Married by Monday (Weekday Brides) (5 page)

“
Hey,” she managed without stuttering.

He offered a
hey
back, but averted his gaze to Neil. “Let’s get this moving,”

Gwen’s radiant smile beamed toward Neil, and she snuggled into his arm.

Neil pulled at his collar and nodded toward Carter.

The music outside started to play, and Eliza let Carter escort her down the hall.

As soon as she and Carter stepped into the aisle, his charming smile manifested, and he moved Eliza a little closer to him.

He finally allowed her a glance, but must have not liked what he saw. “You look lovely,” he said.

“
You must be blind,” she whispered and smiled as she did.

Two photographers snapped pictures. One hired by Samantha, the other hand picked from the media. The camera seemed to focus an awful lot on the two of them.

Good thing Neil had the okay to delete any pictures he didn’t deem appropriate.

“
You look like Daisy Duke. Very Texas,” he managed from the corner of his upturned mouth.

“
Daisy Duke would be wearing cutoffs and showing her butt cheeks.” Eliza nodded toward one of her and Sam’s clients who was seated on her right.

Carter chuckled under his breath. More flashes of light arrested her senses.

He led her up to the front and held her hand briefly before letting go and taking his place beside Blake.

The ceremony was brief. A renewing of vows with a sprinkling of words of devotion spoken from both Sam and Blake.

And though the gown stuck to Eliza’s skin by the time they were done, a tiny bit of emotion clogged her throat. Samantha and Blake were very much in love and seeing them together gave Eliza a splattering of hope for humanity.

****

Eliza snagged a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, and Carter’s palms grew damp as she let the sweet beverage trickle down her throat.

He licked his lips while a shot of desire wedged in his gut and wouldn’t let go.

Kathleen nudged his arm. “Is that the girl from the pictures in the paper?”

Embarrassed he’d been caught staring, and if he were honest, lusting, after a woman other than the one he’d arrived with, Carter turned to his date. “The woman with the dark hair?” he asked, forging innocence.

Kathleen offered a wan smile. “I’m not a fool.”

No, Kathleen wasn’t that. “Yes, that’s her.”

His date took a moment to stare over her glass. “She’s very beautiful, despite that awful dress.”

He nearly laughed and twisted his head toward Eliza again. He thought of her comment about cutoffs and butt cheeks and felt some of the week’s tension lift. “I suppose.”

“
Suppose? Please, Carter, you’ve hardly taken your eyes off her all night.”

Damn.
“I’m overloaded since the bar incident. Seeing her and Gwen again has my thoughts turned around.” Which wasn’t a lie. Only it wasn’t Gwen who fueled his apprehension.

Kathleen placed a hand on his forearm and managed a half smile. “I think it might be more than that.”

He started to shake his head and she stopped him. “Tell me, do you think you have the same chances today as you did last week to win in November?”

“
We’ll start damage control tomorrow.”

“
But you’re not as sure any longer?”

Kathleen’s blue eyes met his.

“
I’m not sure.” He might have to wait another four years for the opportunity to clear his image.

She sighed and tilted her head. “You know what you need?”

“
No, tell me.”

“
You need a new scandal to overshadow the old. Something noble. With an impact of a soldier coming home from war.”

Perhaps.

The back of Carter’s neck tickled with awareness. He twisted and noticed Eliza shift her eyes away suddenly.

When he turned back to Kathleen, she shook her head and lowered her eyes. “This isn’t working for me, Carter.”

He stared at her for a long moment, neither of them speaking. Memories of their short time together flashed and were finished in less than a minute. He wanted to feel something with her declaration and he did. She was calling an end to their dating and he was relieved.

“
I’m sorry,” was all he could say.

Kathleen lifted her head high, leaned in, and kissed his cheek. “Goodbye, Carter.” She turned and walked away.

****

It wasn’t her business.

She didn’t care.

Eliza noticed Carter’s beautifully polished date slip away from his side. The woman was clingy. Not something Eliza thought he’d admire in a woman. Apparently, she was wrong.

Samantha waved a hand in front of her face. “Earth to Eliza.”

They’d been talking about something, but she couldn’t recall what. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

“
Are you sure it’s okay if Gwen stays with you for a while?”

That shook Eliza awake. “Stay with me?” Had she agreed to something while staring at Carter and his date?

“
You’ve not heard a word I’ve said, have you?”

“
No. Yes, I heard you say Gwen is staying in Malibu while you and Blake take another honeymoon. Which is the only thing about getting married every year that’s worth the effort by the way. What’s this about Gwen staying with me?”

“
We’re only going to be gone five days. Gwen will be with Eddie and our staff, but when we come home she wants to stay with you. She said you were fine with it.”

I am?

“
You’re not fine with it,” Samantha said.

“
No, I’m just… We didn’t discuss it.”

Sam shrugged. “She thought it was okay.” Samantha rubbed the inside of her palms together, a sure sign she had something to say but wasn’t uttering a word.

“
Out with it.”

There were very few things the two of them kept from each other. No reason not to be blunt. “C’mon, Sam. You have something to say.”

“
Gwen wants to work for Alliance.”

“
Work? Has Gwen ever worked a day in her life?”

Sam squeezed her eyes together. “Technically, no. But—”

“
It’s a bad idea.” One week with Gwen and Carter was losing an election and Eliza’s face was plastered on papers all over the world.

“
Hear me out. I don’t think Gwen is cut out for office work. But we could use her connections to find more women for our registry. Who knows, she might even be able to find men to match with the women.”

Sam had a point.

“
If you’re that against it—”

“
No. I’m not.” Eliza took a deep breath. Ultimately, Samantha was the boss. Though she’d always respected Eliza’s opinion, and they’d never taken on a client that rubbed one of them wrong. This was a different matter. And to top it off, Gwen was Sam’s sister-in-law. Not something they could overlook. “I’m standing here wearing something the yellow tooth fairy threw up. All because Gwen is hard to say no to.”

“
Which is why she’d be great for recruiting.”

Sam’s pleading eyes said it all.

“
Okay, we give her a trial run. She’ll probably hate living in the burbs after a week and want to go home anyway.”

“
Probably,” Sam agreed with a smile. “Thanks.”

Sam hugged her and left her side. Eliza attempted to peel away the material of her dress from her chest. She hated the heat. After flicking open her fan, she found some relief with the forced air against her damp skin.

“
Are you ready for those cutoffs?”

Carter’s voice caressed the back of her neck. The vision of him “almost kissing” her flooded her senses. She swallowed but didn’t turn his way. “Do you have any?”

“
I can arrange them.” Why did his words sound so much like a seductive offer?

“
Trying to get me out of this dress?”

“
I’ve had worse thoughts.”

She turned and saw his cocky smile. “Don’t you have a date?”

“
Yep.”

“
Then why are you standing here flirting with me?” Eliza was a good many things, but a poacher on another woman’s guy, she wasn’t. Even if Eliza had known Carter a lot longer than his arm candy, he didn’t arrive with her and that made him off limits.

“
Is that what I’m doing?”

“
That’s what it feels like. And I have to tell ya, it’s a bad idea.”

“
What’s a bad idea?”

“
You and me…flirting. We clash. Remember? Last Christmas we were shouting at each other over the Christmas pudding.”

“
We were arguing about a call between Green Bay and Carolina. The ref sided with me.”

“
The ref was blind.” Her voice rose and all thoughts of Carter flirting with her sailed away like a pesky mosquito running from RAID.

Carter smirked.

“
What’s so funny?”

“
All you need is a big black stripe, and you’d look like an angry hornet in that dress.”

She would have hurled an insult at him if he wasn’t so flippin’ right. Instead, she huffed out a laugh, glanced down at her dress, and let her arms flop to the side. “God it’s awful. For the record, Gwen picked it out.”

Carter turned around. “On Gwen it isn’t that bad. It’s not good, but…”

“
Something tells me Gwen would look good in whipped cream.” She was that beautiful. Classic lines, the perfect height, and laughing eyes. Gorgeous, and currently surrounded by three guys.

“
Whipped cream huh?”

Eliza placed her focus on Carter and felt a simmering heat along her skin.

Whipped cream and a trickle of chocolate syrup down your thick chest.
Eliza nibbled on her lower lip and a flash of light sucked her out of her brief fantasy.

She and Carter both turned to glare at the photographer. Nonplussed by their anger, the photographer was checking the digital display and nodding. “Man it’s hot tonight,” was all he said before walking away.

“
Should we allow that?”

Carter shrugged. “Better than a bar fight.”

For a brief time, Eliza had completely forgotten the fight. “How’s the campaign?”

He hesitated with his answer, then said. “Not good.”

My fault.

“
I feel responsible,” she admitted.

“
You do?”

“
Well, yeah… If I hadn’t taken Gwen there, you guys wouldn’t have followed. One thing lead to another and all that. If there’s something I can do to help.”

Eliza considered repeating her words when Carter stood staring at her. Somewhere in his head, he was thinking up something and struggling with the image it created.

“
Carter? Are you okay?”

“
Uh huh. Just thinking if there is something you can do.” His words came out slow and steady.

“
Right. I was there. I know you didn’t start the fight. I could tell a reporter.”

“
Uh huh.” He kept staring and mumbled, “I don’t know.”

“
You don’t know what?”

“
Know what?” he repeated her question.

“
You’re not making any sense.”

He snapped out of his thoughts. “When are you leaving tomorrow?”

“
In the afternoon. I’m flying out with Sam and Blake.”

“
So you’ll be in L.A. after that?”

“
It’s where I live, Hollywood. Not all of us have the funds to charter a private plane.” Eliza used the nickname Samantha had given him when they met. His big-screen good looks were every producer’s wet dream. Instead of searching for fame, he picked law.
Yawn!

“
Right,” he said with the smirk returning to his lips. “I have a press conference in two days at the Beverly Hilton. Can you be there?”

She swallowed and felt her palms dampen even more. “To explain what happened?”

“
If need be.”

What could she say? It was her fault he needed the press conference. She had to do something to make it right. “Yeah. I can be there.”

Carter let loose a full smile, the one Hollywood would love to have.

“
You should get back to your date. I’ll bet she’s looking for you.”

Carter tore his eyes away from her and glanced around the room. Eliza noticed his date laughing at something another man was saying. “Looks like someone’s moving in,” she told him, nudging his arm.

“
She cut me loose. They can move in all they want.”

Eliza stared at him. “She dumped you?”

He nodded, but his expression didn’t change. Kathleen obviously wasn’t that important to him. Or maybe there was more to the dump.

“
Wait, she didn’t dump you because of the election did she?”

He shrugged.

A strange weight fell on Eliza’s chest. A mixture of relief that Carter wasn’t attached, which was completely unwanted on her part, and dose of what a “rat” Kathleen must be to dump a guy for such a shallow reason. If his date knew Carter at all, she knew that beyond his often arrogant demeanor he’d protect a woman despite how the media would take it. Guys like Carter didn’t exist outside of books.