Besotted: An Enemies-to-Lovers Small-town Romance (Carmel Cove Book 3)

by Dr. Rebecca Sharp

  “I can’t… I don’t…” I couldn’t speak and, the second his arms came around me, I sagged into him far more than I’d intended.

  “Woah there, Evie,” he grunted.

  I gasped a second later when I found myself hoisted into his arms.

  “What are you doing?” I choked out, half-crying, half-laughing.

  His quirked grin and the light of love in the warm gold of his eyes sent fiery sparks right down through my stomach and settled between my thighs.

  I’d missed him.

  “Well, I believe I’m carryin’ you over the threshold, sweetheart,” he murmured as his smile grew and he teased softly, “And before you ask—no, this is still not me askin’ to marry you.” He paused—his words and steps as we reached the front door. “Not yet.”

  I shivered as my mouth parted ever so slightly to set free whatever few molecules of oxygen were left inside it.

  “Miles…” I looked up to him as he slowly let my feet down to touch the newly stained wood. “I can’t believe you did all this… I can’t… I don’t know what to say. How to thank you…”

  His hands cupped my cheeks and he rasped quietly, “Don’t thank me, sweetheart. Just love me.”

  He bent down and kissed my nose, his face flickering with the most exquisite strain of emotion.

  “When I met you, I was afraid to risk anything for forever. But now, I’d risk everything for you. For Eve.”

  For Eve.

  Forever.

  I clung tighter to him, knowing that everyone was inside waiting for us and not caring a single bit as long as I was in his arms.

  “Everything?” I repeated with a small smile. “I don’t want you to risk everything for me, Miles.”

  He let loose that sexy chuckle that made tingles shoot right down to my toes. “Sweetheart… you’re Eve; you’ll always be the start to my everything.” He dropped a kiss onto the tip of my nose. “Everything I want.” His lips touched to the right corner of my mouth, and I sucked in a breath. “Everything I need.” The words brushed over my mouth as he pressed a kiss to the left corner. “Everything I love.”

  And then his lips covered mine. Slowly, sweetly, surely, his mouth promised me all of forever in a single toe-curling kiss.

  “C’mon.” He reached for my hand as he opened the front door, letting it swing in wide and stepping back so I could enter first. “I’ve got more to show you.”

  An hour later, after countless hugs and tears that would never come close to the amount of love I felt from everyone in this town, the bustle inside The Yoga Garden began to calm down.

  I shivered at how easily I’d come to think of it like that, how easily—with the right amount of help—a dream can turn into reality.

  “How are you doing?” I slid over to Cammie after some of the group cleared out and asked.

  I hadn’t seen her too much over the last few weeks, and every time I did, she looked at me with that same haunted expression.

  “Okay,” she said with a slight smile and nodded. “How are you? How is the baby?”

  My hand went to my stomach. “Good. As good as can be, my doctor says.”

  “I’m so happy for you, Eve.” Her head ducked, and she moved to turn away.

  I reached for her arm, the gentleness with which I touched her shoulder a stark contrast to the harsh flinch it instigated.

  “Cam, what’s going on?” I murmured even though there was no one else close enough to hear if they were even paying attention to our conversation. “I know you’ve come to so many of the Blooms events since you moved home, and after what happened… you haven’t been yourself.”

  Her eyes darkened. “I haven’t been myself for a long time,” she replied hollowly. “Sometimes, I wonder if I still know who that is.”

  “Have you talked to someone about what happened?” I pushed gently, not specifying about my kidnapping since it was clear that there was more to her war than just that one battle.

  “How did you do it?” she replied with her own question instead.

  “Do what?” I turned to face her so she knew our conversation was going to stay between us.

  She stared at my hands as they folded in front of me, like my hands were capable of more than her own.

  “How did you fight him like that?” she whispered with a low tone that balanced between awe and fear. “When that man… came after you…” She swallowed hard. “You took him to the ground. You fought back.”

  My head tipped to the side as she spoke, hearing her words but listening to what went unsaid behind them.

  I heard her saying that she didn’t know how to defend herself. I heard her implying that there was a time when she’d needed to be able to fight for herself and hadn’t been able to.

  And my heart broke in two.

  “I learned those moves a few years ago,” I began, wishing that Ace and the other Covington brothers were still here so I could ask if they’d be running the program again this summer. “Ace held a women’s self-defense program at Covington Security, and Addy took the whole Blooms gang.” My forehead scrunched. “It must have been while you were away at school,” I mused. “Anyway, we’ve gone every summer since then.”

  “And he taught you how to fight?”

  “Not quite, although, I’m sure he’d be more than capable of that. No, they taught us how to defend ourselves. They taught us ways to make size and weight not a factor. They taught us how to restrain someone long enough to get away, and how to hurt them when required.”

  “Can you teach me?” Her hand reached out and grabbed one of mine, the desperate plea in her eyes shocking me into stuttering silence.

  “Well… I mean… I can, but I’m not an expert, Cammie. I’m sure they are going to do it again this summer.” Her hand began to relax and pull back so I covered it with one of my own and reassured her, “I will be there. Addy will be there, too, and the rest of the girls at Blooms. It’s a requirement for staying in the house. I’ll let Addy and Ace know that you’ll be coming with us.”

  I didn’t wait for her to ask to come because sometimes, those who need help the most don’t have the luxury or the courage to be able to ask outright. And I didn’t ask her if she wanted to come because I could see how hard this was already for her. I didn’t want it to be a question.

  I wanted it to be an answer.

  I wanted to help her in whatever way I could.

  “I… umm… okay,” she stammered and then jerked her head to nod. “I’ll just… have to check with my mom about the bakery and everything.”

  “Wonderful.” I smiled and squeezed her hand. “It’s really great. The girls have an awesome time each year. And, of course, if you ever want to talk… about what happened… my door—this door—is always open, okay?”

  Like the leaves changing color in the fall, I watched the bright warm hope that had shimmered over her face begin to darken and whither as she nodded and murmured a small thanks punctuated with a goodbye.

  “Everything okay?”

  I looked up to my sister who’d walked over almost as soon as Cammie left.

  “Something happened to her, Addy,” I said quietly.

  She nodded. “I know.”

  “You do?”

  Her expression shuttered. “I recognize that look… the one of fear, but mostly guilt.”

  “Guilt over what?”

  “Guilt over letting something happen to you that you think you should’ve been able to control.” I looked up at my sister as she answered, noticing the carved lines of her face harden as though she spoke about herself and not Cammie. Realizing my stare, her face softened and she went on, “I’ve seen it a lot since I opened Blooms… with the girls and all…”

  And all…

  I wanted to ask, And you?

  “I told her she would come with us to the self-defense workshop.”

  Addy nodded in agreement. “Good thinking. And I’ll talk to Josie, see if there’s anything she can tell us.”

  We wer
e interrupted as Laurel and Jules joined us.

  “What do you think, Evie?” Jules asked as she gleamed.

  I looked around the interior again, still marveling that the sliding doors complete with stained glass that Miles had only talked about—had only planted the seed in my dream about—a few weeks ago were now right in front of me where I could reach out and touch them.

  “I think… I’m speechless.” My cheeks began to hurt from how much I’d smiled this afternoon, but I didn’t care. “It’s so beautiful. I can’t believe… he did all of this.”

  “For you,” Addy added with a nudge of her elbow. “I’m glad you followed your heart.”

  “Me too,” Jules said with a small squeal as she pulled me into her arms. “And that you also followed your dreams.”

  “I just can’t believe this place is real. I can’t believe I’m going to have my own studio…” I knew there was a lot of work headed my way in the near future to get this place up and running—all of it on top of the baby. “Although”—I looked down at my flat-for-the-moment stomach—“I’m not sure how much instructing I’ll be able to do soon.”

  Addy saddled up close to my side and whispered with a wink, “You didn’t hear it from me, but the girls are already arguing over which of them you’re going to train to take over classes.”

  I groaned and laughed. “Jo or Kenzie?”

  My sister brought her fingers up to her lips and pretended to zip them, and we all laughed.

  “I’ll figure it out. It’s going to be an adventure.”

  “I thought you wanted a fairy tale?” Laurel teased.

  I smiled at her and answered what we all knew, “The best fairy tales are always adventures.”

  After a few more minutes of chatting with them, Miles strolled over, having held his conversation with his brother and Eli long enough, and pulled me into his arms for a hard kiss.

  “Sorry, ladies,” he drawled with a laugh. “But I’m kicking everyone out now.”

  I leaned back and teased, “Isn’t this my house?”

  “Our house,” he grunted back and glared at me.

  “Ours? Does that mean… are you asking me…” I trailed off, trying my very best to keep a straight face. “I mean, I’m not saying we have to get married, at least right now, but I just want you to know—”

  I couldn’t hold it back any longer and began to giggle uncontrollably as he covered my mouth with his, his tongue licking and swallowing each and every one of my laughs like they knew he belonged to him.

  And they did.

  Kona began to dance around at our feet—my laughter drawing him from the comfort of his dog bed by the windows, just like it had been in the photo. I’d always known what I wanted for my future, but today, I finally saw it.

  Here.

  With this man.

  “You know when I propose,” he warned against my lips, “you are never going to see it coming. And it’s going to be the grandest grand gesture, Disney themselves will be callin’ me to license the scene for their next movie.”

  My laughter faded at the way he spoke.

  This was the Miles my heart had seen. Not the one with the cold heart and self-imposed solitude. No, it saw the man who was still holding—clinging—to the finest fiber of hope, the fiber that believed in love like I did. That was the invisible sting I’d attached myself to from the moment I saw him, and I’d held on, besotted, because I could see what was at the other end waiting for me.

  “What did I do to deserve you, Evie?” he growled and tugged me harder into his arms.

  I glanced around the foyer to realize everyone had left within the last few minutes. I wasn’t surprised I hadn’t noticed their departure, but it was hard to focus on anything else when I was in his arms.

  Settling into the place that so quickly and easily began to feel like home, I answered honestly, “You loved me.”

  I felt the quick intake of his breath, just as I felt the weight on his heart. “I haven’t loved you like you deserve, but I will, Evie. I swear to you, I will.”

  “Miles…” I reached up and threaded my fingers through his hair. “You loved me when love was the biggest risk you could take. You loved me when it hurt, when everything inside you said to stay away. Still, you loved me. Don’t ever make that less than what it is.”

  He stared down at me for several long seconds, as though memorizing every line and curve of my face. His gaze stopped scanning when it reached my eyes, staring into them like he could see the answer to the question before he could even ask it.

  “How do you always manage to see the good? To see what is possible through the mess?”

  My lips parted, swaying closer to him as I thought of my answer.

  “There is power in seeing things how they are meant to be and not as they are,” I began with a small shrug like he didn’t already know that. “And I know that no matter what or how much has been lost, it’s nothing compared to what love gains.”

  I pushed up on my toes and pressed my lips to his, an audible sigh escaping on my exhale as he pulled me tighter to him. Every hard inch of him burned against all my soft ones and wrapped me in a glow of desire.

  “What did love gain you, Evie?” He nuzzled my nose. “A grumpy carpenter and a crazy dog?”

  I smiled against his mouth. “It gained me the man who chose me above all else, and Kona. It gained me my future. My dream. And our baby.” I paused. “It gained me my very own happily-ever-after.”

  His lips slid over mine once more.

  “What did it gain you?” I returned the question.

  Miles’ eyes peeled open, languorously drinking in my face like he’d never get enough of the sight. His fingers gently traced along my cheek before they adjusted my glasses for me and a small, lopsided smile lit his face.

  “Everything,” he rasped lightly. “Love gained me everything, forever.”

  My breath caught.

  “And only I would be so stubborn a man to ignore that both of those things meant you from the very start.” His knuckled lifted my chin. “Eve-rything. For-eve-r.”

  Eve

  Seven months later

  “Miles?” Groggily, I worked myself up, wiping my eyes and reaching for my glasses on the nightstand.

  Afternoon naps had become a necessity this last month. It felt like I hit a giant wall as soon as I got home from Roasters in the morning, and I needed that afternoon reset before my evening yoga classes.

  Soon, Miles would start insisting that I cut back. I’d stopped the nights at the Pub months ago, but I wasn’t ready to give up Roasters, and I definitely wasn’t going to stop my practice.

  The running joke was that I’d be doing Happy Baby pose all the way into labor and delivery.

  Sliding on the frames, I winced and tugged them right back off, remembering I didn’t need them anymore.

  After the kidnapping, I decided to make another attempt at contacts. I didn’t like the feeling that my sight could be taken from me so easily, especially with the baby coming. So, with Miles by my side, I got a prescription for contacts and hadn’t looked back. Though, in fuzzy moments like this, I still sometimes forgot.

  Resting back on my palms, the room came into focus.

  Miles hadn’t stopped with the downstairs of the home.

  We’d lived together at Mick’s old apartment for two months after he’d shown me the renovations of the areas for my studio while they’d renovated the rest of the house.

  I’d continued to hold classes outside because the weather was so nice, and the banging and cracking sounds of construction on the upper levels weren’t exactly conducive to the mood I was trying to set.

  But then, we’d finally moved into our home.

  Almost every room was painted in light yellows and oranges and neutrals except our bedroom; for our bedroom, I’d chosen a pale blue and a deep navy bedspread. When Miles had asked why the change in theme, I’d explained it was because I missed the nights we’d spent sleeping between sand and sk
y with the ocean in our front yard—the night, or maybe morning, we’d made our baby.

  One hand came to rest on my growing stomach, a small smile tugging on my lips as I looked over to the nightstand.

  “Miles!” I squealed, my eyes popping wide at the time.

  Frantically, I worked my increasingly cumbersome body out of the bed, afraid he’d gone and canceled my evening class because I was sleeping.

  It hadn’t happened yet, but I saw the look in his eyes that promised he’d do what was best for me, even if I didn’t like it.

  I felt a small measure of relief when I saw a set of my yoga clothes laid out on the bed. That better mean he hadn’t canceled it.

  Working myself into the tight fabric, I glimpsed my reflection in the mirror. My breasts, much to Miles’ approval, had grown and my hips had widened slightly, but for the most part, I was all belly—my stomach popping out like the sun from the horizon, the rest of me relatively unchanged. For now. I still had six weeks to go.

  “Miles?” I called, roughly braiding my hair as I waddled to the stairs.

  Were they working at Fleurtations today? My face scrunched, and I tried to remember.

  My bare feet squeaked to a stop at the top of the stairs, all thoughts fleeing at the sight below.

  “Mi…” Shock made me incoherent. My hand lifted to my chest, confirming by the steady beat of my heart that this wasn’t a dream.

  “Evie.”

  Miles stood in dark jeans and a light, long-sleeve T-shirt, but it was the hundreds of tiny tea lights that turned the floor into a sea of small candles that stole my breath.

  They framed a path down the stairs and into the front foyer, covering the floor and spilling into the studio room on the left; the door to the right room—where I thought I’d be holding class right now—was closed.

  In silent awe, I took one step at a time toward him, the smile on his face growing the closer I got, but it was the love in his eyes that gleamed brighter than a million stars, that made my knees weak.

  “This is it, isn’t it?” I murmured, reaching the bottom.