Page 6 of Mr. Scandalous

When was the last time a woman had left him tongue-tied? He searched his memory and couldn’t think of a single time.

“Did you want to order a gift basket?” She lifted a hand to push a tendril of hair from her face, the bracelets at her delicate wrist jangled softly.

“Yes. Yes. That’s it.”

“And what is the occasion?”

“My business partner, who also happens to be my best friend, is getting married in September.”

“You’ll be wanting a honeymoon basket.”

“Yeah.” He nodded.

That’s right, dazzle her with your sparkling conversational skills, you suave devil you.

Irritated with himself, he racked his brain for something else to say. “My sister Sarah got married in April and someone gave her one of your baskets as a gift. She said it made the honeymoon.”

“Yes. The Ramsey-Armstrong wedding. I believe her basket was called Palm Tree Passion. Were you wanting to order something similar for your friend?”

“Wow,” Alec said. “That’s some kind of memory.”

“It’s a Montgomery family trait,” she said. “Although it comes in handy when running a business, vividly remembering everything that happened to you can sometimes be a minus.”

A brief wistfulness moved across her face and Alec experienced a rush of empathy. There were quite a few things in his life he was glad remained fuzzy. Like his father’s fatal heart attack, and the time Alec busted up his leg during a motorcycle race.

Mentally he shook his head, still unable to believe he’d not only survived the crash but had in fact thrived. He’d come so far. From the scrappy kid who got involved in one daredevil stunt after another as a way of dealing with his father’s death to the well-respected social media influencer and author of theNew York Timesnumber one bestsellerThe Sublime Art of Seduction. He had gone from borderline poverty to being rich beyond his wildest dreams, and he owed his success to his uncle Mac and the ability to face his fears head-on and defy them.

“My baskets are each original creations,” Eden said. “Tailor-made for the recipient. Can you tell me a little more about your friend and the person he is marrying.”

“Randy?” Alec grinned. “He’s a hotdogger and a half. A balls-to-the-wall fearless.” His grin disappeared. “But he’s changed since he met Jill.”

“Changed? How so?”

“He’s love-struck. Has this dopey smile on his face. All. The. Freaking. Time. And he doesn’t want to do any of the things he used to do.”

“His priorities have shifted.”

“Yeah,” Alec said, already missing their bachelor high jinks. He was happy for Randy, but he knew things would never be the same between them.

“And what’s Jill like?”

Alec was incredibly aware of exactly how close they were standing. Eden was near enough to touch. He could even feel the air molecules vibrating between them.

“Jill’s nice. Quiet. Not the type I pictured him with though.”

“And what type would that be?”

“Well, Randy is so bold I guess I always imagined him with someone a bit more...” He hesitated.

How to put this so it didn’t sound as if he was dissing Jill. He liked her a lot. She was very sweet. Demure, a little shy and brainy. It was just that he couldn’t figure out whythisparticular woman?

How had Randy known that, above all the other women in the world, Jill was the one? His buddy had dated women who were more beautiful, more adventuresome, and far more sophisticated.

Why Jill? Why now? How was she different from the rest?

“Yes?” Eden’s smile deepened.

“I pictured him with a colorful, flamboyant woman.”

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