Love Storm Read online

  Ultimately the piece sold to an online bidder for twenty-three thousand dollars, but before it was packaged up, she took one last look at the beautiful painting that brought to mind such wonderful memories. Gazing at the delicate brush strokes, her thoughts once again turned to Ryan, as they so often had since she’d left the cabin. She had only talked to him once since she’d returned to Denver, when she’d called to let him know that she had gotten home safely, as she’d promised. Their conversation had been light, casual and relatively brief, ending with Ryan telling her that he would get in touch with her, once he too was back in Denver.

  “That was fun, wasn’t it,” Rebecca, one of the other interns, said as she walked up to stand next to Brooklyn.

  Turning her head, she smiled at the petite brunette. “Yeah, it sure was.”

  “You know, Shelly and I were talking about going out for drinks after we wrap things up here. Would you like to come along?”

  She considered the offer for a moment. She knew that Julia was having dinner with Ben later, and a night out with the girls would be a lot better for her than sitting home alone in her apartment, thinking about Ryan. “Sure, I’d love to.”

  “Great, let’s hurry and finish up so we can get out of here.”

  Casting one last wistful glance at the breathtakingly beautiful landscape, Brooklyn turned to follow Rebecca.

  By the time Brooklyn forced herself out of bed on Saturday morning, it was already past ten. Unlike usual, she wasn’t looking forward to the weekend ahead and she’d deliberately slept in. During the week, at least between the hours of nine to five, she’d been able to focus on something other than how much she missed Ryan. But now, with two full work-free days ahead of her, she was afraid that she wouldn’t have nearly enough to occupy her mind and keep her restless thoughts at bay. She supposed she could call Julia and ask her to go to a movie with her later; that would kill a couple of hours at least. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she wondered if there were any decent comedies playing as she made her way to the bathroom. She could certainly use a good laugh.

  Once she’d slipped into a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved cotton shirt, she walked into the kitchen and put a couple of pieces of bread into the toaster. As she waited for them to brown, she grabbed a knife and butter, poured herself a glass of orange juice and then pulled a stool up to the narrow overhang that sat atop the short wall that separated the kitchen and the living room. Her apartment wasn’t large, and a far cry from the lavishness of Wade and Kate’s cabin, not to mention their sprawling home in the suburbs of Richmond, but it was tastefully decorated and had that warm, cozy feeling she loved.

  Glancing toward her cell phone plugged into the charger at the end of the counter, she couldn’t help wondering for perhaps the one-hundredth time, if Ryan would actually call her when he got back to Denver, as he’d said he would. Yes, of course he would call, she told herself once again. She knew that Ryan wouldn’t just leave her hanging. He wasn’t like that. She was just going to have to be patient until he returned home. It was stupid to keep torturing herself with what ifs.

  Grabbing the toast when it popped up, she quickly buttered it and plunked it onto her plate, before casting one last lingering glance at the phone. She’d called her sister earlier in the week, but she hadn’t said anything to Kate about the intimacies she and Ryan had shared at the cabin. The last thing she wanted to do was to cause problems between Ryan and Wade if things didn’t work out, and she knew her sister had a hard time keeping secrets from her husband.

  Julia however, had been given a full account of all that had transpired, well nearly, and her best-friend was beyond ecstatic. Jules was completely convinced that when Ryan returned to Denver at the end of the month, they would pick up right where they’d left off, and ultimately live happily ever after. Brooklyn wasn’t nearly as confident, but then again, if Ryan felt for her, even a tenth of what she felt for him, there was hope, and for now she would hang on to that hope. To do anything else would surely break her heart in two.

  Pulling into the parking lot of Brooklyn’s small apartment complex, Ryan parked his Escalade in one of the visitor spots, and then reached over to grab the brown paper-wrapped package that sat on the passenger seat. Since returning to Denver just over an hour ago, he’d made only one stop. All the way down the mountain the only thing he could think about was her, just as he’d been doing nearly every waking moment of the past week. Finally he’d given in and packed his bags, unwilling to spend even one more minute on that solitary mountain top without the woman who had come to mean more to him than he’d ever thought possible.

  Minutes later, as Brooklyn nibbled on her second piece of toast, a soft knocking at the door drew her attention. Who could that be, she wondered, sliding from her seat on the barstool. She wasn’t expecting anyone, and her friends usually called before they came over. Walking over to the door, she looked through the peephole, her eyes going wide and her heart nearly leaping from her chest when she saw Ryan standing on the other side. Opening the door, she struggled to find her voice. “Hi,” she finally managed.

  “Hi.”

  She tried to collect herself. “What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming back until the end of the month.”

  “I missed you,” Ryan replied honestly.

  His tender smile nearly melted her heart. “You did?” she whispered softly, a pleased little smile tugging the corners of her lips upward.

  Her delighted expression made him wish he’d come back even sooner. “Can I come in?”

  “What, oh, of course,” she said with a slight laugh, stepping back so that he could enter her tiny apartment. “When did you get back?”

  He pushed the door closed behind him. “Just now.”

  “You came straight here?” Her heart once again seemed to flutter within her chest.

  “Well, I did make one stop first.”

  She eyed him curiously.

  “I’ve got something for you, but I had to stop and pick it up.”

  She glanced at the package he held. “What is it?”

  “It’s a present,” he clarified.

  She’d just gotten the most wonderful present in the world, the man now standing in her living room. And though she wanted nothing more at that moment than to throw herself into his arms and press her lips to his, she did her best to appear interested in the small parcel wrapped in thick brown paper that he held in his hands. “You stopped to get me a present?”

  Ryan nodded and held it out to her.

  She took it, and then grabbing his hand, she led him over to the small upholstered couch that sat against the rear wall of her living room, pulling him down to sit beside her. Casting a quick sidelong glance at Ryan, she then turned her attention to the flat package that now sat in her lap. Carefully removing the twine and brown paper, she saw that whatever was inside was enclosed in a thick layer of bubble wrap. Pulling it apart, she gasped aloud. She stared at the painting for several long seconds, tears welling in her eyes as she gazed once again upon the beautiful mountain scene. Clearly, he had been the online bidder. “Oh Ryan,” she breathed, overcome with emotion.

  “I remembered how much you liked it,” he began softly, as she turned toward him. “And it reminded me of that spot, you know, the one we stopped at along the trail.”

  Her heart seemed to swell within her chest. “But, it’s too much,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

  “Considering how I feel about you, it isn’t even close to enough.”

  No longer able to hold them back, tears of joy began to slide down her cheeks in tiny rivulets.

  Pulling the painting from her lax grasp, Ryan set it onto the floor and then took her face in his hands, brushing his thumbs lightly across her tearstained cheeks. “I love you Brooklyn, with all of my heart.”

  Unable to restrain herself a moment longer, Brooklyn threw herself into his arms, knocking him backward onto the sofa as she landed on top of him, kissing him until th
ey were both gasping for breath. “I love you too,” she said, when she finally managed to tear her lips from his. “More than you’ll ever know.” Looking once again into those glorious green eyes of his, she realized with a touch of amazement that dreams really could come true.

  Epilogue

  He’d offered to take her anywhere she wanted to go for their honeymoon, someplace exotic and far away if that’s what she’d wanted, but his beautiful new wife had come up with an entirely different idea.

  Sitting beside Ryan in the front seat of his black Escalade, Brooklyn leaned over and kissed her husband’s cheek as they pulled into the driveway of her sister and brother-in-law’s cabin, the place where their love story had begun, nearly a year and a half ago. They had wanted to get married sooner, but with Ryan traveling with the team every other week; they’d had to wait until the end of football season. It had been worth the wait though, for her darling husband now had not one new ring but two, his wedding ring and his very first Super Bowl ring.

  “Careful,” Ryan cautioned as she stepped from the vehicle and out onto the snow-covered drive. They hadn’t told anyone yet, but she was ten-weeks pregnant, and Ryan’s protective instincts were already kicking in.

  “Relax. I’m pregnant, not made of glass,” she teased as he came around the front of the SUV.

  Moving quickly to her side, Ryan clasped her hand in his as they made their way through the ankle-deep snow to the front door of the cabin. Before long he was going to be just as overprotective as Wade, he realized with a touch of amusement. Once they reached the porch, he turned the key in the lock, pushed the door open and then turned and grabbed Brooklyn, sweeping her up into his arms in one fluid motion.

  “Didn’t we already do this at home?” she laughed, as he spun back to the open door and carried her inside.

  “I kind of like to think of this as our second home, at least until our own place is finished,” Ryan said, nuzzling her neck. They had already begun construction on the land they’d purchased just a few miles down the road from Wade and Kate’s cabin, but their own private mountain retreat wouldn’t be complete for at least another six months. Fortunately, his new in-laws had been more than willing to grant him and Brooklyn the use of their vacation home for their two-week long honeymoon.

  “Me too,” she said, pressing her hand against his cheek when he looked up at her with love in his eyes. “There is no place in the world I’d rather be right now.”

  Still holding her in his arms, he quickly moved to the alarm key pad, entered the code, and then spinning around he pressed his lips to hers, kissing her with the reverence of a man who had been given the greatest gift on earth.

  “Kitchen or bedroom?” he asked, when they finally managed to tear their lips apart. They hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and he’d noticed her appetite starting to pick up in recent days.

  “Hmm.” She was a little hungry. “What do you think?” she asked with a sultry smile.

  With a sexy little smile of his own, Ryan turned and eagerly carried his wife toward the bedroom.