Page 65 of Rules of Engagement
"Grandma, we need you in the photos!" someone called.
"Trust runs both ways, my dear. You fix it by proving to him you were taken aback by the news, but you see the man. Now, I have to go. Will you be okay?"
Eliza nodded and hugged the woman, whispering her thanks. The woman walked toward her family and the waiting photographer, and Eliza watched as her balding, older husband met her with a sweet kiss, tucking her beneath a protective arm as they joined the group under the driftwood arbor.
Trembling to the very depths of her soul, Eliza lifted her fingers to her headset and pressed the button to speak. "Kel, I have to leave. Can you handle things here?"
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Chapter 26
Carter sat at the bar, sandwiched between Mac and Lincoln. He wasn't sure why Mac had insisted they come here to eat since it was the same hotel where he'd first laid eyes on Eliza. Knowing Mac, it was to torture Carter and rub salt in the wound.
"Marsali said Eliza looks awful," Mac said.
"They make a matched set then," Lincoln added from Carter's left.
He glared at his so-called friend and brother in the mirror over the bar, his drink halfway to his lips when he spotted Eliza crossing the lobby behind them.
Carter swiveled on the seat and glanced at Mac long enough to see his smirk.
"You're not the only one who can read a calendar—or want her to have help if she needs it."
Carter took off out of the bar, his gaze taking in Eliza's small frame. "Eliza."
She swung around and he hated himself when he spotted her red-rimmed eyes. She did look awful—beautiful but gaunt, like she'd lost weight and hadn't slept. "Hey."
Eliza blinked at him, her head shaking slightly as though she tried to clear her vision.
"What are you doing here?"
"Where are you going?"
The questions were asked in unison, filled the space between them and hung there in awkwardness. "The, uh, guys— Mac knew where you'd be and brought us in case you needed help."
"Marsali," she whispered.
He nodded, uncaring about the details. Only that she was there. "Probably. Where are you going?"
"Oh, um, I-I was going up to my room to fix my face before… I was coming to see you."
"Now? Aren't you in the middle of a wedding?" he asked, his entire body tensing at the hope springing to life inside of him.
"Yes, but… I have to talk to you. Can we? Please?"
Now that his temper and frustration had cooled, talking seemed like a really good idea. "Walk you to your room?"
She smiled, the expression on her face revealing that she remembered the night they first met, and he felt it like a punch to his gut.
Carter stepped toward her and clasped her shoulder in his hand, tucking her to his side, and tried to be the strength she needed looking as tired as she did.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "You were right about me… about mejudgingyou. I totally did that and it was wrong of me and I apologize."
"Apology accepted," he said, stopping in front of the elevators. He punched the button with a finger and waited for her to continue.
"I wish you'd told me the truth from the beginning—"
"Me, too," he readily agreed.
