Page 48 of Rules of Engagement
He had?
The statement reminded Eliza of what Marsali had said about Carter going above and beyond to prove his interest.
The cork popped and Carter poured two very full flutes, giving her one before lifting his.
"To second chances and beautiful women."
A huff of a laugh left her before she could stop it. Really, though? He'd left the toast ambiguous enough that he could've referred to Lincoln and Amelia—or to her. So which was it? "To Amelia and Lincoln," she said softly.
They clinked their glasses before sipping, and Eliza watched from their perch as guests began trickling out of the tent toward the front of the homes, where golf carts waited to transport them back to their cars.
The quiet of the night was broken by the sounds of crickets and frogs, the boat bobbing in the water, the low hum of talking and laughter from the tent. It was spectacularly beautiful, the perfect end to what had been a perfect day.
"So what kind do you want?"
"Pardon?"
Carter stood so close she felt the heat of his body enveloping her, warding off the chill of the breeze off the water.
"Wedding. How do you envision your perfect wedding?"
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Chapter 18
Asking a woman what kind of wedding she wanted wasn't normally something he did, but for Eliza and her profession, it just came naturally.
At least, until she put her head back and laughed.
"Oh, no way. If I'm ever crazy enough to get married, I'd elope."
He braced his forearms against the railing in front of him, taken aback by her words. "You're joking."
"Nope. What, you don't believe me?"
"I'm just… surprised," he said, his gaze lowering to her lips as they always did when she said thePsound that way. Did she do it on purpose? Sometimes he wondered, because it drove him crazy and made him want to kiss her.
Eliza sipped from her glass, her lips damp from champagne, and lifted one beautiful bare shoulder in a shrug.
Of all of the assets a woman had, he'd never considered shoulders or backs sexy, but looking at her in that dress, all he wanted was to touch her, stroke his fingers over her spine, and kiss her like—
"Yeah, well, after planning so many of them and seeing how crazy people get… I'll pass. Besides, I don't think my headset would pair well with a veil, and I'm too much of a control freak to hand it over to someone else. What about you? Did today make you think about your next wedding?"
"It did." Because the entire time he'd stood up there by Lincoln, he'd found his gaze on a certain headset-wearing wedding planner. "I think I'd follow Lincoln's lead, though. Let her pick the details."
"What did you and Piper's mother do?"
He liked that she was comfortable enough with him now to ask whatever she wanted. "We had a little wedding at the courthouse. Just us and Lincoln and Jill, the minister." He watched as Eliza lifted a delicate hand and brushed the hair back from her face.
She wore it up in a messy twist of some sort that made him want to search out the pins and tug her close for a kiss. But to get there probably meant not talking about his ex. "Now that you have a weekend free of weddings, how about we take the boat out tomorrow for that dinner?"
He saw the way her teeth sank into her lower lip and noted the flash of indecision that crossed her face. His gut tightened as he waited to see if she'd turn him down. Just when he was about to give her his reasons why she shouldn't, she nodded.
"Okay. Yeah, I— That sounds fun."
"Good. Now that that's settled," he said, taking her glass and setting both aside, "dance with me."
"Dance? Carter, I have to get back."
