Your Inescapable Love (The Bennett Family Book 4)

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Your Inescapable Love (The Bennett Family Book 4) Page 23

by Layla Hagen


  “You’re so full of shit,” I say with a grin, enjoying this immensely. “Not even an accident or lying in a hospital bed can get your mind out of the gutter.”

  “I want you to make me some promises, Emilia.” He speaks the words against my temple, and my body instantly tightens. Sucking in a deep breath, I nod. “I love you more than I thought possible. Actually, today I had a revelation. I’ve been in love with you since we were kids.”

  I snuggle tighter against him, my heart soaring. “Yeah?”

  “Yep. And no, you’re not allowed to make fun of me for not realizing it earlier. It took you a while too.”

  “Mmmm….” I roam with my forefinger at the base of his neck, a suspicion gnawing at me. “So you realized it all on your own?”

  “Mom might have said a few things that… helped.”

  I grin so wide my face almost hurts, and I bury my face in his neck. “I’m going to give you so much shit for it. Just wait until you can walk on both legs.”

  “That’s gonna be something if I need both legs for it.”

  “What were those promises you wanted me to make?” I pepper his shoulder with kisses, waiting for his answer with my heart in my throat.

  “First, that you’ll do that,” he points to my lips, “as often as possible. You’re also welcome to put that mouth anywhere else you want.”

  “I think I can do that,” I tease. “What else?”

  “That you’ll cater to my every need until I’m one hundred percent healthy again.”

  I twist one of his nipples lightly, making him yelp. “You’re going to milk this accident thing for all its worth, aren’t you?”

  “You can bet on it. I also want us to move in together. We can find an apartment or a house big enough for the two of us, and Grams plus her caretaker.”

  “You thought everything through, didn’t you?” I whisper.

  “I might have already made a list with potential properties last week. What do you say?”

  “Hell, yes. I love you.”

  “I love you too, Emilia,” Max says simply. He breathes in deeply, and I have a hunch things are about to veer on the serious side. “I want you to promise me that you’ll talk to me when something is wrong.”

  “I promise. I shouldn’t have let what happened in New Orleans affect me so much. It brought up all my insecurities and pushed me into a black hole, and I only realized it after you left my house. But I promise I won’t freak out and pull away again.”

  “Also promise that you’ll be patient with me even when I put my foot in my mouth.”

  “That’s part of your charm, Max. You’ve been doing that since the first time I met you.”

  “What are you talking about? I was a perfect nine-year-old gentleman that day.”

  I press my lips together, smiling. “Correction. I can tell even when you’re mentally putting your foot in your mouth. First time we met, you thought my boots were ugly as hell, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah. Damn, and I was so proud I didn’t say that out loud.”

  “That was my lucky day. I was afraid of the thunder and you made me feel welcome and happy, which I hadn’t been in a long time. You had me the moment you said, I’ll be your friend.” I lift my head, kissing the corner of his mouth.

  Max cups my cheeks with his hands, looking me straight in the eyes. “Good, because I’ve loved you since I was nine, and I want to love you until I’m ninety-nine, and I won’t accept anything less than all of you.”

  “Max… you have all of me. You do. You always have, and always will.”

  “Always?”

  “Always.”

  Epilogue

  Emilia

  Four months later

  Nadine and Logan Bennett’s wedding takes place on a bright September day at the old Bennett ranch, which is now turned into a B&B. We’re all sitting outside on rows of chairs separated by a red carpet in the center, waiting for the bride and groom to arrive. The Bennett men all wear tuxes, and I’ve made up my mind. Bennett men in casual clothing are charming. In suits, they are delicious. But Bennett men in tuxes are irresistible. Max sits next to me, his hand resting on my upper thigh as he talks to Blake, who is sitting on his other side. The second the “Wedding March” starts, I squeeze Max’s hand, turning in my seat.

  Nadine is possibly the most beautiful bride I have ever seen. She wears a princess-style, white dress, and her hair is styled in waist-long curls the color of chocolate. Mr. Bennett is walking her down the aisle. Logan is waiting for his bride at the end of the aisle.

  I hang on every word during the vows, and do a good job at withholding my tears, until Logan turns his head slightly to Nadine and I catch the shimmer in his eyes. That look right there should be in the dictionary next to the word love. It reminds me of my patient Mrs. Henderson, and the loving look on her husband’s face every time he picks her up from the clinic. With a jolt, I realize the ache I felt whenever I saw the Hendersons is now gone. Max kisses my temple, catching one of my tears with his thumb.

  “Don’t cry,” he whispers in my ear. “Don’t forget, I’ll always have your ass. I’m too fond of it to ever let it go.”

  I chuckle at the reminder of our word play on I’ll always have your back, and place a chaste kiss on his cheek. After the ceremony is over, we all move inside the wedding tent, which is elegant and huge, given that it can comfortably house the two hundred guests and allow for a generous dance floor. Grams and her new caretaker are sitting at the table closest to the door. Max and I debated whether bringing her would be a good idea. I feared that seeing so many strangers might set her off, but Max convinced me to try, saying that she and the caretaker can always just head inside the house if the wedding becomes too much. So far, so good. I never told Grams about the meeting with my father. Instead, I told her we couldn’t find him at all, which hurt her, but not nearly as much as the truth would have.

  “I think Mom and Dad should seriously consider moving into the wedding business,” Alice comments, walking in step with Max and me.

  “That wouldn’t be a bad idea,” Max replies. Abruptly he snaps his head to his sister, narrowing his eyes. “Is he here?”

  “Who?” I ask, but judging by Alice’s grin, she knows whom Max is talking about.

  “Apparently Alice has been carrying a torch for a childhood friend,” Max informs me. “She won’t tell me who he is.”

  “Smart girl.” I wink at her.

  “But I’ll tell you when he’ll be back in the country. Pinky promise.”

  Max winces. “My masculinity just took a hit at that word.”

  “Your masculinity will recover.” She kisses his cheek before turning on her heels and chatting up some of the other guests.

  “Do you want to take a walk outside?” Max asks.

  “I’d love to.”

  This is the first time I’m at the ranch, and I’ve been dying to look around. A lot is different since I last saw it fifteen years ago, and I didn’t have time to catalogue every change when we arrived. Stepping out of the tent, I take in the facade. It has been completely redone, as was the roof. I had expected them to have added a wing since they turned it to a B&B, but the size and shape of the house is intact. I can still tell where everyone’s bedroom was.

  What I did notice right from the get-go is that the color of the gate is the exact same shade of vivid green it was when I first stepped through it when I was nine. We’ve almost reached the gate when we see Eric and Pippa in the far corner of the yard, each carrying a twin.

  “Those girls are so beautiful,” I comment with a sigh. They are dressed with identical miniature white dresses. The only difference between them is that they wear headbands of a different color.

  Max’s eyes light up at this. “Can’t wait until we have a few of our own.”

  It takes a few seconds for the meaning of his words to become clear to me, and a few seconds more to form a witty response. “You’re getting ahead of yourself. You didn’t even put a ring on t
his.” I tap my ring finger playfully.

  His lips twitch. “Planning on doing it soon, but I already lived up to my non-romantic reputation by blurting I love you in the middle of the street. I’ll do this by the book. It’ll be a nice, grand gesture.”

  “Will it involve Christopher distracting me while you prepare it?” I bat my eyelashes playfully. “Might give him the chance to finally kiss your girl, get back at you.”

  Max growls. “I’ll never live that down. But no, Christopher won’t be involved in the proposal.”

  Butterflies spring in my stomach, my heart beating at lightning speed. “Only you can do a preproposal and not even realize it.” Lacing my arms around his neck, I add, “Six months ago, you were claiming that kids and marriage weren’t on your radar, and here you are. What happened to you?”

  “You did.” He cups the side of my cheeks, kissing the tip of my nose. “I’m so happy you walked through this gate twenty years ago.”

  “Good thing I lost my key.” Even to this day I remember how scared I was, and how warmly the Bennetts welcomed me. One thing became clear to me after seeing my father again. Grams said blood is blood, but blood isn’t necessarily family. Family is love and support, and Grams and I have found our family with this loud and meddling clan.

  “You did it again,” he murmurs, tilting my chin up.

  “What?”

  “Had an entire conversation in your head without including me. Care to share?”

  “I was just thinking how lucky Grams and I are for having all of you. And how much I love you.”

  “Damn, and I thought you were making plans to get rid of my tux.”

  “My mind isn’t as dirty as yours,” I reply, even as my body heats up from his nearness, the way he rubs my lower lip with the pad of his thumb doing unspeakable things to my senses.

  “I love you, Emilia, and I won’t tire of telling you this every day. In fact, it’ll be a privilege to tell you this every day, and to take care of you and future mini Emilias.”

  “Or mini Maxes.”

  This moment here in front of the gates is so perfect, I want to store it in my memory forever. It’s pure and beautiful, and ours.

  Until someone interrupts.

  “Lovebirds,” Pippa calls to us. “I need your help.”

  “I bet Pippa can’t tell her girls apart if they didn’t have the headbands,” he whispers to me as we head to Pippa.

  “She’s their mother. Of course she can tell the difference.”

  “We need you to hold the girls for a few minutes until we do some pictures,” Pippa says.

  “Sure.”

  As Pippa places one girl in Max’s arms and Eric places the other in mine, I ask, “Which one is which?”

  “Mia wears the pink headband, and Elena the red one.”

  Max gives me a triumphant look, but doesn’t say anything. After Pippa and Eric are out of earshot, Max says, “Quick, let’s exchange the girls and change their headbands.”

  “You’ve got to be joking.”

  He’s not. In the span of two minutes, we do the exchange. I take Mia from his arms, giving him Elena, and then pry the pink headband from Mia’s tiny head, replacing it with Elena’s red one. Max expertly places the pink one on Elena’s head, then kisses her forehead gently. Oh, God, I just found my kryptonite. Max in a tux carrying a baby. I’d do anything he asks right now, which apparently includes pranking his sister.

  When Eric and Pippa return, she extends her hands to Max, taking Elena from his arms. “Sweet Mia. Did you miss me?”

  “Bingo,” Max exclaims, making Pippa, Eric and myself jump. “That’s Elena. We exchanged their headbands. I was sure you couldn’t tell them apart without the headbands.”

  Eric chuckles, taking Mia out of my arms, while Pippa breaks into giggles. “I can’t believe you. Now you’re using my daughters to prank me?”

  “Of course, someone has to carry the pranking legacy,” Max says seriously.

  “I’m sorry I played a part in this,” I tell her, “but I can’t tell your brother no when he wears a tux and carries a baby.”

  Max winks at me. “Good to know.”

  “You’ve gotten even cockier than usual since you met Emilia again,” Pippa remarks, resting Elena’s head on her shoulder. Mia starts crying, so Eric quickly walks away to calm her down. Pippa confessed to me a while ago that the girls seem to cry in tandem, so it’s best to separate them when one of them starts crying.

  “Are you jealous that none of your matchmaking skills were needed in our case?” Max asks.

  Pippa doesn’t answer, merely smiles. The silence stretches to several seconds, and her smile turns from kind to wicked.

  “Who gave you the number of the clinic?” Pippa asks Max.

  “My assistant… who said you gave it to her,” Max says in a defeated voice.

  “Wait, what?” I ask.

  “After my dearest brother told me he needed a therapist I started researching the best clinics. Found your name eventually, and I thought… well, you never know what happens when old friends meet again.”

  With that enigmatic end of the sentence, Pippa enters the tent.

  I elbow Max, who seems stuck in some kind of stupor. “Safe to say your sister hasn’t lost her touch.”

  “You don’t say.”

  “Let’s go back to the wedding.”

  As we enter the tent, Max asks, “So which one of the singles in my family do you think will be next in line?”

  I open my mouth to say I have no idea, but then I see Christopher, who is currently at the bar, looking at the bride and the groom. I wonder if he feels he’s missing something when he sees all the couples around here.

  “I’ll give you a hint. He looks a lot like you.”

  ***

  Dear Reader,

  This is the end of Max and Emilia’s story. Christopher’s book will be next. It will be released in early 2017. Please sign up HERE to be notified about the release date for the book (you will also receive a FREE copy of my full-length romance Found in Us if you sign up. The retail price is $3.99).

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  Other Books by Layla Hagen

  The Bennett Family Series

  Book 1 in the Series: Your Irresistible Love

  Sebastian Bennett is a determined man. It’s the secret behind the business empire he built from scratch. Under his rule, Bennett Enterprises dominates the jewelry industry. Despite being ruthless in his work, family comes first for him, and he’d do anything for his parents and eight siblings—even if they drive him crazy sometimes. . . like when they keep nagging him to get married already.

  Sebastian doesn’t believe in love, until he brings in external marketing consultant Ava to oversee the next collection launch. She’s beautiful, funny, and just as stubborn as he is. Not only is he obsessed with her delicious curves, but he also finds himself willing to do anything to make her smile.

  He’s determined to have Ava, even if she’s completely off limits.

  Ava Lindt has one job to do at Bennett Enterprises: make the next collection launch unforgettable. Daydreaming about the hot CEO is definitely not on her to-do list. Neither is doing said CEO. The consultancy she works for has a strict policy—no fraternizing with clients. She won’t risk her job. Besides, Ava knows better than to trust men with her heart.

  But their sizzling chemistry spirals into a deep connection that takes both of them by surprise. Sebastian blows through her defenses one sweet kiss and sinful touch at a time. When Ava’s time as a consultant in his company comes to an end, will Sebastian fight for the woman he loves or will he end up losing her?

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zon US

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  Book 2 in the Series: Your Captivating Love

  Logan Bennett knows his priorities. He is loyal to his family and his company. He has no time for love, and no desire for it. Not after a disastrous engagement left him broken-hearted. When Nadine enters his life, she turns everything upside down.

  She’s sexy, funny, and utterly captivating. She’s also more stubborn than anyone he’s met…including himself.

  Nadine Hawthorne is finally pursuing her dream: opening her own clothing shop. After working so hard to get here, she needs to concentrate on her new business, and can’t afford distractions. Not even if they come in the form of Logan Bennett.

  He’s handsome, charming, and doesn’t take no for an answer. After bitter disappointments, Nadine doesn’t believe in love. But being around Logan is addicting. It doesn’t help that Logan’s family is scheming to bring them together at every turn.

  Their attraction is sizzling, their connection undeniable. Slowly, Logan wins her over. What starts out as a fling, soon spirals into much more than they are prepared for.

  When a mistake threatens to tear them apart, will they have the strength to hold on to each other?

  BUY HERE:

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  Book 3 in the Series: Your Forever Love

  Eric Callahan is a powerful man, and his sharp business sense has earned him the nickname ‘the shark.’ Yet under the strict façade is a man who loves his daughter and would do anything for her. When he and his daughter move to San Francisco for three months, he has one thing in mind: expanding his business on the West Coast. As a widower, Eric is not looking for love. He focuses on his company, and his daughter.

 

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