Free Crushing on Love (The Bradens of Peaceful Harbor, Book Four) by Melissa Foster

I think most people are afraid of something, and I think almost everything can be overcome with patience and the desire to make it work.”
    “So, you think I shouldn’t give up?” Shannon asked.
    They all said “No” in unison.
    “But it’s crazy, right? We haven’t even kissed. How can I fall for a guy who tells me he wants me in one breath and refuses to kiss me in the next?”
    Jade and Max exchanged a smile and a knowing look that told Shannon they knew something she didn’t.
    “Do you even know the man I’m married to?” Jade asked. “Mr. Loyal? Mr. I Can’t Touch You for Fifteen Years? Thankfully, my man isn’t afraid of confrontation, and he forced our stubborn fathers to put an end to that ridiculous family feud. But talk about refusing to kiss someone.” She shook her head and smiled. “And look at us now.”
    “You two can’t keep your hands off each other,” Savannah said. “Just as it should be. Like me and Jack and Max and Treat.”
    “Look, Shannon,” Jade said more seriously. “Steve and I have never really talked about our personal lives, but he’s always been super careful with the girls he goes out with. But you must know he’s got the biggest, kindest heart. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for any of us.”
    Shannon sighed and looked around the bar, wishing Steve would appear. Why wasn’t he chasing after her? Making sure she didn’t hook up with someone else? She noticed Cal sitting across the room with a group of guys. He waved, and she smiled, feeling guilty because she wished he were Steve.
    Jade tapped her hand. “Rexy said Cal’s got a big ol’ crush on you.”
    “He’s a nice guy,” Shannon admitted. “He’s just got one issue.”
    Rachel laughed. “You have issues with hot, wealthy guys? I’ve had a crush on him forever and he doesn’t even know I exist.”
    “Trust me,” Max said to Rachel. “There’s no man on earth who doesn’t know you exist. Bald men line up to sit in your salon chair just to be near you.”
    Rachel rolled her eyes. “Never the right guys.”
    “I have the wrong guy problem, too.” Shannon didn’t give a hoot about money or even looks, although in Shannon’s opinion Steve was hotter than Cal. Heck, he was hotter than any man she’d ever laid eyes on.
    Jade reached across the table and squeezed Shannon’s hand. “Cal’s problem is that he’s not my brother.”
    “Am I a fool for being so hung up on him? We’re not even very much alike.” Which is exactly why he won’t take a chance on us .
    “Why do you have to be alike?” Max asked. “Treat and I were as different as the day was long. I was so broken when I met him, and he was so…” She sighed dreamily. “He is so distinguished, so manly, so—”
    “Okay, down girl,” Jade teased. “No ‘O’ faces at the table.”
    Max laughed. “I was making a point. You don’t have to be alike to fall in love. Love is about discovering underlying truths. It’s about caring enough about someone to put yourself last and wanting to be with them at their ugliest times as well as their most beautiful.”
    “That’s so true,” Savannah said.
    “I want to find that,” Rachel added.
    “That sounds amazing,” Shannon said. “But that would require two people wanting the same thing. Maybe I’m barking up the wrong tree and I should have gone out with his friend Will.”
    “Cumberland?” Jade asked.
    “Uh-huh. He asked me out and I canceled because I wanted to be with Steve, but then your do-the-right-thing brother blew me off.”
    “Talk about opposites,” Jade said. “Will’s about as brazen and risky as a guy gets, so different from Steve, but he’s one of his best friends. Go figure.”
    Maybe there was something to be said about opposites attracting after all. Her mind circled back to last night. “I think I came on too strong to Steve.”
    “A Braden coming on too strong?” Max’s eyes widened in feigned disbelief.
    “I’m serious. He’s like a