Love on the Boardwalk (16 page)

“Can’t. I’m not allowed within six feet of Darcy as long as she’s got that laptop open.” Coop rolled his eyes.

From across the room, Darcy piped up. She had her feet tucked under a fleece blanket on the couch. “It’d doom our whole marriage if you glimpsed my wedding dress ahead of time. Do you really want that onus on your shoulders?”

“Of course not.” Another eye roll.

Brad felt for the guy. Didn’t know how he stood it. Brad sure couldn’t keep more than a foot away from Trina. She was a hugger. A squeezer. And although he’d never been the PDA type in the past, now he loved it. Loved that she couldn’t keep from holding his hand, or kissing him in the middle of a restaurant. It was contagious. The more time Brad spent with her, the more he couldn’t resist stroking her hair, or tucking her beneath his arm in line for the movies.

Trina ran a hand up and down the sleeve of Brad’s thick fisherman sweater. “Never knew you were so superstitious, Darcy.”

“I’m not superstitious. I just don’t want to tempt fate. This marriage is going to last forever. No matter what I have to do.”

Tugging on Brad, Trina turned them away from the window to face the rest of the interior of the log cabin. “Funny you should put it that way. As maid of honor, I’ve been studying up.”

“You hate to study.”

“That’s how much I love you. Plus, I’m considering it a way to get my mental muscles back in shape before my P.I. course starts next week. Anyway, did you know that it’s good luck to discover a spider in your wedding dress? I can totally make that happen.”

Brad smothered his laugh against Trina’s neck. Her no-holds-barred approach to, well, everything cracked him up on a daily basis. And he had no doubt that if Darcy gave the greenlight, come next May, Trina would trap a spider and gently insert it into the folds of the wedding dress. Maybe even two. His girl didn’t do anything by halves.

After a slow head swivel, Darcy glared daggers at her best friend. “You do that, and I won’t let you dance with the best man at the reception. Rumor has it that he’s super hot, too.”

Brad appreciated the compliment. Not that he’d ever fall in line with her threat. He and Trina had joined a swing dance club. They had a great time hitting the floor together, and were headed to an amateur competition up in Hershey over Valentine’s Day. “You’re really firing the big guns, aren’t you?”

“Fine. If you don’t want the spider, there are other options. We can have a cat eat out of your left shoe a week before the wedding. That’ll bring good luck.”

“You made that up.”

“Nope. I’m telling you, there’s all sorts of wacky wedding stuff on the Internet.”

“And that’s where it should stay.” Darcy crooked her finger in invitation. “How about I bribe you to not tell me any more of that weirdness? Want to see your dress?”

Trina threw herself out of Brad’s arms and hurried to join Darcy beneath the blanket on the dark leather sofa. Good to know he rated just a little below a clothing website. “So you finally decided on your wedding color?”

“Blue, to match the ocean where we met.”

“Where I saved you,” Coop corrected.

“Are you ever going to let me live that down?” The indulgent smile balanced the annoyance in her voice.

“Check back with me in sixty or so years.”

Turning back to Trina, Darcy pointed at something on the screen. “We’re going with a whole beach theme.”

Coop elbowed Brad in the ribs as he passed him a beer. “When you two get married, does that mean you’ll go with a strip club theme? Instead of black tie, the invites could read
panties optional
?” He hugged his midriff as he laughed. “If so, I’m gonna pass right now on being best man. I don’t want to wear a banana hammock in front of our parents.”

“We don’t talk about getting married,” Trina said.

Oh, great. She was going to spill the pact they’d made. And now he’d be the one getting shit for being superstitious.

“Really? Not at all?” Coop kicked back in the recliner by the fire. “What’s the holdup?”

Never, in a million years, did Brad think his cousin would throw him under the bus like that. “Dude, it’s only been three months. Just because you’re engaged doesn’t mean the rest of the world has to hop to it.”

“But you guys look disgustingly happy together. You even give me and Darcy a run for the money.”

“Brad doesn’t want to mention marriage until the anniversary of his last engagement passes. Which I’m totally behind,” Trina hastened to add.

“I screwed up the whole engagement thing once already,” Brad pointed out. “Did it at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons. Feels safer to let that get in the rear-view mirror.” He’d planned to wait until midnight to make his big move. But now that Coop had brought up the issue of their relationship, Brad didn’t want to leave any uncertainty in Trina’s mind. In a couple of long strides, he made it to the breakfast bar of the kitchen, and retrieved the box he’d hidden behind a plaque of a clay, cartoonish trout. He shoved it into the back pocket of his jeans.

“That’s a very sensible approach. And, might I point out, just a little superstitious,” said Darcy with a waggle of her eyebrows.

“Whatever. I’ve got a work-around.” Brad sat on the other end of the sofa and pulled Trina into his lap. “Because I am crazy about you, you know.”

She patted his cheek. “Silly. I know that. The feeling’s mutual.”

“Okay, but I’m going to up the ante.” He sandwiched her small, soft hands between his and breathed a silent prayer to Lady Luck. The two of them never got around to throwing any dice over that crazy weekend in Atlantic City, but he was going to make up for it tonight with an enormous gamble.

Trina gave a pretend shiver. “If this is your way of hinting that you want to play strip poker later, I’m going to have to remind you how cold it is. How about some Monopoly instead? Fair warning—I get greedy for all those little plastic houses.”

“Funny you should mention houses. Because that’s what I want to talk to you about.” He reached back, pulled out the box and handed it to her. “I miss you every night we don’t spend together. I love how your laughter echoes up through all three floors of my rowhome. It’s drafty and old, but I’m there, so I hope that balances things out.”

“It has charm and character, just like you.” She looked down. “What’s this?”

“Sorry. I got out of order. Too churned to think straight.” It happened a lot around her. Brad was nervous. Flustered. But rubbing his cheek on her forehead steadied him. He took the lid off the box, revealing the key inside. “I love you. I love how excited you get about everything from finding a four leaf clover on a picnic to making friends with a Mafioso. I love your commitment to helping people—the battered women at the shelter, the way you just happen to be around every Tuesday morning when that ancient lady next door needs help carrying in her groceries. I love how damn happy you make me. So I want you to move in with me.”

He held his breath. It must’ve been obvious, because Trina tickled him in the ribs to get him to breathe. “My brave cop. You didn’t need to say all of that. You could’ve stopped right after ‘I love you.’ Because I love you right back. And I want to share every minute together that we possibly can, having fun and adventures. Of course I’ll move in with you.”

A loud throat clearing stopped Brad mid-swoop down to Trina’s lips. “Any chance we can set some ground rules about those adventures?” asked Darcy, over a gurgle of laughter. “Because this is the first trip the four of us have been on without any guns being waved around. I’d kind of like to set that as the new bar.”

As Trina’s petal-pink lips curved into the smile that filled his heart, Brad beat her to the punch with her own, adorable signature line. “Where would the fun in that be?” And then he kissed her. Just like he planned to do every night from here on out.

* * * * *

Don’t miss Shore Secrets book 2, ALL FOR YOU, coming in February 2015. For more information on all of Christi’s new releases, please visit
http://www.christibarth.com/home/books/
.

In the mood for more lighthearted romance? Don’t miss
Love at High Tide
, available now!

Love at High Tide

Darcy Trent is lucky Cooper Hudson is on hand to sweep her off her feet—literally—when she nearly drowns while swimming in the ocean. But life-saving aside, Mr. Perfect’s timing stinks: Darcy’s career is about to take her to the complete opposite side of the Atlantic. Still, a little summer loving with the tall, blond and sexy former cop is far too tempting to pass up.

When his plans to enter the Secret Service went south thanks to a bum knee, Coop retreated to the family beach house to mull his future. Romance is the last thing on his mind, until he fishes a curvy brunette out of the sea. Now, spending time in Darcy’s arms seems like the ideal distraction, even if it is just for a week.

But with Darcy’s departure date fast approaching and their careers on the line, can they realize in time that their beach fling might become the real thing?

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About the Author

Christi Barth earned a Master’s degree in vocal performance and embarked upon a career on the stage. A love of romance then drew her to wedding planning. Ultimately she succumbed to her lifelong love of books and now writes contemporary romance. She is the award-winning author of the Aisle Bound series. Christi is president of the Maryland Romance Writers and lives in Maryland with her husband.

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ISBN-13: 9781426898945

Love on the Boardwalk

Copyright © 2014 by Christi Barth

Edited by Angela James

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All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

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