Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set

by Misty Reigenborn

  The thought scared him, but she was so smart, so kind, and so beautiful that it was hard not to admit how hard and fast he was falling for her. His hormones were still driving him crazy and he was ever aware of the fact that their relationship would eventually progress to the love making stage. That scared him too. He was afraid he would disappoint her.

  The demands for his job hadn’t changed. As the weeks passed, Paul began to be afraid that if he kept up the hours he was working, he was going to end up disappointing everyone. He still spoke with Kimber on the phone every night, and he had been able to work on some ideas to get her online bookstore more into the public eye. But he felt as if he weren’t able to give his ideas enough time and worried that they wouldn’t be up to his usual standards. He’d had to cancel a visit with Nathan and a date with Kimber twice in two weeks. Sierra had been angry with him when he’d had to cancel the visit. Her sharp tongue and quick temper had reminded him yet again that Luke was more a part of his son’s life than he was.

  The thought didn’t sit well with him at all and he made both his ex-wife and himself a promise that he wouldn’t cancel another visit.

  Kimber

  Kimber was disappointed when Paul had to cancel two of their planned dates, but she knew that he was struggling to find a balance in his life. She knew all too well how hard that could be, and she was trying to be as supportive of him as she could. She wanted him to know that she was there for him. She realized just how much she wanted to be there for him on the night he told her he’d had to cancel a visit with his son.

  He had sounded close to tears and she’d wanted to go him, because she knew that she would have been able to comfort him much more in person than she had over the phone. But she knew that if she had gone to him, they probably would have ended up in bed together. She knew that it wasn’t yet time to add that complication to their relationship, even with as much as her body was screaming at her that it would gladly take the complication.

  Weeks passed before they were able to schedule a time for her to meet Nathan. Luke was wary about letting his children meet Paul, even though they knew that their mother had a boyfriend and that he was Nathan’s father. Alexis had gotten a puzzled look on her face when Kimber had explained to her that she was dating the father of Sierra’s son, but then she had shrugged and told her mother that she was sure she would like Nathan’s father.

  Kimber certainly hoped so. Paul was very different from Luke, but she was sure that once he and her children got used to each they would get along just fine, especially when her meeting with Nathan went well. The adorable little boy liked her almost immediately, and she briefly wondered what it would be like to carry a child that belonged to Paul.

  Paul

  Paul was glad that Nathan liked Kimber. His son liked Kimber so much that he was a little jealous at first though it faded quickly. Watching his beloved son with his girlfriend led his thoughts to wander to what life would be like if she were Nathan’s stepmother. He tried not to think about the fact that Sierra would be the stepmother of Kimber’s children all too soon since Kimber had told him that Luke had said he was going to propose to Sierra, but he found that the thought was a lot less painful than he had figured it would be. Paul was looking forward to his future with Kimber, and he didn’t feel as if he had a right to want any less than happiness for his ex-wife.

  He was worried that his meeting with Kimber’s children wouldn’t go as well as Kimber’s had been with Nathan, but he found that his worries were for nothing. They decided to take the kids to a pizza place that had games on a weekend that Paul had Nathan. Since the kids already knew each other, they were comfortable, and Paul soon found that he was enjoying himself almost as much as the kids were.

  Kimber’s kids were well behaved, and he noticed that Nathan followed eight year old Alexis’s lead just as naturally as her little brother did. It filled with him pride to look at the children together. They looked like a family, and Paul was hopeful that the progression to them being family wouldn’t be a hard one.

  Luke

  Luke had wanted to propose to Sierra since the day he had showed up on her doorstep, but life always seemed to be getting in the way. He had bought the ring two days after seeing her again, but it had been hidden in the back of his underwear drawer since then. He wasn’t sure if choosing the weekend that Paul was meeting his children to propose to Sierra was a good idea, but he knew that he didn’t want to wait anymore either. He wasn’t thrilled that Paul was meeting his children and would be a part of their lives, but for some strange reason Kimber seemed to be happy with Paul, and Luke knew that he had no right to deny Kimber happiness.

  He tucked the ring into his coat that night before he headed to Sierra’s house, hoping that he would get a chance to hide it under the couch when she wasn’t looking. He wanted the night to be special for Sierra.

  Sierra

  Sierra thought that Luke was acting a little strangely that night, but she figured that it could be the fact that Paul was meeting his children that had caused her man’s off mood. All thoughts were blown out of her mind when he took her hand and knelt in front of her though.

  He pulled a ring box out from under the edge of the couch. “Will you make me the happiest man in the world and be my wife Sierra?”

  She didn’t get a chance to answer him. He slipped the ring on her finger and then stood, picking her up off of the couch and heading towards the stairs. She let him undress both her and himself, then gave him an amused smile.

  “I want to make love to my beautiful fiancé.”

  Sierra raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you think that you should let me say yes first?”

  Luke chuckled. “If you tell me no this time Sie, I won’t ask again. Then we’ll have to live in sin for the rest of our lives. I don’t think Paul would like that.”

  Sierra rolled her eyes. “Paul is going to be proposing to Kimber before we know it. He doesn’t bother with anything he’s not serious about. He probably won’t even have sex with her until after she’s said yes.”

  “Will you say yes so that I can make love to you?”

  Sierra laughed. “You’re so silly Luke. Of course I’ll marry you. Can I move out of this big stupid house now?”

  Luke smiled. “Yes beautiful. You can move out of this big stupid house and into my big stupid house tomorrow if you want to.”

  “Your house is more reasonably sized than this one at least.”

  “Uh huh. Though we could turn the basement into another bedroom or two if need be.”

  He winked at her.

  “How about we just practice some of what it takes to make a baby for now.”

  Luke kissed her. “Practice makes perfect right.”

  “That it does.”

  They were soon involved in the bliss that was their lovemaking. If Sierra had had doubts that they could make things work before, they all left her head that night. She was happy with Luke and looking forward to marrying him already, unlike the dread she had felt before she had married Paul. She loved Luke’s kids and they loved her. Nathan adored Kimber and was doing well having Alexis and Halden around. She thought that even if Paul did eventually end up marrying Kimber they would end up with two very content mixed families.

  Paul

  Paul was pissed off that Luke started moving Sierra and Nathan into his house the night after he proposed, but he tried not to let it show. He figured that Luke was going to have to deal with Kimber moving in with him eventually or he certainly hoped so at least. He knew that he was in love with her, but he was afraid to tell her.

  It had all happened so quickly that he was afraid even more of screwing everything up. He tried to listen to Kimber in ways that he felt he had never really listened to Sierra. He wanted to understand the way she felt. He was hopeful that she loved him too, but he tried not to let his hopes get too high, especially since his job was still driving him completely crazy.

  He had been able to help Kimber some with her advertising,
and the sales at her bookstore had picked up, but he felt as if he needed more time to devote to working with her to be able to really help her. He felt like he needed more time with her period, and he knew that he definitely needed more time with his son.

  Kimber

  Kimber was thrilled that Paul had been able to help her with advertising and promotions for her bookstore. The sales had picked up enough that she was beginning to believe that she could make even more money than she’d previously believed. But Paul seemed disappointed that he hadn’t been able to help more, and she knew that his job was still making him unhappy.

  He wasn’t able to spend much time with her, and most of their time together was spent with one or all of the children. She didn’t mind and she didn’t think that he did either, but she wanted more time with him and she wanted alone time with him too. Their kisses has definitely turned more passionate and she was looking forward to the next steps in their physical relationship. As the days passed, she realized that she was falling in love with Paul. The thought scared her, and even with as much as she wanted to tell him that she loved him, she held back.

  Sierra

  Sierra was glad that Nathan was with Paul that weekend and that Alexis and Halden were with their mother too. She was so mad at Luke that she could hardly see straight.

  “Dammit Luke.” She glared at him. “You know how mad it makes me when someone goes behind my back and makes big plans without me, especially when it’s something as important as our wedding.”

  Luke offered her an amused smile. She knew that he thought he could talk her out of being angry with him, and normally he could. She and Luke were more like minded than she and Paul were, so any compromises they had to come to came a lot easier. They had both grown a lot in their time apart, so even with Sierra’s fiery temper they were normally able to settle arguments quickly, even if it took Luke seducing her with his bedroom eyes like he was trying to do now and talking her into some fiery love making to calm her down. But he had really pissed her off this time, and she almost regretted her quick decision to move in with him.

  “Sie, I know that it’s important, but you didn’t seem interested when I wanted to talk about the details of the wedding before. And I didn’t think it would be a big deal making this particular plan without you.”

  “One big reason that my first marriage broke up is that Paul went behind my back and made a decision without me.”

  “Baby doll, I’m not trying to impose my will on you the way that Paul always did. I would never do that to you. I know that your job is important to you and I’m fine with that.”

  Sierra made a face at him. “Paul didn’t exactly try to impose his will on me Luke. Why do you still have such a bad opinion of him anyway? I’m sure Kimber is thrilled with the way he treats her. Do you think they’ve been to bed together yet?”

  Sierra knew that what she’d said was petty, but she got the feeling that Luke was a little jealous of Kimber’s relationship with Paul. She knew that he loved her, but while it had seemed okay for her to love Luke when she was with Paul, it didn’t feel okay for Luke to still love Kimber. She loved Paul of course, but the love was different now and felt a lot more distant than Luke’s love for Kimber.

  “I don’t give a shit if they’ve been together. Can we please talk about something else Sie?”

  “It bugs you doesn’t it? I think you’re jealous.”

  “Why would I be jealous? I know that I’m with the woman I’m meant to be with. I asked you to marry me didn’t I?”

  “Yes, but how are you going to feel when Paul asks Kimber to marry him? Am I going to have to deal with sullen pouting and you not telling me what’s really wrong? Be honest with me Luke. Just tell me that you don’t like the fact that my ex-husband is giving it to your ex-wife.”

  Luke gave her an artificial smile. “One more time Sierra, I do not give a shit if Kimber and Paul are sleeping together.” His smile brightened then and became a little more real. “But from what you’ve told me he’s so pathetic in bed that she’ll probably run away from him the first time they have sex anyway.”

  “You sound about sixteen Luke. I never told you that Paul was pathetic in bed, just that he didn’t seem to enjoy sex much, or with me anyway. And Kimber and Paul have already been to bed together once so he can’t have been so bad that she’d run away screaming.” Sierra threw a tight smile of her own at Luke, almost forgetting what had caused her to become angry with him in the first place.

  “How did you getting angry with me for booking a band for the wedding turn into an argument about whether or not I’m jealous that Kimber is with Paul?”

  Luke tried to pull her into his arms but she turned away from him. She knew that Luke’s lack of honesty had been one of the reasons that his marriage had ended. She had always thought that they could be honest with each other at least, especially with the history they had together, but she knew that he wasn’t being honest with her about the way he felt about Kimber and Paul being together. She wondered again if they could really make things work. Sometimes all the love and the passion in the world wasn’t enough to keep a relationship together.

  “Do you want to smoke some weed baby?”

  That was another thing that had started to irritate her. Luke’s career was going well, and smoking marijuana did seem to put him in a creative mode, but he seemed to be turning into a pothead. While she enjoyed smoking pot with him now and then, she thought that enough was enough.

  “No Luke, I don’t want to smoke any weed. You seem to be smoking way too much of it these days yourself anyway.”

  “I thought you loved stoned sex.”

  “Shut up Luke. This isn’t funny. None of this is a game. I used to think that Paul was too damned uptight, but I’m beginning to wonder if you aren’t too laid back.”

  “Really Sierra?”

  Irritation had crept into Luke’s voice.

  “Yes Luke. It may seem like a small thing to you that you booked a band without asking me, but it wasn’t small to me. I don’t want a big wedding and I told you that from the beginning. I know that you know the band and they’re really big right now, but I honestly don’t give a shit. I would have been a lot happier marrying you in your backyard like we had agreed on instead of turning everything into a big media event.”

  “Are you concerned that the media will be there?”

  Sierra sighed. “Luke, I know that you get media attention, and I also know that you’ve been trying really hard to keep the attention away from your kids and from me. But this whole thing seems wrong to me. It does seem like an attention grab instead of something like you. I’d be happy to let the whole world know that I was Mrs. Luke Stone, but it has nothing to do with the fact that you’ve written some hit songs. I don’t want my son involved in this and I wouldn’t think that you’d want your children involved in it either. And there is no way that I’m marrying you without the kids being there. So we need to work this out and soon, or we won’t be getting married.”

  “Don’t threaten me Sierra.”

  Sierra sighed again. “I’m not threatening you Luke.”

  “It sure as hell sounded like a threat to me.”

  Knowing that if she said another word to him, she would say something that they would both regret, Sierra turned away and walked out of the room. He didn’t follow her, even when she went down the stairs and out the door. She didn’t pause in her car, not letting herself think about what it could mean if he didn’t come after her.

  Luke

  Luke was tempted to follow Sierra when she left the bedroom, especially after he heard the front door open and close, but he knew better than to believe that he would be able to win in an argument with her now. He supposed that he could see how she might feel as if the changes he had made in their wedding plans might seem to come from a want to draw attention to himself. But he was so proud to be marrying Sierra that he wanted the whole world to know and wasn’t sure why she didn’t feel the same way.


  What she had said to him about being jealous of Kimber and Paul’s relationship bugged him too. He loved Sierra more than anything in the world besides his children, and it felt a little weird to hear her say that he was jealous of Kimber’s new relationship. He did still love Kimber, but he wondered if her new relationship would bother him less if it was with someone other than Paul, and he was pretty damned sure that it would.

  When Sierra didn’t return to the house that night or the next morning, he tried to call her, but she ignored him, sending his attempt straight to voicemail. He sighed and decided not to leave a message, wondering if the compromises he was going to have to make in his new marriage would be as easy as he had thought.

  Sierra

  Sierra was tempted not to go home that Sunday, but she knew that Paul would be dropping Nathan off. It would look a little strange if not only she wasn’t there, but Luke had to explain to him that she had gone back to the old house. So she saved both her fiancé and her ex-husband an awkward meeting and drove back to Luke’s early Sunday afternoon, still several hours before Nathan was due to return home.

  Luke gave her a guarded look when she came through the front door. “Hi beautiful.”

  “Hi.”

  She sat down next to him on the couch and put her head on his shoulder. She knew that they needed to talk and that there was a lot that they needed to talk about, but she wanted him to hold her for a quiet moment. She had always felt secure in Luke’s arms, and right now, she needed to hear that everything was going to be all right.

  She pulled back from him several minutes later. “I’m sorry about the other night, but we do need to talk, and we are going to be honest with each other, even if it hurts.”

  Luke sighed. “I’m sorry too baby. I guess maybe part of the reason I decided to book the club and the band for the wedding was because I wanted attention. But I’m so proud to marry you Sierra. I didn’t care if everyone knew. I should have put more thought into it though. Maybe the band will agree to play in our back yard.”