Keaton’s arm tightened around her waist, and he stood, carrying her with him. Brooke laughed in surprise as he set her on her feet. “You don’t have to make that suggestion twice.”
He took her hand and started down the stairs. Brooke had no idea where these side steps led and thought of her car in the main parking lot. “My car is—”
“My rental’s right downstairs,” he said, jogging the steps and pulling Brooke with him. “And my hotel is a block away. You can text your sister in the car.”
She laughed with a fresh new joy filling her chest. They reached the ground floor in seconds. Keaton hit the landing three steps ahead of her and snatched her into his arms before her feet had a chance to touch the last two.
He kissed her long and deep, pulling away to set her on her feet.
Breathless and a little dizzy, Brooke leaned into him. “I’ve never looked more forward to a negotiation in my life.”
Keaton grinned, the grin Brooke knew. The grin Brooke loved. The grin that set her world right and chased all the problems away, making room for hope and joy.
“Get used to it, baby,” he told her “This is your new adventure.”
12
Seven months later
The cool ocean breeze blew gently across Brooke’s face where she sat at a table on the patio of Jax Chamberlin’s home on a Malibu beach in California. The setting should have eased her jitters, but tonight, she doubted there was anything short of a miracle that would make that happen. Watching Keaton and a couple of other Renegades work with Justin on fight moves wasn’t helping.
“I’m not sure if I should be happy or terrified.” She smirked at Ellie, who sat beside her, legs crossed, bare foot swinging, a hard lemonade in her hand. “Are they helping him or creating a monster?”
Ellie’s smile widened. “Mmm, probably a little of both.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
She lifted her drink toward Brooke. “One of these would help you relax.”
She smiled. “Not tonight, thanks.”
“You okay?”
Brooke nodded. “Just tired.”
“You’ve been tired a lot lately.”
She shrugged. “Stress.”
“You should get in to a doctor, Brooke. Make sure you’re not anemic or vitamin deficient.”
“Yep.” There would be a lot of that in her future. “I will.”
The summers in Southern California might be absolute perfection, but on the shore, when the sun dropped and the fog crept closer, Brooke found
herself reaching for Keaton’s sweat jacket. The one he’d brought especially for her even when she’d insisted she wouldn’t need it. And tugging the jacket on reminded her it always took her a couple of weeks to acclimate from the East Coast’s humid heat to the West Coast’s dry warmth. Keaton seemed to know her better than she knew herself.
Keaton crouched and extended a hand toward Justin, palm out. “Aim and kick.”
Justin tilted his body backward to balance on one leg and used the other to hammer a quick, hard strike. The slap of flesh against flesh sang on the breeze.
“Nice.” Rich approval in Keaton’s voice made a smile break through the concentration on Justin’s face and warmed Brooke’s heart.
All the guys were good with kids, probably because they were really just big kids themselves. But she’d been both impressed and moved when he’d stepped into a position of male role model for Justin so fluidly, so easily.
“Now pivot and jam Troy with a palm strike,” he told Justin.
Her nephew’s moves were strong and practiced. Moves Brooke had been watching him make for six months now. Ever since he’d recovered from his last procedure, his lung capacity had blossomed and Justin had taken up an intense interest in Keaton’s love of martial arts.