Chased by Love (Love in Bloom: The Ryders): Trish Ryder

by Melissa Foster

  “And you love it, baby, as you should. It would be worse if they didn’t care.”

  I love you was on the tip of her tongue, but he hadn’t said it yet, and with her realization that they had so much more to learn about each other, she fought hard to hold the words back.

  He kissed her tenderly, making her wish they could just lock the doors and hole up for the afternoon. She wanted to sit right there on the couch listening to him play the guitar while his soulful voice sank into her bones. She imagined curling up beside him reading. It felt like forever since she’d had a chance to dive into a Kristan Higgins or Diane Chamberlain novel. Her phone vibrated, pulling her from her reverie—and from their toe-curling kisses.

  She showed Boone Duke’s name on the screen, then sent a group text to her brothers and parents. I’m in a hurry. Group Skype? Don’t text back unless you can’t Skype. I’m logging on now. She grabbed her laptop from upstairs and settled in beside Boone again.

  “You’re doing it here? Don’t you want privacy?” He pushed to his feet, and she pulled him back down.

  “I’m doing it here because I don’t want privacy. Do you mind staying? Please?”

  “Sure, but as a guy with a sister, I can tell you that your brothers probably won’t say what they want to in front of me.”

  “Trust me, they won’t hold back. Besides, I’m proud to be your girlfriend. I have nothing to hide.” She signed onto Skype and snuggled in beside Boone, trying to hide her nervousness. She wasn’t afraid of what her brothers would think of Boone, but the last time she’d introduced a boyfriend to them all at once was back in high school, and it hadn’t been her choice. She’d made the mistake of telling Jake the name of the guy she was dating, and that weekend all five of her brothers had shown up at their parents’ house and demanded to meet him. The relationship didn’t last through the weekend. But now she was an adult—an extremely busy adult—and she had no choice but to answer them all at once. The crew would be there any minute, and leaving her brothers hanging after they’d sent so many messages would only lead to a string of texts and lengthy explanations later.

  Her parents’ faces appeared on the screen. They were sitting at the kitchen table. Her father had one arm draped over the back of her mother’s chair.

  “Hi, baby girl,” her mother said with a warm smile. She had the same sandy-blond hair color as Cash and Gage. Duke’s was similar, though slightly darker.

  “Hi, Mom. Dad.” Both of her parents wore glasses; her mother’s were amber, and her father’s wire-framed. The hipster trend made them look younger, too.

  “Hi, pumpkin,” her father said. He was big and broad-chested, with dark hair peppered with gray. His silver soul patch gave him a youthful look. If he were in the same room, he’d have given Trish a big, warm hug.

  “‘Pumpkin,’” Boone whispered.

  Before anyone could say a word, each of her brothers’ handsome faces appeared on the screen in quick succession.

  “Hey, sis,” Duke said with a serious face, making her heart race even faster.

  “Trishy, how’s it goin’?” Jake’s face was going in and out of focus. “Can you see me? I’m on a mountain.”

  “Yes,” Trish answered. “You’re shaking, but I can see you. Are you on a rescue?”

  “No. Just out for a hike,” Jake said.

  “For the record,” Blue said, pointing at the monitor, “Boone, I would have preferred to meet you in person.” All her brothers were built like their father, but Blue also shared his dark hair.

  “I haven’t even introduced him yet.” Trish leaned to the side, giving Boone more room. “Boone, this is my family.” She pointed to each of her brothers as she introduced them. “Duke.” Duke nodded. “Gage.”

  “Hey, sis. Hi, Boone,” Gage said. “Nice to meet you. Ignore Duke’s scowl.”

  “I’m not scowling,” Duke said.

  Cash laughed. “Dude, you’re scowling. Boone, I’m Cash. I’d prefer to shake your hand, too.”

  “Hopefully we’ll be able to do that soon,” Boone said.

  “Mom, Dad, this is Boone,” Trish said with a wide smile. “Boone, Andrea and Ned, my awesome parents.”

  “Sorry we’re not there to greet you properly,” Andrea said. “But it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  Her father waved. “Nice to meet you, son.”

  Trish’s chest warmed at the unexpected endearment.

  The sounds of car doors alerted them to the arrival of the crew. “I have to hurry. The crew is arriving, but I wanted to introduce you guys to Boone.” She leaned back and motioned to Boone, who smiled and waved. “And to tell you not to worry about what the press says about his background. He’s not the guy they all think he is.”

  “What kind of guy are you, Boone?” Duke asked.

  Boone gazed at Trish with an easy smile, like it was the simplest question he’d ever heard. “The kind of guy who adores your sister.” He turned back to her family and said, “And the type of guy who’s also close to his family.”

  “Uh-huh,” Duke said skeptically. “And while you’re with Trish, you’re done with the other women?”

  “Duke!” Trish chastised him at the same time his fiancée, Gabriella, peered over Duke’s shoulder.

  “Hi, everyone. Boone, I’m Gabriella. Please ignore my overprotective fiancé. He’s hardly one to talk.”

  “Seriously,” Jake said, his face bouncing in and out of the frame. “Who cares what he was like before Trish? This is real simple. You hurt Trish, we hurt you.”

  “Boys,” Ned said in a firm voice.

  “That’s okay,” Boone assured him. “I’ve got a sister. I get it. I have no intention of hurting Trish.”

  Several crew members came in through the front door, bringing a cacophony of commotion with them.

  “We have to go. The crew has arrived.” Trish rose to her feet, bringing the laptop with her.

  “Wait, Trish,” Blue interjected. “How long are you in West Virginia?”

  “Two weeks,” she and Duke said at the same time.

  “How’d you know?” Trish asked.

  Duke’s sly grin gave his answer. Her eldest brother had connections in every industry. He’d probably already done a full background check on Boone.

  “Duke, seriously?” She shook her head.

  Her mother laughed. “Oh, honey, he worries about you.”

  “Boone? Chuck’s looking for you.” Zoe’s voice entered the room before she did. Her blond hair was pinned up in a messy bun. She touched her headset and spoke into it. “Got him. We’re coming.”

  “Guess I’ve got to run. It was nice meeting you all,” Boone said to her family. “After we’re done filming, let’s try to grab dinner or something?”

  “Looking forward to it,” her mother said sweetly.

  “Thanks for taking the time to meet us, Boone,” her father chimed in. “Good luck on the movie. Trish, we have to sign off, honey. We’ve got breakfast with the Wilkinsons in ten minutes.”

  “Okay. Love you guys,” she said to her parents.

  “See you later.” Boone gave Trish a quick peck on the cheek and followed Zoe out the front door.

  Trish carried the laptop upstairs as she spoke. “Sorry, guys, but I have to get out there, too.”

  “Wait, Trish. How serious is this?” Cash asked.

  Serious enough that I should thank you for the first-aid kit. If she told them the truth, they’d ask her ten more questions. “I don’t know. Pretty serious.” She set her laptop on the bed and slipped her feet into a pair of sandals.

  “Why this guy?” Duke asked. “You can have any guy. Why do you want the one with the troublesome past?”

  “Sorry, Trish, but I’ve got to chime in here,” Cash said. “What makes you think he’ll treat you any differently than any of the other women he’s been with?”

  “You guys haven’t even met him in person yet,” Gage said to their brothers.

  “He’s right,” Blue added.

/>   She heard the front door open and footsteps on the hardwood floors.

  “Trish, makeup is looking for you,” Zoe called from the bottom of the stairs.

  She bent to look at her brothers. Jake was still going in and out of focus. Gage and Blue were looking at something off camera, and Cash and Duke were watching Trish like a hawk.

  “Trish? Costume needs you before makeup!” a male voice called up the stairs.

  “I’m sorry. I’m running late. I don’t have time for these questions right now. Love you, but I have to run.” She signed off before they could protest, feeling guilty for cutting them off but relieved at the same time. As she hurried downstairs and out the front door, she wondered if she’d been conditioned after all these years against feeling the brother guilt as strongly as she once had.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  THE NEXT FEW days flew by in a flurry of nonstop filming, with meetings that carried over well into the evenings. Chuck worked them at a breakneck pace, and it paid off. They’d cut a full two days off of their filming schedule. He’d shocked them all when he’d decided to relocate the warehouse scene to the farmhouse because he said Boone and Trish’s on-screen connection was too strong to chance losing it by flying back across the country to film. Boone couldn’t argue that filming here with Trish felt more natural by the minute.

  Boone sat beside Trish in the makeup trailer while Ronnie and April worked their magic.

  “I told you you’d get used to this,” April said, waving a makeup brush across Boone’s forehead.

  “Not like I have a choice.” He winked at Trish and reached for her hand. “Three more days for you.”

  “I can’t believe this is your last day of filming. You have been amazing, Boone. Are you ready for this scene?” Trish faced straight ahead as Ronnie made her hair look like she’d spent a week sleeping in a gutter. April had already done an incredible job of making Trish’s skin look ashen and filthy. She had on the requisite dirty yellow dress, and despite the filth, she looked stunning.

  April pulled back and smiled. “Even if he’s not ready, at least he’ll look hot.”

  “That would be thanks to you, April. Thanks for making me look good and for putting up with a guy who’s not into makeup.” He turned to Trish, whose hair was practically dripping with whatever they were using to make it look greasy. “Now, if Ronnie would stop making my girlfriend look like she washed her hair with baby oil, we’d be all set.”

  He kissed the back of Trish’s hand, and April awwed.

  “Don’t you have someone else to torture?” he teased.

  “Why would I do that when it’s so fun to torture you?” April set her makeup brush down and leaned against her supply table. “Besides, you’re way more fun than working on schedules with Jared. I was glad you gave him a good talking to. He bugs me.”

  Boone tried to steer the conversation away from Jared. He wasn’t about to get caught gossiping about a guy whose biggest faults were an inflated ego and one too many asshole genes. “To answer your question,” he said to Trish, “I’m ready, beautiful. Thanks to you. Nervous as hell, but ready.”

  The trailer door opened and Zoe poked her head inside. “We’re ready in five.”

  “Okay, beautiful,” Ronnie said to Trish with a wink. “Only you could make dirt and grime look this good.” He stepped back, giving Trish room to stand up. “Whatever you do, don’t touch it.”

  “Thanks, Ronnie.” She and Boone headed out of the trailer, where Zoe was waiting.

  “Oh good,” Zoe said. “Boone, if you nail this, I’ll give you a million dollars.”

  “I’ll do my best,” he assured her, then turned to Trish. “Hear that? A quick mil if I nail it.”

  “I should say, if you can nail it in less than five takes, because I have a date tonight,” Zoe explained. “So if you need fifty takes, you’ll have the guilt of ruining my date with a hot country boy on your shoulders.”

  “Whoa, that’s a lot of pressure.”

  “Oh no. Not as much pressure as that’s going to be.” Trish pointed to the driveway, where Duke, Cash, and Gage were getting out of an SUV. “What the heck are they doing here?”

  Boone was amused and impressed by the sight of her three surprisingly large brothers standing shoulder to shoulder like a cavalry. They probably thought they’d scare him off, but seeing them had the opposite effect. He loved knowing they cared enough to get involved, regardless of whether Trish was an adult or not. Without having ever shaken hands with these men, he already had a great deal of respect for them.

  Zoe smoothed her shirt and threw her shoulders back. “What I said? Forget it, Boone. Take as long as you need. I had no idea Trish’s brothers were coming. Gage is still single, right?”

  “Yes, but not really. He’s just too bullheaded to do something about it.”

  “Bummer. Okay, my date is back on,” Zoe said. “Go quick, or you know I’ll be hollering for you again.”

  Trish looked at Boone. “Ready to be grilled?”

  “Why not?” He followed her across the yard.

  Duke helped a tall, dark-haired woman from the vehicle, and Boone recognized her as Gabriella from their Skype call. Cash helped another woman out of the backseat, and Boone knew by her pregnant belly that she was his wife, Siena. Siena grabbed Gabriella’s hand, and the two women hurried up the hill toward them. Trish glanced at Boone with wide, excited eyes.

  “Go,” he said with a laugh.

  “Thank you!” She ran down the hill with her arms out to her sides, yelling, “Don’t hug me! I’m in full makeup! Don’t hug me!”

  Mags would love these girls. When Boone had talked to her the other morning, Mags had raved about how much she liked Trish. She and Trish had been texting each other since their visit, and Mags had confided to Boone that she’d always wondered what it would be like to have a sister. She said Trish was the first woman she’d felt that kinship with. Not that he needed his family’s approval to fall in love, but hearing that from his sister had further confirmed how right he and Trish were together.

  The girls jumped on their tiptoes inches from each other. The air beat with their excitement and with the willpower it was clearly taking for them not to give in and hug each other.

  Boone waved to them and continued down the hill toward the men to face the firing squad.

  **

  “DUKE WAS HELL-BENT on coming out here and meeting Boone face-to-face,” Gabriella explained, shaking her head. She was tall, with an olive complexion that gave her a sun-kissed glow even in the winter. In her sundress and sandals she looked more like a college girl than the family law attorney she was. “Blue and Jake tried to talk him out of it, but you know Duke. You’ll be fifty and he’ll still think of you as his baby sister.”

  “He’s such a pain sometimes.” As irritated as Trish was by her brothers’ need to barge into her life unannounced, she couldn’t deny that the little sister in her secretly reveled in their protective nature.

  She smiled at Siena and Gabriella. “At least you guys are here to run interference with me.”

  “You didn’t think we’d let you face them without us, did you?” Siena said to Trish. She set one hand on her baby bump. “Lizzie was upset that she and Blue couldn’t make it, but Blue is knee-deep in renovations on a huge project. But you know Blue. Duke will do whatever he has his heart set on doing, and Blue would probably rather meet Boone under less stressful circumstance.”

  “Duke’s in for a surprise,” Trish said sharply. “It would take more than the three of them to intimidate my man.”

  Gabriella’s and Siena’s eyes widened and they both said, “My man?”

  “I have been dying to hear you say that about a guy!” Siena said to Trish as they headed down the hill toward the men. “This must be serious.”

  Trish slowed her pace and lowered her voice. “It is. I mean, I think it is.”

  “Think?” Gabriella asked.

  “I mean, I know it is, but we haven’t talk
ed about the future or anything.” She took a deep breath. “Okay, girls. This is it. Who’s the biggest alpha?”

  They exchanged smiles and said in unison, “Mine is.”

  Boone stood facing her brothers with his back to the girls. His arms were crossed, his legs planted firmly, hip distance apart. Even from the back Trish could see it was a defensive stance. Duke slid one hand casually into the pocket of his dark dress slacks. His expression was nearly unreadable, but there was a shimmer of appreciation and respect in his eyes. It was so slight, if Trish hadn’t been his very perceptive sister, she might have missed it, which meant Boone probably had. Cash stood much the same as Boone, arms crossed, jeans-clad legs planted like tree trunks. I am man, hear me growl. She giggled inside at the ridiculousness of them. Thankfully, Gage, her most passive and reasonable brother, stood between them in a pair of cargo shorts and a shirt emblazoned with the name of the youth center where he worked as a sports director, No Limitz. His easy smile contrasted sharply with her other brothers’ serious expressions. Despite all their chest-bumping, feather-ruffling posturing, she adored them.

  But now was not the time for little-sister Trish to appear. She tucked away those tender feelings and listened as she approached, but the men had either silenced when they’d noticed the three of them, or they were having some sort of stare down. A shiver ran down her back at the thought.

  She walked between them and Boone, eyeing each of her brothers. “I’d hug you guys, but that would only encourage this behavior. Besides, I’m in full body makeup, so I can’t.” She glared at Duke, fighting the smile tugging at her lips. “You are the most ridiculous brother ever.” She smiled with the half-truth, and so did Duke. “And, Cash?” She held her palm up toward the sky. “Really?”

  “What I don’t understand is why you would think I wouldn’t be here?” Cash asked.

  Siena and Gabriella went to Cash’s and Duke’s sides, each resting a firm yet gentle hand on their man’s arm. Trish’s heart squeezed. She knew they were doing that for her, silently reminding her brothers that there was more to this conversation than assessing the worthiness of the man Trish was falling for. They were reminding her brothers that just as it wouldn’t have mattered what anyone had said about the women they’d fallen in love with, Trish was an adult, and she would give her heart to whomever she wished. As if I have any control over my heart. It belongs to Boone no matter what you guys think.