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“close to home” the McCabe farm? Was that why old Greenwood had mentioned it?

“Well, you ready to go in? It’s after nine and the morning chores will be done. That’ll mean Mom has

breakfast ready. And I’m starved.”

“Sure,” he mumbled, “but first I need to make a call.”

“You need to check on the restaurant?”

“Yeah,” he said. “It won’t take a minute. You go on in and I’ll be right behind you.”

She sauntered up the lavender-lined garden path and up the old steps of the veranda. He watched her

enter the house, heard the sounds of happy voices from inside, before he pulled his phone from his

pocket and dialed.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Mom?”

“Bryce, darling, it’s so good to hear your voice.”

Either his mother had been into the gin this morning, or she was with her cronies, pretending to do charity

work.

“What am I doing?” she asked, her voice getting louder. “Why, you know I always run the auxiliary

booth for the festival. I’m just here with the ladies setting up.”

That explained it. She was with her friends and she wanted to play devoted mother.

“So, where are you, darling?”

“I’m willing to play along with this charade, Mother, but only if you’re willing to answer my questions.”

“Oh, that sounds lovely.”

“Where is Dad?”

“Your father left for the city. He had a business meeting early this morning. He’ll be disappointed that he

missed your call.”

“Not likely,” he muttered.

“Is there a message I could give him, sweetheart?”

“Now you just sound unbelievable, Mom. Cut back on the endearments or they’ll know what a phony

you are.” He could almost see her seething on the other end. “As for Dad, is he planning on buying the

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McCabe farm?”

“Why, yes, he is,” she said with enthusiasm, knowing he’d be devastated by the news.

“Well, you can tell him that it’s not a done deal. Tell him to give me a call when he gets back. We need to

talk.” He snapped his cell phone shut.

“You heard the news?”

Bryce could hardly believe his eyes as he whirled around. “Trey! What the hell are you doing here,

man?”

“I’m scheduled in New York for a magazine interview next week. Thought I’d take a detour and lend a

little moral support to your cause.”

“So, how’d you get here?”

Trey shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. “Sarah picked me up at the airport.”

“What? Sarah never drives in the city.”

“Yeah, I know, but the things she’ll do for her sister, you know.”

Bryce gave his brother a hug, “It’s good to see you, man,”

“You look like shit,” Trey said, slapping Bryce on the back. “Heard Jenna found our e-mail.”

“Not one of my better days, I tell you. I think I finally convinced her to trust me and give me another

chance. Hey,” Bryce asked as they strolled up the walk, “how did you hear that Dad is trying to buy this

place?”

“I ran into one of his buddies at the coffee shop this morning. I didn’t realize that the McCabes were

going to lose it.”

“You know what he’ll do with the land, right?”

“Of course,” Trey said. “He’ll develop it and it’ll become his next shopping mall.”

“I won’t let that happen.”

Trey gave Bryce a sidelong glance as he held the screen door open. “What, you going to try to buy it

from Dad?”

“Yeah, I just might,” Bryce muttered. Even if it cost him everything he had, including his restaurant.

They entered the house and the smell of bacon and coffee made his stomach grumble.

“Ah, the smell of home,” he said appreciatively.

“Yeah,” Trey agreed. “Nothing better than bacon in the morning.”

“Bryce, Trey,” Mrs. McCabe said with a welcoming smile, “come in and have some breakfast. It’s nice

to have you both home again.” She hugged them both and dragged them into the kitchen. Mr. McCabe,

Ashton, Jenna and her sisters were already seated at the long table covered with a

blue-and-white-checked tablecloth. Bryce smiled and said hello to everyone, but he only had eyes for

Jenna. Despite the stress of the past couple of days, she was glowing. She looked utterly perfect seated

at the table, smiling and laughing as she sipped her coffee.

Home,he thought. This was what it was like to be home, to be part of a family. And God, he wanted that.

To walk into his own kitchen and find Jenna sitting at the table drinking her morning coffee.

“Good to have both of you staying with us,” Wayne McCabe said from his place at the head of the table.

“Ashton and I were starting to get run over by females in this house.”

“Oh, c’mon, Daddy,” Emily teased, “you love your girls.”

“That I do, but it’s nice to have some male companionship. I’m tired of being outnumbered all the time.

Well, then, boys, grab yourself a seat. Eggs are getting cold. Ashton, hand me that basket of biscuits, will

ya?”

Trey took the empty chair beside Sarah so that Bryce could sit beside Jenna. Mrs. McCabe poured

some steaming coffee into his mug. Unable to resist, Bryce reached for Jenna’s hand and gave her a

quick kiss.

Jenna’s dad looked up from buttering his biscuit in time to catch the kiss and Jenna’s pretty blush. His

gaze lowered to where Bryce was holding Jenna’s hand and brushing his thumb along her knuckles.

“You got those spare bedrooms in order, Angie?” Wayne asked Jenna’s mother as he watched Bryce

with his daughter. “Because I got a feeling we’re going to need them.”

“Dad,” Sarah groaned. But Wayne McCabe was clearly not going to be dissuaded. He even stopped

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staring at Bryce to take an interest in Trey, who, it seemed, kept stealing looks at Sarah, who kept

brushing his arm with her chest. It was unconscious, of course; the seating arrangements were tight. But

that didn’t stop Wayne from lifting a questioning brow as Trey’s gaze slid down into forbidden territory.

“Better getboth these boys rooms,” Wayne muttered as he cast a glance from Trey to Bryce before

digging into his eggs. “Looks like they might be staying for more than a night.”

Bryce’s arms held her tightly as they stood together under the steady stream of water. Jenna let it flow

down her head and over her shoulders and back. Let herself melt into Bryce’s strength. She felt like she

couldn’t stand up on her own and he was her steadying rock.

It wasn’t just exhaustion and jet lag; it was emotional fatigue as well. And Bryce seemed to know it, to

understand. She felt it in the way he rubbed his hand down her spine in soft, soothing sweeps. It was in

the way he kissed her, soft undemanding brushes of his mouth against her temple, her cheeks, her

shoulder. It was in the way he held her closer and whispered to her as he felt her body tremble.

Jenna couldn’t hide the cascade of tears that fell from her eyes. She’d tried to keep them in check, but

Bryce’s tenderness was her undoing.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured over and over. “I’ll make it up to you, Jenna. I swear it. God, I never wanted

you hurt like this.”

Without looking up, Jenna pressed her face into his chest, wound her fingers through his wet hair and

wept against Bryce.

“I’m here, Jenna,” he kept saying. “Let me in. Let me fix it.”

She cried for the love she felt for him, for the ache she had to make a life with him, a life like this, full of

closeness and support. She wanted it so badly, but fear still had a steady grip on her heart. Even though

she loved him, she couldn’t say the words. She was too afraid, too uncertain of the future.

And now she had to face the loss of her family home. The only place on earth where she could truly be

herself. The place where she’d been born and raised. The place where she’d fallen in love.

“Talk to me, Jenna. Is it me? Is it the farm?” He held her tighter so that they were molded together by

skin and warm water.

She nodded, hardly able to speak. “It’s everything. The farm. The ad campaign. Gabriella has said no to

every model I’ve proposed. I don’t know what I’m going to do, Bryce. I can’t lose this account. It’s not

just the money. It’s the product. I believe in what Gabriella is doing. I want to be a part of it.”

“I’ve just thought of someone who I think would be a perfect woman to model for Duchess Lingerie.”

“Who?”

“Let me work on it, and I’ll get back to you. Promise.”

“Did you sleep with her?” Jenna blurted out. Because if so, she wasn’t interested in working with her. In

fact, Jenna knew she’d hate her on the spot.

Bryce laughed and lifted her up so that Jenna’s legs wrapped around his waist and his hands cupped her

bottom. “No, I haven’t slept with her. But I have known her for a long time. Trey knows her, too, and

being that he’s a famous photographer and he knows women like the back of his hand, I thought I’d get

some advice from him as to whether she’d photograph well before I get your hopes up.”

She eyed him suspiciously. “Do I know her?”

“I don’t know.”

“How come you’re being so secretive?”

“Am I? And here I thought women liked guys who were mysteri ous.”

“Not when it comes to their livelihoods.”

“Trust me, Jenna,” he said, kissing her neck. “Let me worry about this, and the farm, too. I want you to

just relax and not have a worry in the world.”

“Easier said than done.”

“Maybe this will help?”

Bryce reached behind Jenna. He took the ring from the silver soap dish and pulled her hand from where

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it rested on his neck. He slid the onyx ring back on her ring finger. Their gazes met, and he rubbed his

finger along the ring in a possessive manner he hoped Jenna understood.

“You’re mine, Jenna. Now that I’ve admitted it to myself, I’m not letting you go. I’m also not letting you

out of the house without some sort of sign that you’re taken.”

She smiled and kissed him. “I’m feeling better.”

“But are you relaxed? I know something that would melt your bones.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“What would that be?”

“This.”

Bryce slid into her, stretching her wide. He was thick and hard and Jenna closed her eyes as he took her.

Would she ever tire of this, feeling him slowly filling her, giving her all of him? She didn’t think so.

He took his time, thrusting gently, caressing her ass, and Jenna reveled in how magical it all felt. The feel

of him inside her was . . . perfect. As the water beaded on her breasts, trickling off her nipples, Bryce

caught the drops with his mouth, all the while keeping up a slow, unhurried pace inside her.

“I’ve missed you so much, Jenna. When I thought I’d never get you back . . . I just . . . fell apart.”

She clung to him, holding him, making love with him, freeing her mind, not thinking, only feeling as she

clung to his neck and kissed him behind his ear.

He made love to her long and slow, pleasuring her with his gentle hands and loving, whispered words.

“Is it safe to come inside you?” he asked between pulls on her nipple.

She shook her head. “No, it’s not the right time of the month.”

“All right,” he murmured as he pressed her against the wall and sunk into her a bit harder. “But you’ll let

me know when you want that, right?”

She caught his expression through her wet lashes. She could have sworn that was disappointment shining

in his eyes. Did Bryce really want to come inside her? They had no protection. She wasn’t on birth

control. He couldn’t possibly mean—

“You’ll tell me when you’re ready for that step, right? Because . . .” He swallowed and Jenna watched

him look up at her. “Because I’m ready for that, Jen—more than ready.”

She touched his face, stroked his mouth with her fingertips. He kissed her fingers and closed his eyes.

God, how she loved him. She wanted to tell him now, but she still wasn’t sure. He might mean it in the

moment, but she couldn’t take the risk that he would change his mind, so instead she just said, “Yes,

Bryce, I’ll tell you.”

He pulled out of her and pressed his erection into her belly. He found her clitoris and stroked her as he

poured himself onto her. She came not long after him, and he stifled her cry of pleasure with his

mouth—a mouth that was at once soothing and demanding.

“Jenna.” The knock on the door made them break off their kiss. Bryce was breathing hard against her

neck as she answered.

“Yeah, Mom?”

“Are you okay, honey? You’ve been in there a long time.”

Jenna stroked her hand down Bryce’s broad back and kissed his forehead. “Yeah, Mom. I’m perfect.”

He looked up at her and smiled. “That you are, Jenna McCabe.”

Fifteen

That evening, after they’d returned from the planting festival, Jenna went to her room to work on the ad

campaign for Duchess Lingerie. Bryce and Trey headed down to the dock with a six-pack and watched

the sun slip below the horizon.

The first thing Bryce did was call and check in with Mark. The restaurant was busy, and he was

managing just fine. In fact, Bryce wondered why he’d never left Mark to run the place before. Of course,

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he’d never had a good enough reason before to leave his beloved restaurant in the capable hands of his