Romancing My Love(48)

“The only girls who never turn you down are the ones in your pasture, and they only hang around you because you feed them,” Pierce said.

“Hey, don’t knock my girls.” Luke turned at the sound of the front door opening.

Pierce nuzzled against Rebecca’s neck. “His girls are his gypsy horses. I told you about them, right?”

“Yeah.” She hoped to see the beautiful horses one day.

“Those horses really do adore him. I’m just giving him hell,” Pierce said. “You should probably get used to it.”

“I love how you guys bait each other.”

Pierce touched his forehead to hers. “And I love that you’re here with me.” He lifted his head as Ross arrived and joined them in the living room.

Ross looked just like his pictures, with serious eyes and dark hair worn longer on top and cut close on the sides. She knew Ross was the Trusty town veterinarian, and he was the brother that was closest in age to Pierce, but while she’d seen a similarity to Luke in the pictures in Pierce’s house, in person, Ross and Luke looked even more alike.

Sweets scampered across the hardwood and pawed at Ross’s legs. Ross crouched beside her, scratching her head behind her floppy ears.

“How’s the best girl in town?” Ross kissed Sweets’s snout.

“Hey!” Emily snapped. “I currently hold that title, thank you very much.” Then, more softly, she added, “Only no one knows it yet.”

Catherine sat beside Emily on the couch and draped her arm over her shoulder. “Oh, honey, your time will come. You can’t force love. It comes when it’s damn good and ready.”

“Sis, you know any man you think you love will have to pass our judgment first,” Pierce said with a serious tone. He and Ross exchanged a nod full of brotherly goading.

“Oh, please.” Emily rolled her eyes.

“Speaking of judgment.” Ross arched a brow. “You must be Rebecca. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Ross.” He leaned in for a hug. It wasn’t a hug full of brawn and bravado like Wes and Luke had given her. It was a warm embrace, as if he’d known her forever.

Pierce pulled her out of his arms. “He’s a smooth one, Bec. You’ve got to watch him.”

Ross shook his head. He was more reserved than Pierce’s other brothers, as if he were taking in his surroundings rather than taking them over.

“Yeah, I’m the one to watch, all right. Me and all my women.” Ross crossed the floor and kissed his mom on the cheek, then sank into the couch on Emily’s other side and draped an arm around her shoulders. Sweets curled up at his feet. “Were you complaining about meeting a man when I came in?”

“Maybe.” She flashed a cheesy grin.

“You’re leaving for Italy soon. Romance capital of the world.” Ross’s eyes widened. “I’m sure you can hook up with someone there.”

Jake was sitting on the other couch. He kicked his boots onto the coffee table and crossed his arms. “Hey, don’t encourage Emily to hook up.”

“Says the man who bed Ready, Willing, and Able the other night.” Pierce shifted his eyes to Jake, who shrugged.

“I don’t want to know this about you.” Emily covered her ears.

Jake grinned at Pierce. “Hey, jealousy will get you nowhere.”

Pierce didn’t have any visible reaction to what Jake said. Rebecca didn’t worry if he missed his bachelor lifestyle. It was apparent in every glance, every touch, every kiss, every word he spoke and the look in his eyes that he adored her—but she did wonder if he’d even respond to Jake. He was casually filling the champagne glasses; then he handed them out, slowing by Jake and holding the glass just out of his brother’s reach.

After a minute of an alpha stare down, he handed the glass to Jake and sat down beside Rebecca on the couch.

“Jealous?” Pierce settled his hand on Rebecca’s thigh and spoke in a smooth, even tone. “I’ve got news for you, Jake. There’s nothing and nobody in the world who would be worth missing a single night with Rebecca.”

As Pierce rose to his feet with a champagne glass in one hand and her hand in the other, she knew that she didn’t have to worry about his family seeing how in love with Pierce she was. She had a feeling that in this family, it would be more of a problem if her love wasn’t evident.

“Okay, now that we’ve all had our fun, I’d like to make a toast to Daisy and Luke. This is their engagement party, after all.” Pierce lifted his glass. “Daisy, I still have no idea how you tamed my baby brother.”

“Pfft.” Luke shook his head and looked away.

Pierce lowered his chin and stared at Luke until Luke met his gaze. “But I’m damn happy you did, because I’ve never seen Luke so centered or so happy. I never realized that he was missing something in his life.”

He looked across the room at Callie and Wes, snuggled so close they could have climbed under each other’s skin, and then his eyes shifted to Rebecca. Her pulse quickened with the look of love in his eyes that blazed a path straight through her.

“I never knew I was missing something—or someone—either.” He held Rebecca’s stare for a beat, then shifted his attention back to Luke and Daisy. “Daisy, Luke, you opened my eyes just enough for me to slow down and take notice when Rebecca came into my life. So while I’m toasting the two of you with great hopes that your life together will always be more than you could ever hope for, I’m also saying thank you. Because now my life is just that.” He leaned down and hugged Daisy, then kissed her on the cheek and whispered, “You’re the best thing that ever happened to him.”

Daisy’s eyes dampened.

Pierce pulled Luke up to his feet and wrapped his arms around him. They patted each other’s backs, and Rebecca couldn’t hear what Pierce said to Luke, but whatever it was, Luke’s hand stilled on Pierce’s back, then pressed harder, pulling him closer.

Each of Luke’s siblings stood and said something sweet about Daisy and Luke, and when their mother rose, the room grew quiet. All eyes were on Catherine, but it was the look in her children’s eyes that nearly stopped Rebecca’s heart. Their love for their mother stirred her longing for her own mother. Pierce, who was sitting beside her again, wrapped his strong arm around the back of her neck, his large palm pressed flat against her cheek, and drew her to his chest. He kissed the top of her head, and as his mother spoke about Luke and Daisy and said things Pierce should be listening to, he wrapped his other hand around Rebecca and touched his forehead to hers.

He held her so tightly she could barely breathe. How did he always know exactly what she needed? She needed to feel Pierce’s protective, loving arms, his heart beating strong and sure, as her chest ached with sadness for the mother she’d never hold again. And from his embrace, his love filled every empty crevice that it could claim with the promise of the future she and Pierce were destined to have.

“I’m sorry, babe,” he whispered. “I know you miss your mom. I can’t bring her back, but I’m here, I love you, and I’m not going anywhere.”

Rebecca felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned, her eyes damp, too. Pierce’s mother held her arms open and motioned for Rebecca to come to her. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. She felt Pierce’s grip ease, his hands slide from her back as she rose to her feet, and then Catherine’s arms were around her and her soft cheek was pressed to Rebecca’s.

“It’s okay, sweetie. Let those tears fall. Pierce loves you, so we all love you. That’s how families work.”

Sweetie. Sweet girl. Mi dulce niña. Family.

She felt a wall of muscle press against her back. Pierce. She heard Daisy and Callie whispering, then felt Callie’s arm squeeze between her and Pierce. Daisy did the same on the other side.

“Aw. I want to hug her, too.” Emily pushed herself into the fold.

Rebecca heard Jake, Luke, and Wes talking. She couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it didn’t matter. She could only imagine how ridiculous they looked, all huddled together around poor Pierce’s girlfriend who’d lost her mother.

She couldn’t hold the thought long, because she didn’t believe it. This family would no sooner pity her than they’d turn away from helping one another.

“See? I told you they were the best family ever,” Daisy said.

“It’s like I have three sisters now,” Emily said. “Rebecca, you can share my mom anytime you want.”

“That’s right, honey. Whether you need a hug or someone to go watch a chick flick with, I always have room for one more person in my heart,” Catherine said as she drew apart, and the others followed suit.

Except Pierce.

He pulled her in closer and pressed his cheek to hers. “I was just thinking of the night I first saw you storming across the bar. You were so beautiful. I think I knew I loved you right then.” He paused, and as his words took hold, he asked, “That night you told me that your mom had warned you about men like me,” Pierce whispered. “Was she right?”

Rebecca looked into his smoldering dark eyes and swallowed against the emotions threatening to steal her voice. While the others talked and poured more champagne, Rebecca wasn’t embarrassed over missing her mother, or the group hug, and she wasn’t worried about anyone else hearing what she was about to say.