How much do you love Rowan? I don’t think I can even put him on a scale. I mean, his MOUTH. Even more than that … his heart!
I loved this couple so much. I really think I have a thing with the third book in the series. Well, most of them. I have an outlier or two. Anyway, this was just so much fun. Their banter, their love, and their struggles just made this one of those books I enjoyed writing more than normal. I always love my couples, but this one hit different for me. I say this as I’m writing the final Whitlock book and feeling the same, so maybe it’s just this town and this family. Anyway, I wrote this scene and originally, it was the epilogue and the final chapter was completely different. Then, when I got into Brynlee’s book, I realized none of that was going to work. So, this bonus scene is really special if you’re planning to read Forgotten Desires (which I hope you will). You’ll get to see this in Brynn’s POV, which I think is completely different and super fun!
Rowan
“Where the hell is my wife?” I ask Asher, who’s standing outside the women’s bathroom.
“Inside with Phoebe, our sister, and Addy.”
Sienna fusses in his arms as she’s trying to escape her father’s hold.
“Why?”
Asher shrugs. “Fuck if I know. Brynn started hyperventilating, and then the next thing I know, all of the girls are whisking her into the bathroom.”
“That’s great. Move.” I nudge him to the side and push the door open. “Charlotte?”
“Go away!” Brynn yells.
“I didn’t call for you! Everyone is waiting for us to have our first dance, wife,” I tell my bride, who is about to miss the damn reception she spent the last month planning.
“I’ll be out in a minute. Stall them!”
“Stall?” I ask incredulously. “How?”
Phoebe unhelpfully replies, “Tell jokes, dance, do a jig, we’ll be out when we can.”
I hear my sister let out a long sob, and I shake my head. That’s it. I’m going in.
Inside, I find Brynn on the floor of the bathroom, tears rolling down her face, and my wife and future sisters-in-law around her.
“What’s going on? Who hurt you?”
Brynn’s watery gaze meets mine. “You did!”
“Me?” I jerk back, confused as fuck. “What the hell did I do? I got married!”
My gorgeous wife stands, hands on her hips. “You invited Carson Knight?”
I blink. “You knew the guest list. He’s our boss. Of course, I invited him.”
Charlotte huffs. “You didn’t tell me he dated your sister!”
Now I’m just fucking lost. “You dated him?” I ask Brynn, who wipes her eyes.
“Yes, but I didn’t know it was him!”
How does one not know who he is?
“Oh my God, can someone please explain what the hell is going on here?” The exasperation in my voice echoes in the small space.
Addy and Phoebe help Brynn up, wiping at her dress and fluffing her hair while I stand here with my arms crossed, waiting for an explanation that makes a lick of sense.
Finally, Brynlee walks toward me, her lip trembling, and every big brother instinct in me rises, but I keep myself relaxed on the outside.
“I didn’t know Carson Knight was the Carson Knight that you knew!”
I swear, I’m going to lose my shit. “Brynn, I’m lost, and I really need you to dumb it down for me.”
Brynn takes a deep breath. “Do you remember when I went to the Outer Banks in college?”
“I don’t remember what I ate for breakfast.”
She rolls her eyes. “Okay, asshole. I went to the Outer Banks every spring break during college. It was my favorite thing I did with my sorority sisters. We rented the house on the beach, and we’d party and whatnot. My junior year, we went and the house next to us was a frat from up north. We hung out, partied with them, and I met Crew.”
Seriously, I feel like someone is punking me on my wedding day. “Who the fuck is Crew?”
“Carson.”
I look to Charlotte. “Is this some kind of wedding prank? Like, you get my sister to pretend she’s lost her mind and then fuck with me to see if my head explodes?”
“If it was, I’d be having a lot more fun,” she says, rubbing Brynn’s back.
I look back to my sister. “So, again, who is Crew?”
“Crew is really Carson.”
“As in my new boss? The billionaire who owns Knight Food Distribution?”
She nods. “The same one and I didn’t know.”
There’s a piece to this insanely convoluted puzzle that isn’t in place. “I’m trying to keep calm and follow this, but can someone please tell me what has her crying?” I ask all the women here.
“She loved him,” Addy explains.
“And he left her,” Phoebe chimes in.
“And now she finds out that he lied to her about who he was. All this time, she’s searched for him, thinking his name was really Crew and now he’s at our wedding because you invited him,” Charlotte replies this time.
“My fault, got it.”
Because, of course, it is. I somehow knew my sister went on vacation, met a guy named Crew, who is actually Carson, who broke her heart.
It’s my whole mission in life. In fact, I was hoping for this exact outcome at my wedding.
Charlotte smiles. “Learning early, husband.”
I exhale through my nose. “Do you want me to kick his ass?” I ask.
“No!” All four yell.
I mean, I thought that was a perfectly reasonable solution. “Then what the hell is the point of this? I’ll throw him out, respectfully, so I can afford to live, and tell Crew/Carson he can’t be here because he dated my sister however many years ago and she’s crying in the bathroom.”
Charlotte comes forward, rolling her eyes. “You need to go back out there, tell the DJ to cue up our song and play it in three minutes. We’re going to get Brynn ready, and she’s going to march out there being the badass woman she is, not even looking at him again.”
I really, really wish I was drunk right now so maybe this would even remotely make sense, but I’m not. So, I glance at the women, who are all unhinged, and walk out, doing as instructed.
Sure enough, as I’m talking to my brothers, I see the four of them filter out, with Brynlee in the middle, head high and smile in place.
That’s going to be a problem.
The music starts, and Charlotte comes to me, as though she didn’t just spend ten minutes making us all wait, and takes my hand.
“Nice of you to join us,” I say jokingly.
“You wouldn’t even believe the whole story if I told you.”
“Then let’s spare me the details.” I’m a pretty normal dude, one that protects the women I love without hesitation. If I knew more of the already uncomfortable story, I definitely wouldn’t be able to let it go. It’s better for all of us the less me and my brothers know.
Charlotte’s right hand moves up to the back of my neck. “I’d rather talk about us now anyway.”
I smile at that. “About how hot I am in this tux?”
“You’re all right,” she teases.
“I saw you stripping me down when you walked down the aisle. You were thinking about how much you want to bang me.”
“Or I was thinking, if I turn around and run now, would he catch me?”
I lean in. “I’d never stop chasing you.”
“But would you actually catch me?”
I pull her body against mine. “We’ll never know because I have you now.”
Charlotte kisses me softly. “Until the end of time, baby.”
“God help me.”
“God help me is more like it,” she counters.
She’s not wrong, we’re both fucked in this. Charlotte and I are a match to a flame, one of us is going to get burned, but we have her salve, so I guess it’ll all work out.
“I love you though.”
“I love you most.”
“How did you ever get so lucky?” I joke.
“I fell in love with the boy next door.”
I pull her tighter, moving her around the dance floor. “You were much too tempting for him to stay away from.”
Charlotte laughs softly. “We’ll never be apart now.”
“No, love, you’ll never be alone ever again.”
Because I will always be beside her, exactly where we both belong.
Thank you so much for reading Tempting Promises! When I tell you that Brynn is the cherry on the top of this series, I’m not even joking. It’s a billionaire, single dad, marriage of convenience, small-town romance that makes me squee when I think about it.
If you haven’t read Forbidden Hearts (Asher & Phoebe) or Broken Dreams (Grady & Addison) grab it now, Free in Kindle Unlimited!
Want to stay in Sugarloaf a little longer? Binge the Arrowood Brothers Free in Kindle Unlimited!
Connor & Ellie (Secret Child/One Night Stand)
Declan & Sydney (Second Chance)
Sean & Devney (Friends to Lovers)
Jacob & Brenna (Celebrity/Second Chance at Love)
