Noble Love (The Nobles of Sweet Rapids #1)

by Té Russ

  "Are you there?" he asked.

  They laughed when they saw how close his face was to the screen.

  "Pull the phone back," Dana said.

  "Oh," he said as he readjusted and soon his face filled the screen of the phone. "Hey girls!"

  "Hey Daddy!" they both sang out.

  "Where are you?" Tessa asked.

  Emmett held up a finger. "Hold on." They watched as he pulled the phone even further away from his face, and adjusted his glasses, mumbling as he tried to figure out how to flip the screen around. "Ah!" he finally said, "Say hello to your mother."

  Both Tessa and Dana gasped instantly recognizing the Fontana della Barcaccia in the foreground and the Spanish steps behind it. Their parents were in Rome, Italy. But what had them gasping the most was their mother standing in front of the fountain.

  Gone was her signature tight bun, and her long flowing locks hung down past her shoulders. She was wearing a spaghetti strap sundress, denim jacket and a pair of low-heeled slingback wedges. But the most amazing thing she was wearing was the carefree smile on her face.

  They watched as Janet threw her head back and laughed. "Emmett," she called out. "Are you taking more pictures?"

  They heard their father's laughter before he responded, "I'm video chatting with the girls."

  Janet's face lit up even more as she hurried over to meet Emmett. The camera flipped around again and their mother's face filled the screen.

  "Hi girls!"

  "Hey Mama," Tessa said. "How are you liking Rome?"

  "You look so good!" Dana added.

  "I feel amazing," Janet said. "And Rome is wonderful, so beautiful. You girls have to come see this place for yourselves."

  "One day," Tessa said.

  "How's the bakery?"

  Tessa, Dana and Emmett all groaned.

  "What?" Janet asked, laughing. "I can't even ask about the bakery now?"

  Tessa smiled and answered her mother's question. "The bakery is great. Sales have gone through the roof with our new seasonal baked goods."

  "That's great," Janet said. "I know I've been a pain in the rear, holding on so tight to the business for so long. But your father was right. You girls are doing Everetts’ Bakery proud. And I know your plans for the future of the bakery...or bakeries...will be amazing."

  "We're not going to let you down, Mama," Tessa promised, ecstatic to have their mother's approval, which now seemed to include her being more open about the expansion of the company.

  Janet quickly added, "But if you need anything or have any problems, just ca–"

  "Okay, we've got to go and catch our ride back to the ship," Emmett said, taking the phone back from his wife. "We've got dinner reservations. We'll text or call you at our next port."

  "Bye," the girls said before ending the call.

  "It's nice to see Mama all happy, letting her hair down," Tessa said as Dana put her phone back in her apron.

  "Literally!" Dana said. "I don't think I've seen her hair out of that bun in over a decade."

  "It's a good look on her."

  "So, did you catch what she said about 'bakeries', as in plural?" Dana was nearly bubbling over with excitement.

  "I did."

  "What do you think?"

  "I think we've got a long road ahead of us. But it's paved with lots of potential."

  

  "Do you miss your brother and sisters?"

  It had been several weeks since Ian, Ivy and Isabella had left and almost two months since Isaac's death.

  Isaiah looked at Tessa who was sitting across from him in his hot tub, which was housed below the second story deck of his house. After working together to cook up a fantastic meal, he suggested they relax in the hot tub and watch the sunset behind the mountains in the distance.

  They'd brought the wine they'd been drinking during dinner with them. After taking a sip from his glass, he nodded. "I do," he said. "Being with them again, going through everything we've gone through in the last few months, has made me realize how much we've taken time for granted. Tomorrow's not promised to any of us."

  "That's so true," she sighed.

  "We all made a promise not to let life and our careers make us too busy to keep in touch more regularly. Though I have a feeling they'll be returning to Sweet Rapids sooner rather than later."

  "What makes you think that?" Tessa asked.

  Isaiah shrugged. "Something we used to call 'quad-tuition' as teenagers. I know, it sounds corny, but that's the best way we could describe it. We seem to be able to sense shifts in each other's spirits or something. It's weird and hard to explain."

  "I think I get it," Tessa said. "At least a little bit, anyway."

  They became quiet for a few minutes, enjoying the R&B music Isaiah had softly playing through a portable bluetooth speaker and watching the sun continued its descent behind the horizon.

  "Your mother came into the bakery this morning," Tessa said. "She's looking better."

  "She's doing better. She still struggles some days, but that's expected."

  "Of course," Tessa said with a nod. "It's just nice seeing her face again. She's always been a regular, we missed her."

  "It's good to know she's getting back in to a routine."

  "What about your routine? How are things at Noble Naturals?"

  "The entire company has taken time to grieve the loss of one of their leaders. But it's time to move forward. We're about to start putting together a few new products. I know Giselle Warren's been chomping at the bit to get started."

  "She once made me a body scrub that was so amazing. You've got a diamond mine with Giselle and her ideas."

  "My brother has some good ones too. I think putting those two together is going to create some real magic."

  "I can't wait to see what comes of the two of them."

  They stayed in the hot tub until the sun fully disappeared and then Isaiah helped Tessa out of the hot tub and they went into the house.

  "I never get tired of the sunsets here," Tessa said after they showered and changed clothes. They were now relaxing on Isaiah's sofa.

  "You don't have to," Isaiah said.

  She must have sensed a change in his demeanor because Tessa slowly turned and looked at him with wide eyes.

  He was extremely nervous about what he was about to do, but he felt the time was right.

  "What are you saying, Isaiah?" she asked, visibly swallowing hard.

  "I..." He stood and went to a table and opened the drawer, pulling out a small box. "I have something for you."

  He sat down across from her and blew out a breath.

  "Tess, I love you."

  "I love you too, Isaiah. Wha–"

  "Just let me finish, okay?"

  Tessa closed her mouth and nodded.

  "I know we've only been dating a few months, but you've been here for me through the absolute toughest ordeal in my life. There's truly no way I could properly thank you. But, I wanted to give you a small token to show how much I value you and your presence in my life."

  He sat the box on the sofa cushion in between them and watched as Tessa stared at it for the longest time. Finally, she reached out, with trembling fingers and picked it up. Her breath shuddered, and she pulled off the top of the small box.

  She gazed down at the contents of the box for some time before she reached in and picked it up.

  "Is this what I think it is?" she asked.

  Nodding, Isaiah said, "You're over here so often, I thought it was time you had a key of your own."

  "But what about when you go back to L.A.?"

  "About that..."

  He already saw the wheels in that pretty head of hers turning. Probably trying to figure out why he would give her a key to his place, if he was about to break some kind of bad news to her about him getting ready to go home to L.A. He decided to go ahead and put her out of her misery.

  "I've decided to rent out my place in L.A."

  She blinked, clearly shocked.

>   "W-What?"

  "I don't plan on leaving Sweet Rapids any time soon, if ever. I'll go back to L.A. to clear out my apartment, and I'm sure I'll make an occasional trip out there for some music or film gig. Even with helping run Noble Naturals, I have no intentions on ever fully giving that up."

  "Because it's your true passion."

  He nodded.

  Tessa smiled and leaned over to press her lips to his.

  "Thank you," she whispered.

  "Are you cool with this?" he asked. "I didn't want to freak you out."

  "I was more freaked out when I thought it was a ring," she blurted out, before slapping her hand over her mouth. Shaking her head, she reached over and took his hand, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that the way it came out. I love you so much and I could see myself marrying you some day. But we've only been dating for a few mon–"

  Isaiah leaned forward and kissed her.

  "You've sufficiently pulled your foot out of your mouth, sweetheart," he chuckled.

  "Good," Tessa said with a nervous smile.

  "For now, let's just stick to loving each other day by day."

  "I can do that."

  He took the key from her hand and tossed it on the table and stood up.

  "How about we go upstairs and show each other just how much we love each other."

  Tessa reached up, placing her hand in his and when he helped her stand, she kissed him again before turning to lead the way upstairs.

  "I can do that too."

  The End

  Keep reading for a sneak peak at book 2, Noble Surrender...

  "Noble...you made bail..."

  Ian Noble sat up on the stiff cot of the jail cell he'd been thrown in, letting his feet hit the disgusting, wet concrete floor.

  His gaze stayed low as the sound of the lock unhinging, followed by the slow creaking of the bars automatically sliding open.

  The sound of footsteps echoing against the walls drew closer to Ian. When the sound stopped, Ian's eyes locked on to the shoes in front of him.

  Very expensive shoes.

  A curse slipped from Ian's lips as his eyes went up from the two-toned, wing tipped leather Brogues, past the tailored designer suit, to the face that looked identical to his.

  Except his brother's countenance was a lot more pissed. No one else could tell by looking at Isaiah Noble. On the outside, he was calm and collected. But Ian could feel his brother's wrath threatening to boil over.

  Ian placed his hands on his knees and pushed up onto his feet. Isaiah turned on his heels and lead the way out of the jail cell.

  A few seconds later, the sound of the cell he'd occupied for the last twelve hours slammed shut behind the two men.

  "Isaiah, I–"

  He closed his mouth when Isaiah held up his hand.

  "Not here."

  Those were the first words his brother had spoken. Ian figured it was best not to say anything until ordered. Although he was the same age as his brother, along with his two sisters, Isabella and Ivy, also referred to as the Noble quadruplets, everyone knew Isaiah was the leader of their pack.

  Rather than going out the front doors, Ian followed Isaiah through a back door that led to an alley where a car was waiting.

  Once they were inside the car, Isaiah started it and began to drive off.

  After a few minutes, Ian looked over to his brother, whose fist were clenching the steering wheel.

  "I'm used to you occasionally getting yourself in to some sticky shit," Isaiah said. He shook his head. "But this...what the fuck, Ian?"

  Ian had gained the reputation of being the latest 'bad boy chef' working at one of the top restaurants in Las Vegas, but even this was a new low for him. But he was still determined to plead his case.

  "Look man, I swear...I had no clue that woman was married..."

  Thanks for reading!

  Books by Té

  McAllister Friends

  Dream Lover

  Taking Chances

  Always You

  McAllister Family Series

  After the Storm

  Just One Kiss

  Perfection

  Love After War

  Just One Night

  Just Once Touch

  Book 7 (2016)

  The Coalton, Texas Novella Series

  Homecoming

  Sanctuary

  Reawakening

  Destined

  Irresistible

  Four Seasons of Love Series

  A Spring Affair

  Sultry Summer Nights

  Autumn Kisses

  A Winter Rendezvous

  In The Line of Love Series

  Let Me Love You

  Love's Taken Over

  The Nobles of Sweet Rapids

  Noble Love

  Noble Surrender (2016)

  Noble Seduction (2016/2017)

  Noble Conclusions (2016/2017)

  Keep in touch!

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/TeRussNovels & www.facebook.com/TeRussAuthor

  Twitter: www.twitter.com/TeRussNovels

  Blog: www.terussnovels.blogspot.com

  Email: terussnovels@gmail.com

  Noble Love

  Published by Shanté Russ

  © 2016, Té Russ

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.