Gently, almost reverently, he pulled off the golden fabric and bared her to his eyes. "So fucking beautiful," he whispered, taking in her rosy-tipped nipples, the gleam of moisture between her legs. He touched her everywhere, swallowed her moans with his kiss, and pushed her thighs far apart as he poised by her dripping entrance.
"Tell me what I need to hear," he demanded, pushing in a few inches before he stopped, relishing the thrash of her head and the jerking lift of her hips. "Tell me."
"I'm yours, Liam. No more running. I love you."
"About damn time."
He pushed in and seated himself deep inside her. Gritting his teeth against the fierce shocks of pleasure, he began to slowly move.
Interlacing his fingers with hers, he took the journey far up, where sensations and pleasure ruled and the connection between them burned bright and hot. Took her to the edge, and kept her there, drinking in her beloved face, thrusting hard, scraping against her clit once, twice, and then--
They shattered. Her cries filled the air, and he pumped his hips, releasing and binding this woman to him forever.
They came down to the reality of desperate barks and whines as the puppies tried frantically to jump on the bed. He pressed his forehead to hers and stroked back her sweat-dampened curls.
"I love you, Isabella MacKenzie."
"I love you, Liam Devine."
"Shall we complete our family?"
She smiled and his heart filled. "Yes."
He scooped up Leia and Han and they rolled and licked, climbing over them in a crazed tangle of joy.
And on his bed, with the woman he loved and the puppies who had stolen his heart, Devine finally felt complete.
epilogue
"NOW, THAT IS an epic love story," Kennedy announced, sipping her apple martini.
"Agreed," Kate and Arilyn chimed in.
Izzy grinned and glanced around the circle. "I think so, too," she sighed. "Not many men would stick around that long."
"Oh, I don't know. Nate put up with a lot of my shit before I had to do something grand and surrender. Of course, I never thought of a gold lame bikini. You're smart, girlfriend."
Her sister laughed and grabbed a piece of pizza. "Izzy doesn't play. When she decides to snare her man, she goes all out."
"Are you ever going to put poor Nate out of his misery and marry him?" Kate asked curiously.
Kennedy grinned. "Yep. In fact, I'm planning to ask him to marry me. It's going to be major. I figure he's waited for me long enough, and I'm ready for the ring on my finger and a white dress."
Kate jumped up and down, and Arilyn blinked away her tears. Izzy and Gen clapped with glee. "I'm so happy for you," her friends said, giving her a quick hug.
"Thanks, guys. I'm still freaking out but in a good way. I'm so grown-up now. Kate, are my martinis so bad you don't want to even try them?"
A blush stained Kate's pale skin. "Well, umm."
Arilyn gasped. "Oh. My. God."
Kennedy stared. "Are you?"
Kate nodded. "I'm pregnant!" she burst out.
Another round of squealing, hugs, and threatening tears came over them. Finally, they all settled back in, chattering nonstop.
They were all seated at the bungalow, sitting cross-legged in a big circle. The puppies had finally been put to sleep in Izzy's room, passed out from too much excitement with all the company. Kate and Arilyn had brought over Robert and Pinky to play, but the puppies had exhausted even them. Now the dynamic duo snored in the corner, with Pinky curled up on Robert's back, her small head perched in between the pit bull's ears.
Two pizzas plus an array of cocktails lay in the center of the circle. Music played in the background and Magic Mike XXL was muted on the television. It was a perfect night with all the women Izzy loved.
"So, is it time to talk about the love spell?" Genevieve finally asked.
The women all shared a look. Izzy gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth. "I forgot about that!"
"You did it, right?" Gen asked suspiciously.
"Of course--a promise is a promise. But honestly, you don't all really believe in that stuff, do you? I mean, Earth Mother?"
Silence fell. Arilyn finally spoke up. "Umm, I kind of do. I mean, I think it's mixed with the power of harnessing our secret desires and putting it into the universe, but it worked. For every single one of us. Did it work for you, Izzy?"
Her eyes widened. Shock hit her. She remembered every single one of the traits on her secret list. As she mentally checked them off, she realized Liam was the exact match of every single one. No. Not possible. Was it?
Yet she'd met him right after the list was created. How odd.
"Okay, yes, he's everything on my list," she admitted. "I just don't know if I'm ready to promote Earth Mother and love spells."
"And that is why no one else gets the book," Kennedy announced. "It served our purpose. We all found love. Now we need to destroy it."
"I don't know," Kate said worriedly. "What if Earth Mother gets pissed and reverses the spells and our perfect men become monsters?"
Gen shuddered. "I agree with Kate. Why don't we just hide it somewhere? Or give it to a used-book store?"
"Izzy, do you still have it?"
"Yep." She got up, scooped it off of the bookcase, and returned to the circle. The purple fabric cover looked innocent enough, but they all knew what lay between the pages.
Kate shuddered. "I can't touch it--gives me a shock."
Izzy tilted her head. "Do you still feel a jolt when you touch two people meant to be together, Kate?"
Her friend's grin was full of mischief. "Yep. And I felt it with you, Izzy. You and Liam."
"What?"
"Yep. That day you did his intake, I touched both of you and that's why I fell on my ass."
Izzy gasped. "But you tried to set Liam up with that awful Brittany woman from Kinnections."
"It was just a setup to push you toward him. I knew you were fighting it. Figured you could use a bit of help."
Kennedy burst into laughter. "Nice move, dudette. I love your quiet manipulations. Now, I know we agreed to never talk about it, but it's just us in the circle. I know you felt the connection between me and Nate, and Liam and Izzy. What about Arilyn and Gen?"
"Confirmed. Now I'm happy to say hopefully I'm done getting electrocuted when we all party together. Maybe I can officially retire from being a subconscious witch."
Arilyn pointed to the book. "What's the agreement, then? The book helped all of us. It deserves to be taken care of, maybe for another generation."
"Maybe you're right," Kennedy said.
"I found it at the secondhand bookstore," Kate said. "What if we wrap it up and send it out to another bookstore?"
"But which one?"
Arilyn grabbed her laptop. "I'll type in a search and we'll pick one at random. That way, the universe can work in the way it wants, and we've safely delivered it back out there."
"Love it," Gen squealed.
Izzy laughed. She still wasn't sure if she believed in any of it, but she adored her friends and would back them in anything. Even a love spell.
"How about the Ripped Bodice? It's actually a store that just sells romance novels! What do you think?"
"Hmm, even if they didn't want it, they respect books and would find a good home for it. Let's do it," Kate said.
"Great. I'll take it and send it tomorrow."
Arilyn took the book and stuck it in her purse, then rejoined the circle. "I'm so happy, guys," she sighed, looking around. "You know, I think we've all found what we've been searching for, haven't we? I really love you all."
Kennedy groaned. "A, you always get mushy when you drink."
"No, she's right," Kate jumped in. "This is special what we have. I propose a toast."
Izzy raised her cranberry and seltzer and touched her glass to the group.
"To love."
"To friendship."
"To us."
They clinked glass
es and drank to the future, and to each other.
And to happy ever afters.
acknowledgments
WOW. THIS IS GOING to be a bit longer than my usual spiel. Let's get to it!
A big cyber-hug to my editor for guiding me through this entire Searching For series and loving it as hard as I do. Your advice was always stellar, and writing this final installment was bittersweet.
Thanks to the Gallery/Pocket crew for supporting the series in a variety of ways and being willing to try new things to reach readers. Thanks to my agent, Kevan Lyon, for all her guidance.
Special thanks to Maybelline Smith from the Probst Posse for helping me name my cute puppy terrors, Han Solo and Leia--it was perfect!
The Searching For series is close to my heart. I've been living with these characters nonstop for four years, and they've become my family. Writing Searching for Disaster was an amazing experience I don't think will be repeated. The words flowed out of me until I couldn't sleep or eat or do anything but write. So write I did, and I finished this book in ten beautiful, glorious days. Then collapsed.
I explored many themes in this series, from stuttering and eating disorders to drug and alcohol addiction, animal rescue, and emotional abuse. Each subject I tackled with reverence, research, and experience. Writing real and broken characters has always fascinated me, and I will continue to explore these areas in my future novels.
Thank you to all the readers who embraced these special women from Kinnections and followed their journey toward happy ever after. I feel like I'm a better person for writing this series, and I hope you continue to recommend these books to your friends.
May love and friendship continue to bless all of your lives.
Keep reading for a sneak peek at Raven's story in
any time,
any place
Book two in the Billionaire Builders series
Coming January 2017!
prologue
RAVEN BELLA HAWTHORNE watched the casket drop into the ground. The rain caused the hole to look slippery, almost like a mud hill. When she was younger, she probably would've looked at the slope as a great adventure, letting out a big war-type chant while she hurled herself down over the edge as if it were a giant Slip 'N Slide. She'd climb out with a big grin, mud crusted on every part of her body, and her father would shake his head and try to scold her. Meanwhile, his dark eyes would glint with laughter, and Raven would know she wasn't really in trouble.
But now, her father was in the hole. She'd never see that sparkling humor, or hear his deep belly laugh, or listen to one of his lectures in that gravelly voice that reminded her of a big papa bear.
Because her father was dead.
Aunt Penny squeezed her hand, but Raven hardly felt it. The cold chill of rainwater seeped into her skin and her soul, burrowing deep inside and making a permanent home to rest. The crew of men in black suits with bowed heads recited a prayer as the casket disappeared for good.
People threw roses in the hole. One weeping woman clutched her rosary. The priest concluded the prayer service, telling Raven and everyone else not to grieve, because Matthew Albert Hawthorne was in heaven with the angels and was finally, mercifully at peace.
Raven stared at the priest. At the mishmash of distant relatives she barely knew and friends who seemed more focused on the scandal surrounding her father's death than on her. No, other than Aunt Penny, she was truly alone. And she didn't feel grateful, or happy, or humbled her father was with God.
Instead, Raven was filled with rage.
Her beloved father, who had been her entire world, was a liar and a cheat. The man who dragged her to church on Sundays and lectured her on saving her body for love and being kind to others and always believing she'd accomplish great things in this world had abandoned his only daughter to run away with another woman. A stranger.
If it hadn't been for the red light, her father and that woman would be in Paris, building a new life away from their children. Instead, they were both dead, lying in the cold, damp ground while she dealt with the stinging slap of betrayal. For the first time, Raven knew what it was to hate.
She hated her father. She hated the woman who had stolen him away. She hated the three sons the woman had left behind, sons who spread evil words about Matthew luring their innocent mother away, painting him as a charming manipulator who cared nothing about the bonds of family.
Her father's once spotless reputation now lay in tatters around her. People gossiped and stared and whispered behind raised hands about the single father who'd ruined two families by seducing the matriarch of Pierce Brothers Construction. Somehow, some way, Diane Pierce had become a martyr. Which made Matthew Hawthorne the only villain of the story.
So Raven hated and burned for revenge while she stood in the rain, nodding at well-wishers. She listened to Aunt Penny thank the endless line of people for offerings of food, prayers, and help in their effort to feel validated during someone else's tragedy. Finally Raven walked to the limousine and slid onto the smooth leather seat. As they pulled away toward her new life, Raven had only one thought:
Payback was going to be a bitch.
chapter one
DALTON LOOKED AT the table in front of him and frowned.
It was all wrong.
Frustration nipped at his nerves. Sweat dripped down his chest, and the familiar scents of varnish and sawdust rose to his nostrils. He rubbed his head, staring at the sharp curves and clawed feet of the dining room table he was restoring for the Ryans. The lines were right. His hands trailed lightly and lovingly over the top and down each leg, sensing the quality wasn't the problem. Dropping to his knees, he crawled underneath to check further, but there were no skips and the grains were full and smooth. The shape was perfect. Then what was niggling at his gut that something was completely off?
He rolled to his feet, backed up, and looked at the table in the light.
Too dark. The Brazilian walnut finish blended into blackish tones.
All wrong.
The voice whispered from within, and as usual, he didn't question where the answers came from. He just followed where they led. His clients had insisted on the darkest finish possible for their new antique find, and if he rebelled against those instructions he'd be taking some heat.
From both the Ryans and his brothers.
And as usual, he ignored the warning, choosing to follow his gut.
It needed a softer finish. Brazilian chestnut would work. The color was fuller, which would round out the angles to illuminate the gorgeous curves and elegant dignity of the antique. They'd chosen wrong, but if he did it the right way, they'd agree.
Maybe.
He pushed away the doubt, grabbing the towel to wipe his stained hands and guzzle some water. The low hum of the central air wrapped him within the perfect temperature. He didn't mind the cloying humidity outside, since he was used to some sticky Northeast summers. But his precious wood needed care, and it did best under steady conditions. Humidity was known to warp grains. Sometimes he needed to protect the raw materials from Mother Nature's occasional temper, and he had no problem embracing artificial environments.
His brothers would make fun of him for that thought, so he'd never shared it. Just like he'd be taking their shit when he called the Ryans to tack on an extra day to deliver the table. Too often they perceived him as flighty and irresponsible. The three of them might co-own Pierce Brothers Construction, but it was obvious Caleb and Tristan still didn't believe Dalton could handle his part in the business. The past year had been rough, and they'd all grown much closer, yet Dalton noticed Cal and Tristan still treated him like an annoying younger brother. Sure, they respected his talent with woodworking, but they still refused to acknowledge his contribution to the bottom line.
They drove him batshit crazy.
He shook his head and trudged over to the workbench. He began cleaning up his tools, kicking up another cloud of sawdust. Dalton thought over the past year and how fa
r they'd all come. When he'd first learned of his father's death and the will that forced him to move back to Harrington, Connecticut, to run the family business with his two older brothers, he'd been pissed off and betrayed. He'd been happy in California, starting up his own business and free from his father's brutal ways. Christian Pierce had ruled his family like an old Roman king--his way or no way at all. He'd refused to allow any changes in the business, and the only softness in the boys' lives had been their beloved mother, who'd kept the family together.
Until the fatal car crash that not only took her life, but broke Dalton's heart and shattered his hope that anything would ever be okay again.
Everything he'd believed in crumbled and left him in ruins. Diane Pierce had been the force that made them whole. Learning she'd run away with a strange man, leaving her family behind, crippled them all. The two one-way tickets to Paris confirmed the betrayal. The only way to get through it was to imagine she'd been conned by the man who'd burned in the car beside her. Of course, he'd never get the answers he sought. They had all died with her, as had everything good and gentle and pure in his life.
After that, a perfect storm of horrific events tore them all at the seams until there was nothing left but anger and pain between them. Dalton fled to California, Tristan settled in New York, and Caleb remained behind to work with their father.
He tightened his grip on his saw. Five years and they'd barely spoken. Once so close to them, Dalton had lived in a void, as if he didn't have a family, until he got the news that Christian Pierce had died of a heart attack. When he'd returned for his father's funeral, the will had made fools of them all. Christian's will decreed all three of them needed to run Pierce Brothers at a profit for one year, or the business would be sold off. When Cal begged Dalton and Tristan to help, they reluctantly agreed, but it was a rough year, full of painful revelations and lingering resentment. They'd somehow managed to slowly rebuild until they'd become a family again.
When the year was up, Dalton made his choice to stay. His vision of running Pierce Brothers as a full partner filled him with pride and ambition. Now he was able to stand proudly next to Caleb and Tristan and call it a real family business. Caleb oversaw the new builds as the main contractor. Tristan dealt with real estate, design, and flipping houses. And Dalton was lucky enough to do what his life calling had always been: work with wood. Building pieces from scratch into treasured and beautiful objects soothed something within his soul. His hands were an extension of creativity and nurturing, and each piece was unique and special, as if he'd just stepped away from the wood to allow it to reveal the heart. The brothers had finally found their rhythm, and Pierce Brothers Construction had leapt to stellar status once again.