Page 31 of For the Promise (The Raider Brothers #2)

“It was the perfect plan.” ~ Blossom

Blossom

“W hy do you want to go to the distillery?” Jaxon asks as we drive away from my apartment. “I thought you were hungry.”

“We’ll go to dinner afterwards. For now, I have the best idea.” I nearly cackle. Jaxon is going to win the prank war with the Raider brothers because of this prank. It is the best!

“About the holiday whiskey? I’ve been working on calculations for how long we should keep the blend in the cherry casks.”

“Nope. I have another idea.”

“Another blend?”

I giggle. “Not everything in the world is about whiskey, nerd boy.”

He mock growls at me. “I proved to you I’m not a boy.”

I bat my eyelashes. “Maybe I forgot and need you to prove it again.”

“You’re such a troublemaker.”

“Just wait until you see what I have planned for tonight.”

His cheeks warm and he squirms in his seat. “I don’t think we should have sex in my office again.”

“Why not?”

“Because you broke all my test vials.”

“Me?” I point to myself. “I broke all the test vials?”

“I misspoke. We broke all the test vials.”

I pat his arm. “Don’t worry. We can have sex in your car instead.”

He glances over at me with his mouth gaping open. “You want to have sex in the car?”

I shrug. “I’ve never had sex in a car before.”

“You—”

“Watch out!” I point to the road. “Sammy’s in the street.”

The brakes squeal and my seatbelt pulls tight as we come to a screeching halt. I realize I closed my eyes and open them. I scan the road but there’s no sign of the seal.

“Oh no. I can’t see Sammy.” I fiddle with my seatbelt but can’t get it unlocked. Jaxon reaches over and clicks it open for me. I rush outside.

“Sammy!”

The seal barks and I fall to my knees in front of him. Jaxon’s Mustang is mere feet from where he’s lying in the road.

“You can’t lay in the middle of the road near a curve, Sammy boy.”

If seals could roll their eyes, Sammy would be rolling his at me now. He does what he wants, when he wants. His attitude is not helped by tourists who now visit Smuggler’s Hideaway to catch glimpses of him. There’s even an app for ‘spotting’ the seal.

Jaxon kneels next to me. “I’m sorry, Sammy. I got distracted.” He nods to me. “Look at her. She’s beautiful. It’s hard not to get distracted when she’s near.”

He honks and wags his tail as if he’s in agreement with Jaxon.

“And you call me a troublemaker.” I shake my head. “Calling me beautiful to divert attention from your lack of paying attention to the road. Tsk. Tsk.”

Jaxon palms my neck to draw me near. “You are beautiful, Petal. Have I not told you enough?”

“You can never tell a woman she’s beautiful too often.”

“Duly noted,” he whispers as his head descends toward mine.

“Honk! Honk!”

I startle and fall on my ass at Sammy’s honking. “The seal doesn’t approve of us making out in the middle of the road.”

Jaxon stands and offers me a hand. “He’s probably correct. We should move the car before there’s an accident.”

“Get off the road, Sammy.” Naturally, the seal doesn’t move. He’s stubborn. “Don’t make me call the dog catchers on you.” Threatening to call the dog catchers is the only surefire way to get the stubborn seal to move.

He growls before galumphing off. Once he’s off the road, we return to the car.

“Do you want me to wear a veil so I don’t distract your driving with my beauty?” I ask as Jaxon starts to drive.

“And you wonder why I call you a troublemaker. ”

I giggle. He’s going to think I’m a huge troublemaker after tonight.

We arrive at the distillery and he parks. But when he goes to open his door, I stop him.

“I should probably tell you what we’re doing here.”

He pushes his glasses up his nose. “It would make things easier.”

“I have the best prank idea for you to win the prank war with your brothers.”

He raises a brow. “Tell me.”

I lift the large bag I prepared. “We’re going to shut down the distillery.”

“Shut down the distillery?”

“Yep. The Island Environmental Protection Authority is halting operations due to the distillery fatally disrupting a nesting site for the Spectacled Dune Crab.”

“There is no Island Environmental Protection Authority, and the Spectacled Dune Crab doesn’t exist.”

I pull a crab shell out of my bag. “There isn’t?”

He chuckles. “What’s the plan?”

“I have government seizure notices, yellow tape to bar entry to the building, and crab shells as evidence.”

“I’m finally going to win the prank war.”

“Wrong. We’re going to win the prank war.”

He presses a quick kiss to my lips. “You’re perfect, Petal.”

My heart thuds in my chest. Does this man, who I’m falling for, seriously think I’m perfect? I bite my tongue before I can blurt out how much I love him .

I don’t love him. I’m falling for him. Two entirely different things.

Except when I gaze into his blue eyes, I realize I’m no longer falling. I’ve fallen. I love this man. This nerdy, whiskey obsessed, socially awkward man is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with.

Jaxon brushes the hair from my forehead. “Is something wrong?”

Besides, my terror he won’t choose me? Nope. No problem at all. I force a smile. “Why would anything be wrong?”

“You look like you saw a ghost.”

“Just imagining the sweet, sweet victory when we surprise your brothers.”

I jump out of the car before he can question me more. I’m afraid if he asks too many questions, I’ll confess my love. Which would be a fool move. We’ve barely started dating. He’d hide in his lab with the door locked and barricaded if I declared my love this early.

“I’m thinking the official notice on the door to the offices along with some yellow tape. We’ll put more yellow tape on the garage door entrance to the distillery, along with some crab shells scattered on the ground.”

Once I’ve explained my plan, we get to work. I’m putting the finishing touches on the crab shell ‘evidence’ when I hear a car pull up. I glance over my shoulder. Shit. Eli’s massive SUV is parking next to Jaxon’s Mustang.

“We’re busted!” I throw the extra yellow tape and crab shells in my bag before rushing to Jaxon and grasping his hand. “We came back to the distillery because you had another brilliant idea inspired by me of course and noticed the signs.”

Eli and Paisley approach and I squeeze Jaxon’s hand. “Stick to our story.”

“What are you…” Eli trails off when another car turns into the parking lot.

Who now? This is ridiculous. The one night I decide to prank the distillery all of the Raider brothers show up. Well, not all. I do have one ace in the hole. As in Dakota is keeping Rhett away.

Miles, Zane, and Kai pile out of the second car and make their way to where we’re gathered.

“What’s going on?” Kai asks.

“What are you doing here? Is there a problem?” Jaxon asks. Oh, he’s good. Going on the attack.

“Kai said you were throwing out good whiskey,” Zane answers.

Miles grins. “And we’re here to drink it.”

Jaxon scowls. “I’m not throwing out whiskey.”

Kai points at him. “I saw you.”

Jaxon crosses his arms over his chest. “I do not throw out whiskey.”

“What are you doing here?” I ask Paisley.

“We were … um…” She stutters as her cheeks darken.

“They were here to recreate the night she got pregnant,” Miles answers.

Eli growls. “How do you know?”

He smirks. “I didn’t. But I do now. ”

“I’m hungry,” I announce in an overly loud voice. “You promised me dinner, Jaxon.”

“What’s this?” Eli asks before Jaxon can respond. He rips the notice off of the office door. “We’re being shut down by the Island Environmental Protection Authority for fatally disrupting a nesting site for the Spectacled Dune Crab?”

Miles, Zane, and Kai rush to Eli.

“What the hell is going on? What’s a Spectacled Dune Crab?” Zane asks.

Kai kneels down and picks up one of the shells. “I’m guessing it’s a plastic crab.”

“Plastic?” Miles snatches the shell from Kai. “What’s going on?”

“Now I know why you wanted to borrow my laminating machine today,” Paisley mutters.

I glare at her. “You’re cheating.”

“There is no cheating in a prank war.”

“You weren’t supposed to show up to have sex with Eli in his office.”

She shrugs. “Pregnancy hormones have a significant effect on my libido.”

Kai pushes his way in between us. “Hold on. Prank war? This was a prank?”

Eli waves the notice. “The government seizure notice refers to the shut down of a distastery and not a distillery.”

Miles rips the yellow tape off the door. “And the tape says Party Zone – Caution: Dancing Ahead on the back. ”

Zane holds up his phone. “And I found the Pinterest board Blossom made of prank ideas.”

“Good attempt, Jaxon, but you’re still losing the prank war,” Kai says.

I scowl. “I should at least get some credit for the effort I put into this prank.”

Kai shakes his head at Jaxon. “You forced your wife to think of a prank for you?”

“He didn’t force me. I came up with this idea. Which would have worked if Eli wasn’t horny and you lot didn’t want to drink free whiskey.”

Miles throws his arm around my shoulders. “I, for one, think Blossom did an awesome job.”

“Thank you.”

“But you’re still losing the prank war, little sis.” He winks.

Little sis? My heart nearly gallops out of my chest. I would love to have a bunch of brothers. Any family, really.

“Welcome to the family,” Kai adds.

“Welcome to the zoo is more like it,” Zane mutters, but guessing by the sparkle in his eyes, he loves this particular zoo.

I think I’m going to love it, too. Brothers and a man I love – what more could a girl who’s lost her parents want?