#Heart (Hashtag #6)

by Cambria Hebert

  “I am.” She teased.

  A little of the laughter left me. “Aww, baby.”

  “Shh.” She pressed a finger to my lips, and I sucked it into my mouth.

  It didn’t escape my notice the way her hips tilted toward my body as I massaged her flesh with my tongue.

  When I released her finger, her eyes were heavy with desire once more.

  I swung her up into my arms and slid the keycard in the door. When it clicked, I held it open a crack with my foot. “How about we set a date tonight, then go home and tell everyone tomorrow?”

  “I’d like that,” she whispered.

  “How fast can you put together a wedding?” I asked.

  She laughed. “Fast.”

  I kicked open the door and carried her in the room.

  She gasped the second her eyes left mine.

  I was good.

  Like really good.

  The suite was the entire top floor, with a huge wall of windows that looked out over the lit-up city. The view was incredible, and all the lights on the buildings looked like stars against the night sky.

  If the view wasn’t amazing enough, the room was glowing with the soft radiance of candles the staff had lit before we arrived.

  White roses filled the space. Vase after vase sat everywhere, and the entire place smelled of fresh-cut flowers. I took a chance with the roses. I knew they weren’t her favorite because Zach has sent her some to lure her out one night. But those were red. Not the color of love for us, but the color of blood. These were white. Pure. Just like her and the way I’d always feel about her.

  “Oh my goodness, Romeo.” Rimmel breathed and all but jumped out of my arms to go over and finger one of the large bouquets nearby. “Did you do all of this?”

  “Like I said, I want you to have everything.”

  “You are everything. All of this is just…” She looked around once more. “It’s extra.”

  She looked gorgeous standing there amongst a sea of white roses and candlelight. With her in the room, I didn’t notice the million-dollar view.

  God, I wanted her.

  As if she could read my mind, Rimmel reached for the hem of her hoodie and T-shirt. Slowly, she stripped them away, letting the clothes fall to the floor.

  Next, she reached for the button on her jeans, popping it open and sliding down the zipper. I watched silently, need hammering in my veins as she stripped.

  Once the jeans were gone, she stood before me in nothing but white lace panties and a bra. Her dark hair fell behind her shoulders like a dark backdrop for the creaminess of her skin.

  Holding my gaze, she reached around behind her and unclasped the bra to let it slide down her arms and fall away.

  My mouth went dry.

  My eyes fastened on the perfect roundness of her breasts. I ached to touch them, to fill my mouth with her flesh and feel her body arch against mine, offering up even more of herself.

  I stepped forward, and she made a sound of protest.

  With a wicked little smile, she reached for her panties, stripping them away with painful precision and blatant lust, standing completely naked before me.

  I watched with rapt attention as her little hand slipped over the flat front of her abdomen, across her hipbone, and down past her belly button. I licked my lips when her fingers delved into the dark patch of short curls right above her entrance.

  “Rim,” I growled. I was going to explode in my damn pants like a fifteen-year-old. Not only was she going to be my wife, but she was giving me a strip show, and now she was feeling herself up?

  Damn.

  She smiled a little as her hand moved farther down, disappearing between her thighs. She let out a soft sigh, and her nipples tightened.

  I practically tripped over my own feet rushing across the room. I saw her about to tell me to stay back, but fuck that. I was done listening.

  My hands spanned her narrow waist and I lifted her and tossed her over my shoulder. She giggled as I carried her back to the bedroom, but the second my hand slid between her legs from behind, her breath caught and she lifted her little ass to give me better access.

  That was better.

  Much better.

  If this was any indication of how married life with Rim was gonna be, then I was one lucky bastard.

  Rimmel

  Best night ever.

  And…

  As if the memory of Romeo proposing in the middle of a televised football game, literally sweeping me off my feet, and then making love to me on a literal bed of white rose petals over and over again wasn’t unforgettable on its own, there was this huge sparkling diamond on my finger that would remind me every single day for the rest of my life.

  I’d been staring at the diamond for hours, never growing tired of the way it sparkled. The center diamond was round and, frankly, too big and was surrounded by smaller diamonds. The band was thin and simple, with more sparkling diamonds. Sometimes when I stared at it, I wondered how such a delicate band could support such a large stone.

  With a happy sigh, I sat back and turned my head toward him. My hair smelled like roses because of all the time we’d spent rolling around in the petals.

  Romeo’s large, warm hand covered mine, and I smiled.

  We’d taken an early morning flight back to Maryland. Most of the Knights were flying back to the state today as well, but we weren’t going where the team was based. We were going home.

  Romeo only had one “off” day a week, and today was that day. Coming home for one day wasn’t something he did very often, but he’d been doing more of it since everything happened with Zach. I knew the travel and the sleep he wasn’t getting was going to catch up to him, and I worried about it, but telling him not to come home would be like telling him to hold his breath for twenty minutes.

  It wasn’t going to happen.

  Going to his away games was something I didn’t do very often either, but lately, it just seemed more important to be with him as much as possible. Lately, it had been even harder to be apart.

  We’d all changed a lot in the past year and a half. More than I ever really thought possible. We’d grown up, become a family… We had learned what was most important in life.

  This would actually be Romeo’s last short trip home, because his first NFL season was almost over. Soon, it would be the offseason, and he’d be able to come home and stay there longer than a couple days. I looked forward to that day fiercely, but I was still so incredibly proud of the way he played this season and the success he’d achieved. I couldn’t wait to see what the next season, and the ones after, would hold for him.

  A few minutes later, the cab pulled onto our street, and I smiled. I knew Braeden and Ivy were going to be surprised to see us. They wouldn’t expect us to show up so soon after he proposed. That was partly why we dragged ourselves out of the opulent hotel room after getting no sleep at all and boarded a plane.

  The other part was because even though neither of us said it out loud, we were still really worried about how they both were doing. It hadn’t been very long at all since Ivy’s car accident and Zach’s death. Being home was just the place we needed to be most right now.

  The second the car dropped us off in the driveway, I hurried to the front door, fumbling in my bag for the keys. Of course, I dropped my bag, and half the contents spilled out all over the porch.

  “Whatcha doing over there?” Romeo asked, clear amusement in his voice as he stepped up onto the porch behind me.

  “You know me,” I replied as I tried to scoop up my stuff that was scattered about. “Graceful as ever.”

  His large feet and jean-clad legs appeared before me. I paused in reaching for my ChapStick and smiled a little because of the déjà vu I was experiencing.

  I craned my neck and looked up his long, muscular body standing over me. He was smiling, and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was remembering the moment we met as well.

  He bent down to help me pick up my things, and our ha
nds brushed together as we both reached for the lip balm. I paused and looked up.

  It was still there.

  That jolt of electricity, that surge of chemistry right to my heart.

  Even now that I was wearing his ring, he still affected me like that first day.

  I hoped it never changed.

  But unlike that day, he didn’t hurry to scoop everything up and stand. Instead, Romeo fell back on his butt and pulled me into his lap. My things still littered the concrete, and the air was cold and brisk.

  I didn’t notice any of it. All I felt was his large, warm body beneath mine.

  “I should have pulled you into my lap that day,” he murmured, stroking my hair out of my face. “I should have looked into your beautiful face and known just how badly I needed you.”

  I pulled my knees closer to my chest, and Romeo wrapped both arms around me, holding me close. “We were from two different worlds,” I whispered. “I was out of your league.”

  “No. I was out of yours. But we created our own world, didn’t we? A world I wouldn’t trade for anything.”

  “I love you,” I answered softly.

  He groaned and pressed his forehead against mine. “You’re killing me, Smalls.”

  I smiled.

  He kissed me like we weren’t sitting out in the open, like it wasn’t below freezing outside and neither of us had any sleep. He kissed me like we hadn’t kissed a thousand times before, but this was the first time. The only time.

  His lips were full and soft. The way he moved was lazy. Everything around me went hazy. Everything inside me went missing. It was only him and me. The past, the present, and the future swirled around us to create a cocktail of promise. A promise I knew we would both keep.

  When he finally pulled back, I sighed deeply and snuggled into his chest. His lips brushed over the top of my head. “Your hands are cold, sweetheart.”

  “I didn’t notice,” I murmured.

  In one fluid movement, he stood and set me on my feet. Within seconds, he’d scooped up my belongings and opened the door with the keys. I went ahead. Hearing the low sound of the TV, I dropped my bag on the floor and hurried into the family room.

  Ivy’s blond head peeked up from the couch, and her eyes filled with surprise. “Rimmel!”

  Braeden’s dark head jerked up, and he spun around. I smiled at him, and a huge grin took over his unshaved face. He gave a shout and jumped up and leapt over the back of the couch, sank low, and scooped me up to spin me around.

  I laughed.

  “There’s my baby sis who’s gone and got herself hitched!”

  “Engaged, not married,” I told him, smiling. He stopped spinning me, and I pulled back to look at him. His lopsided grin was so cute I laughed.

  “You look good,” he said, gruff. “Happy.”

  “I am.”

  He made a big show of kissing me loud and rather sloppily on the cheek before squeezing me again and then finally putting me down. He turned to Romeo, who was standing in the doorway, amusement clear in his eyes, and scowled.

  “You,” Braeden growled. “Don’t you know you’re supposed to ask for a blessing before you go giving out rings?”

  Romeo made a rude sound. “I’m pretty sure I don’t need your blessing to get married.”

  “That’s my sister.”

  Romeo glanced at me, and I giggled. He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Braeden, would you please give me your blessing—the guy you’ve known almost all your life and ten times longer than your sister—to get married to the only woman I’ve ever loved?”

  Braeden didn’t miss a beat. “I’m not sure you’re good enough for her.”

  I gasped, and Romeo gave him the finger.

  Braeden cackled. “Blessing given.”

  “My life is complete,” Romeo muttered.

  “Rimmel!” Ivy called from her place on the couch. “Ignore those boneheads! I need to see that ring. I need details!”

  Ivy looked small sitting in the center of the couch with a thick blanket piled over her lap. Her blond hair was pulled up into a messy topknot and her face was free of makeup. There was a white bandage on her forehead, covering the stitches still in her head, and her broken wrist was cast and lying in her lap amongst the blanket.

  She looked pale and tired. Even though most of the bruises from the accident and her struggle with Zach were almost faded, she still looked a little battered and worn around the edges. It was to be expected really. She’d had a really hard past several months. Frankly, I was shocked she looked as good as she did.

  I smiled at her and stepped up beside the couch. She handed me the coffee mug in her free hand, and I sat it on the white table we’d painted together. When her hand was free, she made an impatient sound and wiggled her fingers.

  I laughed and held my hand out between us.

  She gasped loudly. “Oh my God! This is gorgeous!”

  “I know,” I giggled.

  Braeden leaned over the back of the couch to look at the ring. “My man has good taste.”

  Ivy was captivated by it, and she turned my hand this way and that, watching it catch the light. “It’s perfect for you.” She smiled and looked up. “I watched the whole proposal on TV!”

  “They’re gonna start talking about romance and flowers and shit,” Braeden told Romeo. “It’s bad enough I was sitting here watching the fashion channel with her.”

  “Hey,” Ivy said, a little hurt in her tone. “You said you liked it.”

  Braeden’s face softened and he leaned over the couch to kiss the top of her head. “‘Course I do, baby.”

  “We’ll give you two a minute to be all girly and shit,” Romeo said and winked at me on his way past. “Want some coffee, Smalls?”

  “Sure,” I answered and sat gingerly on the couch near Ivy. I was afraid of jostling her body too much. I knew her broken ribs were still really tender.

  Braeden snagged his mug and Ivy’s off the table and followed Romeo toward the kitchen.

  “So…” I began right away. “How are you feeling?”

  Ivy grimaced. “I’m fine. I’m tired of being a prisoner to this couch, though.”

  “Didn’t the doctor say you could go back to classes?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, this week. I wanted to go today, but Braeden wasn’t having it.”

  “He still hasn’t left your side,” I mused, thinking about what a good boyfriend Braeden made. I’d always known he would.

  “No, and he’s bossy as hell,” Ivy grumped. “But…” Her voice softened. “I really do love him.”

  “I’m so glad you two are together.”

  “Me, too.” She paused, and some of the light went out of her eyes. “When I think about everything I almost lost…”

  I put my hand over hers. “But you didn’t. You’re still here. So is B. It’s over now.”

  “Is it?” she whispered and swiped at her eyes.

  Worry crept up the back of my neck. Why wouldn’t it be over? Why would she think it wasn’t?

  Before I could ask, she smiled brightly and sat up a little straighter, holding her side as she moved. “Tell me all the details. Every last one of them.”

  I opened my mouth, but she cut me off. “And I’m sorry I wasn’t able to style you for that game. If I had known it was going to be the game, I would have dragged myself out of bed and told Braeden to shove it when he said I couldn’t go to the boutique.”

  I laughed. That would have been fun to watch. “It’s fine. Besides, I think it’s rather fitting I was wearing a hoodie and jeans when he proposed. That’s the real me, you know?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, it is, and you’re right. It’s perfect.”

  After that, she grilled me about every detail, stared at my ring, and started going on about all the different ways we could have our wedding.

  We were still giggling about flowers and dresses when the guys came back into the room. I glanced up and met Romeo’s eyes. He smiled, and my heart swelled.

&
nbsp; “Rimmel!” Ivy said and grabbed my hand. “Pay attention. Color is very important.”

  Romeo winked at me before I turned back to her lecture on color selection for weddings. She looked more refreshed than when we first walked in, color in her cheeks and a smile on her lips. Braeden seemed to notice, too, and he gave me a grateful look from her other side.

  This is why Romeo and I came home.

  This is why we wanted to be with our family.

  Because together we were better.

  Together we could handle anything.

  Guilt, Bruises…

  & Orange Juice?

  (aka Part One)

  Chapter One

  Two months later…

  Braeden

  The odor was pungent.

  It burned my nostrils, and I could feel the bitter tendrils in the air all the way down into my lungs, where it filled me up and created a burning sensation in my chest.

  Even through the distinct sounds of groaning metal, the loud, rapid dripping of the god-awful-smelling gasoline, and the smooth purring of the Hellcat’s engine several yards away, it was the silence that was the loudest.

  The absence of her.

  Her voice.

  Her struggles.

  Her life.

  I blinked away the blurriness in my vision, willing away the intense urge to panic and the sudden moisture filling my eyes.

  “Ivy!” I roared, rushing around the wreckage, ignoring the fact my foot stepped right in the center of a puddle and my shoe sucked up the liquid like a sponge.

  Every cell in my entire body was focused on one thing.

  The woman I loved.

  The reason my heart even beat.

  She didn’t answer even when I asked her to, when I begged.

  I screamed up at the sky, as if letting out a warning to the heavens that if she were dead, there would be hell to pay.

  Only the stars winked back at me, making me think of her. Making me choke back even more tears and fear.

  The slight squeeze of her fingers wasn’t even enough to assure me she was still alive. It could be a trick, another sick mind game of Zach’s.

  Fucking Zach.