Page 6 of Rules of Engagement
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. "Oryou," 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 usthatto 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.
"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 sisterandher 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?"
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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'dalwaysfound 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?"
