Anything For Love

by Melissa Foster

  “Best fiancé ever!” Riley went up on her toes and kissed him.

  As they headed inside, Riley felt her stress falling away. There was no more running, no more hiding or hoping their secret wedding didn’t get leaked to the press. Except, of course, their secret baby news. Keeping her excitement hidden from Jade was killing her. But every time they spoke, Jade raved about her new baby boy, and Riley couldn’t bring herself to dampen Jade’s excitement with worry over her own situation. In another few weeks it would be safe for them to tell the world. She hoped and prayed every day that her confused womb was no longer befuddled and had settled into nurturing their tiny miracle.

  Riley’s parents were arriving later that afternoon, and the wedding was scheduled for tomorrow evening on the terrace overlooking the lake. In order to keep their big day under wraps, they’d decided to do everything themselves, from making the food and wedding cake to the dresses and decorations. Riley had taken private baking and cake decorating lessons from her friend Molly, a baker who lived around the corner from their apartment in New York City. Molly owned a catering business, and in addition to teaching her how to make the cake, she’d lent Riley all the accouterments she’d need to make a beautiful wedding cake. With the help of Josh’s family, they should have plenty of time to make their homespun wedding everything they’d dreamed of.

  Inside the resort they were met with a sweet, woody scent, which was both comforting and homey, despite the immensity of the property. High ceilings with exposed beams boasted antler and iron chandeliers. Riley took in the worn hardwood floors and stone walls, wondering what secrets they held. Had Josh’s mother stood in this very spot all those years ago, as nervous as Riley was about her wedding coming together? Or had she been too overwhelmed with love to worry at all? She’d heard so many stories from Josh’s family about his mother, it was as if she still walked among them.

  Josh gathered her in his arms. “It’s perfect, isn’t it, baby?”

  “I can’t imagine anyplace better.”

  “Oh my gosh! You’re here!” Max’s hushed but excited voice drew them apart. Her efficient ponytail swung behind her as she hurried across the floor in her jeans and T-shirt and threw her arms around Riley. “I was afraid someone would spot you leaving and you’d end up rerouting to someplace else.” She stepped back and ran her eyes down Riley’s body. “Only you could glow like that after the night you’ve had. Wait until Jade sees you! She’s upstairs getting baby Hal—I mean little Hal, dressed.”

  “Thanks, Max. I can’t wait to see everyone.” Her eyes swept over Max’s pretty face. “You look different. Gorgeous, as always, but different.”

  “Contacts,” Max said with a shrug. “I got tired of Jade begging me to try them, and I finally gave in.”

  Riley’s bestie had a way of making people do things. Jade could probably convince Riley to fly if she tried hard enough.

  Josh embraced Max. “Thanks for helping us out this weekend.”

  “Do you really think you need to thank me? You guys are finally getting married!” Max covered her mouth. “Oops. Kids are still sleeping. We’d better be quiet.”

  “Well, as always, you look hot,” Riley said. “And Jade can be a little pushy.”

  “I am not pushy. I’m convincing.” Jade strutted down the wide staircase with her little raven-haired baby boy on her hip. He was the spitting image of his brooding father, from his serious dark eyes right down to the tiny jeans and dark T-shirt he wore.

  Riley reached for the baby. “Give me that handsome little devil. I’ve missed baby Hal.”

  “I have a baby and suddenly I’m unworthy of a hello?” Jade handed over her adorable little boy. Her black hair was pulled back in a clip, probably to keep it away from her baby’s grabby hands. “And by the way, right now he’s ‘little Hal.’ But you know how my macho Rexy is. In another month he’ll be calling him ‘big Hal.’”

  “He’ll always be ‘baby Hal’ to me, but I guess I can get used to ‘little Hal.’ And I can’t wait to get my hands on Finn, too.” She smiled down at the baby, tamping down the urge to reveal her big news. Josh’s brother Dane and his wife, Lacy’s, son, Finn, was a few weeks older than little Hal. Riley nuzzled against little Hal’s pudgy cheeks, making him giggle. The sound was music to her ears. He was almost a year old, but he still had that unique baby scent that tugged at all her maternal strings. “Little Hal and Finn are going to be trouble when they’re older.”

  “Only half as much trouble as Christian and Dylan,” Hugh said. Dylan was Treat and Max’s son. Hugh pulled Jade into an embrace and gave her a loud kiss on her cheek. “You look beautiful. Now, where’s my hot wife?”

  “Roar,” Jade teased as Jack drew her into a quick hug. “She’s upstairs helping Layla pick out an outfit for Christian. Layla is quite the attentive sister.”

  “That’s my girl.” Hugh took the steps two at a time.

  Riley soaked in the ever-present affection of Josh’s family. They embraced and watched over each other’s wives and children as if they were their own, and she felt like the luckiest girl in the world to be marrying into such a loving family.

  “Is Savannah upstairs with Adam?” Jack asked, heading for the stairs to see his wife and baby.

  “No.” Max pointed toward the rear of the house. “Finn’s teething. He was up three times last night. She and Lacy are taking a walk with the babies out back. And Hal’s walking the property with Treat, Dane, and Rex, probably making lists of repairs that need to be done to the inn.”

  “Josh, you might as well go outside with the men,” Jade suggested. “Because I’m stealing your fiancée to go over wedding preparations. It’s my right as matron of honor.”

  Josh feigned a growl and leaned toward Riley for a kiss. “I’ll take your goodies up to our room, and then I’ll join them outside.” He held up the box of brownies still wrapped in his jacket.

  “It’s okay. I’ve got it.” Riley took the box. “Go have fun with your family. Love you.”

  He stole another kiss. “Love you, too, babe. And no worrying.”

  Riley snuggled little Hal as she watched Josh walk away. His white shirt fit his broad back and slim waist to mouthwatering perfection and disappeared into a pair of dark jeans that hugged his butt perfectly.

  “Don’t drool on my baby.” Jade took little Hal from her. “I swear our Braden men have us wrapped around their little fingers, don’t they?”

  Riley arched a brow. “I assure you, there’s nothing little about my man.”

  “Oh Lord. Here we go.” Max rolled her eyes. “Before we go down the ‘my man’s meat is bigger than yours’ path, what are you worried about? The wedding?”

  “A little. And we’ve been talking about where we want to live when we start our family,” Riley confessed. “But let’s not talk about that right now. I want to think about things I know the answers to, like how fantastic our wedding is going to be.”

  “Don’t you mean how fantastic your wedding night is going to be?” Jade waggled her brows.

  They giggled their way into the kitchen, where they found Charlotte standing in front of the griddle wearing a pair of skimpy denim shorts and a man’s button-down shirt that was at least two sizes too big, rolled up at the cuffs and unbuttoned three buttons deep. Her head was cocked to the side, and she was scribbling in a notebook with one hand while holding a spatula with the other and…moaning.

  Sensually.

  Max grabbed Jade’s and Riley’s arms, stopping them from going any closer.

  Charlotte’s head lolled back, eyes closed, and she let out a breathy sigh. Riley bit back a giggle. Charlotte’s back arched, and she moaned again. Her hips rocked forward, and her hand—the one with the spatula—dragged down her thigh as another needy sound escaped her lips. It was like watching a one-sided pornographic cooking show. Suddenly she leaned forward, her dark hair curtaining her face, and she scribbled something in the notebook again.

  “Um…I want whatever you had for brea
kfast!” Riley said with a laugh.

  Charlotte squealed. “You’re here!” Her cheeks were flushed, like she’d just had sex. She shoved the pen behind her ear and looked at the spatula and then at the griddle, as if she wasn’t sure what to do with either.

  “Here, give it to me, Char. You’re dangerous with cooking utensils.” Max took the spatula and gave her a friendly shove toward Riley.

  “Thanks for letting us barge in on, uh, whatever that was.” Riley hugged her with one hand, still holding the box of brownies in the other. They had met only a few times, but they’d instantly clicked despite Charlotte’s inability to focus on anything other than writing for longer than a few minutes due to a publishing deadline. Riley and Josh had assured her they would handle everything for the wedding and not interrupt her work.

  “I feel like I need a cigarette,” Jade joked.

  “The life of an erotic-romance writer is never dull.” Charlotte tickled little Hal’s belly. “Then again, I guess your mama’s life is never dull either, is it, cutie pie? I’d like one of these little guys of my own one day. But the closest I come to baby making is inked on the pages of my books. I’m so glad you guys are here. It’s nice to hear some life in this big old place.”

  “Oh my gosh. Charlotte!” Max exclaimed, staring down at the griddle. She lowered her voice and said, “Penis pancakes?”

  Riley and Jade sidled up to Max to check them out. Sure enough, in the pan were two pancakes, each around eight inches long and two inches thick, complete with bulbous mushroom caps and roundish testicles.

  “Research.” Charlotte was one of those women who didn’t walk; she moved like she was either on a mission or completely lost. There was no in between. Clearly on a mission, she took the spatula from Max and flipped the pancakes. “What do you think? Pretty lifelike, right?” She set the spatula beside the stove and picked up her notebook. “I’m writing a story about a grocery store clerk who hooks up with an erotic male dancer. She’s a nightmare in the kitchen, which I can totally relate to, but she can cook pancakes. Like…only pancakes. After they hook up, she makes him dinner.” She eyed the pancakes again. “I think it totally works, right?”

  “Lord,” Max said under her breath.

  Jade peered at the griddle again. “Looks about an inch too small, and too thin. Definitely too thin.”

  Riley laughed. “No comment. I wouldn’t want to make you feel like you were missing out.” Jade elbowed her, and they roared with laughter.

  “They’re going to burn.” Max snagged the spatula and flipped them again. “I can’t believe I’m flipping a penis.”

  “That would be penises,” Jade offered.

  “Or peni?” Riley suggested. “What’s the plural of it anyway?”

  “Cocks? Schlongs? Flesh P—” Jade bent over in hysterics. “Flesh Popsicles?”

  Max turned beet-red. “You are so bad.”

  “Oh, come on. It took me forever to get them right.” Charlotte grabbed a plate from the other side of the counter and set it in front of them. It was piled high with crooked penis pancakes.

  “This one looks like the Leaning Tower of Pisa,” Jade pointed out.

  “Why do you have to make them and get them right? They’re not actually going in the book.” Riley gasped. “Oh my gosh. Char, do you do all your research hands-on? For everything?”

  All eyes turned to Charlotte, who seemed unaffected by their curiosity and delighted at the prospect of researching erotic love scenes with their men. “Well, sure.” She tucked a wayward lock of her tousled dark hair behind her ear. “I mean, if I’m going to write about a couple having sex on the stairs, I have to make sure the angle works, right? And it’s not just the size and shape of the pancake that matters for research. It’s the making of it. I have to imagine a man nibbling my neck while I’m stirring, or flipping, or—”

  “Coming,” Jade suggested.

  Max’s cheeks burned redder. “Jade!”

  “Best. Job. Ever,” Riley added. “So, who’s the lucky research partner? Some hunky mountain man?”

  Char scoffed. “You’re kidding, right? You think there are men around here? Nope. Just me and my blow-up dolls. It’s the mechanics of the scenes that need to work, not the…”

  “Intensity of the orgasms?” Jade asked. “Because I think that’s what really matters. And we are so going to fix your no-man problem,” Jade promised.

  Charlotte shook her head. “I’m not the dating type, but thank you very much. Guys are a pain. They get jealous of my hours at the keyboard, and they’re never as attentive as the heroes I create. It’s a recipe for disaster.”

  “Funny,” Riley said. “I’m never disappointed with Josh in the attentiveness department. Maybe you’re just going out with the wrong guys.”

  “Whatever.” Charlotte waved a hand dismissively.

  “You know,” Max said. “Our hubbies have all those single cousins out in Pleasant Hill, Maryland. I bet Beau Braden could help you fix this place right up. He’s smart and funny, not to mention handsome—”

  “Thanks,” Charlotte said, cutting her off. “But he’s a man, which means he’ll be jealous and demanding, and like I said, not nearly as good as my heroes. Better to live in a fantasy world that I can turn on and off with the flick of a switch.”

  “Or an air pump,” Jade added.

  Charlotte laughed. “I’m never naked with my dolls. Gosh, you guys should write dirty books.” She picked up a pancake from the plate and bit the head off of one of the crooked penises. “A dirty mind is a wonderful thing.”

  “I smell pancakes!” Max and Treat’s daughter, Adriana, said as she bounded into the kitchen with her younger brother, Dylan, putting an end to their matchmaking efforts and penis talk.

  “Incoming!” Jade moved between the griddle and the kids.

  Riley put the box of brownies on top of the fridge before the kids could ask about it.

  “Aunt Riley!” Adriana threw her arms around Riley’s waist. At almost seven she was tall and lanky, with eyes as green as the grandmother she was named after and hair as thick as Max’s and as dark as Treat’s.

  “I want some!” Dylan stretched to his tiptoes to peer above the edge of the counter. He, too, was tall, but at just shy of four years old, he was still not quite tall enough.

  Thank goodness.

  Max pushed the plate of pancakes away from her son’s eager hands. “Those are Charlotte’s pancakes. I’ll make you some of your own.”

  “They can eat the pancakes. I’ve already set the scene in my head.” Charlotte grabbed a plate from the cabinet, oblivious to Max’s glare. She took a fork and knife from the drawer, cut off the pancake testicles, rearranged them on the plate, and handed it to Dylan. “A rocket ship and two clouds.” She winked at Max and whispered, “Writers are very creative.”

  Guess she isn’t oblivious after all.

  “May I please have a rocket ship?” Adriana asked so politely Riley’s heart squeezed.

  “Let the morning madness begin,” Jade said excitedly. “Big rockets for everyone! Can we make some with smoke coming out of the top?”

  “Yeah!” the kids screamed.

  Riley tried to squelch a laugh and snorted, earning a round of laughter from everyone else.

  Max shook her head. “See what you’re missing by living in New York, Ri? Jade and the kids and I have breakfast together several times a week. I know what Jade’s breakfast special will be from now on.”

  “Rocket ships and…” Jade’s eyes sparked with mischief. “Twin mountain peaks.” She and Riley laughed again.

  “My job here is done,” Charlotte said with a satisfied smirk. “Back to my writing.”

  “Just a sec,” Max said. “Last night Rex and Treat noticed that some of the railings were loose on the terrace where we’re going to have the ceremony. Since they’re building the canopy, they said they could fix those, too, but they couldn’t find the wood they had delivered last month.”

  “Oh, right. Sor
ry. It’s in the woodshed down by Snow White’s cabin.”

  Max arched a brow.

  “Sorry. The original log cabin. If you saw it, you’d understand. When I was younger, I expected dwarfs to come out whistling every time I went down there. Too bad I never saw the handsome prince. I’ll draw you a map.” Charlotte tore a piece of paper from her notebook and began drawing a map. “There’s a small tractor and trailer in the shed they can use to transport the wood. At least there was when I first moved in. I haven’t been out there for three years.”

  “Three years?” Max asked.

  “Yeah. I wasn’t kidding when I said I never leave my little wing of this place. I only opened this big kitchen for you guys a few days ago. And I didn’t get everything cleaned out. So I’d stay away from the cabinets on that end of the room.” Charlotte waved her hand toward the intricately detailed maple cabinets across the enormous kitchen. “I live on microwaved foods, peanut butter and jam, and energy bars. I usually use my kitchenette, but I didn’t want to miss welcoming Josh and Riley this morning.” She handed the paper to Max.

  “What are these?” Max pointed to several points on the map.

  “Rock formations, groups of trees. You’ll know when you get there,” Charlotte assured her.

  “Why don’t you open the resort again?” Riley asked. “I bet you could make a killing.”

  Charlotte shrugged. “Maybe one day, but right now I’m perfectly happy writing. Besides, there’s a ton of work to be done around here. The railings are only the tip of the iceberg, and I don’t have time to breathe.” She tousled Dylan’s hair. “Enjoy the pancakes, little man. You girls can come get me if you need anything—but you might want to knock first.” She winked and headed out of the kitchen.

  “Hi, Char,” Brianna said, passing Charlotte on her way out of the kitchen as she entered with Layla and Christian.

  Layla made a beeline for Riley, giving her big hug. “Hi, Aunt Riley. Mommy said Adriana and I can make the flower headdresses for the wedding. We found some pretty flowers by the lake. I can’t wait to make them.”