Page 21 of Rules of Engagement
Carter shoved his hands into his pockets as he stared at his brother and slowly nodded. He understood the risks.
What he had to figure out was how he could convince Eliza to trust him and give him a chance.
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Chapter 7
After a long and exhausting weekend of weddings that ended with a blessedly small but decently lucrative one on Sunday evening, Eliza walked to the kitchen table in Lincoln's house the following Monday a little before six and set down the many tote bags she carried.
Each held an assortment of wedding regalia, from invitation samples to table favors to popular color schemes and what could be done with them, her portfolio of photos including flower arrangements, food selections, and options. The list was endless.
Over the years, she'd accumulated quite a bit of leftover wedding supplies, given to her by brides who didn't know what to do with it all afterwards. Her three-bedroom home in Carolina Cove consisted of her bedroom and two storage rooms she could barely walk through.
Organizing her "stash" had been on her long list of to-dos forever, but she'd never found the time to make it happen. And though business had slowed due to her breakup with James, she'd filled the time with networking events in an attempt to salvage her career.
Eliza had just pulled the packs of invitations from the logo-ed material as the first item to go over with the happy couple when she looked up at the sound of a high-pitched squeal.
Piper played in the pool—with her gorgeous daddy. Her shirtless, tattooed, and impossibly muscular daddy.
"Like what you see?" Amelia asked softly.
Eliza flushed and ducked her head so that her hair hid her face, rummaging around in the bag to unload the rest of the samples. "Just checking o-on her. I heard her scream."
"Mmm," Amelia said. "I told Lincoln you were here. He's on a call but will be in as soon as he can. Oh, these are beautiful. It's going to be hard to choose," she said, flipping through the invitation sets.
"Since it's happening quickly, simple is best, but you definitely want to do something more than an e-vite."
"Yes. Absolutely."
"Did you give any more thought as to your color scheme?" Eliza asked, taking a quick peek out the window and struggling to not swallow her tongue.
Apparently playtime was over because father and daughter were now exiting the pool. Water sluiced down Carter's hard, muscled body, and his biceps bulged when he raked his fingers through his wet hair, the act delineating every taut muscle in his abs.
He had tattoos on both arms, though one of them snaked up his shoulder and onto his upper chest.
"But then maybe we could just have everyone come naked and bring in a Mariachi band."
"Mmm." Eliza blinked, her brain replaying Amelia's words and homing in on the last part of the sentence. "I'm sorry, what?"
Amelia grinned and shook her freshly highlighted head at Eliza.
"He's a really nice guy. Just so you know," Amelia said.
Eliza forced her attentionawayfrom the window and shook off the awareness Carter's nearly naked body had brought about. "I'm not looking."
"Oh, yeah, you were."
"No, I mean… I suppose Iwaslooking," she said, her face flaming hot, "but I'm not interested. In Carter o-or dating. That's not my focus right now."
"I see. Well, if you change your mind, just know that he's one of the good guys."
"I won't," Eliza said, settling on dumping the contents of the last bag she'd carted in. "Let's start with invitations, shall we? I brought ten of my favorites, but if those aren't to your liking, I have plenty more to look at."
"No, I like all of these. Especially… this one, I think," Amelia said, holding up a card featuring various pearlized seashells and starfishes, with gold seahorses, with silvery-gold script. "It's elegant, understated, and perfect for a coastal wedding."
"Awesome," Eliza said, lowering herself into a chair so she could open her wedding bible and begin Amelia's packet of information. Every detail went into the packet Eliza carried with her so that she was never without the bride's information and no mistakes would be made. "I have plenty of those on hand and can have them printed quickly. So you have had a chance to pull addresses for your guest list?"
"I have, but, um, about that. Lincoln and I both have more friends and associates we'd like to include. Will that be a problem?"
