I sigh. "I don't know what you want me to do. I can't control AJ. You know it, I know it—hell, AJ knows it." My mind replays the phone call from last night.
"Well, you better figure out how to handle your business. We can't afford any blowback on the company over this. I'm out here trying to close this deal. I don't have time to clean up your mess." His dig stings. It's his fault there's a mess in the first place, but I bite my tongue and choose my words carefully.
"I'll be on the next flight." The words stick in my throat as the gorgeous girl asleep in my bed skirts across my mind. The last thing I want to do is walk away, but with all this shit going down with AJ and my dad playing the family loyalty card against me, I don’t have a choice.
"No need to book a flight. I've sent a plane for you. Just get your ass home and fix this. Prove to me you’re the man I raised you to be, the son of Edward R. Brooks, who will someday run this company. Not Carter Brooks, the playboy." And with that, the line goes dead.
Anger washes over me. Setting my phone on the counter, I gather my toiletries, throw them into my travel bag, and splash cold water on my face, my palms scraping over a day's growth of scruff.
I send for a car, then move around the room in a quiet rush, packing my stuff. I hate having to leave her, but I know she'll hate me enough for the both of us when she wakes to find me gone.
I watch her for a moment, smiling at her soft snores as she sleeps so peacefully. Taking out my phone, I snap a picture. She's breathtaking, and she doesn't even know it. Chocolate crumbs catch my eye as I move the covers over her, and my smile widens as an idea strikes.
Grabbing her phone, I set the wheels in motion, then press a gentle kiss to her lips, taking one last taste before turning and walking away from the girl I'm pretty sure stole my heart—a heart I wasn't sure I even possessed.
Chapter 10
Camilla
"This dream is too good, I don't wanna wake up," I murmur, pulling the fluffy blanket around me, covering my head.
"I don't need to hear that shit." Bea's voice invades my peaceful slumber.
"How do you keep getting in here?" Cracking one eye open in an attempt to locate her, I'm blinded by the light flooding the room, so I squeeze it back shut. "I don't even know how I got back in here."
Caught between sleep and awake, I can't decipher between what is real and an incredible dream—a dream that left me sore, but in a good way. Stretching my arms over my head, my hands brush cool leather, and I freeze.
"In three…two…one!" Bea gives commentary as I throw back the covers and open my eyes, looking around. Carter. It hits me all at once. Sleepy and confused, I look around. Where is he? If this is his villa and he's gone, why am I still here?
What time is it?
I look to her, realizing I've asked nothing aloud. She just sits on a chair next to the bed, smiling her crazy ass I-know-a-secret smile. "Morning, slut!"
I toss a pillow at her head, which she dodges. "I'm not a slut!" I yell as she just sits there sipping coffee. Mmmm, coffee. Need coffee.
"Says the woman sitting naked in a strange man's bed." A quick peek reveals I am, in fact, naked.
"How did you know I’m naked?" Crossing my arms over my chest, I stare her down.
"Seeing as how your dress is over there on the floor, along with what looks like a bra...I took a wild guess. Unless you're wearing only panties." She smiles, unfazed by my scowl.
My face turns red, and I keep my mouth shut. Not only am I not wearing any, I have no idea where they are.
"Figures. Looks like Cinderella lost more than her shoes last night." She laughs and motions to the other coffee she brought. "Come on out here and get your drink, sleepyhead."
My eyes dart to the coffee as the gray shirt I wore last night catches in my peripheral. Snatching it up, I bring it to my nose and breathe in. It smells like him, like the ocean and a masculine musk.
"Hey, Lassie, if you're done sniffing the evidence, let's eat. I'm starved!" she complains.
Pulling on the shirt, I head for bathroom, flipping her the bird as I go.
"He's not a strange man," I call out.
"He's a man and he's a stranger, therefore he's a strange man. A gorgeous strange man, I'll give you that."
"He's not a stranger!" I poke my head out the bathroom door.
"What's his last name?" She throws back.
"What?" My eyes go wide. Shit, how could I not know his freaking last name?
"His. Last. Name?" My mouth gapes open, then shuts.
"Drawing a blank? Hmmm. Nothing? I'd say that's stranger danger!" She laughs, and I slam the bathroom door.
Bracing my hands on the polished stone counters, I study myself in the gilded mirror. My cheeks have more color than usual, and there's a light in my eyes I haven't seen in a long time. Pulling my hair back, I twist it into a knot, noticing red marks along my neck. Whisker burns. I run my hands over them, recalling how alive he made me feel. My thighs clench, my core aching from our incredible night of passion, and I can't help but smile.
In less than twelve hours, he turned my whole world upside down. The way I was with him, I never knew it could be like that—never knew I could be like that. And now he's gone. My chest aches at the thought, and tears sting my eyes.
My gaze falls to his shirt. Harvard. So many things I meant to ask him, but I thought we would have more time. I don't even know his last name. I wrap my arms around my waist and grip the worn grey fabric, holding on to all I have left. A lone tear escapes, and I wipe it away.
He gave me what I asked for—him, for a night, nothing more, nothing less. I'm sure he's used to that sort of thing, and as much as I tell myself I'm okay with it, I'm not normally that kind of girl. But not one thing about last night was normal.
Splashing water on my face, I wash away the tears, and hopefully any traces of sadness. Time to get back to reality. I have a job to do. An amazing job I’m lucky to have. I need to focus on that.
"You about done in there?" Bea calls from the other room. "You might wanna get out here."
"Coming!" I yank open the door and freeze, my eyes landing on a table full of decadent desserts. A chocolate fudge cake, double chocolate muffins, cupcakes, chocolate chip
cookies and pastries. I walk closer, taking in the incredible smell, and spot a silver carafe of coffee.
Still in shock, I turn to Bea, who is snapping pictures of everything on her camera phone. "What did you do?"
"Me? This wasn't me. I just answered the door." She motions to the room service cart across the room. "Good thing one of us was dressed, huh, Harvard?"
Before I can sit, ringing across the room sends me in search of my phone. Looking at the caller ID, my brows furrow.
Pompous Ass.
My hand flies to my mouth. "Bea, it's him! How?"
"Who knows, but answer the damn phone and thank the man for the goods so we can eat."
I swipe to answer. "Um, hello?"
"Hey, sleeping beauty. I take it you got my little surprise." His voice is deep and sexy, even over the phone. I walk into the bedroom to sit on the bed.
"You did this? How?" I ask, baffled.
"I have my ways," he says, his tone coy, and I can’t help but love his playful side.
"I see. Well…thank you, Carter. It's a very sweet gesture, pun intended."
"I wish I could have been there to see you in person, to feed you the cake. I'm really sorry I had to take off." His voice seems genuine, but maybe this is a grand gesture blow off.
"Why did you then?" My words come out harsher than I intend.
A heavy sigh fills the line. "I had a family emergency. I want you to know I would have never left you sleeping in my bed if I could have helped it. It took everything I had to walk away."
"Oh no. I hope everything is okay." My stomach fills with dread at the mention of his family. Losing my parents at such a young age, I can definitely understand needing to put family first.
"Yeah, it's nothing I can
't handle. I'm just working out some stuff. It's more business related honestly, but with my dad, the two are synonymous."
"Well, I'm glad everyone's all right," I offer, even though I have no idea who his family consists of. There's so much we don't know about each other.
"They will be. Thanks. Listen, I'm getting ready to board a flight. I'll be gone a couple days, but I'd like to see you again." His voice is gravelly, almost a whisper. "I know we didn't talk about it. There's a lot we didn't get to say, and I'd love to have the chance."
"Really?" I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind, and he snickers at my reply.
"Yeah, really. When I come back, I'd like to take you out, on a real date."
My heart slams into my ribcage, pounding at the thought of seeing him again. This is so sudden, and I need to focus on the shop, but it's just one date…though, I find it hard to believe anything with him could ever be just one.
"You still there?"
"Yeah. Sorry. Just thinking."
"Don't overthink this. I know it seems very sudden, warp speed really, but I'm just asking for a chance to get to know you. We can talk or text. You have my number, so ask me anything. Then we'll get in touch once I'm back home."
My knees go a little weak at the way he emphasized “touch.” It’s a good thing I’m sitting down.
"Wait, how did you get my number?" We never exchanged contact info. Or last names.
"That's your question?" He laughs. "I called myself from your phone. I hope you don't mind. I kind of panicked when I had to rush out and didn't want to wake you. I could barely leave as it was. Then I programmed myself into your phone."
"I see that, Mr. Pompous Ass."
"Curious to know what I programmed you into my phone as?"
"Wedding crasher?" I tease.
His loud laughter comes over the line, making me smile. "No, but that would have been a good one. My mind wasn't on the spitfire I met on the balcony. It was on the gorgeous girl sleeping in my bed. When we hang up, I'll send screenshot."
"Okay," I whisper, not knowing what else to say. I seem to lose my ability to form complete sentences around him.
"I look forward to hearing from you soon, Mila. Enjoy your breakfast, and tell Bea thank you."
Bea. Breakfast. Right. I completely forgot I wasn't alone. Looking over my shoulder, she smiles and lifts her mug as if she's toasting me. I get up, the smooth wood feeling cool under my bare feet as I begin to pace. "Uh, wait,” I say, not ready to hang up yet. “You said when you're home. Where's home?" I ask, biting at my thumbnail. What if it's across the country? How can this work?
"San Francisco." His answer calms my fears. That's only a couple hours away.
"Oh. Wow. That's, um…perfect." I sound like a stumbling fool, but I can hardly contain my excitement.
"I know. Only a couple hours away, less if I fly," he agrees.
"Wait, how did you—?" I stammer.
"Camilla Lacey, from St. Helena, dress designer at Enchanted." His voice drops low. "You'll find I'm a very resourceful man when there's something I want."
My mouth forms a perfect O, and a silent gasp passes my lips.
"Talk to you soon, Mila."
"Goodbye, Carter," I whisper, and end the call.
"Shit, I could use a cigarette after that call, and I don't even smoke." Bea's voice startles me.
"You couldn't even hear what he was saying." I walk back over to check out the feast Bea’s already dug into.
"Didn't have to. Your umm-ing, oooh-ing, and stuttering pretty much let me know whatever he said was hot. Takes a lot to tie your tongue." She proceeds to stick out her tongue and wiggle it at me.
My face flushes. She's right, and he probably thinks I'm a total moron. "Crap! I meant to ask his last name." Ugh! She just shrugs.
"Well, Ms. Tequila Makes My Clothes Fall Off, how was he?" she asks, holding a chocolate long john to her mouth while making inappropriate gestures.
"You're insane. You get that, right?"
My phone dings with an incoming text and I open the screen, seeing a picture of me sound asleep in his bed. My chest tightens. I look so peaceful, and thankfully, I’m not drooling. I swipe to reveal the next message. It's a screenshot of my contact info.
Sleeping Beauty.
Bea yanks my phone from my hand and inspects the messages before handing it back. "Equal parts sweet and creepy. As a photographer, I can respect the beauty in that shot. But as a friend, it's a little creepy." She goes back to eating.
The phone vibrates as it dings in my hand and I instantly open the message.
Carter Brooks
San Francisco, CA
Real Estate Lawyer
Pompous Ass
"Carter Brooks." Carter Brooks. "Lawyer. San Francisco." I read aloud as I sit down and dig in.
"Lawyer, huh? That explains the shirt," Bea jokes.
I glance at the shirt—his shirt. "Shit, I don't have any clothes,” I panic. “I can’t do a walk of shame across the resort!”
"I’ve got you covered,” she says, nodding toward a bag by the door. “Leggings, flats, and a clean top. I drew the line at searching through your underwear. But at least you won't be doing the walk of shame." I could hug her.
"Before you start going all ‘thank you, Bea, you're the best, Bea,’" she mimics my voice. "It wasn't me. Your lover boy called my phone this morning. The creepy stalker that he is.” She talks in circles, knowing I'm dying to know what exactly he said.
"Annnd?" I almost beg.
"And said he had to take off, but he wanted to let me know where you were and that you were okay. Also asked me to bring you fresh clothes so you didn't have to slut hike it back to your room."
"He said slut hike?" I ask, my eyes wide and eyebrow raised.
"No, my words, but you get the idea. It's really sweet how he wanted to make sure you were okay, and had clothes, then he orchestrated this whole chocolate breakfast. Said something about how you didn't get to finish your cake, but I stopped him there."
I take all of this in as I sample the delicious spread. "He's thoughtful, gorgeous, funny, obviously successful, talented with his mouth… Bea, I really like him, and it scares me," I confess. "Getting back out there is one thing, but jumping in blind with both feet could ruin me."
She leans over, squeezing my hand. "I know, I know. But he's not Nathan. This isn't high school or college. You're not alone. You have me, Mona, and Lexi. We’ve got your back."
"I know. Thank you." I'm grateful to have Bea in my life, especially during that low point. I don't want to ever go back there. She's helped me realize I can be strong without being tough all the time.
"Oh, he also may have called because I threatened to castrate him if he messed with you," she adds, lightening the mood. "We better get this stuff packed up. Our flight’s in a couple hours. You can give me all the dirty deets in the air."
Smiling, I glance around the villa, remembering bits and pieces from our night together. It feels like something was awoken in me here, making it harder to leave. But knowing I'll see him again and this could be for more than one night excites me.
"Let me change." Grabbing my leggings and shoes, I pull them on, but leave my shirt in the bag. I'm wearing his shirt home.
When we have everything gathered, and Bea’s holding as many treats as she can carry, I stand in the doorway and look back around the room one last time, smiling.
"That's a good look on you." Bea catches my gaze.
I look down at his shirt again, frowning at my lack of bra. "What? Slutty?"
"No. Happy." And that's why she's my best friend. The door closes with a quiet thud. Time to get back to reality.
Chapter 11
Carter
The plush leather cushions my head as I lie back, closing my eyes, preparing for takeoff for the second time today. The plane taxis down the runway, and with a few bumps and rumbles, we're airborne.
"Nothing but blue skies," the pilot announces over the int
ercom. I open my eyes and unbuckle my lap belt. It's not long before I'm jilted in my seat by a large hand patting me on the shoulder.
"Looks like we survived another takeoff, pretty boy." Jett screws with me. As one of my oldest friends, it's his favorite thing to do. He takes a seat opposite me.
"Aren't you supposed to be—oh, I don't know, flying the plane?" I give it right back to him.
"Nah, you pay me the same regardless. Davis is trying to get his hours in and he's going to take over." Makes sense. "Plus, I figured, why hang out in there when I could come out here and bust your balls about this girl?" he continues, and I mentally kick myself for telling him about Mila this morning when he picked me up in Santa Barbara.
"Wow, my lucky day." Rolling my eyes, I stand to grab a drink from the plane's bar.
The attractive flight attendant pops out of nowhere. Probably the back room where she's been waiting for Jett. "Here, sir. Let me," she insists, looking past me to make eyes at Jett. Called it.
"That'll be all. Thank you." She heads back to her post. "Oh, and I would rather not be disturbed the remainder of the flight." She nods in understanding.
"Bye, Tessa," Jett calls, and I don't dare look at her reaction.
Drink poured, I return to my seat. "Was that really necessary? Why encourage it?" I take a sip, letting the golden liquid take the edge off.
He shoots me a grin. "What? Just because you lost your man card less than twenty-four hours ago doesn't mean I have to stop noticing hot blondes and start sending edible arrangements."
"It's not even like that," I try to explain.
"Says the guy who looks like shit and is day drinking," he throws out. "So, why are we headed to LA?"
"I have a two o’clock with AJ's father. Time to end this, once and for all." I take another sip.
"Christ! How do you think he's gonna handle you breaking your deal over a one night stand?"
"Fuck you. Call her that again and I'll lay you out," I threaten, my temper getting the better of me. "And AJ blew this arrangement, not me."
"Whoa, whoa!" His hands go up in defense. "I'm on your side here, but once AJ finds out..."
St. Helena Vineyard Series: Something Borrowed (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 4
