Page 40 of Rules of Engagement
"I hate to leave you when Marsali and Kellie just left, but I have to make sure we're good to go for when I'm honeymooning."
"This is what I do, remember? Go do what you do," Eliza said.
Amelia quickly hugged Eliza before heading out the door. Carter watched as Amelia sent him a grin over her shoulder before shutting the door behind her.
"Time for a break," he said to Eliza. "You've been going nonstop since you got here. How about something to drink? Water? Wine? I may have some sodas."
"Water would be nice," she said. "Thanks."
He moved to the fridge to retrieve a bottle for both of them, but as he crossed the room, he noted the way she wouldn't quite look him in the eyes.
"Um… you know, I have a lot of work to do before I call it a day. Maybe I should take it to Mac's since—"
"No." Carter slid a hand over his hair and tried to make his loud blurt sound more relaxed than it was. "I mean, all the stuff is here, so it just has to be carried straight out the door the day of, right? There's no sense in moving it only to move it again."
Eliza bit her lower lip and worried it between her teeth. Something he wouldn't mind doing to her himself.
"I just don't want to wake Piper… or intrude."
It was early yet, but Piper had school and his daughter was a sleepyhead, which made an early bedtime essential to getting her moving in the morning. "You aren't intruding. And you definitely won't wake her. Once she's out, she's out. Been that way since day one. Getting her settled down is the hardest part. She goes until she literally crashes."
Eliza grabbed a box and opened it before getting another.
"What's all this?" he asked, indicating an oversized bottle he spotted in one of the boxes.
"Instead of a guestbook, guests leave a message for Lincoln and Amelia. The bottle is sealed at the end of the night, and they open it on their first anniversary and read the notes."
"And those?" He lifted his head in a nod toward her new project.
"Gourmet chocolate wedding favors. They need bagged, tagged, and then added to the baskets."
"Would you like some help?"
Eliza's gaze flicked toward his then away again.
"Uh… sure."
He washed his hands and then donned a pair of plastic gloves. "I'll bag, you tag? I doubt I can make them as pretty as you."
"Okay. Sure. Two chocolates in each."
He set to work, and it wasn't long before he figured out the quickest way to stuff the seashell-shaped chocolates into the tiny bags since it wasn't as easy as one might think.
Carter finished another bag and moved to set it between them right when Eliza reached for another, and their hands brushed.
"Sorry," she said, withdrawing.
"No problem. Eliza?"
"What?"
"Tell me something about you." He waited and when she finally met his gaze, he willed her to maintain contact this time.
"Like what?"
"I don't know. How'd you get into this?"
The question seemed to be less personal than she was expecting and she visibly relaxed a bit.
