His kiss was gentle yet deep, passionate. He made her feel protected and cared for—even cherished and loved, although she knew she was imagining those two. But still, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that he was here with her, the father of her babies, and they had to believe that everything would be all right.
She broke off the kiss and met his gaze. He took her hand in his and kissed the knuckles. “You and I are a team,” he said. “Right?”
She smiled through the tears that continued to mist her eyes. “Yes, we are a team.”
“And we believe everything will be fine. Right?”
She nodded. “Yes, everything is going to be fine.”
And then he pulled her into his arms and kissed her again.
* * *
Cheyenne clung to those words when she and Quade were able to see their little girl hours later. It took all of her strength, as well as some of his, to look down at Venus and see all the tubes that ran from her little body and not cry out in pain.
Quade’s arm tightened around her shoulder and he brought her closer to his side before leaning over to place a kiss on Cheyenne’s lips. “Remember, she is a fighter.”
Cheyenne nodded. She then forced a smile and said in a soft voice, “I’ll never consider Troy a troublemaker again. It was his crying that brought me to the room to find Venus in respiratory distress. I don’t want to think of what might have happened if for once he hadn’t made a sound.”
Quade didn’t want to think about what would have happened, either. He was trying to hold his emotions in check and was finding it difficult to do so. At that moment he knew how it felt to love someone so much you would willingly give your life to save theirs. He felt that kind of love for his offspring. He felt that same kind of love for their mother. The woman he wanted for his wife.
“I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave for a moment while I make some adjustments with the machines,” a nurse came up and said in a soft voice.
Instead of answering, Quade nodded and took Cheyenne’s hand in his and stepped out of the room and began walking down the hall. He knew her family would be in the waiting room. They’d want an update. Quade would give them the same message he’d given them earlier. Venus’s condition hadn’t changed. The doctors were still waiting for some of the test results.
One thing he had discovered about the Steele family during this crisis was that they were like his family. When times got tough, they all came together. Since that morning not only had Cheyenne’s four cousins been there for support, Vanessa’s and Taylor’s husbands, whom he had met for the first time, had stopped by, as well. Cameron Cody and Dominic Saxon seemed concerned and their sincere kindness and thoughtfulness touched Quade. He hadn’t had a chance to call his family to tell them anything, which would be quite a chore since no one knew about his babies other than Chase.
They stepped into the waiting room and Quade came up short. He caught his breath, surprised, when he looked across the floor and saw several of his cousins and two of his brothers.
He shook his head, grinning when the group crossed the room to him. “How did you know?” he asked them, in a voice filled with emotion.
It was his brother Jared who spoke. “Chase had these vibes about you being deeply worried about something and when he couldn’t reach you, he contacted us. He told us where you were, so we’re here. You can expect Chase, Thorn and Storm later tonight. Durango and McKinnon are arriving in the morning. Ian wanted to come, but with Brooke due to deliver any day, he thought he better stay put.”
Quade nodded as he glanced over at Clint, Cole, Reggie and Stone. “Thanks for coming.”
A grimace appeared on Reggie Westmoreland’s face. “Don’t thank us yet, there’s someone here that we haven’t told you about yet.”
Quade raised a brow. “Who?”
“Mom. She refused to be left behind, especially after hearing about the triplets.” Reggie paused a moment and then said, “Get prepared. She plans to box your ears for keeping that from her. I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes.”
Reggie then switched his gaze to Cheyenne, slowly looking her up and down in an appreciative glance, and said, “But then again, I do want to be in your shoes.”
* * *
“You certainly have a big family,” Cheyenne said to Quade hours later after she had returned to the hospital. She had gone home long enough to breast-feed the babies. While there, she had met Sarah Westmoreland, Quade’s mother. Her mother and Quade’s had relieved Vanessa and Taylor of babysitting duties and the two older women were getting along beautifully.
Cheyenne and Quade had met with the doctor and his update had brought smiles of relief. The tests had revealed that Venus had had a mild case of HMD, which had been treatable with the use of surfactant replacement. The ventilator had been removed a short while ago and their daughter was now breathing on her own. The doctor wanted to keep her in the hospital another day for observations and then she would be released.
Quade grinned as he settled back on the cot the nurse had brought into the room for him and Cheyenne to share for the night. They had decided they would stay at the hospital since they didn’t want to leave Venus alone. “Yes, there’re quite a few of us and like I told you that first day, we’re very close.”
“And you and Reggie are the only single ones left?”
He looked at her, smiled and said, “Yes, but I won’t be single for long if you agree to marry me.”
“Just to give me your name?”
Quade took her hand in his and decided now would be the perfect time to tell her how he felt. Whether she believed him or not was another matter altogether. She might feel that she didn’t know him well enough considering their history. His response to that would be she knew him in a way no other woman did. While making love he’d always bared his soul to her, as well as his heart.
“Yes,” he said, meeting her gaze. “To give you my name. But there’s something that goes along with my name.”
She lifted a brow. “What?”
“My heart.”
She stared at him with disbelief written all over her face. “Are you saying that you love me?” she asked quietly.
“Yes, I am. So what do you have to say to that?” he asked. He expected her to say a lot—most of which he preferred not to hear. Especially if she was going to argue with him about how long they had known each other. That didn’t matter to him. What mattered was that she was the woman he wanted to share his life.
She snuggled closer to him. “The only thing I have to say is that I love you, too.”
A shocked looked covered his face. “You do?”
She smiled. “Yes, I sure do.”
He leaned over and kissed her in a way that soon had her purring in his arms. When he released her, she looked into his eyes. They were ablaze with desire. “Don’t even think about it, Quade.”
He chuckled. “You sure?”
“Positive.”
“You’re right, but when I get you and Venus home, I plan to have a party to celebrate. I also plan to have my way with you.”
She smiled. “You think so?”
“Baby, I know so.”
She got quiet for a moment. Deciding now was the right time for them to be completely honest with each other, she said, “Quade?”
“Yes?”
“I have an idea as to why you were in Egypt.”
He suddenly went still for a moment. Then he said, “I told you why I was in Egypt.”
“But you didn’t tell me everything. I think you left a few details out.”
He met her gaze. “A few details like what?”
“You tell me.”
Quade studied the look in her eyes and figured that she knew something, but how? He then remembered he had finally dozed off to sleep that night after making love to her countless times. Had she searched through his belongings? Was she a...?
“Don’t even think it,” Cheyenne said as if she had read his mind.
“Because it seems a part of your business is entwined in mine.”
He lifted a brow. “Meaning?”
A smile touched her lips when she said, “You got paid to put your life on the line for the president and I did the same for the first lady.”
An incredulous look appeared on Quade’s face. “You worked for the PSF?”
“Yes, but only on a part-time basis when my modeling jobs just happened to be in or near a place that needed checking out. I had been a model for almost a year when I was pulled into the organization. I thought it would be daring and fun, as well as a way to serve my country.”
He nodded. “And now?”
“And now I just want to raise my babies and take care of my husband.”
A huge smile touched his lips. “Does that mean you will accept my marriage proposal?”
“Is it still out there?”
“You bet.”
“Then, yes, I accept it, but I would love hearing you ask me again.”
“No problem.” He reached for her hand and took it into his. “Cheyenne Steele, will you marry me? Be my best friend, lover and the mother of all Quade’s babies?”
She lifted a surprised brow. “You want more?”
“Yes, although it won’t surprise me one bit if you’re already pregnant, pill or no pill. And I figured Venus, Athena and Troy ought to break me in real good for any others that follow. Besides, I love being around for breast-feeding time with you.”
She chuckled. “You would.”
“Now let’s get back to our wedding plans.”
“We’re making plans?”
“Might as well. My family, at least the ones that are not already here, will be showing up this weekend. Think we can plan something small by then?”
“Small?” she said laughing. “With your family? I don’t know about small.”
“Then I’ll settle for large as long as it’s this weekend. Besides, because you put Mom up in your guest room, I’m going to have to do late-night sneak-ins into your bedroom until we’re legally married.”
“Poor baby.”
“Yeah, so see what you can pull off this weekend.”
“I’ll try.”
He grinned and leaned up over her. “Don’t sound too convincing. Maybe I should give you a little encouragement.”
Cheyenne looked up at him, into the eyes of the man she loved. “Um, maybe you should.”
Epilogue
“I now pronounce you man and wife. Quade and Cheyenne Westmoreland. You may now kiss your bride.”
Quade didn’t have to be told twice and pulled Cheyenne into his arms, taking her mouth like a starving man. And when she practically began melting in his arms, instead of lightening up he deepened the kiss, going in for the kill.
“Will you at least let her breathe, Quade?”
Quade released her and shot his brother Reggie a frown before sweeping Cheyenne into his arms and making his way out of the church, leaving everyone else to follow.
They had married that weekend as planned. So here it was two weeks before Christmas and for the third year in a row, the Westmorelands had had a December wedding. First it had been Chase’s, then Spencer’s and now his. Everyone was looking at Reggie since he was the lone single Westmoreland...at least that they knew about. Quade’s father’s genealogy search had located the ancestors of their great-grandfather’s twin, Raphel Westmoreland. Raphel earned the reputation as the black sheep in the family after he ran off with a married woman. A huge family reunion was being planned in the spring, so the two sides could meet. Quade couldn’t imagine there being more Westmorelands, but now it appeared that there were. And like everyone else, he was eager to meet all of his long, lost cousins.
He placed Cheyenne on her feet when they got outside the church. She had looked totally beautiful walking down the aisle to him, and he felt proud of the fact she was his. They had decided to put off a honeymoon for a while, at least until the babies were older. Besides, they were excited about spending their first Christmas together as a family. During the ceremony he had occasionally glanced at the triplets, who had been held in their grandmothers’ arms in the front pew. Each time he saw them, he loved the mother of his babies more and more and didn’t mind letting her know it.
He gazed down into Cheyenne’s dark eyes. “I love you.”
She smiled up at him. “And I love you, too.”
And then they were showered with rice, and Quade decided now was as good a time as any to seal their vows once again with a kiss. He stepped closer, grinned down at her just seconds before pulling her into his arms. He was a man who didn’t believe in wasting time.
* * * * *
Tall, Dark…Westmoreland!
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Epilogue
Chapter 1
There has to be another way for a woman to have fun, Olivia Jeffries thought as she glanced around at everyone attending the Firemen’s Masquerade Ball, an annual charity event held in downtown Atlanta. Already she was gearing up for a boring evening.
It wouldn’t have been so bad if she hadn’t arrived from Paris just yesterday, after being summoned home by her father. That meant she had to drop everything, including plans to drive through the countryside of the Seine Valley to complete the painting she had started months ago.
Returning to Atlanta had required her to take a leave of absence from her job as an art curator at the Louvre. But when Orin Jeffries called, she hadn’t hesitated to drop everything. After all, he was only the greatest dad in the entire world.
He had wanted her home after making the decision to run for public office, saying it was important that she was there not only for his first fund-raiser but also for the duration of his campaign. There would be a number of functions he would need to attend, and he preferred not to go with any particular woman on a regular basis. He didn’t want any of his female friends to get the wrong idea.
Olivia could only shake her head and smile. Her divorced father had taken himself off the marriage block years ago. In fact, she doubted he’d ever allowed himself to be there in the first place. He dated on occasion, but he’d never gotten serious about any woman, which was a pity. At fifty-six, Orin Jeffries was without a doubt a very good-looking man. His ex-wife, who was Olivia’s mom in genes only, had left a bad taste in Orin’s mouth. A taste that the past twenty-four years hadn’t erased.
Her two older brothers, Duan, who was thirty-six, and Terrence, who was thirty-four, had taken after her father in their good looks. And as in the case of their father, the thought of marriage was the last thing on their minds. In a way, she followed in her dad’s footsteps as well. Finding a husband was the last thing on hers.
So there you had it. They were the swinging single Jeffries, although for the moment, nothing was swinging for her, Olivia thought. There were a few people at this ball who seemed to be having fun, but most, like her, were looking at their watches and wondering when proper etiquette dictated it would be okay to leave.
Whoever had come up with the idea of everyone wearing masks had really been off their rocker. It made her feel like she was part of the Lone Ranger’s posse. And because all the money raised tonight was for the new wing at the children’s hospital, in addition to the mask, everyone was required to wear a name badge on which was printed the name of a nursery rhyme character, a color of a crayon or a well-known cartoon or comic-book character. How creative.
At least the food was good. The first words out of her father’s mouth when he’d seen her at the airport the day before had been, “You look too thin.” She figured the least she could do was mosey on over to the buffet ta
ble and get herself something to eat. Hopefully, in a little while she could split.
* * *
Reginald Westmoreland watched the woman as she crossed the room, making her way over to the buffet table. He had been watching her for over twenty minutes now, racking his brain as to who she was. Mask or no mask, he recognized most of the women at the ball tonight. He knew almost every one of them because for years he had been immersed in the science of “lip-tology.” In other words, the first thing he noticed about a woman was her lips.
He could recognize a woman by her lips alone, without even looking at any other facial feature. Most people wouldn’t agree, but no two pairs of lips were the same. His brothers and cousins had denounced his claim and had quickly put him to the test. He had just as quickly proven them wrong. Whether you considered it a blessing or a curse, the bottom line was that he had the gift.
And there were other things besides her lips that caught his attention, like her height. She had to be almost six feet tall. And then he was struck by the way she fit into her elegantly designed black and silver beaded dress, the way the material clung to her shapely curves. He had noticed several men approach her, but she had yet to dance with any of them. In fact, it seemed that she was brushing them off. Reginald smelled a challenge.
“So, how is the campaign going, Reggie?”
Reginald, known to all his family as Reggie, turned to look at his older brother, divorce attorney extraordinaire, Jared Westmoreland. Just last week Jared had made the national news owing to a high-profile settlement he’d won in favor of a well-known Hollywood actor.
“It officially kicks off Monday. But now that Jeffries has decided to throw his hat into the ring, things should be rather interesting,” he said, referring to the older man who would be his opponent. “With Brent, I have a good campaign manager, but I still feel it might be a tight race. Jeffries is well-known and well-liked.”
Flames of Attraction: Quade's BabiesTall, Dark...Westmoreland! Page 11