Susan Mallery - Seductive One

She’d been hoping for a heartfelt confession. She hadn’t expected him to sweep her off her feet and set her soul free.

“Your whole family hates me,” he said. “You hate me. But I’m hoping you still love me, too. I want to win you back. I’ll do whatever it takes to prove to you that we belong together. I want to marry you, have babies with you, and grow old with you. I want to talk about the old days until our grandchildren know the stories by heart. I want to make wine with you, make love with you, cherish you, and be the one safe haven you can always depend on. Just give me a chance. Please.”

No man had ever groveled to her before. Nic was unlikely to do it much in the future, so Brenna did her best to memorize everything about this moment so she could remember it later, when he was making her crazy. She knew that he would. They were both stubborn and creative and passionate about what they did. Clashes were inevitable. But there was no one else she wanted to disagree with, or hold long into the night. Or love.

She leaned forward and brushed her lips against his.

“How many babies?” she asked.

He grinned, then the grin turned into laughter. He swept her up in his arms and spun her around. “As many as you want.”

“If I marry you, I want some say in how you run Wild Sea. It’s way too mechanized. You need to start hand-picking more. And your barrel choices are really…”

He silenced her with a kiss. A deep, hungry, passionate kiss that spoke of too much time apart, of pain and missed chances. Tears filled her eyes, and she knew she wept for them both.

“I love you, Nic,” she whispered. “I always have.”

His dark gaze met hers and he smiled. “I love you, too.”

She rested her hands on his shoulders. “You know, I don’t think my parents have sent out the invitations for Katie’s and Francesca’s wedding yet. We still have time to make it a triple ceremony.”

“You think that’s a good idea? Won’t your grandfather glower at me through the whole ceremony?”

“Nope. He told me it’s time for the feud to be over.” She smiled.

“If it’s what you want, then I say go for it.”

She grinned. “My mother is going to absolutely have a fit.”

“Because of logistics, or because you’re marrying me?”

“Oh, the trauma of more guests, more food, that sort of thing. But don’t worry about it. With Katie helping her, the whole event will be organized with military-like precision. Oh, speaking of which, we’re going to have to call Joe and tell him he won’t be beating you up anytime soon.”

“There’s a relief.”

“You weren’t really worried, were you?”

“Not about anything but losing you.”

“Sorry. You’re stuck with me. And speaking of that, brace yourself. When we get back to the house, you’re going to be hugged and cheek-pinched until you’re whimpering. Wait until the Grands see Max. That dog is going to be so fat. And my dad will want to talk to you about marketing plans, and I think Grandpa Lorenzo is secretly envious of your new bottling facility, but don’t expect him to admit it. And I have no idea what my sisters are going to say about all this. I mean, they did fantasize about you for years. That could be embarrassing once you’re their brother-in-law.”

As they walked toward the Marcelli hacienda, Brenna talked about her relatives and all the ways they would make him crazy and welcome him and try to change his life.

“If we get married, you’re going to be a part of the family,” she said. “Think you can stand that for the next fifty or sixty years?”

“I can’t wait.”