by Darcy Burke
He came around the desk and took her hand. His fingers were warm, his gaze full of love. “Eighteen is me. You can’t have your family without including me—sorry.”
“But I don’t understand. Earlier you said you can’t live here, and I said I can’t move. What happened?”
“I realized I can move home, I just didn’t want to. More accurately, I didn’t want to move on.” He dropped to his knee, and she gasped, her hand rising to her mouth as tears stung her eyes. “It’s time for me to move on. From Denver, from Alex—to you.”
This couldn’t be happening, could it? She’d just barely gotten her head around him loving her, was trying to process how they were going to make this work, and here he was down on one knee.
“This isn’t just a proposal. This is a promise. I promise I’m going to get help with my grief and my anger about Alex—I’ve already asked Maggie for a referral. I promise I’m going to spend as much time here as possible—I’m taking over Archer Real Estate and folding Lion Properties into the company. I plan to put someone in charge in Denver, but I’ll have to travel there from time to time. I promise to scale back my hobbies—I’ve already canceled the FJC this weekend.” He kissed her hand and looked up into her eyes. “But most of all, I promise to love you for the rest of my life and beyond. I know this might seem fast, but as Derek said to me once, ‘When you know, you know.’ Aubrey, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
She was quite literally speechless. Gibberish swirled in her brain, and her mouth opened and closed like she was some fish out of water.
He smiled at her, that sexy little grin that hinted he was maybe enjoying her utter shock. “I called your uncle while you were at lunch—he sounds great, by the way—and he gave his permission, provided you agree.”
Why wouldn’t she? Everything she wanted was right here. All she had to do was say yes. “Yes. I’ll marry you. Tomorrow. Next month. Next year. Five minutes ago.”
He stood up. “How about fifteen months ago, when we broke in this desk?” He nudged his thigh against the wood, and she was instantly overcome with desire for this man. Her man.
“I don’t know if I was quite ready to marry you then. We started out wanting to choke each other.”
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and gently tugged the lock between his fingers. “I don’t know. The minute I saw you walk into our house, I thought you were the sexiest woman I’d ever seen. You had this air about you—confident and crisp, but warm, too. Approachable.” He put his arm around her waist and pulled her against him. “Plus your legs. And this red hair. Also your incredible eyes.”
“We can’t do that here, now. Everyone would hear—the office was empty the first time.” Still, she was pretty sure the rest of her workday was absolutely screwed.
“I can be quiet when I have to be. The question is, can you?” His lips curved up, and his eyes glinted with trademark Liam sex appeal.
She slipped her hands beneath his leather jacket and dug her nails into the shirt on his back. “I’m not as fun when I have to be quiet.”
He chuckled low in his throat. “I doubt that, but I do love the noises you make, especially when you have my cock in your mouth.”
She felt that cock against her, hard as a rock, ready to go.
He let go of her and stepped back. She pouted in disappointment. “Where are you going?”
“I almost forgot.” He turned and went to the loveseat beneath the front window. He came back with a shiny emerald-green helmet tied with a bow. He’d been a busy boy today. “I didn’t want to pick out a ring without you—seemed like something we should choose together. Plus, I didn’t have time to get to a jewelry store. Ribbon Ridge needs a jewelry store.”
“Yet you had time to get a helmet?”
“I ordered it two weeks ago, and it arrived yesterday afternoon.” He’d ordered it before he’d gone back to Denver.
“I guess that means I have to go for a ride.” She imagined sitting behind him, her thighs pressed against his ass. There were worse things.
“Just a short one—your house isn’t very far.”
She grinned. “No, it isn’t.” She pulled the bow off, then set the helmet on her head. “How do I look?”
“Gorgeous. Perfect. Mine.”
He pulled her close and kissed her, his mouth warm and eager. She held him tightly, never wanting to let go. Luckily she didn’t have to.
She tugged her lips from his. “Let’s go. How fast does this bike go?”
“Hey, I’m moving out of the fast lane, remember? From now on, I’m getting my adrenaline rush from one source: you.”
She cupped his cheek and kissed him. “I hope that’s enough.”
“Baby, when we kiss, it’s all I ever need.”
Epilogue
July
Ribbon Ridge, Oregon
IT WAS SUNDAY dinner, and as usual, everyone was here. Everyone but Hayden, who would be arriving next week in time for Sara and Dylan’s wedding. Between wedding preparations and getting The Alex ready for its soft opening in a few weeks, everyone was overwhelmingly busy. Still, they gathered every Sunday, and Liam had to admit it had become his favorite time of the week.
Except for every moment he was with Aubrey.
He looked over at her sitting at the table next to Sara, their heads bent in conversation. He couldn’t believe how drastically his life had changed, almost overnight. But he was glad. Humbled, even.
He’d started seeing a therapist a couple of weeks ago, and though he’d only had two sessions, he already felt a lightness he’d never known before. It was strange to feel that way at the time when he’d finally started to grieve, but he supposed it made sense. As he let the heaviness of his guilt and anger fall away, he emerged unburdened, free. Like when he floated through the air in free fall. Like he imagined Alex must be now.
Aubrey’s eye caught his in silent question. He’d gotten up from the table to refill his beer and had become completely lost in his thoughts. He’d been doing that a lot lately as he worked through the emotions of moving back home and letting Alex go.
He sat down next to her and listened to the conversation he’d been missing.
“The limo’s picking us up Friday at five, right?” Chloe asked Tori.
Tori swallowed a bite of food and nodded. “And Aubrey’s got the dinner all set.” They had to be talking about Sara’s bachelorette party, which was the same night as Dylan’s bachelor party.
Liam looked at Aubrey. “Where did you decide to go?”
Aubrey rested her palm on his thigh, sending a bolt of lust straight through him. “We’re taking Sara to the Ridgeview.”
That was the cottage event space at The Alex that Sara had designed. It seemed a fitting place for her to have her bachelorette party. It was also a short walk from where they were holding Dylan’s bachelor party at their underground pub, Archetype.
“So you’ll be close, then,” he said.
Aubrey’s auburn brows pitched down. “What do you mean?”
“Did no one tell you that the bachelor party is at Archetype?”
“Shut up,” Chloe said.
Aubrey’s eyes widened. “Oh. No. That’s kind of a problem.”
“Is it? I think it’ll be okay.” Liam looked over at Sean and Kyle. “I mean, we’ll ask the strippers to keep it down, right guys?”
Kyle nodded. “Absolutely. And if they can’t, well . . . ” He made an overly apologetic face and shrugged. “Sorry.”
“Not sorry.” Derek coughed the words, but everyone heard what he said. The guys laughed, and Derek and Kyle high-fived each other.
Chloe swatted her husband on the shoulder. “Cut it out. You losers don’t need strippers, not when we’re right down the road.”
Liam chuckled. “We didn’t know that. I guess we’ll cancel them.” There were no strippers, of course.
Aubrey rolled her eyes at him. “Whatever.”
Tori took a drink of beer and exhaled as sh
e set her glass back down on the table. “I guess that means we have to cancel ours, too. Damn. I had them flown in from Australia special.”
Liam laughed heartily. “The Thunder from Down Under?”
Tori’s eyes gleamed with mirth. “Yep.”
“And I was so looking forward to them.”
Everyone turned to stare at his mother, who wore a rather gleeful expression. Then she blinked. “Really. That sounds like great fun.”
Dad cleared his throat, but his eyes glinted with humor. “Yeah, fun.” He stood up from the table and took his plate to the sink.
“Why do I think we’re going to end up merging parties on Friday?” Sara asked.
Aubrey leaned against Liam. “I see how this is going to work. You guys are going to wait until we’re all tanked, then you’re going to swoop in and save us again.”
Liam put his arm around Aubrey and stroked her shoulder. “Ha, doubtful. We might be more tanked than you.”
“Then it’s a good thing the hotel has beds and plumbing, so we can all crash there.”
“Dibs on the garden penthouse!” Chloe said.
The hotel had three penthouses on the top floor. With six couples, they were going to have to duke it out. “We’ll let Sara and Dylan have first choice.”
“Good plan,” Kyle said, standing. “Time for cocktails out back.”
Everyone but Liam and Aubrey got up from the table. He held her close and nuzzled her cheek before kissing the corner of her mouth. “I don’t care what room we have.”
“I know,” she said, her eyes sparkling. “Location has never been something you put a lot of thought into.”
“Hey, all I need is you and a surface. Surface optional.”
She laughed, low and husky, and the sultry sound rocketed straight to his groin, via his heart and soul. She scooted to the edge of her chair so their thighs were touching. “You ready to go soon?”
“What about the cocktails?”
She sighed and retreated to the center of her chair. “I suppose we should hang around for a bit.”
He snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her back against him. “No, no. Let’s discuss this. We can probably make a case for leaving, right counselor? I do have more interviews tomorrow—first one’s at eight thirty.”
Her hazel eyes sparked with heat. “And I should probably draft a motion that’s due tomorrow.”
“Well, we clearly have work to do. I guess you’re right; we should go.”
They both stood so quickly that they nearly knocked over their chairs. Their intimate laughter provoked groans from the others, who were bussing their plates and tidying up.
Kyle rolled his eyes. “You two are disgusting.”
“It’s cute,” Tori said. “Even if it is Liam.”
“Disgustingly cute,” Aubrey said, kissing him quickly before they took their plates to the sink.
Liam looked at them apologetically. “Sorry guys, we need to head home and get some work done.”
Sean didn’t look the least bit convinced. “Uh-huh.”
Liam grabbed Aubrey’s hand and pulled her toward the mudroom.
She waved and smiled, her face lighting up in that way that made his heart turn over. “Bye!”
As soon as he got her outside, he turned and pinned her against the house for a hot, fierce, far-too-brief kiss. “I just had to do that,” he murmured. “Couldn’t wait another second.”
She brushed her hand along his jaw. “I hope it’s always like this.”
He didn’t doubt it. Their love was too absolute, their bond too strong. “It will be. You have my heart, my body, my soul. Forever.”
The end
The youngest Archer brother is back from his wine-making internship in France, and he’s still looking for love . . .
The perfect woman has been right in front of him for years, but will he get a second chance at first love?
Don’t miss Hayden’s story . . .
YOU’RE STILL THE ONE
Coming April 2016
Preorder it today!
Acknowledgments
A HUGE THANK you to my husband, Steve, for all the legal information. If I got any of it wrong, that’s on me.
I want to give a special thank-you to my fabulous friend Cami Curtis. I was remiss in not thanking her at the end of The Idea of You for helping me with some . . . stuff. She knows what it is. I’m so, so glad you came into our lives. You are the very best. Keep it classy. (No really, you need to keep it classy. For the children.)
I couldn’t help but have at least one of these Archers love the Dave Matthews Band as much as I do, and Liam got to be the lucky one. I also couldn’t resist having Aubrey love them, too, so that they could share the joy that is DMB. I saw them for the I-don’t-know-how-manyth-time over Labor Day (I’m a huge fan, but I don’t count shows!) right after I finished this book, so that was a fantastic reward. Thank you guys for creating a soundtrack that speaks right to my soul—how sweet you rock and sweet you roll.
I am so thankful for my terrific agent, Jim McCarthy. You are a delightful human being and a true professional. I’m also hugely grateful to my editor, Nicole Fischer, for being completely awesome and the entire Avon crew. Avon KissCon was an absolute blast, and I can’t wait to do it again. I just love being an Avon author!
Finally, I didn’t go skydiving or flying in a small plane for research. And I never will!
Thank You!
Thank you for reading When We Kiss! I have so much fun writing about the Archers. They feel like family to me, and I hope to you, too. I’m so excited about the next book, which is Hayden’s story, You’re Still the One. I hope to see you back in Ribbon Ridge when it releases in April 2016! And never fear, while that will be the last of the Archer siblings’ books, I have plans for many more stories set in Ribbon Ridge about people you’ve already met. When you read You’re Still the One, you’ll be able to figure out where we go next. Cheers!
Ribbon Ridge is a fictional town based on several cities and towns dotting the Willamette Valley between Portland and the Oregon Coast. It’s pinot noir wine country, very beautiful and picturesque—and a short drive from where I live. My brother actually dwells right in the heart of it in a tiny town with no gas station or grocery store (he recently informed me they now have a smallish grocery store/carniceria). There is, however, an amazing antique mall in a historic schoolhouse.
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Thank you again for reading and for your support!
About the Author
DARCY BURKE is the USA Today best-selling author of hot, action-packed historical and sexy, emotional, contemporary romance. Darcy wrote her first book at age eleven, a happily-ever-after about a swan addicted to magic and the female swan that loved him, with exceedingly poor illustrations.
A native Oregonian, Darcy lives on the edge of wine country with her guitar-strumming husband, their two hilarious kids who seem to have inherited the writing gene, and three Bengal cats. In her “spare” time, Darcy is a serial volunteer enrolled in a twelve-step program where one learns to say “no,” but she keeps having to start over. She’s also a fair-weather runner, and her happy places are Disneyland and Labor Day weekend at the Gorge.
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By Darcy Burke
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Ribbon Ridge
Where the Heart Is (a prequel novella)
Only In My Dreams
Yours to Hold
When Love Happens
The Idea of You
When We Kiss
Coming Soon:
You’re Still the One
HISTORICAL ROMANCE
Secrets and Scandals
Her Wicked Ways
His Wicked Heart
To Seduce a Scoundrel
To Love a Thief (a novella)
Never Love a Scoundrel
Scoundrel Ever After
Regency Treasure Hunters
The de Valery Code
Romancing the Earl
Raiders of the Lost Heart
The Legacy of an Extraordinary Gentleman
The Untouchables
The Forbidden Duke
The Duke of Daring
The Duke of Deception
The Duke of Desire
Give in to your Impulses . . .
Continue reading for excerpts from
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DIRTY DEEDS
A MECHANICS OF LOVE NOVEL
by Megan Erickson
MONTANA HEARTS:
SWEET TALKIN’ COWBOY
by Darlene Panzera
An Excerpt from
DIRTY DEEDS
A Mechanics of Love Novel
By Megan Erickson
After a devastating relationship left her reeling, mechanic Alex Dawn swore off all men. She’s got a chip on her shoulder no man will ever knock off, so she’s content to focus on her family and her job at Payton and Sons Automotive. But all the defenses she’s worked to build are put to the test when British businessman L.M. Spencer rolls into her shop late one night, with a body like a model and a voice from her dirtiest dreams.
He followed her outside, the clack of his expensive shoes a contrast to the clomp of her boots. She was hyper-aware of his gaze on her back, like fingers down her spine. When they reached her truck, she reached out to open the door but the next second, a hand spun her around and a body pressed her up against the side of her truck.