Just One More Affair (The Sterling Family #5)

Chapter One

E ven a small Sterling family wedding was a lavish affair, Charlotte Kendall thought, looking around at the hotel ballroom where the reception was taking place.

Pink and white flowers twined around the ceiling with lilies dangling for effect. Each table had a luxurious burst of the same blush-colored flowers, a mix of roses, and other blooms surrounded by tea candles. The damask tablecloths were elegant. And the cocktail hour had four stations of different hot food choices along with servers walking around with various hors d’oeuvres.

The bride, Fallon Sterling, was Charlotte’s daughters’ new stepmother. Fallon had just married Noah Powers, the girls’ dad. A man Charlotte had had a one-night stand with that resulted in a surprise pregnancy and a healthy co-parenting situation with their ten-year-old twins. She’d truly gotten lucky with Noah. They’d enjoyed one another once, but there had never been feelings between them and she was thrilled he’d found his soulmate in his younger wife.

As if he knew she’d been thinking of him, Noah strode over and kissed her cheek. “Charlie, I can’t tell you how much it means to Fallon and me that you came home for the wedding,” he said, calling her by her nickname most people used.

“I wouldn’t have missed it.” But she appreciated him saying so. “Thank you for inviting me. Not everyone would understand our relationship.”

“Fallon does, and that’s what matters. We do a good job together with the girls.”

She nodded. “And you’ve had the patience of a saint putting up with me following my dreams.”

“I understand and if this is something you want to continue to do, I want you to know I’m okay with it.”

She wrinkled her nose, having given her situation a lot of thought as the current dig was coming to an end. “As much as I loved the experience, I’m glad it’s almost over. I miss the girls and having them full-time this week shows me how much I don’t see on a day-to-day basis. They’re changing and growing up and I want to be there.”

He nodded. “Well, we’ll work out a new arrangement and schedule when you’re home for good.”

“Hello, you two!” Fallon, who appeared to be floating with happiness, joined them and hooked her arm into Noah’s. “Hi, Charlie. Thank you for flying in.”

“Of course. And I need to thank you for all you do for the girls.”

Early on, Charlie had been worried about all the time Fallon had with the kids while she was away, but Fallon had proven herself wise for her years. She knew how to handle the twins and their precocious personalities, never tried to play mother, and deferred important decisions to Noah and Charlie. When Charlie moved back, she could see herself being Fallon’s friend.

“I adore them and I’m glad we’re making things work between us,” Fallon said.

Charlie smiled. “Me too.”

“Oh, this song!” Fallon exclaimed.

Charlie hadn’t been paying attention to the music but when she focused, she heard the band had shifted to a slow song.

“I want to dance,” Fallon said.

Noah laughed. “Guess that’s my cue. Talk to you later, Charlie.”

With a wave goodbye, Fallon led her new husband to the dance floor.

Given the choice between going to get a drink at the bar and watching the newlyweds dance, Charlie chose the former. She walked over to the luckily empty bar and picked up a glass of Champagne from several pre-poured flutes waiting on a tray.

She glanced around the room, her gaze falling on Fallon’s best friend, Brooke, who she’d met during one of her trips home. She was talking to her mother but she kept looking at Aiden Sterling, the journalist who wandered the world for stories. Charlie had often caught Aiden staring at Brooke, their gazes never meeting, and Charlie wondered what their story was.

“You look lost in thought. Is everything all right?” another of Fallon’s brothers asked as he joined her.

Jared. Though Fallon had four siblings, Charlie had pegged this one as the best-looking of the group. The Sterling men were all extremely handsome, but Jared, with his piercing green eyes, stood out. His dark brown hair appeared as if he’d been running his hands through the strands but the tousled look was intentional, she knew from previous meetings. It suited him. Add in the tuxedo and he was sexy as hell. The wedding wasn’t the first time they’d met. At a family gathering she’d been invited to, she’d been sitting next to him and he’d been utterly charming.

He cleared his throat and grinned, catching her staring.

She fought and lost the battle not to blush. Her cheeks heated with embarrassment. She also owed him an answer to his polite question.

“I’m fine. Just admiring the décor,” she fibbed, taking a sip of the bubbly Champagne.

Turning to the server, he ordered a whiskey on the rocks. “Dirty Dare brand, if you have it.”

The woman in a white shirt and bow tie behind the bar nodded and poured him his drink.

He returned his focus to Charlie. “To meeting again.” He touched his tumbler to her Champagne flute.

She smiled, warmed by the sentiment. “To meeting again.”

A couple came up behind them and Jared grasped Charlie’s elbow, leading her to a quiet space near a table that had emptied out, its occupants on the dance floor.

“So, how are you enjoying the wedding, Charlotte?” he asked, standing close.

She didn’t mind. “Didn’t I tell you my friends call me Charlie?”

“You did. I just happen to think Charlotte is a beautiful name and suits you.” She caught the compliment, pleased he thought so. “But to be clear,” he said, “I still consider you a friend.”

“I’m very glad to hear it.” Looking at this sexy, masculine specimen reminded her how long her dry spell had been. No sex since before she’d left for the dig almost two years ago. And maybe another six months before that. She definitely wouldn’t mind being more than friends with Jared Sterling, at least for the night. “To answer your question, yes, I’m enjoying myself. Are you?” she asked.

His gaze raked her over, taking in her fitted lavender dress and stopping at the dip at her cleavage. “I am now,” he said in a husky voice that sent a shiver of awareness tricking through her veins.

“Mommy! All the single ladies are lining up to catch the bouquet,” her daughter, Dylan, said, her sister Dakota right alongside her.

The girls were dressed in pale pink dresses, their hair done in a thin mermaid braid holding back one side, looking adorable. They were growing up too fast. Not for the first time, Charlie wanted this dig to be over with so she didn’t miss so much of their lives.

“Let’s go try and catch it! We’re all single!” Dakota raised her voice and tugged on Charlie’s free hand.

Charlie met Jared’s gaze and gave a little shake of her head. “I’m going to pass on this one, honey. Why don’t you go stand with everyone and have fun?”

With a little luck, Fallon would toss high and a lucky single woman would catch the bouquet, not one of her ten-year-old girls.

“Let’s go!” Dakota pulled her sister toward the dance floor, leaving Charlie alone with Jared once more.

“They’re sweethearts,” he said, a fondness in his voice she found truthful and not something someone said just to be nice.

She smiled. “Oh, don’t let the dresses fool you. They can be trouble when they want to be.”

He nodded. “But trouble can be good. Noah and Fallon wouldn’t have met if they didn’t think Fallon was you from behind.”

His steady stare never left her face. His attention was all-consuming and she liked that about him. It left no doubt he was interested, too.

“Although… you must have cut your hair last year because Fallon’s has always been much longer,” he mused, telling her he was also observant.

“I cut it last time I came home from Egypt.” She fluffed her shoulder-length bob. “It’s easier to let air-dry in the desert.”

“Well, I like the style. Frames your pretty face.”

Her body heated even more, responding to the compliment. “Thank you.”

She took a sip of the liquid, enjoying the bubbles as they went down. Charlie didn’t drink often and especially not while on a dig, and this second glass had already gone to her head. She was nicely buzzed and happy talking to Jared.

“So, you aren’t interested in the bouquet toss,” he said. “I can’t say I blame you. I have no intention of catching the garter. They’re just silly superstitions.”

“Traditions,” Charlie said at the same time, and they grinned at the overlap.

“It’s a wedding. All the lovey-dovey shit makes people think about having the same.” He followed that proclamation by indulging in a large swallow of whiskey.

She nodded at the truth in his statement. “What about you? Are you looking for the same future Noah and Fallon have?”

He placed his drink on the table. “I’ve had no time to think about myself, to be honest. I work with my dad in Sterling Investments and he had a heart attack last year. We’ve all been on him to cut back on work, which leaves me carrying the bulk of the responsibility.”

A family man, she mused, if not in the way she’d asked him. “I’m sorry about your father. But he seems healthy now.”

He shrugged. “We hope. He’s been caught with bad-for-him food and cigars.” He paused in thought. “But enough about me and my family. What about you? You have the twins and your career, but is settling down in your future?”

At the question, the same one she’d thoughtlessly asked him, she felt herself close off inwardly. There wasn’t an easy answer. Of course she’d want a man in her life. If she could trust one not to leave or let her down. If she could find someone who loved both her and her girls, who wouldn’t forget his family like her father had after her mom passed away.

A sixteen-year-old girl needed her mother or at least a parent she could rely on, but her father hadn’t been there. He’d buried himself in work and alcohol when home. All of which explained why finding what Fallon and Noah had wasn’t likely. Her walls were too high.

“My career and the twins keep me busy enough,” she murmured, deliberately vague. “I prefer to focus on now.”

His brow wrinkled as he obviously pondered her answer and came to his own conclusions. “Speaking of now, the bouquet and garter toss are over.” He tipped his head toward the center of the room. “Would you like to dance?”

His question drew her attention to the slow tempo of the music. “I’d love to,” she said, placing her glass on the table.

She held out her hand. He took it and led her through the people standing and talking, weaving around the tables and winding up on the dance floor.

Soon, she was in his arms, moving seamlessly to the music. His hard body pressed deliciously against hers. And the masculine mix of tobacco and vanilla-scented cologne teased her senses and had her leaning in closer. His hand braced on her lower back as he led, and she found herself being seduced by everything that was Jared Sterling. One slow song led to another and she remained in his arms for a prolonged period of time.

“This might be too forward,” he began. “But do you want to get out of here?”

Her heart skipped a beat. She was staying at this hotel until she left again tomorrow night. One more night and she’d be back in the sandy desert, living her dream but missing her girls, who were staying with Noah’s parents in their hotel suite tonight and would remain with them while the newlyweds went on their honeymoon. She’d had the twins with her this past week and she’d be seeing them tomorrow at brunch for their goodbyes. Though she’d have loved to be with them one last night, she didn’t want to upset them when they had to watch her pack to leave again.

“I have a room upstairs,” she answered Jared at last.

“Then what are we waiting for?” His breath fanned her ear.

She let out a laugh at his impatient tone because she felt the same desire to be with him. “I need to say good night to Noah and Fallon, and to the kids.”

“Let’s each say our goodbyes and meet up by the ballroom door.” His fingers squeezed her waist before releasing her.

Her body pulsed with anticipation as she walked up to Noah and Fallon, then the girls, explaining she had a slight headache and was going to go upstairs early. She wished the happy couple all her best, then hugged her girls and reminded them to be good for their grandparents.

Then she headed to the double doors where Jared was waiting. She wasn’t sure if anyone saw them meet up and leave together but she’d deal with that if and when the time came.

They stepped into an elevator along with another couple she didn’t know and she pushed the button to her floor. In silence they traveled upward, her body aware of Jared standing beside her. He’d taken off his jacket and hung it over one arm and was in the middle of removing his bow tie when the elevator car stopped and the couple stepped off.

“Damn, I hate these things,” Jared muttered, attempting to undo the top button on his shirt next. “I wear a suit every day to work but a tuxedo strangles me.”

She turned to face him and gently moved his hands. “Here. Let me.” She undid the first button, then the second, realizing too late the intimacy in the act. Especially given their tight surroundings. She swallowed hard and patted the material over his chest with one hand. “There. All set,” she said as a ding announced their arrival at her floor.

Jared snagged her hand in his and she led the way to her room.