by C. A. Harms
Gravitate
Brooklet Dreams Series
Book Three
(A Southern Boys Novel)
By C.A. HARMS
Gravitate
Copyright © 2020 by C.A. Harms.
All rights reserved.
First Print Edition: March 2020
Limitless Publishing, LLC
Kailua, HI 96734
www.limitlesspublishing.com
Formatting: Book Pages By Design
Cover Design: Deranged Doctor Design
ISBN-13: 978-1-64034-815-8
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.
Dedication
To learn, to love, to soar. Here’s to the possibility of your forever being just around the corner if you stop looking and just live.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Epilogue
Prologue
Chloe
“How many is this?” Even I could hear the slur in my voice as I reached out to wrap my hand around the glass placed on the bar top.
“I have no idea.” Stephanie giggled and lifted her own glass, downing the shot without a second thought. She hissed, offered a little shiver, and performed some insane dance before pointing to my still-full glass. “Bottoms up.” She bumped her hip to mine, watching me with eager anticipation. She grinned like the Cheshire cat. She was so wasted. Who was I kidding? I too was wasted. If my father could see me now, I knew without a shadow of a doubt he would give me shit. Well, not too much because the man’s wrapped around both mine and my momma’s fingers.
I was so gonna regret this tomorrow.
I hated tequila on a normal day, but tonight was a celebration. My very close friend was moving to Houston. Her fiancé was just offered a promotion, and he was whisking her away; hundreds of miles would be placed between us. Though I was happy for her, I’ll admit I was going to miss her like crazy, too. No more late-night drives when things were on our mind or playing hooky from work so we could lay out and drink margaritas in the sun. The office was going to be lonesome without her. Other than Stephanie and me, all my colleagues who would be left were twice our age. And boring, oh so boring, were the rest of the dentistry crew. I would be in hell without my partner in crime.
“Mm.” It took me a second to register Steph was looking over my shoulder, offering a pleased hum. Her eyes went down to the floor before backing up again as she bit her lip. Apparently, she had seen something pleasing, and I wondered if her fiancé had come to crash our party and take her away from me.
Slowly and not very gracefully, I looked behind me and felt the shot I’d just consumed threaten to resurface.
“That man is so good looking,” Stephanie said happily.
Swiveling back around, I tried to bring her face into focus. Placing my hand on the bar, I closed my eyes and prayed that I wouldn’t throw up.
“You’re married.” Again, I slurred.
“Not yet,” she corrected, giving me a nudge, and it took all I had in me not to tumble backward off the barstool. “Looking is okay as long as I don’t touch or act on impulse, and that man is worth looking at.”
She didn’t have to convince me. Landon Layne painted a real pretty picture without even trying. Rugged, hardworking, strong, and the confidence he offered. A firefighter-slash-construction worker, too, he was the kind of guy you just knew without a doubt one night in his bed would change your life forever. The man had to be one of the sexiest guys to walk this earth. He could wear a pair of jeans and cowboy boots better than any other man I’d ever seen. The dominant way he overpowered any space, you almost didn’t have to look to know he was there. There was this heaviness, this presence that filled a room the moment he stepped into it. I had felt it over and over, from the first day he showed up at one of our family’s many cookouts with Mike at his side. I cursed and praised Mike silently every day for bringing him around. Praised because, again, the man was yummy and so much fun to look at. Okay, stare at and fantasize about, but hey, a girl can’t help it. The cursing came to point in the same category, because again the fantasies only went so far before a girl needed to live them out. And I needed to, like really needed to have them come true.
“You seriously need to sample that and then give me all the details after you’re done with him.”
What if I was never done with him? A sample would never be enough.
“He’s coming this way.”
The room was spinning a little, my lips were numb, and through it all, I suddenly felt like dancing.
Wait, what did she just say?
“Chloe.” My body grew rigid, and I knew my eyes were the size of saucers. It would explain why Stephanie was grinning wider than before, doing her best to hold back her laughter. “You having a good time?”
Remain calm. Who was I kidding? I was an idiot when it came to this guy, which was why I normally kept a distance.
Turning around ever so slowly, I did my very best to stay upright. Face-planting on the floor at his feet or, worse, puking on him would be humiliating.
“Hi.” I went for simple. You can do this. I pressed my lips in a tight line and chanted inside my own head, Do not puke, please do not puke.
“Hi.” He chuckled and lifted his beer to his lips. “How many of me are there, Chloe?” Squinting, I went for a sarcastic eye roll, but truth be told, he was right. I wasn’t sure which image before me was actually Landon and which was a figment of my drunken haze.
“If only it were possible to have a ménage à trios with multiple Landons.” I sighed, and then it hit me. I meant to only think the words, but alcohol seemed to make me loose-lipped. Stephanie laughed, and Landon arched a brow. Yep, I so said that out loud. Kill me now.
“Is that so?” His deep chuckle felt like a kick to my confidence.
“What, you don’t think you could handle me?” Crossing my arms over
my chest, I knew without a doubt I was setting myself up for more disappointment, but the problem was drinking made me say and do things I normally would shy away from. I felt more confident, and that was a dangerous game. “I’m not so innocent when you get me behind closed doors, Landon. In fact, I think I just may be more than you know what to do with.”
I would climb him like a tree, dry humping him along the way, of course. What in the hell was wrong with me? Again, he chuckled, and I wondered if I said that out loud, too.
“Come on, kid.” And there was the verbal kick to my pride. Kid. “I think it’s time to get you home.”
Nope, a deep dark hole in the ground would be good enough. A cave, maybe? One I could live in for the rest of time. Because I planned on hiding there forever, so I never had to face the fact that I was just dismissed by the one guy who had played the leading role in almost all of my dirty dreams over the last few months.
How would I ever face him again?
Kid.
Chapter One
Chloe
My hands shook as I gripped my arrangement of lilies just a little tighter, a bouquet that matched every other bridesmaid and closely resembled that of Maddison’s larger one. To my left was Landon in his tux, looking all GQ and mouthwatering, which was the exact root of my nervous energy. It would seem that not only could the man wear jeans and cowboy boots to perfection, but he made a suit look damn good, too. Oh, and there was also the lingering scent of his cologne. That scent that hit you like a freight train, filled you from head to toe, and lingered to ensure you felt its impact for hours after he was gone.
In a few seconds, I would be forced to link my arm with his and walk down the aisle in front of all my family and a lot of friends. All while trying not to trip, faint, or maybe even vomit on the guests or my own boots. I would give anything right now if I could just run away and not look back, but I would never do that to Maddison. Only for her—okay, maybe for Grace, too—would I suffer this magnitude of embarrassment.
Each of Maddison’s bridesmaids wore their favorite pair of boots and a pale purple dress that hit just above the knee. Maddison’s wedding dress bore the same color of purple in a sash across her stomach that formed in a bow at her back.
All the men wore suits, the very same purple in the form of a bow tie at their necks.
Maddison loved purple, but she kept the touches of it subtle within all the decorations, which made it perfect.
“You ready?” My body tensed when Landon spoke near my ear, that deep country boy drawl that made me want to do nothing more than listen to him talk for hours. More than a hundred times I was sure I’d imagined that voice in my ear while I, well, ya know, scratched the itch, so to speak.
I didn’t turn to look at him but instead nodded my head as I tamed the heat I felt rising to my cheeks. I reached out and linked my arm through his, hoping that he didn’t notice the way my body trembled. His warmth reminded me of the moment he held me close after I’d left Maddison’s hospital room for the first time when she was in the horrific riding accident. The comforting way he rubbed my back soothed me that day, bringing me a calm I was so desperate for. It was the one and only time I’d gotten close to him after the dreadful night at the bar. The one and only time I let go of the humiliation of his dismissal and allowed myself to feel the safety of his embrace. But I was emotional and heartbroken. I was scared, a wreck, really, and I blamed the fear for letting my guard down.
The music played, the guests smiled, and all I could do was concentrate on not falling on my face. All I needed was to embarrass myself even more in front of this man than I already had.
“You’re trembling,” he whispered.
“I’m nervous.” You make me nervous.
“Why?” Because I’m touching you, you’re talking to me, and I threw myself at you only to be rejected. “I won’t let you fall, Chloe.”
I looked at him. God damn it, why did I do that?
It all happened so fast: he smiled, I stumbled, and then I was falling forward. I closed my eyes tight, bracing myself for impact, when I was hooked by the waist, spun around, and looking up into the warmest brown eyes I’d ever seen. My breath hitched, and my heart rate spiked.
“I told you I wouldn’t let you fall, Kitten.”
Kitten? What about kid?
In an instant, I was a mess. Didn’t he understand that it was too late? I had already fallen.
He smiled, a kind smile that made me feel weak in the knees. I should have looked away. I should have closed my eyes to protect my heart. Only I continued to look up at him. “What do you say we walk down this aisle and watch two of the greatest people we know get married?” I nodded as he carefully righted me to ensure I was secure enough on my feet before he slowly released his hold on me. I nodded once more, because quite frankly, it was all I could offer. I felt like my tongue was tied and my heart was being squeezed so tight it literally ached inside my chest.
The left side of his mouth tilted up in a grin, and suddenly I felt like I could barely breathe. The perfect set of teeth, the most alluring smile. I noticed those things; a smile to me was the biggest aphrodisiac. Seriously getting turned on by a smile alone, his smile to be more precise, it was a given. There wasn’t a single thing about this man that didn’t drive me wild.
Holding out his arm, I relinked mine, and together we walked toward the pastor waiting at the end of the aisle.
I tried to focus on the rest of the bridal party, Grace, AJ, Raven, each looking absolutely gorgeous as they joined me.
When the music changed and Maddison stood at the end of the aisle, Colt at her side, my vision was instantly blurred by tears. Sniffles could be heard throughout the crowd while everyone watched her being led toward Mike. Even he was emotional.
Maddison bore only a small scar along her jaw and one above her right eye that remained hidden by her hair on most occasions. The limp, the one she despised, was so minor that it could barely be noticed. I had never met a person stronger and more vibrant than Maddison; I adored her as many did. Today, her beauty shined brighter than it ever had before. She was the most gorgeous bride I had ever seen.
I wanted a man to look at me the way Mike looked at her. She was all he’d seen. It didn’t matter that Gran and Gramps’ backyard was full of hundreds of people, family and friends. To him, it was only her. That was inspiring, to know that a love like that existed.
The ceremony was flawless, and I spent the entirety feeling in awe of the both of them.
As I once again linked my arm with Landon’s, I refrained from looking at him again. Focusing ahead, concentrating on placing one foot in front of the other, I had a goal: make it to the end on my own two feet.
Pausing near the end of the aisle to allow the photographer to gain yet another photo of the happy couple, I felt Landon’s hand rest upon my lower back. He even stepped in closer, the scent of his cologne filling my nostrils, and for a moment, I closed my eyes, trying not to show how it all affected me. Every single time he was near me, all I could seem to remember was the rejection from the bar. The way he called me kid and led me outside, tucked me into a waiting cab, and then reentered the bar like I was nothing more than an interruption to his night that he had just eliminated.
I didn’t even want to think about what he did after I was out of the way or who he did. I was so embarrassed, and I knew that embarrassment would never ease.
“Do I need to carry you?” I was brought back to the present when his country drawl whispered near my ear. Forgetting my promise to not make eye contact, I did just that and felt the tip of my nose skim over his jaw as I look toward him far too quickly.
I half expected him to step back and gain some distance, only he didn’t.
“Because if that’s what I need to do, I’d be glad to hold you close.”
Staring blankly ahead, I allowed his words to roll around in my mind. Was he flirting? Was he playing a game with me? Was that what I was to him? A game?
Chapter
Two
Landon
“Before you know it, you and Maddison will be announcing that you’ve got a baby on the way.” Rhett chuckled, but I noticed the flash of something in Mike’s eyes. Not acknowledgment, but most definitely something as he used his beer to cover his mouth before saying or doing something that would give it away.
I knew that he and his new bride would be announcing that very secret soon enough.
I think so far I was the only one who knew about the mini Mike that Maddison was carrying. Or, as she so proudly put it, the baby could be a mini Mad, too.
I’d overheard them weeks ago when they thought they were being quiet. It also didn’t help that Mike wouldn’t let her carry anything, barely let her exert herself in any form, and constantly rested his palm over her stomach when whispering softly. Sweet, yeah, most would say so, but a sure sign that I was surprised others hadn’t picked up on yet. This family was observant, very observant, most of the time to the point of annoyance, yet they had missed every single sign Maddison and Mike had managed to slip up on. I guess with the distraction of the wedding and all its planning, they were too preoccupied.
A flash of blonde caught my eye, and I looked up just in time to see Chloe hurrying across the room toward the table of all the men in her family. Rhett’s father, Mike’s and Maddison’s, and yes even her own sat in a group. Ben Rigdon was by far one of the biggest men I had ever seen. It helped that he did manual labor for a living, but when I said big, I did not meaning just muscular. He was at least six foot four, and when entering through a doorway, I knew without a doubt he filled the opening, leaving little space around him. He wore this look about him, one that most that didn’t know him would classify as mean, but I knew and had witnessed a softer side. Especially when it came to his one and only child, Chloe. It didn’t take a genius to see that she hung the fucking moon in his eyes; the man was fierce when it came to her and to her momma.