by Kay Lyons
"Bite me. And give me one of those," he said, wagging his fingers for a bottle of water. He'd rather have a beer but these days it paid to have a clear head. Especially when teenage girls were in his house. Thankfully this one seemed a little more grounded, but only time would tell. And he still had to find yet another one to pick up the slack since girls that age tended to be busy and notoriously unreliable.
The thought brought on others he'd been pondering a lot lately. His construction business was doing well. He had a good crew working for him. Maybe instead of finding a babysitter, he should try promoting someone to foreman and take a step back from things? Work after-school hours from home the way Mac had started doing after his first wife's death? "Where's Linc?"
"His text said he had some things to do but he'd be over soon."
"Man, he's been working crazy hours trying to get a handle on things before he and Amelia get married," Carter said.
The thought of his brother's upcoming nuptials made Carter wonder if their nightly "guy" ritual would continue after Lincoln tied the knot or if their hang-out sessions would dwindle down to the two remaining bachelors. Time would tell. Until then… "Haven't seen Marsali around. How's she doing?"
Carter asked the question to get a rise out of Mac, and sure enough, the man drew back and glared at Carter with all the animosity of a friend with a hot sister.
"Watch yourself," Mac said, pointing a finger at Carter.
"Just asking."
"Don't."
"Gentlemen," Lincoln said. "What are we arguing about tonight?"
Lincoln had managed to leave his house and join them without either of them noticing. "Marsali."
"Carter's underage babysitter and how he fired her."
Carter grimaced and shook his head at his older brother. The last thing he needed was Lincoln reverting to old times when he’d had reason to lecture as Carter's legal guardian, but at thirty-three, he was a grown man and Lincoln had lost the right.
"Another one?" Lincoln asked.
"Had to be done. And I already hired another. Piper's checking her out tonight," Carter said, shooting a death glare at a smirking Mac.
"Good. But lay off Marsali. She isn't your type," Lincoln added.
"Definitely not," Mac said.
"How do you figure that? She's beautiful, smart, has her own business." Carter waited for the fallout.
"No," Lincoln and Mac said in unison.
"Why not? She's age appropriate," he said, just to egg them on. He really wasn't interested in Marsali, though his thoughts about her hotness were totally accurate. She was just a little too… sweet for him, though. And there was the fact she was his buddy's little sis. Even he knew not to cross that bridge. Do that, and if things go south, you lose the relationship and the friend. "You always say I look in the wrong places, which is why I hook up with the wrong women. Maybe Marsali and I—"
"Do you want me to kill you?" Mac demanded. "Keep talking."
Carter settled himself more comfortably in his seat so he could prop his foot on the coffee table. "Guys, Piper needs a mama. How many times have you said I don't choose the best women?"
"Barflies would seldom be the right choice," Lincoln said. "And that's usually where you look."
"Which is why Marsali—"
"Where's Amelia?" Mac asked, ending the conversation.
"She is at a wedding for an associate," Lincoln said. "She wanted me to go but I had a ton of work to get done. But Marsali recommended a wedding planner, and the woman has proven hard to get in touch with, so they're going to track her down there."
"Eliza?" Mac asked, his eyebrows drawn down in a frown.
"Yeah, that's her," Lincoln said. "She planned the wedding taking place tonight."
"Wedding planner, huh? No justice of the peace?" Carter asked, knowing his brother wasn't the kind of guy who liked a big fuss.
"It might be my second but it's Amelia's first," Lincoln said with a shrug. "I want her to plan whatever she wants."
"Eliza's good," Mac said. "If anyone can put something together fast and keep it looking nice, she's the one. It'll help her out, too. She's had a rough year."
When Lincoln and Carter both stared at Mac, the man shrugged.
"Eliza's boyfriend was also her business partner. He bailed after banging the secretary and then went into business with her, taking more than his share of clients with him through some underhanded deals."
"Nice guy," Carter said, wincing at the news. No one liked being betrayed, and having been through that type of scenario more than once himself, he empathized.
Lincoln's phone bleeped and Carter watched as his brother read the message and smiled.
"What? Amelia sexting you?" Carter asked.
"No, but the girls apparently stayed after the reception to talk wedding details and finished off some champagne. Amelia needs a ride."
"As does my sister," Mac said, shaking his head while staring at his smart watch. "Apparently we're their Ubers."
"Well, I'm due some entertainment," Carter said, standing when they did. "I'll tag along. Piper's babysitter is good for another two hours."
Mac didn't budge and Carter was aware of his friend staring at him. "What?" he asked. "Afraid I'm going to mack on your drunk sister?"
Lincoln groaned and Mac took a step closer, a dark glower on his face. Carter sighed. "Oh, come on. I'm not into Marsali, okay? She's cute but Linc's right. She's too sweet for my tastes. I'm just going along for kicks."
Mac's gaze narrowed, but after a moment, he seemed to accept Carter's words as truth, and the three of them made their way through their respective houses to properly lock up and inform before meeting outside of Mac's to climb into his large SUV.
Getting to the hotel didn't take long, and as they entered the lobby, feminine laughter filled the atrium. Carter spotted the ladies immediately, his gaze zeroing in on the dark-haired beauty sitting with Marsali and Amelia. The woman's bodacious smile drew his attention, and once he was close enough to get a better look, he noted how her deep green eyes sparkled with amusement. Pair those eyes with her sable hair and flushed cheeks, and she was the ultimate southern girl.
"Ah, there's my handsome man now," Amelia said, giggling. "Hi, future husband."
Lincoln bent over the couch where Amelia sat and bussed a kiss over her lips. Carter watched the exchange, a tug of envy tightening his muscles.
For all the talk and bluster and teasing, he envied the love Lincoln had found with Amelia. The high school sweethearts had parted ways back then but, twenty years later, were happier than he'd ever seen them.
His brother had been blessed twice over with quality women, whereas Carter had repeatedly chosen badly and ended up alone and struggling as a single dad.
Truth be told, he wanted what Lincoln had found, but after two tries, that didn't seem to be in the cards for him.
"Ahh, the bachelors," Marsali said, giving them a quizzical look along with a tilt of her curly head. "You know, it reflects poorly on me that my own brother won't let me match him up," she said. "Or you," Marsali said, pointing at Carter and waggling her finger. "You need to hire me. See how well I do?" she said, waving a hand toward the couple now snuggled up in the oversized chair where Amelia sat.
"I'll find my own match," Mac said to his sister. "And stop harassing my friends for clients."
"That's what I said," the brunette agreed with a nod of her finger-mussed hair and lift of her glass.
Mac chuckled. "Eliza, you're looking… happy."
"That's 'cause the check didn't bounce and Bridezilla's daddy was so happy to get her off his hands he gave us that to celebrate," Eliza said, waving a manicured hand toward a huge bottle of Dom sitting on the coffee table across from her. "Oh! And Amelia and I made some progress in planning her two-week wedding."
Cheers went up among the women once more, and they raised their glasses and downed the last of their drinks like sorority girls. The guys watched with varying degrees of amusement and headshaking.
&
nbsp; "Ladies, it's been fun but I have had a looong, exhausting day," Eliza said. "Amelia, I'll email you the contract sometime tomorrow evening."
"Thank you again," Amelia said. "I'm so glad you agreed to be our planner."
"Yes, thank you," Lincoln said to Eliza.
"You got it," Eliza said. "Marsali, girl, we need to stop saying we'll get together for that girls' weekend and actually do it."
"Agreed."
"Hold up," Mac said. "Eliza, how are you getting home?"
"Not going," Eliza stated, setting her glass on the table. "Perks of being a wedding planner. I get a room and a write-off when an event ends after a certain time. I just have to get to my room and remember not to skinny-dip in the hot tub on the way," she said, scooting to the edge of the couch cushion.
Skinny-dip? Carter mused. He wouldn't mind seeing that.
Eliza got to her feet and wobbled, and standing closest to her, Carter quickly reached out to steady her.
"Hmm. Hello. Who are you again?"
Amelia introduced them and Carter ignored Mac's glare. His buddy couldn't claim "off-limits" on both his sister and her beautiful friend. That just wasn't cool. "Nice to meet you, Eliza," he said, sliding her arm through his. "How about I walk you to your room?"
Chapter 3
Eliza stared up into the slate-colored eyes of Carter Hayes and wondered if her anti-men stance wasn't just a little too hasty. Because right now? Looking at him? Carter Hayes checked the boxes with his tall, muscular frame and angular face.
His good looks had that bad-boy slant she'd always found so appealing, the one that made her lose her senses and do stupid things like catch feelings and fall in love—until said bad boys lived up to their reputations and she was left with a broken heart.
"Eliza?"
Her name emerged in that deep, husky voice of his, and like it or not, a shiver ran the length of her spine before she mentally stomped on it like an annoying bug. "Mm?"
Carter chuckled at her response and even that sounded sexy.
Yup. She was officially drunk—well, tipsy might be a better word, but she was definitely something to be considering him as anything other than trouble.
Obviously champagne bubbles held more punch than she'd thought.
Maybe it's the fact you haven't eaten since breakfast?
Regardless, the next time she saw Carter Hayes, he wasn't as likely to be so handsome.
Yeah, right.
"I'm going to walk Eliza past the hot tub to her room. I'll meet you back here in a bit," Carter said.
She smiled at his joke and earned another grin from him.
"Behave yourself," Mac said, the word a low growl.
Eliza giggled and then frowned at her reaction, both to the handsome stranger and Mac's perturbed expressions.
Please. She so didn't sleep with people she'd just met. Or skinny-dip with them.
She lifted a hand to wave goodbye at her friends, ignoring Marsali's exaggerated wink and wide smile.
Eliza turned toward the bank of elevators on the left. Except… that was a half wall with dining tables on the other side.
When had they moved the elevators? She would've thought it would take longer than a day, and they'd been right there this morning.
"This way, sweetheart."
Sweetheart? She was nobody's sweetheart. Or darling. Or honey. She'd worked her tail off to get her business off the ground, and then stupidity had walked away with half of it—and her administrative assistant.
Her mood darkened like it did every time she thought of the betrayal, and she leaned into the hard, solid body steadying her as well as steering her toward the right. She allowed Carter to lead since he seemed to know where the elevators had been moved.
Which begged the question of why he knew. She knew the layout of every nice hotel in town due to her profession but he… Why did he know?
She peeked up at him from beneath her lashes. "Do you do this often?"
"What?"
"Walk strange women to their hotel rooms. I mean, I'm not strange but… You know what I mean."
His lips quirked up at the corners and brought out a dimple.
Seriously? Could the man be any more gorgeous?
She squinted. Hard. Waiting to find some flaw in him, because there had to be one.
Looks-wise he passed muster and then some, but maybe he had some unsightly rash? STD? Wore nipple rings? Because that was so not attractive. Or maybe—
"Do you do this often? Get drunk in hotel lobbies?"
A giggle burst out of her at the ludicrous suggestion, and she winced at the sound, knowing no professional wedding planner should be caught drunk-giggling. Ever. "No. I rarely get to kick back with the girls, but the Dom was a nice surprise bonus from Bridezilla's daddy, and with another wedding tomorrow, I knew better than to drink it all. Plus, we had Amelia's wedding to plan so… Sharing was the proper thing to do."
"I see. So tell me, Eliza, why haven't I met you before?" he asked. "I've known Mac a few months now and Marsali hangs out sometimes but… I haven't seen you around."
"Summer is my busiest season. I keep meaning to stop by and see Mac's new house but there just hasn't been time. Plus, Mac and I don't hang out unless Marsali is around."
"Why's that?"
Color surged to her face and she felt it burn. "It's… awkward."
"You can tell me."
"Well, he, um, kissed me about a year ago."
"It wasn't a good kiss?"
"Like kissing my brother."
Carter's booming laughter filled the hotel lobby. "Brother, huh?" he said, flashing her another sexy smile.
Did he actually look pleased at the news?
The kiss had been an accident. She and Mac had met by happenstance in downtown Wilmington and chatted briefly. Upon saying goodbye, he'd leaned down to hug her right as she'd risen into him, and she'd slipped on a rock beneath her shoe, meshing their mouths instead. Mac had apparently thought she was actually kissing him and taken it a step further until she'd pulled away. Much eye contact was avoided because of her horrified response.
Which was why there was no need to share that information with anyone. Much less Mac's neighbor.
Too late now.
As they crossed the expansive lobby, Eliza realized she should feel nervous about having a big, hunky stranger walk her to her door, but given that Marsali and Amelia waited below, not to mention Mac, she felt perfectly safe. One yelp and her friends would come running, especially in the open atrium design of the hotel, where sound tended to carry.
"What floor?" he asked.
The elevator doors opened just as they arrived, and once the passengers got off, Carter urged her inside. Eliza turned too quickly, and her brain slushed among the bubbles that had made their way there and bobbed like a buoy as a result. "Ohh," she said, her body gently banging into the elevator wall. "Head rush."
Carter lifted an eyebrow at her and chuckled again.
"You're a cute drunk, I'll give you that."
"I'm not drunk."
"No?"
"Nope," she said, making a popping sound on the P.
His gaze shifted downward in the general direction of her mouth because of what she'd done, and she was glad the wall had her back with the trail of heat left behind as a result. All from those eyes of his. And, well, the rest of him, too.
Who knew a dark gaze and sooty lashes could be such a thing for her? Until now she'd never really thought she had a preference for eye color. Turned out she did.
And, okay, maybe she was a little more tipsy than she'd first thought while sitting on the couch, because the floor did seem to be tilting just a bit—but it was only because she hadn't eaten since breakfast.
What were they talking about?
Oh, yeah. "Two glasses of champagne does not make me drunk."
"Is that right?"
"It's because I didn't eat," she said defensively. "The wedding today was a huge pain in the—" She forced herself to stop a
nd licked her dry lips, closing her eyes and pasting on what she hoped was a professional demeanor. "Well, let's just say the bride today was difficult," she said. And until she managed to get her business back up to speed, she couldn't afford to hire a full-time assistant, which left her hiring untrained hourlies who had to be constantly watched and instructed and that meant… not having time to eat.
"What floor, sweetheart?"
"Four. No, wait. Six. I'm on six."
"You're sure?"
That look of his… Did the man know the power he wielded with that face? The amusement in his gaze left her lifting her chin high. "I was on the fourth floor first, but there was an issue with the room and they switched me, so yup."
Crap, she did it again. She looked way from the gaze that was once more on her mouth and watched as he stretched out a long arm toward the numbered panel. From there her gaze slid up his arm to what she could see of his tattoo. She'd always had a thing for tats, too. Especially on muscles that looked good enough to—
"Something on your mind?" he asked.
"N-no."
"You're staring."
"You're… very tan," she mused, scrambling for an excuse.
Carter pressed the button and then settled his lean hips against the elevator wall opposite hers. The stance should've looked slouchy, but instead he looked relaxed and amused and tan, and it made her think of some naughty things to do while the elevator climbed.
"I work construction. Comes with the territory."
"The muscles must be part of the job, too, then." The words left her mouth before she could stop them, and she silently berated herself for the nervousness making her say—and think— things she shouldn't.
Carter tucked his chin toward his chest, his gaze narrowed on her, and crossed his arms over his chest. The move made his biceps bulge and stretch the seams of his sea-blue shirt, revealing more of the tattoos. She blinked at the sight and tried to unglue her tongue from the roof of her mouth.
"Does that make part of your job looking as beautiful as the bride?"
The line was kind of cheesy, but there was an appreciation in his gaze that left her believing his words to be sincere. Or that of a bad boy trying to get laid? "Are you always this flirty with women you don't know?"
