Brazen Read online

  “Her what?” he asked, taken aback, his voice coming out harsher than he meant.

  Looking embarrassed and upset, she began to backtrack. “Oh, nothing really. It’s nothing. I just thought you knew.”

  “Knew what?” he pressed.

  She bit her bottom lip nervously and wrung her fingers together. “It’s just…well…”

  “What is it, Lila?”

  “I heard her and her friends talking at the food tent last week, and from what I understand they talked her into playing with Mr. Indecent—you—until her Mr. Decent came along. I thought you knew. I’m sorry.”

  After Lila explained what she overheard, a knot tightened his stomach. Adam instantly thought back to what Reece had said and realized how much it fit in to Lila’s theory. Josie was waiting for her Mr. Right to come along. He knew Josie’s friends had put her up to the firefighting demonstration, and had wondered about the kissing booth as well. Was Lila right? Was he simply a distraction until her Mr. Right came along?

  Just then he caught a glimpse of Errol sneaking out of the sultan’s tent, and his world went a little fuzzy around the edges, his gut warning that something wasn’t quite right. Suddenly, the hairs on his nape began to tingle, and for some odd reason his thoughts raced back to Dresden’s Bluff, to when he had the sneaking suspicion that the old man had been trying to lure him there. As his mind raced, trying to puzzle things out, he excused himself from Lila—who looked completely distraught—and went in search of Errol, determined to find out what he was up to.

  A short while later he found him inside the beer tent, a sly grin on his face as he shared a beer with his buddies, Byron and Harold. When he approached, the three glanced up, and from the mischief in their eyes, Adam knew they were in cahoots about something, and he was smart enough to know it had everything to do with Josie and him.

  “Errol,” he said, eyeing him suspiciously. “You’ve got some explaining to do.”

  With that Harold and Byron quickly finished off their beers and excused themselves, leaving Errol to fend for himself.

  Errol poked Adam with his cane. “Have a seat, lad.”

  Adam folded his arms and widened his legs. “I think I’ll stand.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  “You want to tell me what’s going on?”

  “Ain’t nothing going on,” Errol hedged.

  Adam blew a heavy sigh and pressed. “Come on, Errol. I saw you sneaking out of the psychic’s tent. What are you up to?”

  Clucking his tongue, Errol said, “Suppose it don’t matter now.” He glanced at his watch and added, “Festival’s over in one hour and it looks like I won’t have to buy the rum for the next month.” He winked and added, “You had me worried for a bit there, boy.”

  “What are you going on about?”

  “You and Josie.”

  Adam braced himself. “What about us?”

  “You’re a couple, ain’t ya? A hot item, as the teens around these parts say.”

  Adam angled his head, wondering exactly what he was getting at. “And…”

  “And well, now I ain’t stuck buying the rum.”

  “Can you tell me what the hell that has to do with Josie and me?”

  That question earned him a scowl. “For a smart guy, you’re kinda dense,” Errol said, shaking his head.

  Thinking about Hauk and Vic’s recent union, not to mention Reece and Tabby’s love affair, and having always felt the old men had something to do with bringing those couples together, he questioned, “What have you done, Errol? Why were you in the psychic’s booth?”

  “Cause sometimes you youngins need a hand.”

  “Errol,” he warned.

  “It’s no big deal. I just told Madame M to tweak her reading.”

  He waited for Errol to continue, but when he turned his attention to his beer as if the conversation was over, Adam pressed, “Keep going.”

  Errol rolled his eyes. “She told you that you’d fall for a girl with the initials J.C.W., right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well that was the tweak, lad.”

  Perplexed and trying to sort things through, he thought about what Reece had told him, that Madame M had given Josie the initials of the man she’d marry and they weren’t Adam’s. “What I don’t get is, why did Madame M give Josie initials that weren’t mine?”

  Looking thoroughly confused, Errol’s glossy eyes widened. “I don’t know, lad. I didn’t have anything to do with Josie’s reading. Was only messing with yours. Someone had to open your eyes. How else could I get you to go for it with Josie? You avoided her like she was a damn storm at sea when I knew all along how right ya both were for each other.”

  While Errol continued to drone on, Adam faltered backward, feeling physically ill. His mind shifted, sorting through all the events of the past week, not to mention what Lila had just told him.

  When the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place, he dropped down into a chair, his knees giving out on him.

  “You okay, boy?” Errol asked.

  Adam shook his head, pretty certain he’d never be okay again because the psychic had been right about him falling for Josie and finding happiness. Those things had happened. But what if she was right about Josie too? What if she was supposed to fall in love, marry and find happily ever after with a man who didn’t have his initials? And what if she was simply biding her time with him until her Mr. Right came along? Jesus. Adam never would have gone for it with her if the psychic hadn’t planted the idea in his mind in the first place. Christ, here he thought it was fate that had brought them together, when in fact it was Errol and his meddling.

  Old insecurities and fears rushed to the surface. Maybe it really was impossible to change his ways. Maybe the Collins boys would always be a product of their father, unable to change their lives, their fate. If that was the case, would he only end up hurting Josie in the long run?

  The only thing he’d ever wanted was for Josie to be happy and he never, ever wanted to hurt her, which was the reason he’d always avoided her in the first place.

  Josie deserved to be with the man meant for her. Yes, he wanted her, and hadn’t looked at a woman since he’d been with her, but for how long would that last? It was possible he’d revert back to his old ways because he had his father’s blood in him. From the way Josie looked at him, he knew she had feelings for him, even if this affair started out as a distraction until her Mr. Right came along. So maybe he could convince her he was the man for her. But if they weren’t really meant to be together for the long haul, was he going to risk her true happiness for his own selfish purposes?

  Chapter Eight

  Josie climbed out of the dunk tank, soaking wet and cold as the last of the afternoon sun went behind a cloud. Laughing as Hauk cheered in victory, she glanced around, looking for Adam, but when her gaze came up empty and she saw Errol standing there watching her, a forlorn look on his face, her heart sank into her stomach.

  She grabbed her towel, wiped her face and made her way toward him. But as she approached, a movement behind him drew her focus. Craning her neck, she looked past his shoulders, and what she saw soured her stomach and had her blood pounding.

  Oh God. No.

  Errol caught hold of her hand as she watched Adam turn his back on her, two pretty girls flanking him as he sauntered away, moving in the direction of his house.

  Confused and not understanding what was happening—after all, things had been going so good between them and Adam hadn’t glanced at another woman since they’d been together—she looked at Errol, her damp eyes questioning.

  “Josie, I…I…” he said, his voice broken.

  Barely able to comprehend what was going on, she shook her head. “What…?”

  Errol squeezed her hand tighter and she saw real sadness on his face. “Dangit, girl. The lad don’t know what he’s doing.”

  “What happened?” she rushed out.

  “All I wanted to do was show him how good you two
could be together.”

  The bile in her stomach pushed into her throat. “What did you do?”

  Josie stood there, her towel pressed against her damp body as Errol confessed everything, explaining how he and his buddies had meddled once again, and now, after finding out what they’d done, Adam believed Josie and he weren’t really meant to be together.

  Once he was done confessing, Josie drew a deep breath, and while she knew she should’ve been enraged that Adam had just walked off with two women, she was actually touched. Because in her heart she knew who Adam was, and knew who he wasn’t. He was a wonderful, amazing and caring man—a man nothing like his father—and he’d only turned his back on her because he was afraid of hurting her.

  How could she not love and fight for a man like that?

  “I have to go,” she said to Errol, and with that she wrapped the towel around her shivering body and made her way to Adam’s house.

  Less than ten minutes later she stood on his front porch, banging on his door, refusing to give up on him.

  When he opened it, looking lost and lonely, her heart ached for him. She looked past his shoulders. “Do you have company?”

  “Josie, listen—” he began, but stopped when he noticed her wet clothes. A flood of emotions passed over his eyes as he pulled her inside and slammed the door shut, his gaze tortured as his glance moved over her shivering body. “You’re freezing. You need to get out of these clothes.”

  Her heart tightened with the love she felt for him, and his concern for her well-being touched her deeply. She drew a breath to clear her thoughts and asked again, “Do you have company?”

  He gave a hard shake of his head. “No. But you don’t understand.”

  Her heart soared because this only proved that the girls were for show only, to get her to turn her back on him. She poked Adam in the chest. “No. You don’t understand.”

  His gaze moved over her face, assessing her. “I know your friends put you up to sleeping with me.”

  Taken aback, she blew a long breath and rushed on to explain. “I’ll admit things started out that way, but I fell in love with you. You must know that.”

  He raked shaky hands through his mussed hair, and despite her confession of love, she could feel him trying to distance himself emotionally.

  “Josie, you know my reputation, you know about the Collins curse.”

  “What I know is that you’re an amazing man, Adam. I believe in you, so why can’t you believe in yourself?”

  Sadness passed over his eyes and he pitched his voice low when he said, “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  Warmth moved through her and she stepped close to him. “I know. And that’s why I love you.”

  She watched him soak in her words, watched the way need flashed in his eyes. “But the psychic, she’s been right about everything so far, what if she’s right about the man you’re supposed to be with? The man with the initials that aren’t mine.”

  She drew a shaky breath. “So you know about that too?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I don’t care what she says.” She wrapped her arms around Adam. “I love you, Adam, and that’s all that matters.”

  Looking confused and vulnerable, he crushed his hands into her hair. “Oh God, Josie. I love you so much it scares me.”

  With that, Adam kissed her, a deep, passionate kiss that spoke of want and longing and had her needing more.

  “Let’s go to your bedroom,” she whispered.

  He slipped his arm under her and carried her down the hall. When they reached his bedroom, he set her down beside his bed, and the silence that hung over them as they both undressed was profound, and not the least bit uncomfortable.

  She looked at his gorgeous body as he shed his clothes, and when he climbed between the sheets and pulled back the blankets for her, she slipped in beside him.

  With a gentle touch, Adam pushed her hair off her face, then ran his hands over her body to warm her. “Baby, I don’t ever want to hurt you,” he admitted, his voice shaky.

  “You won’t,” she assured him, her lips finding his. “I believe in you, Adam.” Her hands slid over his naked body, touching, exploring, unable to get enough of him. “I honestly don’t care what that psychic said. Everything about us feels right,” she said, emotion thickening her voice. “I want to be with you and I don’t care if your initials aren’t J.A.D.”

  She felt him stiffen beneath her hands, and his voice sounded strangled when he said, “No. You’re wrong, Josie. The psychic was right.”

  When she inched back and caught the incredulous look on his face, Josie’s heart missed a beat, wondering what she’d said. Fearing he was about to pull away from her again, she slipped her arm around his shoulder and held him to her.

  “Adam, wait—”

  A smile split his face. “Josie, don’t you see? I’m J.A.D.”

  Confused, she shook her head. “What?”

  “I was named after my father. Jack Adam Dempsey.”

  Josie’s eyes widened. She was hardly able to believe what she was hearing. “Oh. My. God.”

  “After my father skipped town, my mother started calling me by my middle name, and she changed our last name back to her maiden name of Collins.”

  Josie searched her mind, but it had happened so long ago, when they were only kids, that she’d forgotten that. “The psychic couldn’t have known that. She must have been right after all.” When his lips found hers again, her heart filled with joy. “So it really was fate that brought us together,” she said between kisses.

  Adam pulled back and grinned. “Actually, I think it was Errol and his meddling that brought us together.”

  Josie laughed. “I think you might be right.”

  Adam groaned and raked his hands through his hair. “And now he feels bad because he thinks he’s ruined everything, doesn’t he?”

  “Do you think we should go find him and put him out of his misery?”

  Adam furrowed his brow. “Actually, I think we should let him suffer a few more hours. After all, he’s not supposed to be meddling.” Climbing on top of her, Adam pushed his cock against her leg. “Besides, I have other more urgent matters pressing right now.”

  Josie opened her legs for him, welcoming him into her body, heart and soul. “Yes, I believe you do.”

  Adam quickly sheathed himself, then in one quick thrust entered her, pushing open her tight walls and making her feel so gloriously full and happy.

  She held on tight as she murmured, “I love you, J.A.D.”

  “And I love you, J.C.D.”

  “J.C.D.?” she asked, angling her head, confused. “My last name begins with a W, not a D.”

  “Only until you marry me.”

  Her eyes widened in joy. “Adam,” she choked out.

  As Adam looked at her, she could feel his love reach out to her. He swallowed, and said, “That is, if you’ll have me.”

  She pulled his mouth to hers, happier than she’d ever been in her life. “How could I say no to a man who makes me burn the way you do?”

  “So that’s the only reason you want me then, for my body,” he teased, breaking the kiss as he pulled out an inch.

  Josie laughed and tightened her legs around his ass, driving him back inside her. “Well, for one part in particular,” she returned, moaning as he impaled her.

  He brushed his lips over hers and murmured, “You really are a bad girl, Josie.”

  “And you’re my bad boy, Adam. Today. Tomorrow. Forever,” she said, and when he realized it meant she was accepting his proposal, he gave her a hot, soul-searing kiss, one that branded her brazen heart and told her she’d finally found her Mr. Right. And as luck would have it, her Mr. Indecent was a very decent man.

  And she wouldn’t want it any other way.

  Epilogue

  “Here’s to another round of successful meddlin’,” Byron said, holding his tumbler of rum out for a three-man salute.

  Harold grinned, and the old deck boa
rds creaked under his weight as he shifted in his rocker to clink glasses with Byron. “And here’s to not getting in trouble for it.”

  Feeling a little warm under the collar, despite the cool fall breeze that would soon drive the three poker-playing buddies inside until next year’s Spring Fling, Errol adjusted his shirt and watched the last of the autumn leaves fall to the ground.

  “I wouldn’t go so far as to say that,” he said, thinking how he’d nearly gotten into trouble with Adam. Lord, the boy had looked like he was about to throttle him when he found out he’d tweaked the dang psychic reading.

  Byron and Harold both laughed out loud and tossed a handful of chips into the center of the table, but Errol threw his cards down, leaned back in his rocking chair and folded his arms across his chest.

  Harold furrowed his brow and studied him with cloudy eyes. “You just lost your hand, Errol, so why the hell are you sitting there grinnin’ like the village idiot?”

  “Cause Katy and Trent were by earlier,” he announced, bursting at the seams to share the good news with his best friends.

  “And?” Byron asked, as he swirled the last of his rum in his tumbler.

  “And she’s having my great-grandbaby.” Errol threw back the last of his rum and reached for the bottle to refill their tumblers.

  Harold harrumphed. “’Bout time those two spilled the news.”

  Byron clicked his tongue and smiled. “We did good with that match.”

  “We did good with them all,” Harold added.

  “So what do y’all think?” Errol asked. “Any more youngins around these parts in need of our help?”

  As the other two men lowered their heads in consideration, Errol thought about the three couples who’d found love at the fall festival thanks to their guidance. A moment later his thoughts drifted to his great nephew, Jon. He couldn’t help but think it was time the good doctor left that damn clinic in Miami and found himself a nice young girl in Whispering Cove. And with all the new babies on their way, there was no denying that Dani could use a bit of help down at the hospital.