Deeper Than Love (Brooks Family Book 6)

by Delaney Diamond

  “I need to be alone.”

  “Okay.” Lindsay gave her a hug and then left.

  Nina sat down in an armchair and closed her eyes.

  The church doors opened, and the organist began the timeless, familiar song that millions of brides had marched to. Wagner’s “Bridal Chorus” filled the church as Nina walked alone down the aisle with an ivory bouquet toward the minister and her future husband and their bridal party of six. She passed by friends and acquaintances, family members, business associates, everyone smiling and excited for her on her big day.

  When she arrived at the end of the longest walk of her life, Andy helped her up the three steps to stand beside him. He lifted her veil, and they smiled at each other. After a few words by the officiant, the ceremony began in earnest.

  Nina slid a glance at Andy from the corner of her eye. He looked so confident about this major step when inside she quivered with uncertainty. Terror. That was the only way to describe her racing heart and the fear that gripped her at the thought of spending the rest of her life with the man beside her. Instead of diminishing, the fear expanded and multiplied. This feeling was way worse than wedding jitters.

  He’d been so understanding about her sexual reconnection with Reese. A little angry at first, which was to be expected, but he’d had no problem moving forward with the wedding. She hadn’t been so understanding when Reese slept with Kelly. She’d been devastated and wanted nothing to do with him. How could Andy have taken it so well? Did he love her that much?

  Oh, my god.

  He hadn’t easily moved forward with the wedding because he loved her. He found it easy to do because he didn’t love her.

  She looked at him again—really looked at him. The rigid profile and firm set to his jaw indicated a man of strength. A man of determination. A man to be respected. A safe man. But not a man in love.

  He turned his head toward her. Coming out of her own thoughts, she noticed an awkward tension in the air. Everyone was looking at her. They waited for a response.

  The minister cleared his throat and repeated the vows. “I, Nina Winthrop, take you, Andy von Trapp, for my lawful husband, to have and to hold from this day forward.”

  She didn’t want to embarrass him or his family, but she didn’t want a marriage of convenience. She didn’t want safe. She wanted a marriage filled with love, passion, excitement, and all its iterations.

  Andy’s face remained stoic, but panic filled his eyes. “It’s okay, honey. I know you’re nervous, but you have to say the words.” He let out a strained laugh.

  “Andy...” What could she possibly say at this moment?

  The doors at the back of the church burst open. All eyes swung in that direction. Reese stumbled through wearing a cream suit and a darker tie.

  “Nina!” he bellowed, as two well-dressed members of the security team—one Black and the other white—tackled him to the carpet.

  Gasps filled the church at the unfolding spectacle.

  “Ninaaaaa!” Her name sounded like a hoarse, desperate plea. “Don’t marry him! I love you! Don’t marry him!”

  Twisting like a snake, he slipped out of his jacket and left it behind in their hands.

  Reese rushed toward her, but the white male moved fast and grabbed him in a headlock, then the other security guard lifted his feet off the floor. Obstinately, he continued to wriggle in desperation as they fought to remove him from the building.

  “Nina!”

  Don’t hurt him, she thought, taking a step forward and reaching out a hand as if she could save him from that distance.

  Andy grabbed her arm. “What are you doing?” he asked, looking horrified.

  “Hey!” Malik yelled. Big, brawny, and bearded, he looked like a member of security himself. He elbowed his way through his pew to the aisle. He grabbed the Black security guard from behind in a bear hug and wrestled him away from Reese.

  “Nina, marry me instead!” Reese yelled, as security dragged him backward, kicking and wrestling to break free.

  “Wait!” Nina yelled out in a shaky voice.

  All eyes shifted from the back to the front, and the entire sanctuary fell quiet.

  The white security guard relaxed his hold on Reese, and Malik released the Black guy. Like everyone else in the church, they were transfixed by what was playing out before them.

  Breathing heavily from the exertion, Reese took one step forward. “I want the same life you do. Be my wife, and let’s have a bunch of babies together.”

  His voice filled the church with the most beautiful words Nina had ever heard. Happiness overflowed in her chest.

  “I only want three,” she said, daring to smile, daring to believe.

  “Then we’ll have three.”

  “Nina, what are you doing?” Andy asked in a hushed voice. Two spots of color darkened his cheeks.

  “I’m sorry,” she said in a soft voice. She looked at Reese. “Yes, I’ll marry you!”

  More gasps and whispers erupted in the church.

  Nina handed off the bouquet to her sister, who grinned ear to ear. Heart racing, she gathered her skirt and hurried down the stairs. She ran past the front row and her mother’s stricken face and Corbin’s open-mouthed fury. Past wide-eyed guests, half with their mouths hanging open and others whispering in shock.

  Reese met her halfway and lifted her into his arms. They hugged each other tightly as if they would never let go. When he finally placed her back on her feet, he clutched her face and kissed her eyes, cheeks, and lips.

  “I love you so damn much…” He was breathing hard after the struggle, but she heard every word as clearly as a bell. “If you told me I had to wait an eternity, I would. As long as I get to spend it with you.”

  “I promise you don’t have to wait that long.” Tears streamed down her face, and he swiped them away with his thumbs. “Enough time has passed. I love you, Reese. I love you.” Her voice cracked, and more tears fell. Finally admitting the truth out loud was so freeing.

  He kissed her again, gently. Her lips, her tear-soaked cheeks, as if they were the only ones in the building and didn’t have an audience.

  “Let’s go,” he said.

  Hand in hand, they ran out of the church together.

  Chapter 32

  Nina floated across the floor of the luxury suite at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas with a fruity drink in hand.

  She was still getting used to the fact that they’d gotten married only hours before, and she was now Reese’s wife.

  Nina Brooks.

  Mrs. Nina Brooks.

  Both sounded perfect.

  Reese glanced up in the middle of sending a text. He sat beside the window in an oversized armchair, his eyes trained on her progress, a soft smile lifting his lips at the corners. He wore a pair of boxers and no shirt because she had taken his shirt to cover the white lacy thong she wore underneath. His grandmother’s necklace and pendant hung around her neck, which she had worn during their Las Vegas ceremony.

  “Try this.” Nina extended the drink to Reese and straddled his thighs, folding her legs beneath her on either side of his knees.

  “What is this?”

  “Fruit juices with a splash of rum. My personal rum punch recipe. It’s a proprietary blend.”

  He lifted his eyebrows. “Proprietary, huh?” He took a sip.

  “You like it?”

  He grinned. “Anything you do, I like.”

  Smiling, she cupped his face and gave him a quick smooch. She’d been smiling a lot ever since they left the church and learned Reese had chartered a flight to Vegas.

  They collected some very important items before they left Atlanta. They stopped by the wedding boutique so she could purchase the Bohemian dress with the kimono sleeves. Fortunately, it hadn’t been sold. On the second stop, they picked up their rings from Klopard Jewelers.

  Nina examined the big diamond on her finger.

  “You keep looking at your rings. You don’t like them?” Reese set the drink
on the table beside the chair.

  The main stone, round and the size of a boulder, lay nestled against the chevron-shaped, diamond-encrusted wedding band that also had one small diamond attached at the vee and two on either side. She adored the design, but...

  “This diamond is…big,” she said.

  “You deserve it.”

  “The size doesn’t have anything to do with Andy, does it?”

  “Maybe a tiny bit.”

  “Reese.” She sighed.

  “What’s the problem?”

  “I can’t walk around with this thing on my finger.”

  “Why not?” He glared at her.

  “I’ll need armed guards with me at all times.”

  “Then we’ll hire armed guards.”

  “Sweetheart, baby, you’re being unreasonable. I have a great idea. How about we cut the diamond into two or three more pieces of jewelry? I can keep the ring but also get a necklace or two out of this.”

  Reese continued to glare at her.

  “Shouldn’t I get what I want?” She stared right back at him.

  He let out a weary sigh. “All right. As long as the ring you end up wearing is bigger than Andy’s.”

  “Oh my goodness, it doesn’t matter!”

  “It matters to me,” he said, a stubborn set to his jaw.

  She shook her head. Then she laughed softly, leaned in, and kissed him again. “Fine.”

  “Thank you.” Reese cupped her bottom and pulled her snugly against his body, so their hips were aligned. “Did we just have our first fight as a married couple?”

  “Not a fight, but definitely a disagreement, and we managed to resolve it quickly.”

  “I think we might be good at this marriage thing.”

  “I think so, too.” She pressed another kiss to his lips, longer this time, tasting the fullness of his mouth and the sweetness of the rum punch.

  Nina shifted positions and sat across his lap, her legs dangling over the arm of the chair and Reese’s arms holding her close against his chest.

  “Remember our conversation at Centennial Park?” he asked.

  “Mmm-hmm.” She felt safe and snug in his arms, without a single regret that she’d married him.

  “You’re my happy place.”

  Nina lifted her head to look at him.

  His thumb gently stroked beneath her lower lip. “I’m content, happy, at peace whenever I’m with you. Wherever you are, that’s where I want to be, and that’s where I’ll be happy.”

  “Reese…”

  He kissed the bridge of her nose and her forehead. “I mean it. I love you so much. And I’m happiest when I’m with you. Always.”

  “You’re my happy place, too. Just like this, in your arms. Love you,” she said softly against his lips.

  His hands lowered to her bottom and squeezed, and his growing erection signaled that they’d soon have to move this conversation to the bedroom, but the phone rang and forestalled their movement.

  Reese groaned, picked it up, and showed her the name on the screen. His brother Stephan. Reese had texted him earlier.

  He answered the phone and put it on speaker. “Hello?”

  “Have you lost all common sense? When I told you to go get her, I didn’t mean marry her right now. You don’t know if you can trust what she’s feeling. She was about to marry another man, and you—”

  “You’re on speaker. And she’s here.”

  Awkward silence. “Oh.”

  “Hi, Stephan.” Earlier that day, she had been about to marry another man, and now here she was, married to Reese. Nina understood that Stephan was looking out for his brother, and she couldn’t blame him for that.

  “Hi, Nina,” Stephan said cautiously. “Um, about what I said—”

  “Thank you for telling him to come get me.”

  “Oh, yeah, of course. I knew he loved you, and you were made for each other.” Stephan cleared his throat. “Have you told Mother? She’s going to be upset that you ran off and got married without her knowledge.”

  “I sent a text to her and Father right before I sent one to you. I expect to hear from them any minute now. But she’ll be happy. She’s always loved Nina.”

  “Yeah, well, okay. I guess you know what you’re doing.”

  “Yes, I do. Like you knew what you were doing when you married Roselle,” Reese said pointedly.

  Stephan and his wife had had the equivalent of a shotgun wedding earlier in the year.

  Stephan laughed. “Point made. I’ll see you when you get back.”

  “All right.”

  No sooner had he hung up, did the phone ring again. This time, his mother.

  “Oh, boy.” He braced himself for the call and put it on speaker, as well. “Hello, Mother.”

  Sylvie let out a heavy sigh, and Reese rolled his eyes as he prepared for the guilt trip. Nina covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.

  “I don’t know where I went wrong. Neither of my sons gave me a proper wedding. Both of them simply ran off and kept me from the pleasure of a ceremony. Fortunately, I have two daughters who were not so selfish.”

  “I’m sorry. We can have a celebration when Nina and I get back to Atlanta, the same way you did with Stephan and Roselle.”

  “It’s not the same, but it will have to do, I suppose. Speaking of Nina, how is she?”

  Reese nudged Nina.

  “Hello! I’m right here, and as happy as can be,” she said.

  “Oh, hello, my darling!” Sylvie’s voice changed, going from dramatic melancholy to excitement. “Welcome to the family. Welcome, welcome, welcome. We won’t dwell on the past, but I’m quite happy that you and my son are together, the way I always thought you should be. And I even forgive you for not letting me have a wedding ceremony.”

  “Thank you.” Trying hard not to laugh, Nina met Reese’s eyes, and he shook his head at his mother’s theatrics.

  “You and I need to talk when you get back. The celebration can be as big or as small as you like, but I would recommend something in the early afternoon. Perhaps a nice luncheon with—”

  “Sylvie, leave those kids alone so they can enjoy each other and have some privacy. You can make all your plans when they get back.” Oscar’s voice was weary but also contained a trace of amusement.

  “Very well. Of course, you’re right,” Sylvie said. “Good night, my darlings.”

  “Good night, you two. Don’t rush back,” Oscar said. She heard the smile in her father-in-law’s voice.

  “Good night,” Nina and Reese said in unison.

  Reese leaned back in the jetted tub. He laughed to himself as he relaxed in the warm, sudsy water that smelled like roses, which meant he would smell like roses. Roses. The things he’d do for this woman.

  He touched the platinum wedding band on his finger. He was actually married and couldn’t wait for all aspects of married life—sleeping together in the same bed every night, waking up next to each other in the morning, great sex, and together accomplishing goals that would benefit their future children.

  Nina padded into the bathroom in a silk robe and an elastic band in her hand. Her bouncy, full natural hair fell around her ears in a messy array of curls, courtesy of their intense lovemaking earlier.

  “Get in here, woman.”

  “I’m coming. Dang, you’re so impatient.”

  Facing the mirror, Nina used the elastic band to pin her hair on top of her head in a fluffy ponytail, dropped the robe, and then climbed into the tub. Reese groaned as she settled her soft ass against him. Putting his arms around her, he brushed his nose along her nape and ear.

  “What are you going to do about your mother?” he asked.

  “I don’t know yet. We have to talk, but our relationship is forever changed. I guess I should do like Lindsay and keep her at arm’s length, but that’s hard. She’s my mother.”

  “Don’t compromise to satisfy her or anyone else. Her toxicity is not your burden to bear.”

  Nina nodded her agreeme
nt but remained silent, swirling her fingers back and forth in the sudsy water. “I hope we always get along like this.”

  “All you have to do is remember I’m always right, so just agree with me. Happy spouse, happy house.”

  Nina laughed. “That’s not how our marriage is going to work.”

  “No, seriously, when we argue, we’ll work on getting back to this place. And just so you know, when you get tired of my ass, I’m not divorcing you. You’re stuck with me.”

  She laughed again. “So, you’re going to keep me tied to you whether or not I want to be?”

  “That’s right. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “There are millions of things worse than being tied to the love of my life forever.”

  Reese pressed a kiss to her temple. “I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”

  “I never want to be let out of your sight again.” Nina turned her head and kissed him and then turned back around.

  He was ridiculously content and felt invincible—like he could face any obstacle. His heart and soul were full.

  “What do you want to do tomorrow?” Reese asked, looping an arm around her neck.

  “Let’s go see a show. Or…”

  She went through a list of activities she wanted to do, which she’d obviously been contemplating. The sound of her voice soothed him. With the same arm, he squeezed her closer and pressed a kiss to the side of her neck.

  Nina lightly elbowed him. “Quit and listen to what I’m saying.”

  Reese chuckled. “Mean ass. I’m listening.”

  He closed his eyes and relaxed into the water, smiling as he listened to her talk. He had his baby back.

  Finally.

  More Brooks Family

  Check out the other books in the Brooks Family series and get to know the other family members!

  Simone Brooks meets and falls in love with nightclub owner Cameron Bennett, but will her wealth and status drive a wedge between them? Find out in A Passionate Love.