Page 21 of The Wedding Deal
Lance straightened and made introductions, confirming the group was comprised of his mom, Maribelle; his brother, Mitch, and fiancée, Stacy; as well as his sister, Taylor, her husband, and his two nephews, Aaron and Austin. “…and this is Charlotte James, mybusiness associate. Charlotte is the Mustangs’ human resources director. I tripled her workload by shaking everything up, so I figured the least I could do was bring her along to the beach where she could get in some sunshine and catch a few waves while we worked.”
“Lovely to meet you,” Maribelle said. Charlotte extended a hand, but the woman made apshawnoise and pulled her into a hug. “We’re a family of huggers.”
Charlotte gave Lance a teasing glance. “I never would’ve guessed.”
“That’s because you have rules against everything,” he muttered so just she could hear, and she barely resisted sticking her tongue out at him.
“You both are joining us for dinner, right?” Maribelle asked, her expression all expectant.
“Oh,” Charlotte said, panic surging forward and abrading her senses. “I’ve got a lot of work to do, and I don’t want to interrupt your family plans.”
“Nonsense. Tell your boss to give you the night off.” Maribelle patted Lance’s chest. “Dinner’s at Basnight’s at six o’clock. It wasn’t easy to get reservations for such a large group, so don’t be late.”
Well that was that. Apparently Charlotte would be having dinner with Lance’s entire family.
Chapter Eight
At the soft knock, Lance crossed the living room area of his suite and swung open the door.
His breath caught as he took in Charlotte, her hair pinned up in one of those twisty things women did. Her dress was black and came all the way up to the neck, but her sleeves were sheer, and there was something really hot about that. He still couldn’t believe what she’d said about the guys she’d met at the speed dating event, and how they weren’t interested in her. Did she not realize she was beautiful? Not that she’d allow him to tell her, because it’d break the rules.
To keep himself from blurting out something he shouldn’t, he focused on finishing up the knot in his tie. “You could’ve just used the key I gave you instead of having to knock. This is our office for the time being.”
“Yeah, but it’s different since our actual office doesn’t usually have a bedroom on one side, and there’s not a possibility of me walking in on you changing.”
“I could change in my office in the city.”
“Which is why I’ll knock onbothyour office doors before entering,” she said, a self-satisfied smirk to her lips, as if she’d proven her point.
He strode over to the table to grab his wallet. “How’s your room?”
“Exceptionally nice. I sort of feel like I don’t belong there—maybe you should’ve booked me at a different, less fancy hotel. Or do they have a room in the basement or something? I’d feel more at home there.”
He scrunched up his forehead and stared at her, trying to figure out whether or not she was joking. Maybe a little bit, but he got the feeling she truly wasn’t that comfortable with being treated well, and that scraped a nerve. Why did she always downplay what she did, how she looked, what she deserved? “Between all the long hours and being willing to come along on this trip, you deserve that and then some.”
“Thank you.” She reached up and rubbed the side of her neck. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your family time, either. If you need a break from me, just say the word and I can make myself scarce.”
“The whole point of you coming along—besides getting all our work done—is so my mom can’t play matchmaker. I don’t have time for that nonsense. Not the matchmaking, not the dating. None of it. So I’m going to need you by my side at family functions, too.”
“Oh, so I’m your beard?” she asked with a laugh, way too amused at herself.
“Funny.” He ran a hand across his jaw. “I’ve already got a beard. One my mom will probably tell me I need to shave before the wedding.”
Charlotte took a few steps closer and examined him. “It’s a nice beard. It suits you.”
“Oh, hey. An actual compliment.”
“Compliments aren’t against the rules,” she quickly said.
He couldn’t quite figure her out. Most of the time she was the uptight rule follower—and spouter—but there were these moments she’d suddenly be surprisingly laid-back. Like on the beach earlier when she’d been laughing and kicking water at him, her hair swirling around her smiling face.
It’d caused an oddly pleasant tightening sensation inside his chest, and he wasn’t sure if he was experiencing residual affection or if he was softening toward her in general. It was like the ocean water had swept away some of her seriousness and revealed a hidden side to her—the same side that wore those tights and heels. “Noted,” he said. “You ready?”
She nodded, and without thinking, he lifted his hand to put it on her lower back as they exited the room. Last second he dropped it, sure she’d take issue with it. As he pulled the door closed behind them, he remembered the phone call he’d taken right before she’d shown up.
“I made a few inquiries about Coach Bryant and have decided to conduct a phone interview with him for the head coach position. Do you want to be on the call, too?”
Her eyes lit up. “Yes, that’d be awesome.” The excitement faded, and two creases formed between her eyebrows. “Unless you think… I know there have been some big changes and even a few female coaches signing with NFL teams, but there’s still a lot of pushback. The good old boys’ club isn’t exactly open to a woman weighing in, and even though he’s on the younger side, I’m not sure what camp he falls into. What if the fact that I’m part of the interview process makes him decide not to take the job?”
