Page 115 of Charming Deception

“I’m doing exactly what you said you wanted me to do. So you’d better back me up tonight. I have to go.” I hang up on him as Megan appears. She pauses at the top of the stairs, meeting my eyes.

She’s goddamn stunning.

The dress she’s wearing is fitted, hitting just above the knee, with long sleeves and a dipping neckline. The sheen of the glittery fabric highlights every curve. I can’t help wondering if she chose it because it goes so well with the ring.

She’s wearing that, too.

I can see it on her finger, glittering, as she descends the stairs. The dress sparkles, flowing with the movements of her body, the silken waves of her hair looking soft and strokable.

Her sparkling amber eyes are goddamn otherworldly.

“Hi,” she says, those eyes drifting over me in my charcoal-gray three-piece suit and tie. I’ve never felt more like a man than when she looks at me like that. The result is a shot of pure testosterone to the spine.

I swear I stand up straighter without even meaning to as I extend a hand to her.

After the slightest hesitation, she slips her hand into mine. It’s small and warm, unbelievably soft.

“You look beautiful,” I say roughly. Stunning, incredible, fucking divine would’ve been more accurate. But I’m trying to keep myself in check here.

Especially after staring at her over breakfast for way too long without even telling her she was falling out of her bra. Still can’t believe I handled that like such an adolescent.

“Thank you. And thank you for the dress.” She finishes her perusal of my suit and smiles at me, her sweet face lighting up.

My heart squeezes, because my body knows that I’m already in over my head, even if I’m too stubborn to admit it to myself.

* * *

In the limo on the way to dinner, I offer Megan a drink, but she declines, saying she’s too anxious.

“I’d really like to tell you there’s no need to be anxious, but I’m aware my family can be intimidating.”

She laughs nervously. “Yeah, I asked Cole about them, and he didn’t exactly put me at ease.”

“He’s not a huge fan,” I admit.

“Of anyone in the Vance family?” She raises an eyebrow.

I know what she’s thinking.

Cole wasn’t much of a fan of me this afternoon.

He didn’t tell me he was flying back from California to confront me. I came home to find him waiting in my living room, pacing, pissed that I’d gotten engaged to his sister without asking him first.

I should’ve known what a sore spot that would be. Maybe I chose to try to convince myself it would all be okay, because I was so fixated on getting that yes out of Megan. But I know he blames himself for failing to protect her from her ex over the years.

So, as soon as he saw me, he started yelling at me. I half expected him to take a swing at me, but he didn’t. The situation was quickly defused, and we smoothed things over with a drink and a conversation that ended in a hug.

Cole couldn’t be mad at me for long, so there was that. But Megan had really done the heavy lifting. Apparently, they’d already had a chat and she’d talked him down. Defended me, even, according to him.

She’s already proving a loyal fiancée.

Makes me want to reward her. Wrap all that silken hair around my fist and tug her head back, seal my mouth over hers as I slide my other hand between her legs and?—

I clear my throat. “He’s never really clicked with any of my brothers.”

“Oh.”

I figure she’s wondering why, and if my siblings are anything like me.

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