Wild & Sweet (The Haven Brotherhood)

by Rhenna Morgan

  It wouldn’t take strawberries to make that happen. Not plain or stuffed with cream cheese frosting. The first movie hadn’t even come on yet and she was already floating in a way she’d never felt before. Danny was right. These really were good people. Friendly and unpretentious.

  And Zeke had shared them with her.

  Footsteps crunched against the fine gravel that made up the parking lot, and Axel’s rich and gravelly voice broke through her thoughts. “Should’ve known Zeke had shown with Gabe when Ma hightailed it out of the concession stand without flirting with old man Dodger first.”

  Spinning, Gabe found not only Axel, but a woman about Sylvie’s age with platinum hair to her shoulders. Both hauled two handfuls of the same monstrous-sized popcorn tubs as Sylvie had, but it was the woman she assumed was Ninette that held her focus. Where Sylvie was all things vibrant and homey, Ninette oozed intelligence and a strength gained only by experience.

  Not the least bit flustered by Axel’s obvious taunt, Sylvie cocked an eyebrow at him and started filling up her own plate with desserts. “Oh, haud yer wheesht! Someone has to look out for the lass and teach her how ta keep ye bloody boys in line.” She waved Ninette closer. “Ninnie, come meet Zeke’s Gabrielle.”

  Before Ninette could make it halfway to the table, Knox and Beckett intercepted and relieved her of her popcorn. Knox glanced at Gabe, grinned and said plain as day, “Told you she was a looker.”

  “She is, indeed,” Ninette said with a genuine smile.

  Hardly. Not compared to Ninette. She might be old enough to have a son in his early thirties, but her skin was still soft and radiant enough to give some women half her age a run for their money, and her eyes were a stunning blue. Not at all the woman she’d pictured as Jace’s mother.

  Ninette glided toward them, a soft sway to her hips that spoke of confidence and open sensuality. “Have to admit, it’s nice to see another one of our boys fired up to bring a new woman around.” She glanced at Gabe’s near-to-overflowing plate and chuckled. “An even bigger bonus for Sylvie if you’re a sugar lover.”

  Strong arms slid around Gabe’s waist a second before she found herself firmly pulled against Zeke’s front. “Don’t steer her away from the sweets, mamãe. Our first kiss came after Sylvie’s cupcakes, so I’m a fan.”

  “Zeke!” Her cheeks flamed hot in an instant.

  Ninette and Sylvie both let out guffaws loud enough to draw looks from others outside their group. Before their laughter had fully died out, Ninette snagged one of the frosting stuffed strawberries and motioned to the cluster of men behind them. “Sugar, we’ve raised two boys and all but adopted those other four. Nothing they say or do is gonna shock us or sway what we think of you, so let that shit go.”

  Sylvie shrugged and popped a bite-size cheesecake in her mouth. “Well,” she muttered around the morsel, not the least bit concerned about talking with her mouth full, “unless Zeke here tells us ye’ve a stash of sexy man-candy photos tucked away yer not willin’ ta share. Then we’d have to ban ye from our merry group on the basis of bein’ stingy.”

  More laughter filled the deepening night, Viv’s beautiful voice mingling with the deep rumble of the other men and wrapping Gabe up as surely as Zeke’s arms around her.

  “See?” Zeke murmured low in her ear. “I told you, they’d love you.”

  Nearly an hour later, cozied up beside Zeke in the back of their SUV and so full on delicious food she could barely breathe, she had to concede his point. Danny hadn’t been wrong. Zeke’s family wasn’t like anything she’d ever imaged. Every one of them were unique, and yet they came together in a colorful tapestry that allowed the people within their circle to let down their guard and just be. A safe place.

  A haven.

  Her eyes drifted closed, the soft back-and-forth glide of Zeke’s thumb along her belly lulling her farther and farther from the cybercrime plot unfolding on the screen.

  Zeke’s low voice near her ear sent a pleasant shiver down her spine. “You want me to take you home?”

  She shook her head, too replete and content to even think of disrupting their cocoon. “I like it here.”

  He chuckled and shifted so he could better see her face. “Made you a fan of drive-ins, huh?”

  Peace, that precious, but all-too elusive gift she seldom felt except when alone or with Danny, whispered through her. “I’m a fan of you. And your family.”

  Something moved across his face. An emotion she couldn’t quite tag, but that energized the space between them with a pleasant hum. “You mean that?”

  “I do.”

  He smiled, his gaze moving over her face as though cataloguing every detail. “You were comfortable? No panic?”

  “No.” At least not anything she’d been unable or unwilling to navigate. Though she chalked most of that up to his very even-keel clan.

  “You think you might be up for something more? Maybe a dinner out?”

  “With your family?”

  He shook his head. “Just with me. I’ve got a dinner thing I’m supposed to go to Saturday night. They’re a bore, but I need to go for my job. Normally I duck in and out, but it’d be nice to have someone with me.” He dragged his thumb along her jawline. “To have you with me.”

  You’ve pushed the envelope enough already, don’t you think?

  You’ll do something stupid and then he’ll find out who you really are.

  Then he’ll be gone.

  No. She wasn’t listening to that trash anymore. Wasn’t going to let the negative thoughts weigh her down. Not this time. She’d done just fine today. Heck, with Zeke beside her, she could probably do anything.

  She snuggled closer to him and nodded. “What do I need to wear?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Talk about a stranger in a foreign land. Gabe meandered through the department store’s never-ending racks of clothes and stared at the headless white mannequin near the main aisle. Going by the frilly outfit pinned and tucked to the sterile plastic form, she’d assumed this was the formal section, but everything around her looked like it belonged on some frail and elderly librarian.

  God, she was screwed. Seriously, big-time, in-over-her-head screwed.

  A spunky, feminine voice sounded behind her. “You need some help?”

  Gabe spun and found a smiling, curvy girl about Gabe’s age with a hand cocked on one hip and the other loaded with clothes on hangers. For this particular department store, she was dressed pretty edgy. Technically conservative if you went by just the black pants and shirt, but thrown way out on the edge with the bold silver earrings and vibrant turquoise headband wrapped around her unnaturally tinted maroon hair.

  The woman smiled and smacked her gum. “You looked a little lost. They just moved everything around, so I thought you might need some help.”

  Help. Yes, help would be good.

  Are you insane?

  She’ll see how clueless you are.

  How pathetic you are.

  Instead of grabbing the lifeline the lady had offered, Gabe shook her head and averted her face, wishing she could crawl underneath one of the racks and hide until the coast was clear.

  God, this was so stupid. She needed help and it was right there in front of her. She could totally do this. She’d met Zeke’s family not once, but twice—mothers included. All she had to do was dredge up a little solo courage. She sucked in a fortifying breath and turned.

  Goth girl was gone.

  Gabe hurried out to the main aisle and spied the top of her wild, yet artfully coifed hair bebopping around the corner. “Wait!”

  Goth girl backed up, but the smile she’d offered before was gone, replaced with a wary, or maybe hurt, expression.

  “I’m sorry. Shopping’s not exactly my thing.” Gabe gripped the hem of her flannel shirt and
shrugged. “Normally I just wear stuff like this, but I need something nice for a dinner.”

  The girl sidled closer, draping the clothes over one arm and giving Gabe the once-over. “What kind of dinner?”

  A dinner she was bound and determined to make it through, no matter what it took. “My...” Crap, what did she call him? Did you still call a guy a boyfriend after high school? “The guy I’m seeing. He said it was a work thing and he’s wearing a suit, so I’m guessing there will be some bigwigs. Maybe his boss.”

  “What’s he do?”

  “He’s a doctor. An emergency room doctor.”

  The girl gaped back at her. “Whoa. Nice.” She sauntered a little closer and held out her hand, her multi-jewel-toned bracelets clinking with the sudden motion. “I’m April, by the way.”

  Gabe shook her hand and shared her own name. “So what do you think? Any ideas?”

  April frowned and scanned the far end of the building. “Well, you could go the LBD route.”

  “LBD?”

  “Little Black Dress.” April shrugged and went back to smacking her gum. “It’s not really my thing, but lots of women say that’s the go-to outfit when you’re not sure what to wear. If it’s formal, you’d still come off classy. If it’s casual, you’d look slick. Hence the can’t-go-wrong part.”

  Well, that made sense. Not that she’d have the first freaking clue where to find one. “Do you have any of those?”

  “Girl, that’s a staple in these kinds of stores. Not that there’s anything wrong with black. I mean, helllooo.” She motioned to her outfit. “I just don’t go for dresses. God did not intend for my Lily Munster complexion to be shown from the waist down.”

  Gabe rolled one foot back on its heel and waggled the toe of one boot. “My complexion doesn’t bother me, but it’s hard to match steel-toed boots with dresses.”

  April snorted and slapped her thigh. “Oh, I don’t know. My friend Theresa matches steel-toed boots with tights all the time.” She waved Gabe down the aisle to a different section. “Come on, we’ll see what we can find.”

  Forty-five minutes and a dressing room littered with clothes later, Gabe tried on her favorite for the fifth time. Surely trying on clothes counted as exercise. God knew, she’d given her belly a workout sucking it in on a few of the numbers she’d wiggled into.

  Damn, but this one looked good. And that was saying something considering she knew nothing about fashion. It was simple, which made her feel a whole lot more comfortable, the top half something April had called a halter while the bottom half clung to her hips. Unlike some of the others that had barely covered her ass, this one hit just a little above her knees. She felt classy. Elegant.

  A knock sounded on her dressing room door. “You still alive in there?”

  Man, April had been a godsend. And to think she’d nearly let her walk away. “Yeah, I think I picked the right one.” The price was going to set her back on her new computer and phone for a little while, but if it meant she wouldn’t embarrass Zeke, it would be worth it. She opened the door. “What do you think?”

  “Niiice.” April juggled the armful of stuff in her arms and swirled her finger in a circle. “Lemme see the back.”

  Gabe turned and glanced over her shoulder. “Does it fit right? I mean, it’s supposed to be snug, isn’t it?”

  “Girl, it’s perfect. You couldn’t have picked better. Now...” She bulldozed her way past Gabe into the dressing room and plunked her armload of stuff on the chair tucked into the corner. “I figured if you’re a work-boots kind of gal, you didn’t have much in the way of cute shoes, so I grabbed you these. You said you were a seven, right?”

  Holy. Crap. She hadn’t even thought about shoes. Or underwear. Or a purse. From the looks of the pile spilling onto the floor, April was totally on the case. “Um, yeah.”

  “Good.” April held up a pair of shiny black heels. “These should be perfect. And they’re on sale. So’s the purse. Couldn’t do much on the bras and panties, though. That’s the store’s bread and butter.”

  Gabe carefully took the shoes and studied them from every angle. “I’m going to kill myself.”

  “No, you won’t. Those have platforms on ‘em. They look crazy tall, but they’re really not. See how all that works for you. I gotta run before my boss jumps my ass again. I’ll swing back in ten and see if you’re good.” She hustled out of the tiny room and waved. “And if I don’t catch you, have a killer time!”

  Waving April off with an enthusiasm she didn’t feel, Gabe slunk back into the dressing room. She re-checked the price tag on the dress. Then the shoes and all the other goodies. She knocked the merchandise to the floor and plopped on the chair. Okay, so this was going to take a wallop out of her savings instead of a dent. It would still be worth it. The only other option at this point was to call Zeke with some kind of lame excuse and, deep down, she really wanted to go. To try and be pretty, or maybe even sexy, just once.

  Satisfied everything fit the way it should, she gathered up the things she wanted and trudged with full arms to the register. So what if she’d have to wait longer for her computer. This would be a good thing. A step in the right direction. And how freaking awesome was it she’d met a person like April to help her get ready for it all? It kind of made her wish she’d asked the girl more about herself. Where she hung out and what she liked to do.

  She paid for her purchases and scanned the racks behind her for any sign of April. She’d just tucked her receipt in her bag and hefted her purse on her shoulder when the top of April’s head went traipsing above a rack of casual tops.

  Gabe hustled that direction, hoping she wasn’t about to make a complete idiot out of herself.

  So what if you do? No one else is watching. Logically, she knew that was the truth, but it didn’t lessen the spotlight sensation she always felt in situations like this. “Hey, April.”

  April stopped, searched for the source of the voice, locked onto Gabe and grinned. “You got ‘em! Yay!” Bustling closer, she poked a pen in her messy up-do. “Did you get the undies, too? They’re crazy expensive, but I’ll bet they’ll be worth it.”

  “Yeah, I got them.” She glanced down at the bag. “Actually, I got a cute red pair just like them, too. Well, not red, really. More like scarlet.”

  “Mmm-hmm. Smart girl.” April cocked her head. “Need something else?”

  “Well...” Just say it. Say thank you at least. “I just wanted to tell you thank you for helping me. And...” She wiped her hand on her jeans. “I wanted to give you my number. I thought maybe we could grab coffee sometime if you live somewhere close?”

  April’s head jerked backward, a confused expression on her face.

  Oh, God. She probably thought Gabe was asking her out for a date or something. “I mean, I just thought you were fun to hang with, and I don’t have a lot of friends where I work.”

  Much better. Less desperate and more reasonable.

  It seemed to work, too. April smiled that big, whole-hearted smile of hers, jerked her pen out of her hair, and pilfered an unused price tag from the stack in her hand. “You bet. I’ll jot my number down and you can text me yours later. They don’t let me keep my cell phone on the floor.” She held it out as soon as she was done. “First phone call better be as soon as the date is over, though. I wanna hear how the undies score.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Makeup, three different kinds of hairbrushes and more styling products than Gabe had owned her entire life littered her bathroom’s one-sink vanity. Two hours since she’d stepped into the shower and embarked on her first girly crusade, and she still wasn’t sure if she’d hit the mark. She’d kept the eye shadow light for fear of straying into overdone hooker territory, but the smoky grays and soft black liner seemed to make her eyes a little bolder. The rich red lipstick had made it all of five minu
tes before she’d washed it off and gone with a softer, barely there pink.

  She smoothed her hand down the front of her dress and twisted enough to check the back. No tags and no strings hanging off anywhere, so that was good. Surprisingly, April had been right about the pumps. They really didn’t feel too uncomfortable and she’d practiced wearing them practically since she got home. Shower not included.

  The swoosh and ka-chunk of the front door opening and closing rattled through the otherwise quiet house. She’d locked it before she’d jumped in the shower, so it had to be Danny.

  Sure enough, his voice bellowed from the living room. “Jesus, Gabe. What’d you do? Buy every issue Cosmo ever made?”

  Shit. She’d forgotten about the magazines. And technically it wasn’t every issue ever made. More like the past twelve months since that was all the secondhand bookstore had available. “Give me a minute and I’ll clean them up.”

  Swiping the makeup into her top drawer and tossing the brushes into the one below it, she double-checked her hair one last time in the mirror. It wasn’t anything fancy, just her usual loose arrangement, but it looked poofier than normal. Shiny, too.

  She hustled to the living room and gathered up the magazines. “Can you hand me that one on the end table?” she said to Danny, straightening the pillows on the sofa as she worked. She turned and found Danny frozen in the middle of the room, his gaze locked on her dress. “What?”

  Danny just stood there, dumbfounded.

  Dropping the magazines on the coffee table, she straightened and smoothed her hands down the low cut V neckline, making sure everything was where it was supposed to be. “Does it look bad? I was going for casual dressy. The girl at the store said this could go either way.”