with her? You don’t have any more experience with children than I do.”
Brandon shrugs, moving Abigail to his other arm easily while he reaches for her bottle. After settling her back in, he tells me, “I just like kids.”
“This might be an awkward time to discuss this, since we’re getting married tomorrow, but why haven’t we discussed having children before? I mean...I just assumed you didn’t want any since you never brought it up, but looking at you with your niece makes me think maybe I was wrong.”
“We never discussed it because I know you don’t want kids, and I’m fine with that. I just want you.”
My heart does its usual flip when he gives me that rogue-grin. Damn. I’m the luckiest sonofabitch on the planet. This burly man is all mine. “But you want them, don’t you?”
He shrugs. “I made peace with it, babe. There are plenty of good things about being childless, too. More freedom. More money. We’re going to have a great life.”
“And yet here we are babysitting an hour before our rehearsal.”
We rented out the camp for our wedding, too. We’re sharing our weekend with the anniversary celebration for Steve and Leah—and Abigail, who is three months old and screams whenever I hold her.
“I will make it up to you. Tomorrow night, of course, because tonight you don’t get your dose of Vitamin D.”
“Don’t remind me. I thought that superstition was for the bride. Since neither of us is a bride, why am I being forced into the lodge tonight?”
“It’s tradition. It will make you hotter for me tomorrow.”
“Brandon, I can’t get any hotter for you.”
The smile that splits his face gives me a hard-on. Everything about him gives me a hard-on.
Hell, even watching him with a baby is sexy.
And I don’t like babies.
“You should have everything you want. If you want a baby, we should talk about it.”
“You don’t want a baby.”
That’s true. But I want his happiness over my own in all things. He deserves whatever he wants, and if he can get it from me, all the better. “Your happiness means more to me than anything in this world.”
Abigail’s little fist opens, and she starts squeezing his skin while she eats.
“You’re good with that Little League team you help coach. You’d be a good dad. But that’s not what makes you happy. And your happiness means more to me than anything, too, Miller.”
Our firm sponsors a team, and this year I’ve been assisting in the coaching. Part of my slow down and enjoy life offline plan. “I only spend a few hours a week coaching them. I don’t have to live with them. Besides, I like kids. Just not babies.”
Brandon lifts his head. Something earnest and sweet lights his eyes. “We wouldn’t have to adopt a baby. There are plenty of older kids who need parents.”
I never thought of that before. “Is that...something you’d be interested in? Parenting an older child?”
In a graceful move, he brings Abigail to his shoulder for burping. “Well, yeah. Maybe. I mean, I’d like to get through the wedding and honeymoon. But maybe when we get back we can look at stuff. There’s no rush.”
I let the idea sink in. A little boy or girl who needs parents. Someone out of diapers who can talk and tell me what they need. Someone to play catch with. I think of my man reading stories to this phantom child in my head, and something in my heart opens. Another part of me I didn’t know existed.
Leah comes back to collect her child, and I pull Brandon onto one of the trails that leads to a quiet spot on the lake.
“We’re not having sex until tomorrow, you know,” he reminds me.
“I know. I just want you to myself for a little bit. Rehearsal starts soon.”
We don’t say anything else until we get to the shore. He sits on the grass and I sit in front of him, my back to his strong chest, his beefy arms wrapping around me instinctively.
He rests his chin on my shoulder. “This was a great idea. I didn’t realize how much I needed to just be with you. Planning a wedding is a ton of work. I remember Steve complaining about it last year, but he complains about a lot of shit that is no big deal. This really has been exhausting.”
We watch the ducks on the lake and just breathe. “It’s hard to believe we came here last year as exes. I can’t—I don’t know what I would do without you. I love you so much. To imagine I almost lost you...it’s the scariest thing in the world to me.”
He squeezes me and kisses my head. “Hey. We are meant to be. We’d have worked it out somehow. It just might have taken a little longer.”
“You really believe that?”
“I know it. You’re part of me. In my blood. We’d have found our way back to each other.”
I rest easy in his arms a few minutes more.
“This time tomorrow, you’ll be my husband.”
“Fucking right I will.”
“When we adopt—”
“Oh, it’s when now, is it? Half an hour ago, it was a hard maybe you’ll think about it.”
“It feels right. As soon as you suggested it, it felt right.”
“Okay, so when we adopt...”
“I want to bring them here to camp every year.”
“Done.”
It’s time to head back. I’m happy for the wedding, but I’m content to just sit here longer. “Hey, Brandon.”
“Yeah?’
“Where does blow job fit in the ‘no sex until we’re married’ spectrum?”
“Do not tempt me.”
“I just feel like this is one tradition we can buck. I mean, neither one of us is promising to obey the other, we’re not throwing a bouquet or garter at the reception, why is this one so important?”
“I can’t believe you’re the one trying to convince me to have sex when it’s not appropriate. Usually that’s my job.”
“Speaking of jobs,” I say.
“No, Miller. We are waiting until after the wedding. You’re just going to have to behave.”
I heave a dramatic sigh. “Fine. But don’t expect to get out of bed for a week after the wedding. I have plans for you.”
“I’m all yours, baby.”
Forever.
BRANDON AND MILLER aren’t ready to leave Camp Firefly Falls—are you? Did you know there are more than twenty books out in this multi-authored shared world?
Make sure to pick up the next one by Zoe York, available in July of 2018.
AS A RETIREMENT GIFT, Admiral Frank DeMarco has been gifted a week at an all-inclusive rustic resort in the Berkshires by his favorite Navy SEAL team. The VIP treatment is the last thing he wants, though. He has every intention to spend the week avoiding the other so-called Silver Fox campers—until one of them crawls into his bed in the middle of the night and he mistakes her for his late wife.
Grace Bennett knows better than to get involved with a man still clearly grieving the loss of his life-long partner. But there’s something about Frank’s gruff rejection of her that tugs at her heartstrings and makes her want to be his friend. And even though he claims he’s not interested in her company, he keeps turning up everywhere she is, like a six-foot-three muscle-bound lost puppy.
And then there’s the small matter of Grace needing a date for her daughter’s wedding at the end of their week at camp
... Ambushed by Love is a lighthearted and sexy opposites-attract rom com from the author of Skinny Dipping Dare and Take a Chance on Me.
About the Author
TRAGEN MOSS WRITES gay love stories. Because love is beautiful and love is fun. Tragen also likes cake, coffee, and boys kissing.
Tragen is represented by the oh-my-god-she’s-so-fabulous Deidre Knight at The Knight Agency
Hang out with Tragen on Facebook and never miss a new release by signing up for Tragen’s not-spamatical newsletter.
*Tragen wrote this author bio and feels really weird about using 3rd person.
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Did you love Must Have Been Love? Then you should read His Accidental Boyfriend by Tragen Moss and Brill Harper!
It all started with a little white lie...
Stanley Stone doesn't actually have a date for his sister's wedding. To get Bridezilla off his back, he invents a fake boyfriend using the name of a random online veterinarian. Stanley figures they'll just "break up" right before the big day and he'll go to the wedding minus one.
Only nothing in Stanley's life ever seems to go as planned. Living in a small town means the little white lie escalates quickly to a full-blown love affair with a pretend boyfriend—a relationship his whole hometown seems too invested in. When he thinks it can't get worse, the nerdy vet from the grainy picture unexpectedly shows up to work in Stanley's clinic. Stanley has to somehow convince the town the two of them are dating—while simultaneously keeping the grumpy vet from finding out that everyone thinks they're a thing.
Easier said than done since the no-nonsense, very serious, and way-hotter-than-any-nerd-should-be Garrett Tanaka, DVM, is probably straight.
It would be a mistake to fall for his accidental boyfriend. The humiliation factor alone should deter Stanley. But if there's one thing Stanley is good at, it's making mistakes.
Also by Tragen Moss
A Nerd in the Hand
Love, Actuarily
Nerdy Deeds: M/M Gay Romance
Private Lessons: M/M Gay Romance
Blackfish Island
His Accidental Boyfriend
Camp Firefly Falls
Must Have Been Love (Coming Soon)
Standalone
Don't Stop Believing: The Librarian Checks Out the Lumberjack
Watch for more at Tragen Moss’s site.