CHAPTER ELEVEN #3
“Besides the whole ‘you broke my heart and I kind of hated you for six years thing’ there’s this.” I gestured to his outfit. “You look like you dressed as Hulk for Halloween and got stuck in one of the transformation stages. Like an epic costume fail.”
He laughed again, making a dimple I’d forgotten about pop out on one of his cheeks. “I thought I was starting something new in Charleston’s fashion scene.”
I gave him a look. “Why did you decide not to wear socks?” My eyes fell to where the tuxedo pants he was wearing ended on his lower calves.
“So, you’re saying you didn’t look at me and immediately think I was starting a new trend—maybe skinny, ankle-length tuxedo pants?”
“Um… no. I did not. And that’s not ankle length, by the way.”
“Ah,” he sighed, looking down at me with a smile that was bringing back all kinds of memories, “I hoped I’d pulled it off.”
He kind of had. If anyone could make it work, it was Edward. He didn’t act self-conscious at all. He wore the ill-fitting tuxedo like he meant to do it, and his air of confidence almost made it look kind of good on him. Almost. I felt like he’d been taking lessons from Lufton or something.
“It’s Garrison’s son’s tux. Monty,” he said.
I must’ve gotten a look on my face, though I tried to hide my feelings. He narrowed his eyes at me.
“What? You don’t like Monty? I thought you were dating him.”
I gasped. “Dating him? I’m barely even friends with him.”
“You’re not dating Monty Hart?”
“No! Of course not. I don’t know why you would think that.”
His eyes widened. “Because I’ve spent the evening hearing from Garrison and Libby Hart about how you’re going to marry him.”
I stared at him, completely confused. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about how I think the Harts are trying to arrange marriages for their kids.” He took a sip of champagne. “And I think they might be a little crazy.”
“Shhh,” I shushed him looking around. “You can’t say that stuff here,” I hissed.
“Why not? We’re alone back here. And Garrison basically kidnapped me because he wants me to marry his daughter, apparently.” He adjusted his bowtie, not seeing how the blood had drained from my face at the thought of Edward and Nora together. “And here I thought he wanted me for my fruit.”
“He’s trying to set you up with Nora?” I squeaked, then cleared my throat. Nora was beautiful and usually got whatever she wanted. If she decided she wanted him, she’d probably get him. And I was not okay with that.
His eyebrows were raised. “Yes. It’s not like I’m going to take him up on the offer. I’m not the least bit tempted. But let’s talk about your reaction. Does it bother you that I might date someone else?” He got a half smile on his face.
“No,” I lied, my face turning pink. “Of course not. You can date whomever you want to.”
“Even Nora?”
“Sure,” I said, teeth clenched. He said he wasn’t tempted by her, but then he’d said the same thing about that damn Sara MacAllister.
“Wow. You’re really convincing when you say that.”
Nora was my good friend and had been for years.
She was the person who’d gotten me out of my funk over Edward our freshman year in college.
But I had learned when it came to guys, all bets were off.
She was beautiful, a big time flirt, she slept with pretty much every guy she went out with whether or not she liked him, and if she decided she liked a guy she went after him aggressively.
Even if that guy was dating one of her friends.
I cleared my throat. “Did you, um, make plans with her?”
“No. I already said that.” He moved closer to me, his eyes moving over my face until they met my eyes. “There’s only one woman in Charleston I’m interested in. And that’s you.”
I took a step back from him, and I could see that he took it as a rejection. It probably should be, but that’s not why I did it. He was so damn handsome and intense. And I was still so attracted to him. I needed breathing room. I needed to put a little space between us.
“Tell me more about why your face looked like you wanted to run and hide when I mentioned Monty Hart.”
I looked around again, but no one seemed to pay us any attention. I didn’t even think people could see us in the semi-private alcove. “I’ll tell you some other time.”
He frowned. “I want you to tell me about it now.” He took a step closer to me, until there was almost no space between us. “I didn’t like the look that came over your face. You looked almost… trapped.” He frowned and put his arm up against the wall by my head.
His proximity was more than a little distracting. Everything about him seemed magnified in the small area—his familiar fresh scent, how he looked, the heat that was building between us—it all felt familiar. It all felt so right, like I could just sink into him and it would be like coming home.
“Well,” I said, side-stepping to put distance between us.
“It’s hard to believe Garrison and Libby would say that about Monty and me.
We went out once when I was in college. It was painfully awkward.
He stared at me the whole time and barely said a word.
I thought we were on the same page. It was an awful date.
” I made a face. “But I guess he’s kept a bit of a crush on me. ”
“Is he a stalker?”
I snorted. “No, nothing like that. He’s harmless. He just follows me around, stares at me a lot, and freezes up when he tries to talk to me. But it’s not like he spies on me at my house or anything.”
“That you know of,” he said.
I rolled my eyes. “Monty Hart is not a stalker. He’s from the richest family in South Carolina, for goodness’ sake. He can have any woman he wants. He won’t waste his time on me much longer.”
“Really? How long has it been since that date you went on?”
He had a slight point. “Four years,” I admitted, and he cocked an eyebrow.
“I’m not worried about Monty Hart,” I assured him.
“He’s just a guy that I would barely remember if I didn’t have to see him all the time because of my connection to his sister.
” Then I frowned. “But Nora knows I’m not into him.
Everyone does. Including her parents. So, I don’t have a clue why they’d say that to you about me marrying him. ”
He looked thoughtful. “Hmm. You know, if Garrison brought me here because he wanted to marry me off to Nora and force me into one of those creepy side mansions, and Libby and Garrison want you for Monty…”
Realization dawned on me. “The worst thing would be if the two of us were interested in each other,” I finished for him.
“Exactly.”
I peeked around the corner. Garrison, Libby, Nora, and Monty were all deep in conversation and seemed to be looking around.
Were they looking for us?
“This is too much,” I said. “We’re both making things up now.
I blame Livy and all the true crime she made me watch growing up.
They’re probably over there talking about how the little crab puffs ran out or something.
” I stifled a yawn. I’d been up since early this morning, and it was past midnight now.
“Do you want to get out of here?” Edward’s voice cut through my drowsiness.
I looked up at him, startled. “More than anything, but didn’t you say you were staying here while you were in town?”
He frowned and ran his fingers through his thick hair. He wore it cropped on the sides, and slightly longer on top. It looked great on him. I remembered running my fingers through that hair while we were in each other’s arms. I bit my lip and saw his eyes move to my mouth.
“Yeah, you’re right. I feel like I’m trapped here until I get a signed contract from Garrison,” he said, shaking his head. “This is by far the strangest sales trip I’ve ever been on.” He walked out into the open ballroom, and I followed.
“You haven’t signed your deal with Garrison yet?” I asked.
“No. I wonder if he’s going to go through with it. The way he’s looking at me right now, I’d say no.”
I glanced over my shoulder. Garrison was talking to a group of people, but he was staring in our direction. So was Monty. I scanned the crowd a bit. Libby had moved on and seemed to be having an enjoyable time. Nora was standing by Eric Hightower and whispering something in his ear.
“Oh, I don’t think Garrison cares enough about me to let it affect a business relationship,” I laughed.
“He’s a family man and all, but Nora’s told me multiple times that the success of Hart Family Farmers Markets comes before even his kids.
” I didn’t know much about Edward’s orchard business, but I knew a bit about how my family’s farm worked.
I was sure they ran similarly, and gaining an account as big as Garrison Hart’s would be a coup for just about any company.
I didn’t want him to put that in jeopardy.
He smiled at me as he sipped his glass of champagne.
“If he chooses not to sign the contract, it wouldn’t be because of anything you did.
It might be to get me away from you, though.
Maybe he thinks if I don’t have a reason to come back to South Carolina to check on things, then they might think I wouldn’t see you again. ”
“And would you?” I asked, before I could think better of it. “Would you stay away from me if he wanted you to? You know, in order to get the account?”
“No.” Edward’s eyes seemed darker now as he looked down at me. “No, I’d like very much to have a reason to come to Charleston a lot.” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked uncomfortable. “I think about you all the time,” he admitted.
I tried to ignore the heat that settled low in my abdomen when he said that. I gave him a half-smile. “We did have some great times together,” I said softly.
“Those summers meant the world to me.” He looked away as if the memories were too much for him. “I can’t help but wonder what would have happened between us if I hadn’t messed everything up.” His eyes were full of pain as he looked back down at me. “Or if my father hadn’t died.”