How to Seduce a Billionaire (16 page)

And forgot how to breathe.

“B-Brandon?”

“Hey, Kelly,” he said. “Listen, I need some help.”

She blinked, not quite believing her eyes. He stood leaning against her doorjamb looking better than she remembered, and she remembered him looking pretty darn good.

“You gonna let me come in?” he asked.

“Oh, sure.” She swung the door open wider for him. “Did Sarah quit?”

“No.” He walked into her home, filling the space. “Sarah’s fine. She does good work.”

“Oh. Okay.” She closed the door and stared at him. It had been four long weeks since she’d last seen him and she’d spent all that time trying to stay busy, trying not to think about him, trying to get on with her life. She’d traveled back east for a week to see her father and sisters and their families. It had been a lovely visit, but the trip had cemented in her the understanding that Dunsmuir Bay was truly her home. Now she just had to put the pieces of her life back together. She’d started her list of dating possibilities. And she’d spent all day yesterday on her computer, searching the various employment sites, looking for a new job. She had a list of promising prospects and she planned to send résumés tomorrow.

But now, seeing Brandon, she couldn’t remember exactly what any of those job prospects were.

“This is a nice place,” he said, glancing around, then walking over to the wide picture window. “Great view.”

“Thank you.” Was he even taller than she remembered? Maybe it was seeing him in her house for the first time that made her think so. She licked her lips nervously. “You said you needed my help with something?”

“Yeah.” He seemed to consider something for a moment, then walked up close and took hold of her hand. Kelly tried not to focus on the fact that her hand fit so perfectly in his.

He gazed down, then back at her. “You know, this is a little embarrassing. I wonder if maybe we could sit and talk for a few minutes.”

“Okay.” She led the way to her comfortable sofa and he sat down way too close to her. “What is it, Brandon?”

“The thing is, Kelly, I need some help with my kissing. I’m not sure if I’m doing it right anymore.”

She tried to swallow around her suddenly dry throat. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope. I’m desperate.”

She shook her head. “Brandon, you’re the last man on earth who needs help with his kissing.”

“See, that’s where you’re wrong,” he said, clutching her hand more tightly.

“Okay, fine. But you could get any woman in the world to help you out. Why are you here?”

“Well, that’s the thing.” He touched her cheek, then ran his fingers through her hair. “I found out it only works right when I’m kissing the person I love.”

“Oh Brandon,” she said on a sigh.

“I’m in love with you, Kelly.”

“No,” she whispered.

“I don’t blame you for questioning me, because I’ve been an idiot. I convinced myself that there was no way you could really love me.”

“But that’s—”

She stopped when he pressed his finger to her lips. “Just let me get this out because it’s not easy for me to admit some things.”

With a nod, she said, “Okay.”

He clenched his jaw, then began. “My parents were really bad people, really bad. They taught me some hard lessons early on. I’d rather not get into the specifics, but one of the luckiest days of my life was when Sally took me in. But even though she’s a fantastic mother and I owe her everything, those first ugly memories lingered.”

She put her hand on his knee for her own comfort as well as his, but didn’t say anything.

“Because of those old memories,” he continued, “I decided a long time ago that I would never really matter to anyone, you know? So I just made up my mind that I would never fall in love. That way, nobody could ever get close enough to hurt me.”

“Oh, Brandon.”

“It took your leaving for me to realize just how much I wanted to matter to you,” he said. “I was blown away when you told me you were in love with me. At first, I couldn’t make myself believe it. It was too…
important,
you know?”

“Yes, I know.”

He covered her hand with his. “To be honest, it scared the hell out of me. But I want to be important to you, Kelly. I want you to love me, because I’m so in love with you. My heart is empty when you’re not around. I can’t really live without you in my life.”

A tear fell from her eye and Brandon ran his thumb along her cheek to catch the next one. “Please, Kelly. Please put me out of my misery and tell me you still love me.”

“Of course I still love you, Brandon,” she said. “I love you with all my heart.”

“Marry me?” he asked, as he touched her face with both of his hands. “I want to spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you.”

“Yes, I’ll marry you.”

“I love you so much.”

“Then will you kiss me, please?”

Holding back a smile, he said, “I’m not sure I remember how. Maybe you’d better show me.”

She laughed and wrapped her arms around him. “Practice makes perfect.”

His laughter joined hers. “Then we’d better get started.”

Joy swept through her as he enfolded her in his arms and kissed her with all the love that was overflowing in his heart for her alone. And it was perfect.

Epilogue

Two years later

M
idsummer along the central California coast meant warm days and balmy nights and Brandon Duke couldn’t think of a better reason to throw a party. Unless it was also a surprise party celebrating his mother’s birthday.

As he walked the perimeter of the backyard where family and friends were gathered, Brandon soaked up the sights and sounds of the party. He couldn’t help smiling as he realized just how different his and his brothers’ lives were now than they had been just a few short years ago.

Back then, this would’ve been a stylish cocktail party with subdued conversations. Instead, there were sudden bursts of laughter and splashing around the pool. He grinned as he caught a flash of his mom’s shocking pink Capri pants that made her look like a teenager. The scents of an ocean breeze and suntan lotion blended with barbecued chicken and ice-cold lemonade.

At that moment, from across the patio, he caught Kelly’s eye and felt the fierce punch of joy he always experienced when he gazed upon his beautiful wife. He watched with pride and love as she stroked her stomach where their unborn child, a baby boy, waited patiently to be born. Kelly had changed everything in his life for the better and was just days away from making him a father. Brandon knew without a doubt that with Kelly by his side, he could face any obstacle, conquer any fear. Their future was rosy indeed.

And even though his mother had denied it a thousand times, Brandon was positive she’d had something to do with bringing the two of them together. He would have to thank her some day.

Cameron came up behind him and slapped Brandon on the shoulder. “Great party, man. I think Mom was really surprised.”

“For a minute there, I thought she stopped breathing,” Brandon admitted, shaking his head.

“Yeah, then she burst into tears.” Cameron laughed. “It was perfect.”

They both glanced over and Cameron grinned as his son Jake loudly explained to his baby sister Samantha how to race a dump truck on the brick path surrounding the house. In the pool, their little cousin T.J. bobbed confidently in his proud father Adam’s arms. Adam continued to insist to whoever would listen that his boy would be competing as an Olympic swimmer any day now.

“Hey, thanks for the invite, Brandon.”

Brandon whirled around and saw his cousin, Aidan, popping open a bottle of beer.

“Glad you could make it,” Brandon said. “It’s about time we all finally met. And it was a perfect way to surprise Mom on her birthday.”

Aidan’s identical twin brother, Logan, grabbed his own bottle and the two men joined Brandon and Cameron to survey the activity.

“You have a terrific family,” Logan said, smiling his approval.

“Thanks,” Cameron said jovially. “We’re happy you guys are a part of it.”

“It’s all because of your mom,” Aidan said, chuckling. “She shocked the hell out of Dad when she first called him. He’d been trying to track down his brother Bill for years, but when their orphanage burned down, the records were lost and he finally gave up trying.”

Brandon shook his head as he thought of that fateful fire. Sally’s husband Bill and his brother Tom were adopted by different families and lost touch with each other. If not for Sally Duke and her stubborn refusal to give up, the Duke brothers might never have met their cousins.

“It almost broke Sally’s heart when she heard about the fire,” Cameron said. “But Mom is nothing if not tenacious. Once she got the hang of Google and started searching through every bit of information she could find, it was inevitable that she would track you guys down.”

“We’re thankful that she did,” Logan said. “Dad was over the moon about finally getting to meet all of you.”

The four cousins stared across the covered patio at Sally and the tall, good-looking older man standing next to her. This was Tom, her deceased husband Bill’s brother.

Brandon peered more closely and couldn’t help but notice the goofy grin on Tom’s face as he gazed down at Sally. He turned and frowned at Logan. “Your father’s a widower, right?”

“Yeah, and your mom is a widow,” Logan said with a speculative look. “What the hell?”

Adam wrapped a towel around his waist and walked over to grab a bottle of beer before joining his brothers and cousins. After taking a healthy sip of his drink, he jutted his chin in the direction of Sally and Tom, then looked at Brandon and Cameron. “They seem to be enjoying themselves.”

“Yeah, we were just noticing that,” Aidan said.

Cameron scratched at his beard thoughtfully. “Not sure what to think yet.”

Brandon took a long, reflective pull of his beer. “Maybe this family isn’t quite finished with matchmaking after all.”

ISBN: 978-1-4592-0927-5

HOW TO SEDUCE A BILLIONAIRE

Copyright © 2011 by Kathleen Beaver

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