Page 45 of The Wedding Deal
“Like murder,” she said.
Lance chuckled, but the humor quickly faded, a serious expression replacing it. “It’s normal to want to help out your family. Especially when he’s your only family.”
“But?”
“No buts,” he said. “Do you need more money?”
She simply gaped at him for several seconds, shocked at the…offer? She was pretty sure that’s what it was, and the whirl of affection it caused beat out her bruised pride. Not that she could or would ever take it. “No. The consulting fee will help. I’m just not sure if I should assure him I can help him financially while he gets on his feet, because what if that makes him more determined to leave instead of stay?”
“I get that.”
The way he’d listened while remaining so nonjudgmental was what she’d truly needed. She placed her hand on the center of his chest, focusing on the steady beat of his heart—a heart that clearly had more gold than ice, no matter what he claimed. “Thank you for letting me talk it out.”
He covered her hand with his, holding it against the firm pecs she’d gotten an eyeful of this morning. “Anytime.”
“Now I want to throw myself back into work so I don’t have to worry about it again until tonight, when I can’t fall asleep because of it.”
“Well, if you can’t fall asleep, you should come over and not sleep with me.”
She bit back a smile.
“I’m serious. I’m too stressed with everything to sleep anyway.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, even though she shouldn’t. “Right now, though, give me a work challenge. Something that’ll keep my mind nice and occupied until I’m supposed to meet up with the girls for manis and pedis.”
“Figure out how to get us our defenseman and a quarterback who can go the distance without breaking the salary cap.”
It was more than a challenge—more like an impossible mission that’d require so much math that she’d see figures for weeks—and it was exactly what she needed.
Chapter Sixteen
Bachelor party time. Lance wondered if something was wrong with him, because the thought of the party only exhausted him.
He also wasn’t in that big of a hurry to hang out with a bunch of dudes, not when there was a certain woman taking up all his brain space.
But he’d do anything to make his brother happy, so he put on his game face and climbed into the limo.
There was another black limo ahead of them, and through the windshield, he watched as Stacy, her bridesmaids, and the woman he couldn’t stop thinking about walked toward it. The women were laughing, and he was glad to see that Charlotte was part of the group.
Since he wouldn’t be around her and a lot of horny guys most likely would be, he was less glad about the fitted purple dress that showed off her hourglass figure, along with a few inches of thigh. She’d put on fishnet stockings that immediately made his mind dive into the gutter, and if she could see him now and read the thoughts written across his face, she’d definitely reprimand him.
“Where are they going?” he asked, and his brother shot him a smug expression.
“Why?”
He grunted.
“Jealous of your girl going somewhere without you?” Hunter asked.
Yes, yes he was. His gut clenched and burned, and he curled his hands into fists. But what he said was, “She’s not my girl.”
“Why not?”
“She works for the Mustangs, and there are rules against it.”
“So can I—?”
“No,” Lance said, with enough bite that Hunter lifted his hands in the classic backing-down signal.
