by Melissa West
“You got a better name?”
“Actually, I can think of a few. Want me to go save her?”
Ally sighed heavily. “No. As much as I want to gang up on the bully, she wouldn’t want that. She’s tougher than she looks.”
“Yeah…she is.”
Ally rummaged through another box before finally pulling out an ornament, holding it up high in the air, and shouting, “Got it!” Then she smiled to Brady before rushing back to join Kylie and the customer.
Brady knelt down and placed all the boxes Ally had removed from the shelf back into their rightful place, then scanned the storage room. The two sides were still in place, but Merrily had a few larger boxes labeled on his side and he had a few small boxes labeled on the shelving on Merrily’s side. In no time, they’d interwoven the two, becoming a part of a whole instead of two separate spaces.
Which made Brady wish they could continue to operate like this, two in one building. But his brothers would never go for it, and they weren’t wrong—Southern Dive needed more space. Still, the contract’s end date was fast approaching, and Brady found himself wishing they could put it off a bit longer.
Deep in his thoughts, Brady went back out to Southern Dive & ETC’s counter, grabbed the note Ally had left him, and dialed the number. As the phone rang, he watched Kylie hand over the wrapped ornament and the man smiling bright, then explained something to Kylie that had her cover her mouth with her hands, her eyes turning sad before she hugged him. Only Kylie could hug a person who had been yelling at her moments before.
“Good morning, Trent, Lock and Young,” a male voice said. “How may I direct your call?”
Brady’s gaze dropped to the note, curiosity swirling through him now. “Edward Young, please.”
“Of course, may I tell him who is calling?”
“Brady Littleton.”
“One moment please.”
Turning around, Brady propped the phone on his shoulder and went to work opening his laptop and sorting through the online orders from the day before. There were twenty-two in all, nearly double the amount of daily orders they’d received a month ago. Business was booming, and with the Christmas rush, space was dwindling. Once again, he thought of the contract and felt a pang in his chest.
It was a few weeks away. He didn’t need to worry about that right now.
“Brady,” a booming voice said into the phone. “I’m so glad you called. My name is Edward Young. I met your brother, Charlie, at a conference a few weeks ago.”
Okay, what did that have to do with him? “No problem at all. What can I do for you?”
“I think the better question is what can I do for you and Southern Dive.”
More and more people filtered into the shop, all crowded around an activity center Kylie had set up for people to paint glass ornaments. So far, she’d had an activity going every day, each one drawing a larger crowd. From kids to adults and the elderly, each table and chair were full. She had started with one table and six chairs. Now she had three tables set up, imposing more and more on Brady’s side of the shop, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.
“I’m not sure I understand,” Brady said into the phone, his attention on Kylie and the smile that never left her face during these activities.
“My company is an investment firm, and we would like to invest in Southern Dive. I have worked up an expansion plan to help you and your brothers take your business to the next level. There are towns all over the country that would love to have a shop like yours, and I’m betting you’ve even noticed certain regions order online more often than others.”
Brady leaned back against the counter. He had noticed. Florida, coastal South Carolina and North Carolina, places with interest in fishing and outdoor living.
“What would your company get out of this deal?”
“We would help you franchise the business, and in turn, negotiate a percentage ownership. Of course, one of you would help each business start up, spend six months or a year or more traveling between them to ensure everything goes as planned. It would be our money, but your business.”
One of them traveling between locations. A year or longer? Zac and Charlie both had families, wives and children, which meant…it would fall on him if they agreed to take the investor’s offer.
Once again, his gaze drifted to Kylie. They were just starting again. How would she feel about him leaving for a year? Or traveling more days than he’d be home?
A sinking feeling set in, weighing him down.
“Thank you for the chat, Edward. I will discuss this with my brothers, and we will call you later this week.”
“Sounds like a plan, but please consider our offer seriously. We can make you all very wealthy men.”
I’m wealthy enough, Brady thought.
“Thank you. We appreciate your interest. Expect a call by the end of the week.”
They hung up, and Brady dropped his head.
“Wow, did someone die or something?”
Brady jerked upright and spun around to find Kylie standing there, that smile still planted on her face. “What? No, it was nothing.”
“It didn’t look like nothing. You seemed all tense.” Concern took over her face and she reached out for his hand. “Everything okay?”
Here was his opportunity. He could tell her about the investor, what it might mean, lay it all out here now. That was the mistake he had made before—not telling her, not involving her. But his brothers didn’t even know about this yet, and it might be nothing. He hated the idea of getting her upset when the brothers might very well decide to turn down the offer.
“Nah, seriously, it was nothing,” he found himself saying, but even as the words left his mouth he wished he could freeze time, rewind, and do it all over again.
Kylie grinned. “Good. Well, I better get back. Want to grab lunch later?”
“Lunch sounds perfect.”
Brady watched her walk away, that bad feeling inside him growing stronger with each step. “Hey, Ky.”
She turned around. “Yeah?”
He took in the shimmer on her cheeks, the sparkle in her eyes, and how different this look was from the one she wore at the hospital after Franny’s heart attack. He couldn’t throw something like this at her now. So instead of telling her the truth, he said, “Captain Jack’s for lunch?”
“Cheeseburger? You know it.” She blew him a kiss, then rejoined the others around the activity tables, and Brady dropped his head again.
Maybe this was nothing, but deep down, he knew he was lying to himself. Southern Dive had a franchise opportunity. A life-changing opportunity. His brothers would be thrilled.
And he would have to leave Kylie…again.
Chapter 16
Kylie tiptoed into Franny’s room to find her already sound asleep. She edged around to the side of her bed and watched the woman who was more a mother to her than her own mother sleep.
The heart attack had been scary and was a wake-up call to her in more ways than one. Life was precious, and living in fear wasn’t living at all. A part of her feared what falling for Brady again could do to her if he decided to end things, but then, she wasn’t exactly singing-and-dancing-in-the-halls happy before. Committing to Brady again tested Kylie’s deepest fears, but the risk, so far, had been more than worth it.
Carefully, Kylie brought Franny’s quilt up and over her, then turned off the TV—another Hallmark movie. Then she turned off the light and went on into the kitchen for a late-night snack, but she wasn’t hungry. She was tired, yet too keyed up to sleep.
A part of her wanted to go over to see Brady, but he had a weekly dinner with his brothers, and she didn’t want to impose on that. The Littleton family was a close-knit group, and though Kylie had once felt like a part of it, the brothers deserved to have their weekly dinner to stay close and take care of that re
lationship.
Stretching, Kylie walked on up the stairs and turned on the water in her bath, waited for it to warm, then plugged the drain and added in a few bath bombs and relaxing bubble bath. She went back into her room to grab some PJs when a soft knock at her window caused her to startle.
Spinning, eyes wide, she faced the window, and then a slow smile took over her face. She bit her lip and went to the window, unlocked it, and raised it up. “You trying to scare me to death?”
Brady crossed his arms and leaned against the edge of the house beside the windows. A flash of him as an eighteen-year-old in that same pose hit her, and the smile widened.
“I didn’t want to knock on the front door and risk waking Franny.”
“You’re supposed to be at dinner with your brothers.”
He shrugged and cocked his head, a crooked smile pulling up one side of his mouth. “I was. Then I realized that I’d forgotten something the last time I saw you, so I came over.”
“Forgot something, huh?” Kylie pushed the screen out and stood back and waved her arm for him to come in. He bent down and stepped one foot in, then balanced and pulled in the other, and Kylie had to steady him to keep him from falling. They laughed.
“Yeah, not eighteen anymore.”
She grinned. “No, you’re not.” She bit her lip again as she peered up at him. He was dressed in a button-down and dark jeans. Scruff covered his strong jaw, and his blue eyes were so clear and bright it was like God made that color just for him.
“You were saying you forgot something.”
“Oh, right.” And then in one step, his right hand slid through her hair, cradling her head, and his lips came down on hers. The faint taste of beer hit her tongue, and though she knew he would never drive intoxicated, she could tell he was in a good mood. His body pressed closer, and the kiss deepened, his tongue sweeping inside and reminding her that no one kissed like Brady Littleton.
Rising onto her toes, she draped her arms around his neck, closed what little distance remained between them, and felt the telltale evidence of the kiss’s effect on him on her thigh. Brady pulled back and shook his head. “That’s not getting old anytime soon.” Then his brows pulled together and he eyed the bathroom. “Is that water running?”
“Oh!” Kylie dashed into the bathroom and turned off the bath. Bubbles floated along the top, and she bent down to let out some of the water when Brady came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
“Bath?”
“I couldn’t sleep.” She caught his eye in the mirror. “Seems a shame to waste the water.”
Their gazes held. “Agreed. After all, there’s people in the world who would kill for this much water.”
“And it’s an awfully big bath,” Kylie said, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Probably even room for two.”
Brady swallowed, then ducked his head until his lips found Kylie’s neck. He kissed a trail from her ear to her shoulder, then slowly spun her around. “Are you asking me to take a bath with you?”
“I am asking you to take a bath with me.”
That crooked grin she loved returned. “All right then.” He ran his fingers along the edge of her shirt, then trailed them against her stomach. Goose bumps rose across her skin. Then he eased the shirt up and over her head, dropping it easily to the ground, leaving her in just a bra and black leggings. Immediately, his eyes met hers, watching for her reaction, but she wasn’t afraid or nervous. It was like she’d spent the last ten years lost, searching for a home she didn’t have, only to come to this point and discover he’d been her home all along.
Kylie went to work unbuttoning each of the buttons of his dress shirt, then pushed it off his shoulders and he shrugged it off until it dropped. Like always, he wore a white T-shirt under the button-down, and like always, Kylie preferred him in this look—jeans and a T.
Kylie ran her hands under the T-shirt and over the defined contours of his abs before pulling the shirt off and over his head, then dropping it with hers. Her eyes drank him in, each cut of his chest, down to the sharp V and trail of blond hair from his belly button that disappeared into his jeans. Suddenly, the intensity building between them sparked into a flame and all thought left her as she went for his jeans, unfastened them, and pushed them to the ground.
Kicking out of them, Brady stood before her, in only boxers, and Kylie slowly pushed her leggings down and off until she, too, was in only underwear. A thoughtful person would have sensed this as a possibility and wore something frillier, but instead, she stood before him in a basic black thong and black bra.
They stared at each other for a moment, taking in all the changes. Brady had always been fit, but Brady the boy was a much smaller version of Brady the man. The lean muscles of his teenage years had morphed into thick, defined strength, and it wasn’t lost on her how easily he could slip into one of the Marvel movies, his body every bit as impressive as theirs.
“You’re bigger now,” she said, then felt her cheeks flush at the stupid comment. But all a sudden she felt nervous.
Brady took her hand and pulled her closer. “If possible, you’re more beautiful.” He kissed her, and as his hands went around to the clasp of her bra, she pushed aside her nerves. He unclasped her bra and it dropped to the ground with the rest of their clothes.
His hand glided easily over her breast as he kissed her again, cupping her gently, then he bent down and pressed his lips to the swell of her breast and she arched her back, moaning softly, before he took her nipple into his mouth.
Kylie edged his boxers down and he stepped of them, his length before her, and Brady slipped off her thong, then led her to the bath.
She sank into the bubbly, hot water, and Brady eased in behind her. His fingers ran down her breasts, over her stomach, then slowly down her legs, causing her to arch against him. Then he brought his hands slowly back up, stopping at her heat, and Kylie thought she would lose her mind.
He slipped a finger inside her, and Kylie turned her head, bringing him closer, their mouths connecting as he continued to tease her.
Unable to handle it any longer, Kylie balanced her hands on the edge of the tub and turned around until she straddled him. It took everything in her not to pull him inside her, the want too great. Bubbles covered his chest and hers, and Brady set up, stroking her right nipple before bringing his mouth down around it and sucking her into his mouth. She bit her lip to keep from crying out and rocked against him, causing him to groan against her as she rocked still harder.
“I need you inside me,” she breathed.
“Not without protection.”
Kylie moaned again as he kissed her other breast. “Please.”
Brady eased her off him and out of the water, grabbed a towel, and as quickly as possible dried them both off. He grabbed his jeans and pulled out a condom from his wallet, then picked her up and carried her into her room.
Laying her on the bed, Brady stared down at her, his eyes full of want as he tore open the condom and rolled it on. Then he crawled up her, stopping to press a kiss to the inside of her thigh, her hip, then a hot kiss to her mound, gliding his tongue over her before kissing his way up her stomach and over each of her breasts.
Kylie bucked against him, all control lost, and then he drove deep inside her, bringing them back to center, and to how much this moment meant to them. He slowed down then, and Kylie felt her emotions swirling with her hormones, their eyes locking, until he secured his mouth over hers again, the kiss harder this time, saying all the things they weren’t ready to say.
She came in a rush of intensity and sparks and spasms while Brady released inside her, and all Kylie could think was nothing in her life had ever felt as perfect as this moment.
Chapter 17
Brady opened his door and immediately bent down to kiss Kylie. His skin went tingly, his chest soaring, and he smiled against her lips.
“I will never get tired of kissing you.”
She rose up and kissed him again. “I hope not. And wow, what is that smell?”
Brady grinned as he led her into the kitchen, where he’d been slaving over lamb chops, roasted asparagus, and seasoned potatoes.
“This looks amazing,” she said.
“Are you ready to eat?”
Kylie sat down at the table and Brady brought her plate of food, then wine and water, just to be safe. They’d had sex days before, and yet, he was nervous.
Dimming the lights, he made his own plate and took the seat beside her. “How was your day?”
“Sorry, I have to try this first,” she said, taking a bite, then moaning in a way that made him happy in more ways than one.
“Good?” he asked, taking a sip of his wine.
“Ridiculously good. Seriously, you could have your own show or something. Lord. I need to have you teach me so Franny can stop grimacing at me every time I try to make her something.”
Brady laughed, and they settled into eating. “How was your day?”
“Good. Busy. The shop’s busier than it’s ever been. I’m starting to wonder if women are coming in to shop for Christmas decorations or to see the new hottie at the other half of the store.” She winked at him as she continued to work on her plate. “But yeah, I’m exhausted.”
Brady focused on his plate, took another bite to finish up his meal, then wiped his mouth with his napkin and leaned back in his chair to look at her. “Then maybe you should stay here tonight.”
She glanced up. “Stay here.”
“We could do the movie thing, and if you think this is good, just wait until you try my eggs benedict.”
“So what you’re offering is a slumber party of sorts. Are we going to paint each other’s nails, too?”
“Paint nails, ravage each other’s bodies, whatever you want.”
She choked on a laugh and reached for her water. “That’s a thought.”