Caribbean Cowboy: Under the Caribbean Sun, Book 4 (12 page)

“Let’s start by going home, making love and getting a good sleep. And then we’ll do it a day at a time. Until you’re sure about us. And then I will come up with some romantic fantasy proposal. You’ll say yes, of course. And we’ll have the simplest wedding ever.”

“Wait, what?” She raised her head to look down at his shadowed face. “How simple are we talking? Because folding chairs and a courthouse will not be happening. Beach weddings are lovely, and Anguilla has miles of them. But the ranch would be better.”

“She loves me.” Nik reached for her, trying to pull her down into a kiss.

“I do love you, Nik.” She lowered her head to his for a soft kiss. He kissed her back, expressing all the love he’d just proclaimed. The kiss continued, their lips entwining in heated passion.

He took her face in his hands and broke the kiss. “Tell me you have condoms and a sex on the beach fantasy.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Only one of the two.”

“It’s okay, the beaches aren’t going anywhere. But we are.”

She rolled off him and they both stood. He took her hand as they walked to the car.

“I never dreamed I’d have my own cowboy.”

He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her. “And biker. And tycoon.”

“Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask you. What size would you be in a kilt?”

Epilogue

“I bet a screaming orgasm would make this a lot easier.” Nik held her hand as they walked through the garden that led to Beachside, the most exclusive restaurant on Anguilla.

“If we didn’t have to deliver the surprise, we could have stayed home and drowned ourselves in real orgasms.” Too bad you didn’t get very far when you ran away on an island.

He squeezed her hand. “We don’t have to stay long.”

She returned the gesture. Like he’d been telling her all week, the longer they put this off, the harder it would be. “We have to stay for dinner. Sassy’s mother was the pastry chef here when we were kids. We’d come here after school and fill up on honey lobster and durian tarts.”

“That puts muktuk to shame.”

“Do I want to know what that is?”

“Whale.” He shrugged. “My mom is full-blooded Inuit. Food traditions are important to her.”

“You know I’ll be terrified to eat anything she serves, right?” When he’d asked her if she’d come home with him for Thanksgiving, it had seemed too far off to contemplate. And then he’d said he wanted to be engaged before then and something in her had shifted. Marrying Nik wasn’t a question. Their timeline was fluid, but the outcome was not.

“I don’t trust a thing at Harm’s grain-free house, so I think that makes us even.”

They reached the private patio behind the restaurant. Twinkling lights were strung across the bushes and between the trees and the frangipani blossoms had opened to release their sweet fragrance into the night air.

She paused on the cobblestone path, taking in the vision of her best friends and the men that now knew they were her brothers. It felt strange to think of them as a part of her life. But they would be. Her relationship with them was separate from her relationship with their father. Harm and Joe and Antonnis weren’t any more Sebastian than she was.

There was something in her brothers that the women she respected most had chosen to love. That alone was reason enough to try.

“Janny,” Holly cried out, rushing toward them. “This was the worst idea I’ve ever had.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “But it’s fun.”

“For you!” She put her hands on her hips, her dress tight across her belly. Yes, it was definitely time for this announcement. “Wait a minute, why is Nik carrying a box? You didn’t tell him, did you?”

“Tell him what?” Saskia asked, waving them closer to the table. “Who’s the present for, Nik?”

They joined their circle of friends around the large square table. Sebastian sat at one corner with Dutch, his best friend and Saskia’s father. The old salt gave her a nod and she knew he’d been brought in to keep the old man in check. He was the boys’ godfather, and she figured in a way, he was hers as well. It was Dutch who’d made sure she’d never wanted for anything monetarily. Her mother would have been too proud to ask, and Dutch had ensured she never had to.

“The box is for Holly.” Nick handed it off to his sister, who held it against her middle.

“Open it,” Kristin said, leaning her elbows on the white tablecloth. “Is it some kind of belated wedding gift?”

Holly shook her head and looked up at Harm. Janny couldn’t recall a time when Harm hadn’t seemed gruff, annoyed when people didn’t do things his way. But now, when he wrinkled his nose and smiled down at his wife, the old animosity faded.

He cleared his throat and pulled Holly close against him. “This has been a big year for all of us. Engagements and marriages, reconciliations and new beginnings. Holly and I have another big change ahead. And Janny helped us out with a surprise, which is what the box is about I think.”

Janny nodded and pulled Nik’s arms around her. This family moment felt good, right. She’d never had this kind of sense of belonging before, and she wanted him close.

“This gift,” Harm started, but then had to clear his throat before continuing. “This gift changes everything for all of us. Turns us into something I wasn’t sure we’d ever be.” Holly reached up and touched his face, and he turned to kiss her palm.

Harm tried to take the box, but Holly held firm. “I want to peek.”

“You can’t peek,” Nik said. “Opening it is a one-shot deal.”

“Open the box, Holly.” Kristin gave a quick clap. “I have to know if it’s what I think it is.”

“Okay,” Harm said with a nod. “Holly is making sure everyone here gets a new title. Aunt, uncle, grandfather.” He tilted his head and looked at Dutch. “God-grandfather?”

“That works,” the old man said with a laugh.

Questions and congratulations started, but Harm held up a hand to quiet them. “We’re not done. Janny did an ultrasound for us yesterday and in the box is the answer to the big question. Boy or girl.”

Holly set the box on the table, her hands shaking as she undid the bow. She lifted the lid and let out a scream as tiny pink balloons rose into the air like bubbles. She covered her mouth with one hand, her cheeks going pink as the balloons.

“Sorry, I really wanted a girl.” She turned and buried her face in Harm’s chest as he laughed, holding her close.

Janny’s throat tightened and her eyes grew heavy. This was what family was about. This is what she’d been searching for. And she’d found it, with the people she’d least expected, right in her own backyard. Building relationships with her brothers had already started, and eventually, she knew she’d forgive Sebastian. Not because he deserved it, but because she wanted to be able to move beyond the hurt and anger.

Nik cleared his throat and she spun in his arms to face him. He leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Do you want balloons in your proposal?”

She shook her head. “As long as you’re the one proposing, I don’t really care about the details.”

“Right now, I’m tempted to start with sex on the beach, follow up with a couple of screaming orgasms and just slip the ring on your finger.”

“You have a ring?” She looked up at him, the lights twinkling in his hazel eyes. He grinned and her heart stalled out. He had a ring. “Wow.”

“You look excited.” He framed her face with his hands, looking at her as if he were memorizing the moment.

“I get excited whenever you mention screaming orgasms. Besides, I know how to get what I want from you.”

“I am pretty easy when it comes to you.”

“Maybe I’m just good at
Romancing the Rancher
.”

“It’s what you’re best at. You might want to consider it a lifelong occupation.”

“The benefits are worth reflection. In a mirror, at the end of my bed.”

He coughed and ran his hand from his jaw down his neck. “And now you’ll have to wait for the blood to return to my brain before I can respond.”

“Maybe that’s the response I was after.” She turned to walk away, but he pulled her back against him.

“You can’t talk about sex and mirrors and then leave me with my dick trying to bust out of my pants. Give me a minute to think about bovine anatomy or land crabs going through compost.”

She opened her mouth, but he silenced her with a finger to her lips. His soft breath fanned her face. “No more dirty talk until we’re alone.”

“Or what?” She teased as soon as he dropped his hand.

“You know what.”

She could only imagine. For now.

About the Author

Jenna Bayley-Burke is known for her fun, sexy romance novels, baking banana bread and over-volunteering. She thinks she has the best jobs in the world
—
mother, wife and author. When she’s not lost in her latest story, she can be found pursuing whatever hobby her characters are enamored with
—
photography, yoga, shoes, gardening, crafts and cooking up a storm. For more on Jenna check out her website
www.jennabayleyburke.com
.

Look for these titles by Jenna Bayley-Burke

Now Available:

Her Cinderella Complex

Par for the Course

Compromising Positions

Pride & Passion

Private Scandal

For Kicks

Drive Me Crazy

Just One Spark

Under The Caribbean Sun

Caribbean Christmas

Caribbean Casanova

Caribbean Crush

Just One

Just One Spark

NotMy1stRodeo.com.

Anything for a Cowboy

Don’t miss the other titles in the Under the Caribbean Sun series!

If you can’t stand the heat, stay away from old flames.

Under the Caribbean Sun
, Book 3

The second Antonnis Prinsen sees his old flame, he knows she’s the lifeline to keep him from drowning in his brother’s matrimonial mayhem. It’s been years since they’ve talked, but surely by now she understands that a clean break was best. Instead of making a smooth re-introduction into her life, he finds his path blocked by a giant iguana. And Kristen looking at him as if he’s lower than the reptile.

Kristin Taylor spent her youth tangled up in Antonnis, but then he cut ties and disappeared. Now she leads a full and orderly life—until she finds herself walking down the aisle beside him. Thank goodness, it’s only to see his brother and her friend tie the knot.

Except Antonnis seems intent on picking up where they left off, and she has to admit she still has a weakness for him. Especially when he tempts her with an irresistible offer—one hot night, and this time she gets the chance to leave him cold.

Warning: Beware of signature cocktails and old flames rekindled. Either one will weaken your resolve—and your knees—before you know what’s hit you.

Her plan was for them to fall in bed, not in love.

A
NotMy1stRodeo.com
Story

When veterinarian Jacy Weston changes her location on her western dating website profile, she thinks it’s no big deal. Opal Creek…Myrtle Creek…what’s the difference? As little white lies go, this one barely qualifies. Besides, since her brothers have chased off every guy within a hundred miles, the expiration date on her virginity is way past due.

Ray Mitchell is not inclined to waste his time on something as unnecessary as dating, but it’s much easier to take a woman to coffee than to explain to his mother why he’s in no hurry to get married again. Despite NotMy1stRodeo.com’s promises, he doubts he’ll find any woman willing to find herself stuck on a remote ranch raising rodeo stock.

But Jacy is different. She isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. Or to get down and dirty. Ray’s thinking he’s found the one, until the truth comes out…and he realizes the divorcee from the next county he’s been dating doesn’t exist.

Warning: Contains a virginal heroine looking for the nearest exit for the horizontal highway to heaven, and a cowboy willing to go the distance for the right woman