Page 27 of Carly's Heart

“Somehow, I doubt that a disaster of a wedding would put you into tears.” Ugh, why had she gone and said that?

“Perhaps not. Men are different than women, but most of us aren’t without compassion. Tanya’s your best friend, you should have been there; but because of some asshole, you weren’t. It’s not fair to you, or to her. I thought you handled it pretty well.”

“Sure, getting drunk and bawling in the rain, that’s real mature.” Why was she pushing this? She should just let it drop rather than keep it fresh in his mind.

He set the empty onion pan back on the stove and turned to her. “Carly Jane Brighton, listen to me. The whole wedding was a sham. It was lovely, but my sister never should have married that jerk and he never should have let his mother take over. Tanya should have stood up for you, and George should never have relegated his bride’s best friend to daycare worker. Who does crap like that? You were booted from a celebration you helped plan. You could have kicked up a fuss, but like the sweet-hearted person you are, you sucked it up and did what needed to be done to make your best friend’s wedding perfect.” He paused.

“For what it’s worth, you are the only person I know who would have done that. You deserve kudos for that. So, if you needed to cry in the rain, who am I to judge? As far as I’m concerned, you deserved that mini-breakdown. And besides, you look adorable with raccoon eyes.” He tweaked her nose.

“Thanks?”

“No, thank you. You made my sister’s day perfect, and I’ll make damn sure she knows it. Don’t even try to argue with me about it. My mind is made up.” He turned back to the pizza, finished adding toppings, and popped it into the oven. “You’re one of the sweetest people I’ve ever known.”

His words went straight to her heart like Cupid’s arrow. She wanted to fling herself into his arms and stay there forever.

♥ Chapter Thirteen ♥

Birch put some cheese and crackers on a plate and handed it to Carly. He shouldn’t be surprised she was upset by some mussed makeup, she was always so perfectly put together. She didn’t wear expensive clothing like his sister, but she was always clean and well dressed.

He had noticed the smudged makeup but didn’t care. He certainly wasn’t going to mention it and make her feel bad. In hindsight, it might have been kinder to tell her. Too late now, but definitely a point to remember in the future.

He grabbed a bottle of wine, a couple glasses, and an opener. “Let’s go sit in the living room while the pizza cooks.”

“Sure,” she mumbled around a mouthful of crackers.

He didn’t say anything. He’d seen her at the church at 9 a.m. for the 1 p.m. wedding. It had to be nearing ten-thirty now. She was surely starving after missing dinner. He banked the fury rising in him. Was it bad to hope his sister’s marriage to the king of jerks didn’t last?

No, that wasn’t right. He wanted Tanya to be happy. If Jerkface George made her happy, that made Birch happy.

He tried not to leer at Carly’s legs as she headed to the living room. He’d expected her to choose sweatpants, not athletic shorts. Sure, they came down to her knees, but he’d spent more than one afternoon ogling her as she swam in the family pool with Tanya. He knew and loved the way her body looked, right down to the tiny mole behind her left knee. He’d paid the price for that ogling with endless erotic dreams too. Having her here was a dream of another sort, and he intended to enjoy every second.

He expected her to sit on the couch. Instead, she sat on the throw rug by the fireplace, placing the plate on the hearth. He sat beside her, close, but not uncomfortably close. He didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize their unfurling relationship now that he had her in his house, and she was finally openly talking to him,

“Thanks for the crackers, I’m starved. I know I ate half the salad you brought me, but that’s the first thing I’ve had all day. Between going with Tanya for hair and makeup, I missed breakfast and lunch. I was running on coffee.”

She daintily nibbled a cracker with cheese on top like she was afraid she might drop a crumb. It was good to see her eat and amusing that she was trying so hard to seem dainty and polite. It wasn’t like he hadn’t watched her and Tanya scarf down chips like a couple of linebackers. He put a slice of cheese on a cracker and topped it with a second cracker and crammed the whole thing in his mouth. He pretended not to watch her as he chewed and poured the wine, but he was gratified to see that after seeing him devour his cracker she started eating normally, without worrying about what he thought.

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