Sweet Talk Boxed Set (Ten NEW Contemporary Romances by Bestselling Authors to Benefit Diabetes Research plus BONUS Novel) (27 page)

BEFORE THAT NIGHT (Summer 2015)

HIS TO LOVE (Summer 2015)

BEFORE THAT KISS (Fall 2015)

HIS TO HOLD (Fall 2015)

BEFORE THAT PROMISE (Winter 2015)

HIS TO KEEP (Winter 2015)

BEFORE THAT CHANCE (Spring 2016)

HIS TO PROTECT (Spring 2016)

--
Coming in 2016 from Penguin Random House --

The FOURTH DOWN Series

JACKSON’S TRUST (Spring 2016)

BENNETT’S CHANCE (Summer 2016)

DONOVAN’S TRUST (Fall 2016)

ABOUT VIOLET DUKE

New York Times
&
USA Today
bestselling author Violet Duke is a former professor of English Education who is ecstatic to now be on the other side of the page writing wickedly fun contemporary romance novels. Her bestselling books have been Top Ten bestsellers across the major e-retailers both in the U.S. and internationally. When she’s not writing or feeding her book-a-day reading addiction, Violet enjoys tackling renovation projects with her power tools, trying pretty much anything without reading the directions first, and cooking ‘special edition’ dishes that laugh in the face of recipes. A born and raised island girl, she spends her days getting into creatively fun trouble in Hawai‘i with her two cute kids (daughter Violet and son Duke) and similarly adorable husband.

***

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ISBN-13: 978-1-941480-14-4

ISBN-10: 1941480144

This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.

PROMISE MY LOVE

All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2015 Melissa Foster

V1.0

This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Cover Design: Natasha Brown

WORLD LITERARY PRESS

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A Note to Readers

Loyal, wealthy, and wickedly naughty, that’s the definition of our Bradens, and Rex Braden never disappoints. His love for Jade Johnson knows no boundaries, as you’ll see in PROMISE MY LOVE, the follow-up novella to DESTINED FOR LOVE (The Bradens, Book Two).

If this is your first Braden book, then you have a whole series of loyal, sexy, and wickedly naughty Bradens to catch up on, as well as several other hot heroes and heroines. You might enjoy starting with SISTERS IN LOVE, the first of the Love in Bloom series. The characters from each series (Snow Sisters, The Bradens, The Remingtons, and Seaside Summers) make appearances in future books. Please visit my website for details on the full Love in Bloom series.

Chapter One

JADE JOHNSON TRIED to concentrate on what Caitlyn Ray, the florist she’d hired for her wedding, was saying, but she couldn’t think past the idea that in three days the handsome cowboy sitting across from her was going to be her husband. Just a few years ago she didn’t think anything would ever end the feud between their two families. Who would have guessed that Rex Braden’s love for Jade would finally bring their stubborn fathers’ walls down so they could be together? Rex had given the feuding men an ultimatum—love them as a couple or lose them forever. Jade hadn’t seen the threat coming, and she’d been terrified of how their fathers would react. She’d loved Rex from afar for almost fifteen years—and because of his courage to stand up to their fathers, she’d been able to love him up close for the last four. She couldn’t wait to spend the rest of her life falling even deeper in love with the most courageous, loving man on the planet.

“The roses, lilies, and orchids will be gorgeous. We have everything under control. Your wedding will be perfect.” Caitlyn flashed a smile that Jade was sure to put most brides’ minds at ease, but Jade was still too excited about marrying Rex to be anywhere near
at ease
.

Rex squeezed Jade’s hand. “See, babe? Caitlyn’s got it covered. Now you can relax.” His hands were big and square and as powerful as the rest of his mountainous body.

Rex was the most beautiful man Jade had ever known, inside and out, a gentleman to his very core. He was also the most seductive, talented lover Jade had ever had. Even after four years, the passion between them hadn’t dimmed. She flushed just thinking about how intense their lovemaking had been that morning, first in the bedroom, then in the shower, and when Jade still hadn’t had enough of him,
she’d
seduced
him
while he attempted to clothe all his magnificent muscles.  She’d never get enough of him. They’d been living together for four years, and she couldn’t wait to get married and start their family. She’d worried lately that she might have trouble getting pregnant. There was no reason for concern. Her doctor had assured her of that when she’d gone off the pill. But still, she worried. Her mother had wanted a big family, as many as six, like her best friend, Adriana Braden—Rex’s mother—had had, but she’d been blessed with only two children, Jade and her brother, Steven. Her mother was in good health otherwise, while Adriana had died of cancer when Rex was just a boy, leaving him and his five siblings to be raised by their father, Hal.

Jade pushed aside the worry and told herself to think positively. She and Rex wanted a big family. But when it came to family, Rex had old-fashioned values, and he’d been clear about his feelings of weddings coming before babies. In three days they’d have that first box checked off. Then time would tell if babies were in their future.

“…so as I was saying, I’m confident that we won’t have any issue.”

Jade realized Caitlyn was speaking to her. “Great. Thank you.”

Caitlyn leaned closer to Rex and pointed to his necklace. “That is the most unique necklace I’ve ever seen.”

Rex pushed his Stetson farther back on his thick black hair, and his lips curved into a proud smile as he touched the charm.

“This necklace has a very special meaning to us. It’s the Dance of Two Lovers.” He draped an arm around Jade’s shoulder and kissed her temple.

“Legend has it that everything in their lives was meant to keep them apart, and against all odds, they found their way to each other. Just like me and Jade. Supposedly, when the two lovers danced, their souls became one, and from that moment on, they lived within each other no matter if they were together or apart.”

He gazed into Jade’s eyes, and the worry she held melted away. He had that effect on her. His love was an elixir, a remedy for all things that needed healing.

“The charms come together to form two bodies intertwined,” Rex explained. “Jade wears the other half, and we never take them off. They were once my mother’s.” The myth fit them perfectly. When Rex and Jade had finally come together, they’d had to carry out their relationship in secret so as not to upset their parents. Until one day when Rex couldn’t take the secrecy anymore—and to Jade’s surprise, the painful confrontation that had taken place between Rex and their parents had finally begun to mend the fence that never should have been broken in the first place.

“May I see yours?” Caitlyn asked.

Jade pushed her long hair from her shoulders and opened the collar of her shirt.

“Um…” Caitlyn’s eyes shifted to Rex.

Rex’s eyes narrowed with confusion. Jade touched her neck. “Oh God.” She felt frantically for the necklace. “Rex? Where is it?” She pulled open her shirt and peered into her bra, then stood and scanned the floor. She couldn’t have lost it. Not now, three days before their wedding. The necklace was a treasured link to Rex’s deceased mother. His father had given the necklace to his mother, and before they’d even been married, she’d given it to a high school friend with the message that she’d know who it was for. More than twenty-five years later, Jade and Rex had walked into an eclectic shop in the Village in Allure, Colorado, and the owner had instinctively known the necklace was meant for them. She’d tucked it away all those years ago when Adriana had given it to her. Jade would never forget the way Rex had lost his breath, broken out in a cold sweat, and collapsed into a chair when he’d seen the necklace. That was the moment he’d confessed that he was falling in love with Jade, and their love had grown stronger ever since. The necklace symbolized the strength of their love, and now it was gone.

Jade had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Rex was on his feet, searching the floor beneath the table where they’d been sitting and then all the way to the front door. “We’ll find it, babe.”

“Maybe it came off in the shower? Mine do that sometimes and I don’t notice until it’s gone down the drai—” Caitlyn bit her lower lip. “Oh, yikes. That’s not helpful. I’m sure that’s not what happened.”

Jade felt her eyes well with tears. “Rex?”

His arms encircled her, and he drew her against his muscular chest. “It’s okay, babe. We’ll find it. We’ll go home and retrace your steps.” At six foot three, Rex towered over Jade. She’d always felt safe in his arms, his heart beating against her cheek, sure and strong. If she’d lost their cherished necklace, she wondered how
he
could ever trust her again.

Her cell phone rang, and she dug it out of her purse. “It’s my mom. Maybe the necklace fell off during dinner last night and she found it.” She answered the call filled with hope.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Honey…” Her mother’s voice was thin, strangled.

“Mom? What’s wrong?” Jade felt Rex’s hand grip her shoulder.

“It’s…your father.”

Her mother paused, and Jade heard her crying. Tears sprang from Jade’s eyes as she imagined the worst. Her father was a big man at three hundred pounds, and she’d feared for his health for a long time.

“Mom? What happened?” She looked up at Rex, and his arms came around her again. Jade listened as her mother told her that her father was in the hospital. He’d had a heart attack. They were still waiting for a prognosis. Jade’s legs weakened, her heart shattered, and the phone crashed to the floor as her world spiraled out of control.

Chapter Two

HOURS AFTER ARRIVING at the hospital, Rex stood beside Earl Johnson’s hospital bed with one arm around Jade, the other around Jane Johnson, Jade’s mother. There was a time when Earl had despised Rex simply because he was Hal Braden’s son. Hal was a highly respected horse breeder in Weston, Colorado, and was one of the wealthiest men around. He and Earl had been close when they were growing up, but when Earl fell on hard times, he’d been too proud to ask Hal for financial help, and he’d gone behind Hal’s back and trusted the dirtiest horse trader in the business—a man who had done everything he could to keep Hal and Adriana apart. Buying horses from that man had been the fuel behind the forty-year feud between the Bradens and the Johnsons. Rex remembered the night he’d stood up to the two men, supported by his brothers standing behind him as a united force.

It had been a long, hard road to reconciliation, but it was worth every heated moment. Now, as Rex held Jade, the woman he loved most in the world, and Jane, the woman who had been his mother’s best friend until the day she’d died—including several years when they’d kept their friendship hidden from their feuding husbands—he couldn’t imagine a life without any of them. Earl was a bullheaded man, but his love for his family was never ending. He’d raised Jade and her brother with morals and purpose, and Rex was reaping the benefits. Jade was the most loving woman he’d ever known. She was smart as a whip and stubborn as a mule, which was good, because Rex was a broody man and he often needed Jade’s gumption to set him straight. He smiled, thinking about how many times her smile had melted his determination. And her touch—holy hell, her seductive touch—he was always putty in her hands.