Accidental Mail Order Bride by J. S. Cooper

Chapter Twenty-Three

I feltfull and happy as I brushed my teeth and got ready for bed. It had been an amazing evening. We’d had barbecue rings and flank steak with potato salad and coleslaw, garlic bread, apple pie, ice cream, and there had been laughter and joy filling the yard. Amelia and Ranger had been the perfect hosts, and Beau, Austin, and Wyatt had kept us all entertained. Sadie, Olivia, and I had laughed and sung and danced the night away, and I’d really felt like I was part of a family.

It was weird thinking that I hadn’t known any of these people, aside from Olivia, just a couple of weeks ago. They felt like they’d always been a part of my life. They were the part that had been missing, and yet, as I put my toothbrush down, I felt sad because my mom would never get to meet them in person and I knew my mom would have loved the family. She would have been the first one dancing along, doing the two-step in the backyard, laughing, drinking, and being merry. I felt sad, but then I took a deep breath.

I could feel my mom’s presence and spirit around me. She wanted me to be happy. She wanted me to live my life. A part of me had been worried about leaving New York. A part of me had thought that I wouldn’t remember her if I wasn’t in the city that we’d always lived in together, but I’d been wrong to worry because I felt more alive and happy in Montana than I’d ever felt anywhere else in my life.

I love the city. I loved going shopping. I love putting on makeup. I love doing my hair, but it didn’t matter here. I still liked to look good, but I didn’t have to wear the latest fashions and buy the coolest handbags and shoes. I didn’t have to keep up with people who had far more money than me. People who would judge me if I didn’t have the right reservations for the right restaurants. It didn’t matter here. There was one bar in town, and everyone went there and no one cared if you were rich or poor. There were hard-working people, and that was what life was all about. It was about enjoying being with the ones that you loved.

I walked over to the bed and sat down. All of a sudden, an urge to say a prayer came to me. I hadn’t said a prayer in years. Not since I was a child when my mother and I would kneel by the side of my bed and thank God for keeping us both happy and healthy. It wasn’t that I no longer believed in God. It was just that I’d fallen out of the habit of saying prayers. I’ve fallen out of the habit of being thankful, but I was thankful.

I didn’t know what was going to happen to me. I didn’t know where my life was going. I didn’t even know how long I’d get to stay in Montana, but I did know that I was going to enjoy every second of it, and when I had to leave, if I had to leave, I would just be grateful to have met this loving family. I loved Amelia and Ranger as if they were my own parents, and Austin, well, he took my breath away. Beau was funny and charming, and Wyatt was a hoot, and Sadie, even though she and Wyatt weren’t together yet, I knew she’d make the perfect sister-in-law.

I was about to get on my knees and say the Lord’s prayer when I heard a knock on the door. Thinking it was Olivia, I got up and opened it with a wide smile on my face. “Hey, I was just about to—” I stopped.

It wasn’t Olivia there, but shirtless Austin. I swallowed hard.

“Can I come in?” His voice was husky.

“Okay.” I nodded opened the door wider and he walked in. He looked me over in my short shorts and t-shirt and grinned.

“You look cute.”

“You too.” I tried not to stare at his Batman boxer shorts as they were going to make me laugh. Instead, I kept my gaze pinned to his muscular chest. He had a six-pack and I just wanted to run my hands down it. He was ripped. I guess that’s what came from working on the farm.

“So, did you miss me?” he asked.

“What do you mean, did I miss you?”

“When I was gone? Did you miss me?”

“You weren’t even gone for very long,” I said, “Why would I miss you?”

“You didn’t think about me?”

“I did wonder why you left without telling me. I mean, one night you were in my room, and we were talking, and the next morning, I wake up and you’re gone. You didn’t even tell me.”

“Did that upset you?”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to get from me, Austin.”

“I’m trying to figure out if you like me,” he said, a goofy expression on his face.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I’m trying to figure out if you like me as much as I like you.”

“You like me?”

“What do you think, Lucy? You’re driving me crazy. Of course I like you. Would I be kissing you and sneaking into your room if I didn’t like you?”

“I don’t know. I thought you were just testing me or just doing something weird.”

“You thought I was testing you by sneaking into your room and kissing you?”

“Well, I don’t know.”

“I like you, Lucy. I think you’re beautiful. I think I’ve told you that before. I think you’re funny. I think …” He paused. “Well, I don’t want to give all my secrets away.”

“You think I’m beautiful, huh?”

“You know that. You’re the most beautiful woman in the world.”

“I’m not the most beautiful woman in the world, but thank you.”

“In my eyes, you are.”

“You don’t have to be so sweet, Austin. I’m not used to this.”

“I’m not used to being sweet, either.” He made a face. “When you grow up with six brothers, you’re not really dispositioned to be sweet.”

“I guess you get it from your mama.”

“Maybe,” he laughed. “So, we should talk.”

“Talk about what?”

“Well, you obviously can’t be with Beau.”

“Oh,” I swallowed, “I don’t know. I mean, I don’t want to disappoint your mom, and maybe I haven’t given Beau enough of a chance.”

His face darkened. “Are you joking, Lucy? You don’t feel anything for Beau.”

“I mean, I like you, but your mom really thinks that Beau and I have a connection. I overheard her telling your dad that she actually thinks we’re falling in love and that there’s going to be a wedding between me and Beau, and I love your mom already. I know that sounds really weird because I’m new to your family and I don’t really know you guys that well, but I’d hate to break her heart.”

“But you’d be okay breaking my heart?”

“Breaking your heart? Really?” My eyes narrowed as I stared at him. Was he telling me that he loved me?

“I’m just saying,” he shrugged and turned towards the door. “But hey, if that’s your decision.”

“Wait.” I placed my hand on his shoulder and I turned him around. “Look at me, Austin.”

“What?”

“Do you love me?” I asked quietly, staring into his big green eyes. He grabbed my hand and placed it over his heart.

“Can you feel my heartbeat?” he whispered.

“Yeah.” His heart was racing faster than I’d ever felt a heart racing before. “Are you okay? Should it be beating that fast?”

“It beats that fast for you, Lucy Kensington.”

And I knew then the answer to my question. He didn’t even have to say the words. I pressed my lips close to his and we kissed. His hands ran through my hair and I pressed my body against his, loving the warm hardness of him. He wrapped his arms around me and held me even closer, and I felt comforted and protected the way I’d always wanted to feel in a man’s arms, yet had never felt in my life before. His hand slipped down to my ass and squeezed and I moaned as he pushed his hard cock against my stomach.

“I want you, Lucy,” he groaned.

I stared into his eyes and ran my hands down his back, loving the feel of his silky skin. “Oh, Austin. I want you too, but …”

“But what?”

Without waiting for a reply, he led me to the bed and pulled me down next to him. He pulled my t-shirt off and before I knew it, my bra was off as well. I flicked my fingertips lightly against his nipples, relishing the way he groaned in response. His lips moved down along my collarbone as his tongue traced a line along my hot skin. His mouth found my nipples and he sucked. I moaned as his finger slipped inside my panties and he started rubbing my clit. He grunted as he felt my wetness and slipped a finger inside of me. My body quivered with need.

I wanted this man so badly. How could I even pretend to anyone that he wasn’t the one that I wanted? How could I even pretend for a second that Austin Hamilton wasn’t the one that I needed to be with? I was going to have to tell Amelia that she’d gotten it wrong. I was going to have to tell her that Beau wasn’t the one for me and that in fact, I felt that maybe Beau and Olivia had a connection.

How crazy was that? Here was Amelia thinking that Beau and I were about to get married, but instead I was with Austin, wanting nothing more than to feel him inside of me and wanting to hook up my best friend with Beau. It was twisted. It was weird, but it was what it was.

“I think Olivia likes Beau,” I whispered.

Austin looked down at me. “What?”

“I said, I think Olivia might like Beau.”

“You’re joking, right?” He pulled my shorts down and my panties.

“No, I’m not joking. I really do think so.”

“So then why are you saying that you still think you should be with him?”

“I’m not saying that I think I should be with him. I just …” I gasped as I felt his lips on my stomach, moving down. He spread my legs apart and traced the edges of my pussy with his tongue. Then his hot mouth covered my clit and sucked. Heat curled and build in my belly. “Oh, Austin,” I groaned as I reached down and squeezed his shoulder.

“So, what were you saying about Beau?”

His eyes looked up at me with a wink, and I just shook my head. I couldn’t talk. I didn’t have time to say anything. My brain couldn’t process. He just chuckled and I felt his tongue sliding inside of me. I placed my heels on his shoulders and he fucked me with his tongue so good and so hard that my entire body trembled. I was here for this. I needed this, and if I’d even doubted for a second that Austin was the one that I wanted, all those doubts were gone as he made love to me with his tongue. I’d never felt anything as passionate and as sweet as this. I’d never felt my body on fire like this. I didn’t care what happened next. I needed Austin. I needed him more than I’d ever needed anyone in the world.