Forever His Bride (12 page)

“You called?”

“I talked to Mama and Pop, but they said you were out. And I didn’t have the guts to call your cell. I didn’t know what to say to you, how to apologize.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Brenna assured her friend. “Everything’s fine.” Between the two of them. She wasn’t sure why her parents hadn’t relayed the message that Molly had called. Obviously Molly’s mother wasn’t the only matchmaker in town.

Molly shook her head and wiped away Brenna’s tears. “It’s not fine. You wouldn’t be this unhappy if everything was fine.”

“It’s messy,” Brenna admitted.

“I can tell that you already love him,” Molly said. “Does he love you?”

Brenna shook her head. “Why would he love me?”

“Because you’re perfect for him and Buzz and TJ.”

“I’m far from perfect,” Brenna said with a shaky laugh at her friend’s blind loyalty. “Or I wouldn’t have betrayed our friendship.”

“You didn’t betray anything,” Molly assured her. “I admit to a little meddling myself. I’d like to see you and Josh together—happy.”

But Brenna wasn’t sure she could be happy with Josh. Would being with a plastic surgeon bring back all those old insecurities that she’d conquered long ago? Would she go back to feeling like the fat girl who wasn’t as beautiful as her thinner friends?

“What about you, Molly? What about your happiness?” Brenna asked. “Do you want me to push someone down and sit on him for you?”

“If I thought it would help…” Molly smiled albeit with tears sparkling in her eyes. “I guess the old adage is true.”

“Which one?”

“Be careful what you wish for,” Molly warned. “I didn’t want to marry a man I loved. Now I don’t have that option.”

“I don’t understand…” Was Molly talking about Eric or someone else?

But she had a feeling the adage applied to Brenna as well as Molly. She’d wanted Josh, when she hadn’t thought she could have him. But now, now she was scared that if she got what she wanted, she’d lose more of herself than she’d gain.

TJ squirmed beneath the blankets Josh pulled up to his chin. Maybe fire engine red hadn’t been such a good choice for his bedroom walls. Although the child had insisted red was his favorite color, it wasn’t exactly restful.

Buzz, in the bottom bunk, tugged at Josh’s pant leg. “Daddy?”

While each had their own bedroom, they took turns sleeping in each other’s, unwilling yet to separate from each other. “Yes, Buzz?”

“I miss Mama and Pop,” the little boy whined.

“And Brenna,” TJ added.

They were unwilling to separate from the Kellys, too. Josh sighed. They weren’t the only ones. “I thought you guys liked our new house now.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t stink now. So I like it,” Buzz admitted.

“Why can’t Pop and Mama come live with us?” TJ asked.

“They have their own house.” Josh repeated his old argument, the one he’d been having with the boys since they’d moved out of the Kellys’ and into their own place.

“What about Brenna? Can’t she come live with us?” Buzz asked.

“No. Brenna lives with Mama and Pop.”

“I wish she lived with us,” Buzz pouted.

“Mama and Pop are going to take you to the Binder Park zoo tomorrow,” Josh reminded them. He sure hoped the older Kellys knew what they were getting into—even an hour-long drive with the twins was a challenge.

“You’re going to be good for them,” he warned them with his sternest look.

They giggled. So he took turns tickling each squirming belly, giving them something to giggle about.

“You and Brenna come with us,” Buzz said, between gasps for breath.

“Yeah!” TJ shouted his agreement.

“No, I have to check on the office. And I’m sure Brenna’s working tomorrow.”

Buzz’s bottom lip protruded again, and TJ flopped over on his side, to face the wall, away from his father. All he did was disappoint them.

“You’ll have fun with Mama and Pop,” he assured them as he kissed each good-night. “Sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

Neither of them chuckled, the way they usually did at their good-night ritual. Josh turned on TJ’s fire engine nightlight before shutting off the overhead fixture. Drawing the door to within a foot of being closed, he stepped into the hall. His twins weren’t the only ones disappointed that they didn’t see more of Brenna.

The soft slam of a closing door drew his attention to the living room and lifted his heart with hope.
Brenna
?

“You’ve haven’t even lived here two weeks yet and already you’re leaving your doors unlocked,” Nick scoffed, shaking his head with disgust as he walked into the living room.

“What brings you back to Cloverville already?” Josh asked. “The office isn’t done yet.” Not even with his checking on it every day for want of something better to do than think about what he might have had with Brenna.

Color tinged the other doctor’s face. “I have a question to ask you.”

“Well, this time you’ll get the answer you want to hear,” Josh assured him. “I talked to Molly—a few days ago, actually.”

Nick nodded. “I know. Colleen said she was back.”

“Colleen?”

Nick’s mouth lifted in the biggest grin Josh had ever seen on his friend’s face. “Don’t play innocent with me. Colleen got the keys for my condo from you.”

Josh shuddered in mock fear. “I didn’t dare
not
give her the keys. I figured you deserved whatever she was going to dish out.”

Nick sighed. “I don’t think I deserve her. Not yet. But I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying.”

“Nick?” he checked. “Is it really you? Can this lovesick fool really be my cynical friend?”

Nick laughed. “I deserve that. Except that I was the fool when I said that…”

“That love is crap?” Josh reminded him.

“Yeah. So go ahead. Say it.
I told you so
,” Nick urged him. “You’ve earned the right.”

“It’s ironic really. I realized a while ago that
you
were right, about my rushing into relationships.” That was why he hadn’t gone back to the Kellys’ house or stopped by the bakery to see Brenna. And that was why he forced himself to stay away from her even though he ached to see her, to touch her…

He cleared his throat. “Now look at you, falling for Colleen McClintock less than two weeks after finally noticing her.”

“It didn’t even take a week,” Nick corrected him. “That first time I saw her at the church, I fell, and I fell hard.”

“Like I always knew you would when you met the right woman.”

“Like you fell for Brenna Kelly.”

Josh didn’t bother lying to his friend. “You’re right. I guess I am crazy. Even before I was
officially
unengaged I was falling for someone else. Talk about rushing things.”

“When it’s right, it’s right,” Nick insisted. “And I’ve seen you and Brenna together, and you’re
right
.”

“It’s too soon,” Josh argued.

Nick shook his head. “I wish I’d asked Colleen to marry me that first moment I knew, instead of wasting all this time fighting my feelings. You and I—we’re surgeons—we know how precious and how finite time is. Don’t waste it, Josh. You love Brenna. So tell her.”

Josh dropped onto the edge of his new leather sofa, too stunned to stand. “You
what
? What did you do?”

Grinning like an idiot, Nick admitted, “I asked Colleen to marry me.”

“And she didn’t run screaming for the hills?” he teased, knowing his friend wouldn’t be grinning like a fool if she had. He would be running after her.

Nick’s eyes shined with love and pride. “No, she said yes.”

Josh stood up and shook Nick’s hand then slapped his back as they shared a brief, manly hug. “Congratulations, man.”

“I just have one more question to ask you,” Nick said.

Smothering a sigh in anticipation of another Jameson lecture, Josh nodded. “Ask away.”

“Will you be my best man?”

“Of course. I got your back.”

“Always,” Nick agreed. “And I’ve got yours. So listen to me for once. Don’t waste any more time. Go after Brenna.”

Josh nodded, knowing that as always his friend was right. But he didn’t trust himself to not mess things up again. He needed help.

T
HE WALLS SHOOK
and the windows rattled as the door slammed. This time Josh had no doubt that his visitor was Brenna Kelly.

“Hey, don’t hurt the house,” he teased as she stalked into the living room, her high heels pounding into the polished hardwood. “You helped fix this place…”

“And that’s why you should have told me you’re getting rid of it!” she accused him, her face flushed nearly as red as her wavy hair.

“I’m not getting rid of it,” he assured her. He thought about feeding her the “you’re beautiful when you’re angry” line, since it was certainly relevant. But having never seen her temper before, he decided not to push his luck. For now it was enough that she was here.
God, he’d missed her
…

She must have come directly from her office, as with the high-heeled sandals she wore a dress—in a yellow and tan pattern—that wrapped around her curves and tied at her waist. To get her out of it, did he need only untie that one knot? His fingers twitched with the temptation to find out.

“Josh!” she called his name, drawing his attention back to her face. Anger hardened her green eyes. “Pop told me you put the house up for sale.”

“Pop lied.”

Her voice shook as she insisted, “My father has
never
lied to me.”

“He did. Just this time,” he explained. “Because I asked him to.”

“My father lied to me—for you?” she repeated, shaking her head as if stunned.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re not,” she called him on his lie. “You set this all up…” She gestured around the living room—at the candles flickering from every surface—and she shook her head. “And I bet Mama and Pop are keeping the boys overnight on this
zoo
trip.”

“That’s a long trip for the boys and your parents to make twice in one day.”

“That’s true,” she allowed, “probably the only thing that’s true. So what else do you have planned?”

The rest of their lives, if she’d agree. “I want to talk.”

“Could have fooled me,” she said. “You haven’t called since you moved out.”

“I didn’t think you’d want to hear from me.”

Her anger evaporated to leave only hurt. She’d wanted to hear from him—too much. “Why?”

“I’d rushed you into something you weren’t ready for.” He pushed a hand, which trembled slightly, through his thick, dark hair. “You didn’t want to betray your friendship, but I kept pushing…”

“I talked to Molly.”

He nodded. “Me, too. She gave me back the engagement ring. We’re officially over.”

“For almost a week now,” she pointed out. “But you still didn’t call me. You didn’t even call me today. You
tricked
me into coming to see you.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I should have called.”

She shook her head, hating that she felt small—petty. That he made her feel that way. “No. Like Molly, you were entitled to time alone, to figure out what you really want.”

“I didn’t need time.”

Brenna’s breath caught as he stepped closer to her and his hands cupped her shoulders.

“I know I want
you.
” His fingers skimmed up and down her arms. “It’s been killing me to stay away from you this past week. But I wanted to give you time to figure out what you want.”

She wanted
him. Be careful what you wish for
…

His hands cupped her face, his thumbs stroking the edge of her jaw. “I’ve missed you so much…”

Brenna lifted her hands to his shoulders, then slid them around to the back of his neck, pulling his head down until his mouth touched hers.

He deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding between her lips, in and out of her mouth. His hands slid down her back to her hips, pulling her closer to the hard length of his tense body. “I missed you so damn much,” he murmured against her mouth.

“I missed you, too,” she admitted, tears stinging her eyes. “And Buzz and TJ.” Staying away, after spending so much time with him and them, had been torture.

He tortured her now with his touch, his hands sliding over her hips to her waist, his fingers plucking at the knot that held her dress closed.

“I thought you wanted to talk,” she reminded him, her pulse quickening.

“We can talk later,” he murmured against her neck, as his lips slid down her throat, nibbling and kissing.

Even though his breath warmed her skin, Brenna shivered. “Yeah, we can talk later…”

His hands slid back over her hips, but instead of pulling her closer, he set her away from him. His voice hoarse, he said, “Let me show you the house now.”

Frustration formed a knot in her belly. “I don’t want to see the house now,” she protested, reaching for him again. In faded jeans and a navy-blue T-shirt, he was as ridiculously handsome as he’d been a tux. As ridiculously irresistible…

He caught her hand in his, tugging her toward the hall. Brenna stumbled after him, still protesting, “I’ve already seen the house.”

“Not since I got the furniture moved in here,” he argued.

“Nice stuff,” she commented, barely remembering the leather couch and mahogany coffee tables in the living room as he led her down the hall.

“What about this?” he asked, opening a door, then stepping back for her to enter. “What do you think of my bed?”

Brenna’s frustration eased, replaced with a quiver of anticipation. She passed in front of him, her heels sinking into the plush carpeting. He’d lit candles in this room, too, and the flickering flames reflected off the walls. She hadn’t chosen the color in here—she hadn’t considered the master bedroom her place. So he’d picked, a red so deep the walls looked like velvet.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, awed.

“You can’t tell how great a bed is by looking at it,” he argued. “You have to test it out.”

Brenna turned back to him. The candlelight reflected in his eyes, as if he were burning—with desire for her. Fighting to keep a smile from her lips, she shook her head. “I don’t need to test it out,” she teased.

He closed the distance between them with long, determined strides. “You’re testing
me
,” he threatened, reaching for her.

Brenna stepped back until her legs hit the edge of the mattress, the satin comforter brushing against her bare skin. “Josh…”

As he trapped her between his body and the bed, a grin lifted the corners of his mouth and brightened his eyes. “Now I have you right where I want you.” Yet he shook his head. “But you’re overdressed.” He touched her then. Just his fingers at her waist, he tugged loose the knot of her dress.

Excitement quickened Brenna’s pulse so it pounded madly in her throat. She loved Josh like this, lighthearted, teasing…

She loved Josh
.

He pushed the dress from her shoulders so that she stood before him naked but for a thin slip and her lacy bra. He groaned. “You are so damned gorgeous…”

“You just want to get me into your bed,” she accused him, smiling.

“Yes, I do.”

“I don’t want to try it out alone,” she insisted, reaching for the hem of his T-shirt. She dragged the navy cotton over his head, ruffling his thick, dark hair. The T-shirt dropped to the floor at the same moment he dropped his jeans, leaving him in nothing but boxers and a wide grin. His shoulders were so broad. His chest, beneath soft, black hair, was so muscular. He was perfect. Too perfect. “Josh…”

He dipped his head, kissing first her mouth, then her bare shoulder. His breathing harsh, he beseeched her, “Let me make love to you, Brenna.”

She shook her head. “No.” When he opened his mouth to protest, she pressed her palm over his lips, then with her free hand, she hooked her index finger in the waistband of his boxers. His erection throbbed, the moist tip touching her finger. “Make love
with
me.”

“Yes, yes…” He fumbled with the clasp of her bra, dropping the garment to the floor atop her dress. Then he pushed down her slip, his palms gliding over her hips. His fingers stroked under the elastic of her panties, teasing her with fleeting touches.