Page 22 of Carly's Heart

Birch stared down at Carly. She gobbled up the food like she hadn’t eaten all day, and she most likely hadn’t, her sunshine waves were half pulled out of what must have once been an extremely sexy do. Her dress was ruined, and her make-up was smudged or wiped right off, except the mascara streaming down her cheeks. He couldn’t see those perfect chocolate brown eyes in the near-dark, but he knew they’d be shining with emotion and darkened by hurt feelings. She had the most emotional, expressive eyes he’d ever seen.

Damn, she was lovely. She was a hot mess and so perfectly adorable that he wanted to scoop her up and hug her distress away.

Why did he find it so hard to talk to her like a woman? If he played brother or jokester, he could talk to her for hours. The rest of the time he felt inept and awkward around her. Sure, they talked a bit here and there, but real meaningful conversations simply didn’t happen. They chatted, and were friendly, but conversations didn’t go beyond the surface. It was as if she was holding herself back from him. And because she was distancing herself, he found he did too, despite what his heart wanted.

This whole wedding situation was horse droppings. His fists clenched at his sides. She was his sister’s best friend and she’d been all but excluded from the wedding. It was a deliberate shot by a manipulating jerk. Tanya wasn’t responsible for this; the last time he’d seen his sister, she’d been frantic to learn why Carly had disappeared and why she hadn’t shown up for pictures. Two minutes later, he saw Carly stomping into the kitchen, bottle of wine in hand.

He told Tanya that he’d make sure everything was okay. Well, big failure on that part. Carly’s day was wrecked, likely beyond redemption. He sure wasn’t going to relate that to Tanya. At least not yet. He was angry, Carly was a disaster, but he wouldn’t ruin his sister’s wedding. He’d tell her later.

Carly’s sniffle broke his heart.

Screw this nonsense.

“Want to get out of here?” he asked.

“I’m going home, as soon as I finish this food, and my wine,” she decreed.

“Skip the salad. It’s probably limp anyway, and I know someplace where we can get something better,” he offered, knowing she was likely to refuse.

“Do I need shoes?”

The question startled a laugh out of him. That was his girl, tough as nails and always surprising. “No shoes required. I promise. I can even rustle up something less formal to wear. What do you say? Run away with me?” He held out his hand.

She stared up at him, studying him, a quizzical look in her eyes. Several expressions marched across her face. Finally, she smiled shyly and nodded. “What the heck? Take me away, Prince Charming.”

As she placed her hand in his, lightning shot up his arm. Damn, she always had that effect. A simple brush of her fingers had the power to render him breathless and speechless. He swallowed hard.

“Wait here, I have to tell Tanya you’re okay. Then, we’re gone.” Reluctantly, he released her hand.

“Wait,” she called when he rose. “Don’t tell her about this. She doesn’t need to know.”

He nodded and hurried inside. How perfectly Carly to do the right thing for someone else, even while her own day was in shambles. How many women would have refused to babysit, and how many would protect their friend’s wedding daydream that way? None, that’s how many.

He told Tanya that Carly was overtired and that he was running her home. After reassuring Tanya that all was well, he grabbed a few things and was back outside in under five minutes. “Hang tight, I’ll get my truck.”

“You can’t drive up here,” she blurted. The building was surrounded by plush lawns, and bright colorful gardens.

“For you, darlin’, I can do whatever the hell I want.” He sprinted through the rain and into his new four-by-four. He drove it up over the sidewalk, across the grass and halted beside the deck, flinging the door open so she could climb in. She hurried down the steps. Raindrops pelted her already ruined dress. Hiking her cocktail dress high, she showed him entirely too much thigh as she carelessly tossed her shoes on the floor and leaped in.

“Oh my gosh! I can’t believe you did that.” She laughed. “They’ll have a bird when they see the tracks in the morning.” She peered through the back window at the parallel strips of destroyed grass where he’d skidded to a halt.

“Tough manure.” He declared and rolled forward. “They won’t like it when they discover that I stole an entire cheesecake and two bottles of wine either. Hang on, here’s the curb.” He eased down over the ledge and drove off as soon as she had her seatbelt on. Now if he could keep his eyes on the road and off the sexy expanse of leg she was showing, they’d be great.

“You stole wine?” she blurted. “The Birch Brighton I know would never steal anything.”

“Okay, borrowed, if you insist. Although if we had stayed at the reception, nobody would have batted an eyelash if we drank six bottles, so technically, it doesn’t matter.”

“You’re skipping out on your sister’s wedding? She’s okay with that?”

“She’s on the top of the world, except worrying about you. I told her you’ll be fine, so stop fretting about my sister,” he admonished gently. Carly’s heart was too big. She worried too much about everyone else and not nearly enough about herself. That was an enormous part of her charm. Her sexy body, glorious hair, intelligence, and fabulous parenting skills didn’t hurt either. She really was the whole shebang. All that and a bag of chips, as his father would say.

“What did Tanya say?” Carly worried.

“I told Tan that you were in the back during the ceremony and got distracted during dinner. I said I was taking you home because you’re overtired.” He paused. “I’ll tell her what that asshole husband of hers did later. I can’t believe she married him, but it was her choice. No sense ruining her honeymoon. I’ll let her enjoy her day and come down on both of them later.”

“No! Let it go. It’s okay. I’m okay.” She reached out and clutched his arm, her fingers were cold, even through his tux and shirt. Damn! She was killing him. Sometimes her tendency to be soft-hearted and generous infuriated him. He wanted to shake her and tell her to think of herself for a change. She’d spent years dealing with her ex’s drinking and encouraging him to do better. Then, she focused everything on her child. Reasonable, but she left little for herself. The spare time and energy she had left was often diverted to charity events and helping others, which was good, except when she burned herself out.

“Forget Tanya and George for now. Let’s go someplace where the food is good, and the shoes don’t matter.” He flashed his best rogue grin and turned onto the highway.

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