Forsaken Trail (Runaway, #4)

by Devney Perry

It would be so much easier to hate him if he didn’t elicit such a strong physical reaction.

Maybe it was time to switch directions. To forge a beaten path. And find out if there was a rainbow waiting at the end of my forsaken trail.

It was rare for us to hug. Was this a hug? Clara hugged everyone she knew but I wasn’t really the hugging type. But I considered her a friend. A best friend. Or . . . the closest thing I had to a best friend. Did it count when you paid them?

Tonight, my ex-fiancée was marrying another man. The woman I’d once cared for was marrying my younger brother.

“You’re beautiful,” Brody admitted through clenched teeth. It sounded pained,

“I won’t embarrass you,” I promised. Brody blinked and mentally replayed my words. And when his gaze met mine, it was softer than I’d ever seen it before. He looked at me the way he looked at Clara. With kindness. “That’s not what I’m worried about.”

Brody doted on her. He provided for her because he wasn’t stupid. He knew she was one of a kind. Clara was the fleck of true gold in a sea of pyrite.

“Her dress is gaudy and hideous,” Aria said as we emerged through the threshold of the double doors. The couple in front of us gaped and sent her horrified looks. Aria simply smiled. “Hello.” I fought a laugh. It was . . . surprising. I hadn’t thought I’d have to fight much other than my gag reflex tonight.

This time, I let the smile go free. I glanced down and Aria’s pretty brown eyes were waiting. They were flecked with honey and sangria. The reds and yellows were so slight, they swirled into the iris, mixing with the chocolate to give it fire. Aria’s fire.

After only hours in Aria’s company, I’d picked up details that I shouldn’t have noticed. Like the pout of her lower lip. The delicate lobes of her ears. And now the mesmerizing color in her eyes.

I bit back a laugh. God, Aria was something. Fearless. Bold. Unpredictable. Qualities that usually pissed me the fuck off, but tonight, she was on my side. And she was here to put on one hell of a show. I’d play along.

am Aria Saint-James.” Aria’s tone matched Grandmother’s, her enunciation nearly as precise and the tone as haughty. And here I’d been worried for nothing. The knot in my gut eased. I should have expected Aria to meet attitude with attitude. She was not a woman to shrivel like so many dates had in the past under Grandmother’s examination.

“Rude can’t be helped.” Aria shrugged. “When we drew straws in the womb, Clara picked the ones for poise and grace. That left me with sass and sarcasm.” “You are Clara’s twin sister?” Grandmother’s gaze moved to me. “Why would you bring her here?” “Because Clara is sick. Aria volunteered to be my guest.” Aria fixed on a sweet smile. “Clara has been telling me for years about Brody’s family. The stories seemed so cliché. I mean . . . certainly rich people couldn’t really be that shallow. When she got sick, I figured I could come here and see for myself. Per her usual, my sister was right.”

“You love your home. You love your job. What else should I know about you, Aria Saint-James?” That maybe I don’t hate you. “One day, I’d like to have a flower shop and a greenhouse of my own. I’d like to make bouquets like that one and keep growing plants.”

“What are you doing?” I asked as he inched closer, pressing into the skirt of my gown. “I’m going to kiss you.” My heart skipped. Yes. That was the champagne talking. I didn’t care. “What if I don’t want you to kiss me?” He leaned in close, the warmth of his breath caressing my cheek. “What if you do?” What if I did? I took his face in my hands, letting the scratch of his beard scrape against my palms, and I pulled his mouth down to mine. Then I kissed him.

Today, this week, the future looked as hazy as the horizon outside where the sea met the clouds.

Clara was going to be surprised, maybe there’d be a little excitement there too. I was having a baby. My baby. There’d never be a day when I was alone. There’d never be a day when I longed for a family. I was growing one. The life inside me deserved my best. He or she would have it. From now until my dying breath. It was . . . exciting. Scary, but wonderful.

Aria Saint-James was impossible to escape. And now she was pregnant. With my baby. Pregnant.

One step past the threshold and her scent enveloped me. Sweet flowers. A hint of vanilla. Aria.

One night with her and I’d wanted more.

“I’m here because I want to be involved. With this—our, my—baby. I won’t forsake my child.” Aria blinked, her eyebrows coming together. “Seriously?”

“Believe that I see how hard Clara works to raise August on her own. Believe that I don’t want my child growing up without me in his or her life. Please . . . don’t shut me out from this.”

Sitting on my counter in that stunning green dress, her feet bare, she’d rendered me helpless. One kiss and I’d been lost. Lost in her mouth, her hands, her taste. Four months later and I couldn’t get that night out of my head. Her body, sleek and tight, had been a dream. Moving inside her, hovering above her, had been the best sex of my life.

Somehow, we had to forge a truce. A friendship would be ideal, but I’d settle for civility. I just wanted my kid to know me. That was it. Simple. I didn’t need love and adoration. I just wanted knowledge. Liar. I couldn’t even fool myself. I wanted love. I wanted my son or daughter to think I was the best man in the world. There was no way I’d pull it off. But that wouldn’t stop me from trying.

Getting a grip on this attraction to Aria was taking more effort than I’d expected.

“I love it.” She smiled, and if I’d thought the room was bright before, I’d been entirely mistaken. Her smile was luminescent. A flutter rippled through my chest, odd and unfamiliar. Must be heartburn.

Aria was off-limits. A hard no. Why couldn’t I seem to grasp that concept? Maybe because I didn’t like the word no, even when I issued it myself.

“Forgive me.” He feigned a dramatic bow as I took my seat. “I hadn’t appreciated the precious cargo.”

We’ve managed to get along for nearly two days.” “Give it time. I’m sure you’ll do something soon to piss me off.” I fought a smile. “Count on it.”

“You wore jeans on Saturday.” “That was different.” “Why?” Because we were hauling boxes? “Because that was for you.” One sentence. One answer. And the world fell away from my feet. Did he realize what he’d just confessed? Did he realize how special he’d just made me feel? I was the exception to his rules.

I hadn’t realized until just this moment that there were even feelings there. Feelings more than the obvious sexual attraction, because Brody was gorgeous, and I wasn’t blind. I liked the man behind the suit. I liked the man who showed up for his people every day. I liked the man who let down his guard just for me.

“If you’re not here to grovel, I’d head to the door before she sees you.” “I’m here to grovel.” “Good.” He nodded. “Head on back.”

Aria was more beautiful than any flower in the world. Even mad, she was lovelier than any rose.

“I won’t let you fall.” “You say that and it’s sweet. But you don’t get it.” “Get what?” “I need to do this on my own.” “Understandable. Think of me as the safety net.” “I’ve never had a safety net.” “You do now.”

Brody beat back the anxiety when it came to sex. There were no insecurities with him. He made it easy to relax and enjoy. Maybe because he oozed confidence and authority. Every touch was deliberate. Every caress solid. There was no fumbling, and in that surety, he made me feel safe.

Last night, and the night of the wedding, he’d given me everything I’d needed to shut out the noise and just . . . be.

Beneath the cement and glass exterior, there was a big, beating, beautiful hea...

At least Brody had always been honest with me. There were no secrets. No lies. I could trust him.

The spring desert was truly breathtaking, and it was only the start. When I’d stopped wanting to hate it here, I’d fallen in love.

I wasn’t exactly a homebody. Clara called me an introvert, but mostly, I didn’t like many people. Many people didn’t like me. With so much work to be done, why make friends when I didn’t have time to give them?

“Because tomorrow it might be gone. If I earn it myself, then maybe it won’t disappear.”

“I won’t leave you, Aria.” “You might.” “Never.” Not when I was falling for her. She closed her eyes and collapsed into my chest.

“I think you underestimate our natural tendency to disagree.”

I was so in love with him. The realization had snuck up on me this morning when he’d curled his strong, tall body around mine. He’d held me and I’d realized that the soul-deep loneliness I’d felt for years had truly vanished. Not even Clara’s hugs or August’s cheek smooches had chased it completely away. Only Brody. And our baby. I loved him, more than I’d ever known it was possible to love another person.

He fought a smile, then looked to Marty. “Don’t let her lift anything heavy. Yesterday, I caught her trying to move a—what kind of plant was that?” “A fiddle-leaf fig tree.” “A tree. She was trying to move a tree.” “It wasn’t heavy.”

Never in my life had I felt such a deep, endless fear. If Aria had been hurt. If the baby . . . They were my life. Both of them. Aria was my heart.

“I love you. Damn, but I love you, woman.” “And that’s why you buy me things.” I nodded. “That’s why I’ll try to stop.” She stared at me, those mesmerizing eyes glassy with tears. “I love you too.”

“No.” I shook my head. “I fell in love with you the moment you stole that vase of flowers.”

“I love you,” I whispered. “You said that already.” “It’s worth repeating.”

“Deal. As long as you let me pay for the entire flower shop.” “No.” I shook my head as we walked into the bedroom. “It’s not worth that price.” “But you paid it anyway.” “For you? I’d buy the moon.” “Brody, this is . . . it’s too much. You know why it bugs me.”