Change Of Plans (New Adult BBW Romance) (8 page)

The stricken look in his eyes was nearly
enough to make her crumble. She opened her mouth to speak, then glanced over
his shoulder to see that Nadia, covered in a long, white coat, hurrying toward
them through the glass door. Pain sliced at the fresh wound in her heart.

“Brendan, I can’t.” The words came out as
a sob, and she spun around again, rushing into the street, trying get away from
them, from him, from everything –

“Callie, look out!”

It all happened so fast – the
squeal of tires, a horn blaring, and then hands were shoving her out of the
way, sending her crashing to her belly on the asphalt. She heard a thud, then,
and voices shouting.

“Oh God, no!” A car door opened, and she
turned to see a man rushing out of his Lincoln, in the middle of the street.
Her head spun at the sight of a man lying on the ground a few feet from the
car, blood trickling from what she could see of his temple, the red rivulets
stark in contrast to his pale skin and jet black hair.

Oh my God.
“No, no!” Callie cried, stumbling to her
feet. She rushed over to Brendan, who was sprawled face first onto the ground,
and helped the man who’d hit him turn him over. She ran her hands over his
body, trying to check for injuries, a pulse or anything, but she was so frantic
she didn’t know what to look for. “Oh God, oh God, oh God,” she chanted, her
panic rising to the edge of hysteria.

“I’m so sorry,” the man next to her
babbled. He stood there, wringing his hands while his wife dialed 911 in the
background, but Callie barely heard him. She was completely focused on Brendan,
who lay on the ground, completely unresponsive to him. Tears streaming down her
cold cheeks, she grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him, calling his name
until hands grabbed hold of her upper arms and dragged her away, far away while
paramedics converged on him.

Please, please
, she thought even as she
fought the officers carrying her away,
please let him be alive.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The noises prodded at Brendan’s
consciousness, forcing him out of unconsciousness and to the edge of the
darkness in his mind. A dull ache throbbed at his temples, spreading down
throughout his entire body, and he let out a soft moan. Why did he feel like
total shit?

“Brendan?”

His eyes cracked open at the sound of Callie’s
sweet voice, so filled with anxiety and concern. The white light from the
horizontal bulbs set into the ceiling nearly blinded him, sending shooting
pains straight through his skull, and he hissed, turning to the side to get
away from the light. Doing so sent more stabbing pains through his ribs, and he
groaned aloud, feeling as though his entire body was on fire.

As soon as he set eyes on Callie’s pale,
anxious face, though, the pain was shoved into a corner of his brain by
happiness and relief. Suddenly the memory of the accident came flooding back
– Callie running out onto the street, the car screeching to a halt,
himself pushing her out of the way, him sailing through the air and landing
heavily on the pavement. That definitely explained the aching ribs and head.
His heart sank a little as he remembered the reason she’d run out into the
street in the first place – to get away from him.

“I’m sorry.” His voice came out as a
harsh croak, and he realized that his mouth and throat were drier than bone
dust. “I’m so sorry…about Nadia…about everything,” he said, hoping she
understood. He was going to have a very stern talk with security about who they
let up to his rooms in the future. 

Callie opened her mouth to say something,
but just then the doctor and nurse bustled into the room. “Oh good, you’re
awake!” the nurse, a buxom middle-aged woman with red hair said, tapping at the
keyboard of the computer that was monitoring his vitals. The next few minutes
were a storm of chatter; talk about how close a call the accident was, how
lucky he’d been to come out of it with only two cracked ribs and a concussion,
and how he was in such good shape he might even be able to go home today.

“And you, young miss,” the nurse
continued, whirling around to pin Callie with a stern look, hands on her hips,
“Are very lucky this man stepped in to save you when he did! I daresay you
might not have come out as well as he if you’d been the one to get hit by that car.”

Callie nodded, biting her lip. “You’re
right… I’m very lucky.” Did he imagine it, or were those tears shining in her
eyes?

The doctor and nurse spent a few more
minutes checking him over, and then left the room. Brendan took in a deep breath,
then winced as his ribs protested. “Callie – I didn’t know that she would
be there. We weren’t in a relationship. It wasn’t like  –”

“Don’t.” Her voice was thick with tears,
and Brendan watched in shock as a big, fat drop rolled from the corner of her
left eye down her cheek. “There’s nothing you have to apologize for, Brendan.”
She wiped the tear from her cheek, only for it to be replaced by another. “I’ve
spent a lot of time sitting here, thinking about what happened, and although I
think any woman probably would have reacted the way I did, I realize that it
just doesn’t matter anymore.” She swallowed hard, then reached for his hand and
squeezed it. “I know what’s in your heart, and I know what you want… and…and
it’s the very same thing that I want.”

Brendan returned her squeeze with one of
his own. “You have to believe that I would never do anything to hurt you,” he
whispered. “I love you too much for that.”

His heart caught in his throat as he said
the words, but it was the right place, the right time, and he knew Callie
returned his feelings by the way she beamed at him now. “I love you, too,” she
murmured, leaning down to press a kiss to his lips. “Now and always.”

Brendan slid a hand into her hair and
closed his eyes, returning her kiss. “Always.”

Epilogue

 “I’m home!” The front door opened,
bringing in with it a gust of wind and the sound of chimes tinkling from the
front porch.

“Be right there!” Brendan grabbed a pair
of oven mitts and whisked the lasagna out of the oven, then placed the pan on
the counter to cool. Untying his black apron, he hung it up on the hook by the
stove, then went to greet Callie, who was hanging up her coat by the front
door.

“Hey, beautiful.” He took the large,
brown box from where it was tucked beneath her free arm, then leaned over and
kissed her on the cheek. “How was your day?”

“Pretty good.” She pulled back, eyes
sparkling with a grin, and Brendan marveled at how amazing she looked, her
chestnut hair windswept and her cheeks glowing pink from the cold. Her cute little
nose twitched as she sniffed the air. “Dinner smells good.”

“Sure does.” He followed her to the
kitchen, setting the box on the table as she inspected the lasagna. It had been
six months since they’d decided to move in together and they had never been
happier.

“What’s in the box?” he asked, running
his finger along the edge of one of the flaps.

“A surprise.” She winked. “Open it up and
see.”

He pulled open the flaps, then gasped at
the stacks of identical, glossy paperbacks inside. Reverently, he picked one of
them up, turning the book in his hand. On the front cover was a photo of a
couple locked in a passionate embrace with the title,
Insatiable
,
emblazoned across it.

“Wow.” He ran his fingers along the
raised type. “So they’re finally out.”

“Pretty exciting, isn’t it?” Callie came
around the island to wrap her arms around him from behind. “I don’t usually get
to deliver these to my clients in person, so it’s a bit of a new experience,
but there’s nothing quite like seeing your book in print for the first time, is
there?”

“Definitely not. This is fucking
amazing.” He stared down at the book for a moment longer, then gently placed it
back in the box and turned to face the woman he loved. “I guess we’re going to
be heading out on our book tour soon, aren’t we?”

“Yes, we are.” Leaning up, she nibbled
gently on his bottom lip.

Brendan growled a little, then scooped
her up and placed her on the opposite counter so he could kiss her properly,
her face level with his. Her arms twined around his neck as she slid her tongue
inside his mouth, robbing him of his ability to think, to breathe – he
never could think much of anything else but her once they got started.

Miraculously, he found the willpower to
break the kiss. “Are those books for the signing tomorrow?”

Callie laughed. “No, you’ll have at least
ten times that many when you go to the bookstore tomorrow. These are just to
pass out to friends and family.”

Brendan grinned a little. “I should
probably send one to the boys,” he said, referring to his former band mates.
“They’d probably get a kick out of it.”

“Oh yeah, they’d love it. Just make sure
you sign them first.” She slid her hands up his shirt, then flicked her thumbs
over his nipples, causing him to hiss in response. “We’ve got a big day
tomorrow, you know… so we should probably get started and turn in early.”

“Yeah, we’ll get started alright,” he
growled, pushing her up against the wall and kissing her breathless. He knew it
would only be a matter of minutes before they’d be making love, right here on the
kitchen counter – that’s how it always seemed to be, the two of them
tearing each other’s clothes off the moment they were home alone together, as
if they couldn’t bear to be apart.

And if Brendan had any say about it, they
would never be apart again.

About The Author

New York Times & USA Today
Bestselling author Adriana Hunter writes contemporary and paranormal romance
stories that feature irresistibly powerful alpha heroes and beautifully curvy
heroines.

Connect with Adriana on her
website at
http://www.AdrianaHunter.com
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All American Wolf

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ANTHOLOGIES

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To Love An Alpha

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