Pretty Jane (The Browning Series Book 3)

by Dorothy Barrett

  Eli didn’t get much further than this because Jackson suddenly let out a low whistle.

  Beau turned to see what his brother was gawking at, and his jaw dropped. The woman in question was trailing his cousin down the sidewalk, nearly every glorious inch of her tall frame, soft womanly curves, and smooth creamy skin on full display in a bikini the color of jade-green waters. PJ had done well with her shopping. She had done very, very well. In and of itself, the suit probably wasn’t all that noteworthy, but hugging a body like PJ’s, the two scraps of fabric were surpassing Victoria’s Secret—levels of hotness.

  “Yep, I think she’ll probably fill it out okay,” Jackson said in a way that was by no means derogatory.

  “Stop staring,” Beau barked at him.

  Jackson snorted. “Sure, man.”

  The jerk was still staring. Beau couldn’t exactly blame him. He was wholly unable to do much else himself. PJ was blowing his mind.

  And she knew it too. That was the sexiest damn thing about it, that perfect moment when her eyes found his and she lifted her chin.

  Holy God, she was beautiful.

  Beau found himself gravitating towards her, the guys’ chuckles fading behind him as he crossed the short length of the pier, rounded the corner, and met her on the sidewalk near the edge of the grass. He was only vaguely aware of Lily rolling her eyes at them as she headed for the boat because he was far more focused on the woman standing before him.

  PJ gnawed at her lip, shamelessly ogling his six-pack.

  Beau cleared his throat, extremely grateful he had said six-pack to ogle.

  The lip popped free and PJ grinned, finding the power of speech a split second before he did. “Dig the shorts, Browning.”

  Beau had changed into basic black swim trunks, and he was fairly certain PJ hadn’t much looked at them because she’d already moved on to checking out his pecs. He smiled, one hand still clutching the vests, the other moving to the loose braid draped in front of her shoulder and gently tugging her close. “Dig the freckles,” he whispered back.

  PJ’s eyes darted to his, a rueful snort escaping. “They get darker in the sun. Lily made me lotion up. Said we’d be out here for a while.”

  “We will, and it’s better to be safe than sorry.” Beau handed her his vest, knowing full well Ben’s would probably fit her, but feeling much more inclined to wrap her up in his own. “So you get to wear this too.”

  PJ slipped the flotation device on without complaint, but Beau could see a frown forming as her sights shifted to the assortment of skis and wake boards hanging from the tower arcing over the boat. For all her bravado earlier, PJ was clearly a little nervous now. “You think my skateboarding skills will come in handy today?”

  “Possibly,” Beau said as he buckled her up. Their eyes met again, hers narrowing suspiciously. Beau chuckled. “Relax, Pru. You’ll be using traditional skis, and we’ll practice the basic starting technique on the dock before we toss you into the river.”

  “Okay,” PJ said with a sniff. “But if I so much as catch a glimpse of a reptile in that water, I will Jesus-walk my ass right back to shore. I don’t give a fuck what you’ve strapped to my feet.”

  Beau bit his lip as PJ marched down the pier toward the low rumble of the VTX waking up from a long winter in dry dock. Then he lifted his face to the sun and laughed, letting the certainty of his feelings wash over him. He was in love with this woman.

  And he couldn’t wait to tell her.

  Chapter 36

  Her skateboarding skills were not coming in handy today. PJ was certain of this the fourth time she crashed spectacularly, a rush of cold water splashing her in the face and shooting up her nose as she went down in a tangle of limbs and skis.

  She probably should have paid closer attention to Beau back on the docks. More accurately, she probably should have paid closer attention to what the man was trying to teach her than the man himself. Unfortunately, she’d been a little distracted by how hot he looked in his trunks and how warm his hands had felt as he’d crouched down beside her on the pier, pressing her knees up into the correct starting position.

  Now here she was, coughing up another blast from the river, her skis clanking together awkwardly behind her.

  “You okay?” Beau called out after they’d cruised back around. “We can take a break, if you need to—”

  “I’m fine,” PJ sputtered. “Let’s go again.”

  Beau frowned as the boat drew closer. “How ‘bout I get in and show you that tucked position again,” he said, stripping off his sunglasses and stepping towards the swimmer’s platform on the back of the boat. “It’s probably best if I’m more hands-on, with this being your first time and all.”

  PJ swiped the snot from her nose, her pulse quickening. “Uhhhm—”

  “How ‘bout ya don’t.” Lily blocked her cousin’s advance with an impressive stiff arm. “I highly doubt you copping feels in the water is going to help her right now, Beau Bear.”

  Jackson and Eli sniggered from the benches behind them. Beau’s middle finger fired out.

  Lily ignored them all, going full alpha on PJ as she pointed at her like a drill sergeant. Strangely enough, it was precisely this that began to focus her. “You need to relax,” Lily barked. “Stop choking up on the line.”

  “Yeah. Okay.” PJ spat out another gulp of water and nodded. “Got it.”

  “Damn straight, you do.” Lily tossed her the tow cable. “Now get your knees to your boobs, your ass to the back of those skis, and just let us pull you up outta the water.”

  PJ grabbed the handle the way Beau had shown her and assumed the position, muscling the flailing boards attached to her feet into submission.

  “Arms straight,” Jackson hollered.

  “Legs bent,” Nate called out from the wheel.

  “I’ll get you some tunes,” Eli said, fiddling with the stereo at the dash.

  Lily, still in alpha-mode, strode after him. “None of that ’80s hair band crap you listen to. She needs the power of Pink, damn it.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I have just the jam.”

  The slack in the rope between her skis began to lengthen out as they slowly cruised away from her, but before the boat was completely out of earshot, Beau called out one last instruction.

  “Breathe, Pru!”

  PJ looked up, sucking in a big gulp of air as she caught his smile, the total happiness of his expression, like it didn’t really matter if she scrubbed four more times, he was just so damn proud of her for trying.

  And she was proud of herself too. For more than just the skiing.

  PJ exhaled, finally relaxing as she lifted her face to the sun and let the calm and the certainty of her feelings wash over her.

  She was in love with this man.

  And she couldn’t wait to tell him.

  PJ peered back at the boat as it powered to a stop. The rope tethered to it was stretched taut, music was thrumming from it in a staccato burst of electric guitar, and the five souls on board were waiting for her to give the go-ahead command. PJ grinned, recognizing the opening notes to Pink’s “Trouble” a split second before her grip tightened on the tow cable, and she shouted out the words.

  “Hit it!”

  The boat roared to life as PJ held her position, and in seconds she was pulled upwards in a great whoosh, water swelling and then pouring from her body as she emerged in a low crouch with her arms fully extended and her skis finding just the traction they needed.

  Then she was flying.

  PJ couldn’t stifle a whoop of pure joy as she blasted across the river, and the answering cheers coming from the boat were audible even over the loud hum of its engine and the rocking beat of the music blaring from its sound system. Beau had thrown up his hands, double-fisting the sky, Nate was laying on the horn, and everyone was grinning from ear to ear.

  PJ’s own smile felt like it was permanently glued to her face. There was no way she could hide it as she raced along in the wide V of the boat’s
wake with her hair whipping behind her. Gradually, she stood up taller, her knees unbending slightly, and then she was swinging to the left.

  PJ laughed as she skimmed towards the wake, realizing that she’d probably leaned more to that side of her body as she’d straightened out. Skis were definitely more responsive than skateboards. Just the slightest bit of pressure on her opposite knee had her sailing back over to the right. This move was met with more shouts of approval from her cheering squad. Emboldened, PJ continued the trick, cutting from side to side for a couple minutes as the fiery beat of the pop music had her body doing crazy things. Crazy things like head-bobbing, and hip-swaying, things that were awfully damn close to dancing, and probably not the best things to be doing on two giant sticks skirting across a river at twenty miles an hour.

  A couple seconds into a particularly sassy booty-shake, she careened towards the right side of the wake, hopped over the foamy swell, lost her balance, and once again, crashed spectacularly.

  This time, however, when the boat came back around, PJ wasn’t coughing up water and feeling like an idiot. This time, when the VTX pulled up alongside her, she was laughing uproariously.

  “That was bad-ass!” Beau called out to her. “You already figured out edging. You’re a natural!”

  “Oh my gosh,” PJ gasped as she bobbed in the water. “That was seriously the funnest two minutes of my life—”

  Something big and brown popped up out of the water several feet from PJ. She jerked away from it with an ear-splitting shriek. “What the fuck was that?” she screamed as the thing disappeared back down into the depths with a plop.

  There was a round of chuckles as PJ doggy paddled over to the back of the boat where Beau was kneeling.

  “It was a fish,” he said, clearly struggling not to laugh. “Just a fish, I swear—”

  “That was a mighty big fish.” PJ eyed the water dubiously.

  “Wanna go another run?”

  PJ shook her head and grabbed the hand he was offering. “Nope, I’m good.”

  ***

  PJ spent the rest of the outing in the triangle of benches at the front of the boat, one hundred percent content to just curl up in a towel and watch the others do their thing.

  Lily made it up on the big Slalom X just fine, and when she’d torn through the water, riding the single ski like a total boss to 5 Seconds of Summer’s “She Looks So Perfect,” PJ had laughed and cheered, and screamed her appreciation even louder than the guys, particularly Eli, who’d seemed rather mesmerized by the whole thing.

  PJ understood the feeling. As soon as Beau had started his run, she’d been transfixed, unable to look away as he’d zig-zagged through the wakes with ease, his body leaning almost parallel to the surface of the water every time he’d swung wide on the slalom ski. PJ had been ogling Beau’s chest earlier, but the sight of his long arms fully extended as he’d one-handed the tow rope between turns, had become her latest obsession. Something about the strong line of all those muscles stretched to the limit had taken her breath away. She’d barely been able to speak, let alone cheer, so she’d just grinned stupidly. And he’d grinned right back, lifting his chin halfway through his run in a way that made her deliriously happy because she knew the gesture was meant for her and her alone.

  And now, as she sat snuggled up with him in the bow, listening to a classic Bon Jovi track, PJ was deliriously happy. Eli was cracking them all up with the last run of the day, flipping and spinning on his wakeboard, and throwing up the horns every time he wiped out, and Jackson was singing a terribly off key version of “Livin’ on a Prayer” that had Lily throwing Cheetos at him.

  “How did y’all learn to do all of this?” PJ asked Beau, her gaze shifting from Nate, who was back at the helm after his own blazing run on the river, to Jackson who was humming away as he began stowing gear in various hatches.

  That strong arm she’d been checking out earlier was draped around her shoulder, warm against her skin where she’d removed her vest. Beau smiled, leaning in close to be heard over the noise. “Boating’s been in the family for generations. The original Grayson Browning taught my grandfather, Grayson Browning II. And then he taught his sons, my dad and Grayson Browning III, and then they taught all of us.” Beau shook his head as Eli scrubbed again, the music coming to an abrupt end along with his run. “The skiing has been a more recent thing. My older brother, Ben, did some tournaments before he joined the military. He was really good. He showed us most of this, even Eli, though it’s kind of hard to tell right now.”

  PJ giggled, then nudged him playfully. “So, you gonna teach Max the family hobby?”

  Beau smiled, but she could tell by his expression that she’d caught him off guard. “Honestly, I haven’t even brought him out here yet.”

  PJ cocked her head in surprise. “Really? Why?”

  “Well, he’s only five, and he’s not a strong swimmer… and with the autism…”

  PJ rolled her eyes. “Uh, yeah, he’s probably not ready to be poppin’ ollies with Eli, but come on, man! Strap the kid in a vest and get him in this boat.” The VTX hit a swell as they came about, causing them to bounce in their seats and PJ to laugh. “Oh my gosh, Max would love this. He’s always bouncing around on the trampoline at the clinic.”

  “He also likes to rock.” Beau smiled ruefully. “He’d probably dig the sailboat.”

  “Heck, yeah.” PJ looked to the riverbank, taking in the colorful homes standing tall in the distance. “If I had a place like this, I’d take my kids all the time.”

  “Kids, huh?” Beau’s eyes sparkled as he considered her, the tussled sweep of his bangs nearly dry in the late afternoon sun.

  “Well, yeah.” PJ flushed. “I mean, my future kids.”

  Beau nodded thoughtfully. Then he looked out over the water. “You’re probably right. I should bring Max next time. Maybe we’ll do a longer trip this summer before he starts kindergarten.”

  “That could be cool. You could get him one of those inflatable tubes some of the other boats were towing around. He’d have a blast—”

  “Would you maybe want to come with us?” Beau’s tone was neutral, but the intensity of his eyes as they fell back on her was not.

  PJ swallowed. She knew this question had weight. This was more than just a simple invitation. While she’d hung out with Max plenty at the clinic, and they’d spent quite a bit of time car-pooling and bonding over video games, she hadn’t actually spent too much time with both him and Beau beyond that. Going on a trip with them, a trip like a family would take… that was huge. Beau wouldn’t be asking her this if he didn’t actually think that maybe she was the kind of girl he wanted to end up with.

  Beau was still watching her carefully, but there was a hint of nervousness in his expression now, as though he was somehow unsure of her response.

  PJ wasn’t unsure at all. “I’d love to,” she said simply. Then she laid her head on the warm skin of his shoulder and placed her hand right over the pec she’d been ogling earlier, right where she could feel the strong steady beat of his heart.

  Chapter 37

  They had dinner on the deck that night, everyone relaxing in lounge chairs overlooking the river as they plowed through big bowls of the gumbo Sarah had brought over for the trip. Beau’s sister-in-law was the head chef at a popular Alabama eatery owned by the family company, and her skills with traditional Southern fare were almost as legendary as Magda’s.

  PJ certainly seemed to be enjoying them. Beau watched her polish off her last bite of the hearty stew with an appreciative moan that went straight to his cock. On pure instinct his hand shot out to catch the little droplet of soup still clinging to her bottom lip. As soon as his thumb swept over her skin, PJ’s gaze fluttered to his in surprise, but she didn’t pull away. Nor did she look away when he sucked the spicy roux from the pad of his finger. But she did let out another breathy little moan, one that had Beau grabbing the empty bowl from her hands and setting it on the table between them.


  “Did you want any more?” he asked, hoping like hell she didn’t.

  PJ grinned perceptively. “Nope.”

  “Another Shirley Temple?”

  PJ grabbed his beer from the table and drained the last couple ounces of it in one quick chug. “I’m good.”

  God. This girl. Beau wanted to suck the booze from her mouth, the sudden urge having little to do with the fact that she wasn’t supposed to be drinking the stuff, and everything to do with his absolute certainty that it, like the gumbo, would taste infinitely better spilling from her lips. He swallowed back the impulse, a flash of movement catching his eye.

  Eli had walked out of the house with his guitar and was sinking into a chair near Lily by the deck railing. In seconds, he was strumming away to another ’80s jam that had Beau’s cousin rolling her eyes, and his brother abandoning his food and tugging his wife from her chair. Sarah let out a tipsy giggle as Nate twirled her about the deck. Jackson was quick to follow suit, swooping Mel up without a hint of remorse as Eli looked on without a hint of jealousy. The guy was already lost to the music, his fingers plucking out every passionate note, his voice a husky rasp as he tackled a Heart classic.

  “Wow,” PJ said reverently. “He’s much better at singing than skiing.”

  “Yeah, and he sure knows how to pick ‘em,” Beau muttered. The sultry music enveloping them was doing little to quell his desire to haul PJ off like a caveman because he most definitely wanted to get her alone.

  After a few seconds of listening to the words Eli was crooning, PJ glanced back at Beau with the tiniest smirk before her gaze shifted back to the couples moving about in the moonlight.

  “Did you want to dance?” he asked, more out of courtesy than anything else.

  PJ’s nose wrinkled in obvious distaste. “That’s a big, fat fuck no.”

  Beau laughed at her exaggerated grimace but didn’t miss the quick flash of longing she was trying to mask with it, like maybe she wasn’t as opposed to the idea as she was letting on. And for as much as Beau truly did want to haul her off like a caveman, he also couldn’t let that look slide.