Page 39 of Bad Boy Bakers, Vol. 2

Chapter Eleven

This was it. Grey had put everything on the line.

Laid everything out there about what he wanted, save for one thing.

That part of the plan had been derailed because he hadn’t managed to get her into the cabin yet.

He wasn’t a gambling man, but he realized that, in waiting to talk to Rebecca in person, he’d taken an enormous risk that her doubts would get the better of her.

He thought he’d done enough to overcome those doubts for good, but she still hadn’t given him an answer.

Tears glimmered in her eyes, shining in the moonlight. She swallowed hard and lifted her hands to frame his face. “I still want you. I still love you. God, how I love you. How I’ve always loved you.”

Her words snapped the careful leash of his control, and he hauled her in, taking her mouth with his.

Every pent-up fear and frustration of the past week rose up, needing release.

Grey tasted the same desperation in her as she wrapped around him.

With the last vestiges of sanity, he remembered they were outside in the freezing cold.

Tearing his mouth from hers, he gasped, “Not out here. Come on.”

They stumbled toward the cabin. His hand shook as he unlocked the door and dragged her inside.

Spinning her, he captured her mouth again, pressing her back and back until the door slammed shut and he had some kind of leverage.

Rebecca whimpered, twining her arms around his shoulders, fingers diving into his hair.

His own hands raced down, finding the backs of her thighs and lifting until those long legs circled his waist.

He could move quicker then, arrowing toward the full-size bed he knew was nestled in the corner.

All the trappings he’d set up, all the effort he’d put into adding a layer of romance were going to waste, and he couldn’t give a good damn.

She’d notice later. After. Neither of them had the capacity for slow or savoring now.

The need was too keen, desire too sharp.

Nothing was more important than erasing the distance.

He tumbled her onto the mattress, following her down, his hands already working at her coat as she dragged at his.

They shed clothes in a frenetic dance, seeking flesh.

Touching, taking every inch they exposed.

Her body was a fever as he plunged inside her.

On a cry, she rose to meet him. For a moment they held gasping at the precipice, eyes locked and full of love and longing and relief.

Then she shifted beneath him, urging him to move.

Their pace was ruthless, brutal, as they strove to outrun all the stress and tension and pain that had haunted them for years.

Her emerald eyes flashed as she held on, matching him stroke for stroke, until they arrowed past the edge of insanity and into a shattering release.

Grey came back to himself slowly, still gasping for breath.

Rebecca lay beneath him, her arms still curled around his shoulders.

That she could breathe at all with his weight pressing down on her was a minor miracle.

As one of her legs slid limply down to the bed, he roused himself enough to roll to the side, bringing her with him.

He wasn’t ready to let her go yet. Or ever.

She cuddled in against his chest, tangling her legs with his.

As blood returned to his extremities, he managed enough muscle control to flip the edge of the comforter up to cover them. Mostly.

She pressed a kiss to his throat, and he tangled his fingers in her hair. “Well, I feel better.”

Her unladylike snort rolled into big, bawdy laughter he couldn’t help but find contagious. And here was the very last layer of release they’d needed. Everything in him felt cleansed and reset.

Abruptly, she stopped laughing and tried to sit up. “Grey.”

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I…” She was looking around, taking in the cabin's interior.

It was one big open room, but for a bathroom in one corner.

With some help, he’d decked the whole place out with flowers and electric candles.

He’d even sprung for fancy new spa bedding.

Not that they’d made it beneath the covers to test it out.

He’d wanted to make it as romantic and appealing as he could, because he’d intended for tonight to be exactly what it was.

A makeup and an apology. A new beginning.

“You did all this for me?” At the stunned wonder on her face, he vowed to give her as much romance as he could for as long as they had together. And he’d start by securing that forever.

“Yeah. We got a little out of the order of things. I meant for you to see all that first.”

She settled back into his arms, resting her head in the crook of his shoulder. “You won’t hear me complaining about the order of things. I feel like I could sleep for a week.”

“If the sleeping is interspersed with more of all that, count me in.”

Her fingers traced lazy patterns on his chest. “Well, put a pin in that because I don’t think either of those is an option for the immediate future. Our son’s getting married tomorrow.”

Our son.

It was the first time he’d heard her say anything other than “my son.” The sound of it settled into him with a sense of rightness and gratitude.

“Yeah. Yeah, I know. The timing is maybe not ideal. But I wanted us to be on the same page before we went to the wedding.”

“About us?”

“About us and also about how you want to handle the information about me. I know Jonah introduced me tonight to the wedding party, and word will get out sooner or later, but how do you want to handle it for the broader guest list?”

“I’m not ashamed, if that’s what you’re asking. Questions are bound to come up, and I’ll take them as they come. But I don’t want to do anything to overshadow Jonah and Rachel’s day. That said, I think we leave it up to them. I’m not sure what Jonah will want to do.”

“Well, there’s one more thing that might influence his decision on that front.”

“What’s that?”

Extending his arm, Grey groped along the floor until he found his pants. It took a minute of digging before he managed to get his fingers on the ring he’d stashed there.

“I had planned this a bit differently, but you’ve brought me to my knees, metaphorically speaking, so I say it counts. I don’t want there to be any mistake. Any question.” He held out the princess cut diamond solitaire. “Marry me, Rebel. Make a family with me. Spend your future with me.”

“Grey.” Her voice shook, and those beautiful eyes went glassy again. Impatiently, she wiped at her cheeks. “Oh my God, how do I have any moisture left in my body to cry more? Yes. Yes, I’ll do all of that. And I will love you to the best of my ability for the rest of our lives.”

He slid his ring on her finger and curled his hand with hers. “We’ve got a lot of lost time to make up for.”

With a beaming smile, she kissed him. “I think we have just enough time to start on that before we have to head back to town.”

“Thank God.” And on a grin, he rolled her beneath him again.

Rebecca smoothed sweaty palms down the skirt of her dress and took a breath before knocking softly on the door to the groom’s suite at the church. A moment later, it swung open to reveal Brax in tux pants and an undershirt.

“Hey, Mama Ferguson.”

“Y’all decent?”

“Close enough.” He stepped back. “Come on in.”

Self-conscious, she ran her thumb along the platinum band on her left hand as she stepped inside.

She’d kept the ring turned stone side in since she arrived, and so far no one had noticed.

Garment bags were hung hither and yon, with tux jackets and dress shirts peeking out.

Jonah stood at a full-length mirror, fiddling with his tie.

He swung around to face her, his eyes searching hers. “You okay?”

His obvious worry about her erased a little of the anxiety. “Yeah.” She smiled, wanting to put him at ease. “I just wanted to come talk to you for a bit before the ceremony.”

“We can step out,” Holt offered.

“No need. I actually wanted to talk to all three of you.”

Her Momdar registered the faint traces of guilt in the looks they exchanged, and she figured they’d been recruited for at least part of Grey’s plan.

“Did everything go okay last night? I’m sorry I let him ambush you. I thought—well, you needed to talk, and… I just need to know you’re okay.”

The conflicting loyalty in his eyes had her stepping forward, cupping his cheek with her right hand. “I’m fine, baby. Your father and I cleared the air.” And God, what freedom to be able to call Grey what he was. “That actually leads to the thing I wanted to talk to the three of you about.”

Holt and Brax moved in to flank Jonah, brothers in all but blood. Spinning the ring with her thumb, she smiled at their unified front and held up her left hand so the afternoon sun caught the stone. “We’re getting married.”

When none of them said a word, the nerves kicked back up again. With Jonah open to expanding his relationship with Grey, she’d thought he’d be okay with this. But maybe it was too much, too soon?

Before she could think what to say, he broke into a huge grin. “You said yes.”

Holt sagged back against an armchair. “Oh, thank God. Cayla was gonna be so disappointed if the whole thing tanked.”

“Wait, y’all knew Grey was proposing?”

“In broad strokes, yeah,” Brax confirmed. “We helped get everything set up.”

Jonah shoved his hands into his pockets. “We figured we’d done enough of the over-protective routine, and after the talk you and I had, I figured there was a solid chance his plan wasn’t gonna blow up his face.”

Rebecca didn’t know how to feel about the fact that they’d all known what was coming. At the end of the day, it didn’t matter. She’d gotten what she wanted. A second chance with the man she’d always loved.

Another soft knock sounded on the door.

Jonah kept his gaze on hers as he called out, “Come in.”

Grey stuck his head inside. “Everything okay in here?”

“I was just getting confessions from your coconspirators.” She reached out a hand, beckoning him inside.

“Don’t get mad. I couldn’t have pulled it off without them.”

Her heart went to mush that they’d cared enough to help him when she knew their instincts were all about protecting her. “I’m not mad. I’m grateful. And my lipstick is the only thing saving all of y’all from big, messy, noisy kisses of thanks.”

“How about hugs instead?” Brax suggested.

“That I can do. Come here, you.” Because Brax was closest, she started with him.

Holt came next, his ice-blue eyes sparkling with humor.

Jonah rounded things out with a big squeeze. “I’m really glad y’all worked out. And that you can both be here today as my parents.”

Rebecca fanned her face. “This mascara’s waterproof, but damn it, don’t test the limits.”

Grey slid an arm around her waist and pulled her in, pressing a kiss to her temple. “Thanks. We both appreciate that.”

When she thought she had herself under control, she sniffed. “I can take the ring off the rest of the day. We don’t want to do anything to overshadow your day.”

“No. You should absolutely wear it proudly. Tell everybody. You deserve it.”

At the conviction in his tone, she teared up again.

“You mentioned this had something to do with us?” Holt asked.

Rebecca jumped at the distraction. “Oh, well, ordinarily, I’d have bridesmaids, but I’m kind of past that stage of my life. I’m asking Sam to be my matron of honor, but I was hoping that y’all would be my bridesmen.”

All three of them puffed out their chests, their eyes going suspiciously shiny for a few moments.

Jonah swallowed hard. “I think I speak for all of us when I say, we’d be honored.”

“Hell, yes,” Brax added.

“It’d be a privilege,” Holt echoed.

That led to another round of hugs and another wave of happy tears she had to fight off. Lord, she was leaking like a sieve.

“Okay, it’s coming on close to time.” Stepping forward, she reached for Jonah’s tie, adjusting the ends. “I know you can do this yourself, but will you indulge me for today?”

“Sure. There’s just one thing first.” Looking to Grey, he straightened his shoulders. “This wasn’t the original plan, but in light of recent events, it seems fitting. I was hoping you’d stand up there with me today as my best man.”

Grey’s face blanked with shock. His gaze darted to her for a moment of shared awe before turning back to Jonah. He knew as she did that this was a public claiming. She hadn’t been aware Jonah intended to ask him, but she couldn’t imagine anything more perfect.

Grey sucked in a shuddering breath. “There’s nothing I’d like more.” He offered his hand for a manly shake.

Jonah took it, hauling him in for a tight, back-thumping hug.

Damn it, they were really challenging the limits of this waterproof mascara.

Yet another knock interrupted the moment. Cayla called out from the other side. “Nearly time for places, y’all.”

With one last sniff, Rebecca clapped her hands. “Okay, boys, y’all need to finish getting dressed. Jonah, let me get that tie.”

Dutifully, they leapt into action, except for her baby boy, who now towered over her, standing still as a statue as she tied his tie for the most important day of his life.

“I love you, Mom.”

Heart fit to burst, she indulged herself in one last hug before lifting her eyes to his. “I love you more. I’m so damned proud of you. Of the man you’ve become, and the woman you’ve chosen to spend your life with.”

Patting the knot of the tie and adjusting his boutonniere, she forced herself to step back. “Congratulations, baby. I’ll see you on the other side.”