Chapter 4
I never make the same mistake twice. I make them five or six times, just to be really sure.
“We should all head downstairs with you,” Sarah said, putting her champagne flute down.
“No way. You’re all in your pajamas.” Violet shook her head as she set her own champagne down. “And Maya is about to fall asleep anyway.”
“I would deny it, but I’ve got to go pump in ten minutes and then I’m passing out wherever there’s a flat surface.” The new mom of twins was pumping while at the hotel this weekend and would likely be joining her husband and new baby girls in their suite soon.
“Then I’ll go with you,” Juniper said.
“It would be easier to take you seriously if you didn’t have a mud mask on and koala slippers. Seriously, you guys, enjoy all the fruit and chocolates. I’m going to handle Belinda.” Who was apparently at the hotel bar still drinking.
Violet thought she’d gone back to her room, but apparently, she’d stumbled back downstairs.
“I’ll see everyone in the morning.” She hugged Sarah, who clearly wanted to protest. “I swear I’ve got this. And then I’m heading to my room to shower and crash. Please, for once in our friendship, don’t argue with me. Just be the beautiful, wonderful bride and relax tonight.”
“I…can’t argue with you. And fine, but make sure you text me and let me know you got her to her room? Her mom is so pissed right now,” she whispered.
“But not enough to handle her, right?” she asked with a snicker.
Which just made Sarah laugh.
It didn’t take Violet long to get downstairs and find Belinda exactly where she’d been told the woman would be—at the hotel bar nursing what was probably a vodka tonic if her past drinking history was any indication.
“Violet?” Tripp’s delicious voice wrapped around her as she started to step into the quiet bar.
She turned, surprised to find he was still dressed in the same clothes from dinner.
He’d disappeared in the middle of the flamingo fiasco, and she hadn’t seen him since.
To be fair, she was still in the same dress, mostly because she’d been putting out fires and dealing with last-minute things for tomorrow. “Hey, you headed out?”
He blinked. “What? No. I just got back. I called in some favors to old friends and got the security feeds from a couple businesses around the restaurant.”
Now it was her turn to blink. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, that’s why I left. Someone is messing with my sister’s wedding and I’m going to find out who.”
She found herself grinning up at him like a big dope but didn’t care. And she kinda felt bad for being annoyed with him earlier. “You’re wonderful, thank you.”
“Want to watch them with me? I’d planned to scan them tonight, see if we could figure out who the asshole is who let the flamingos in at least.”
“Ah, yeah. Do you mind helping me get a drunk woman up to her room first?”
His gaze strayed to the bar. “This again? I’ll handle it,” he muttered, moving past her before she could say anything. “Belly,” he called out, his tone light. “It’s time to call it. You’ve had too much to drink and this is overkill, even for you. Come on.”
“Whatever, Trippy,” Belinda muttered as she slid her drink away from her. But at least she stood, even if it was on wobbly feet. “I was planning to leave anyway.” She gave Violet an assessing look as she plucked up her clutch. “Sarah send you down here?”
“Nope. I didn’t even know you were here—though I did wonder why you missed champagne with all of us upstairs.” Everyone but Maya had been drinking.
“Oh right. I forgot about that.” She winced, looking like she actually felt bad.
“It’s too late now, everyone is already asleep.” A lie, but Violet knew that Sarah had no desire to hang out with her drunk cousin.
Belinda just rolled her eyes and pointed at Tripp. “He can pay for my drinks.”
Violet started to argue, but he nodded at the bartender and gave his room number.
“The sooner we get her upstairs the better,” he murmured to Violet as Belinda stumbled ahead in front of them.
“Fair enough.”
“So, how’s life treating you, Belly?” Tripp asked once the three of them were in the elevator.
“Stop calling me that,” Belinda growled.
“Then stop acting like an asshole at my sister’s wedding weekend.”
Violet’s eyebrows kicked up, but she kept her mouth shut. He was family and could say what he wanted. Technically, she could too, but she hadn’t wanted to make any waves. And she loved that he had no problem calling this out.
“I didn’t even want to be in the wedding.”
“Then you should have said no. You’re a grown-ass woman, Belinda.” Tripp looked down at her with annoyance. “No one forced you to do anything.”
Belinda simply rolled her eyes and stepped out of the elevator as the doors whooshed open.
“You don’t understand anything. Neither of you do!
” she snarled as she stomped her way down the hallway and finally let herself into her room.
It was one of those soft shut doors or Violet was sure that she’d have slammed it.
“Thank you for saying everything I wanted to say for weeks,” Violet murmured as she nudged him with her hip. “And thank you for getting the security feeds. That was really thoughtful. I… thought you just left.”
“Wait, you thought I just bailed? I told one of Ian’s brothers to let you know where I was. Ah, Matteo I think.”
“Last time I saw him, he was making out with one of the bartenders, so I think he got distracted.”
Tripp grinned as they headed back to the elevators. “Are all weddings like this?”
“This one’s pretty tame. I mean, the flamingos are a first, but they weren’t bad. Apparently, someone stole them from a local sanctuary, but they’ve been transported back home so all’s well. Even the dessert prank isn’t close to the worst I’ve dealt with.”
“I can only imagine.” He opened his door into what turned out to be a much larger suite than she’d thought he’d have.
“Clearly, I need to upgrade.” She slid her heels off in relief as she strode into the room, taking in the rich golds and creams of the sitting area. “That view…” She strode to the open curtains, then pushed open the French doors that led out to the balcony.
“Right.” She nearly jumped at his deep voice when she realized how close he was behind her.
“So how long are you in town for anyway?” she managed to ask without squeaking as they headed back into the room.
He was just too… gorgeous, big and ugh, too much.
She hadn’t expected him to be all grown up and now she had no idea what to do with these weird feelings swimming around.
Technically, she had an idea, but it wasn’t a good one. Or maybe it was. Hmmm.
“Not totally sure yet…” He grabbed his laptop as she strode over to the bar area. “Care if I pour a drink? I’d like to actually enjoy one tonight.” She’d taken a sip here and there but had always ended up setting her drinks down when duty had called.
He snickered. “Of course not. Pour me one too if you don’t mind. That champagne is supposed to be good.”
She popped the bottle in the fridge, glad for something light, and joined him on the tufted cream settee with a gold leaf frame. It was the smaller of the seating choices, so her partly bare thigh was pressed up against his as she stretched her feet out on the table in front of them.
He propped his feet up beside hers, already having stripped off his jacket and tie, and shoved the sleeves of his shirt up past his forearms in a clear attempt to entice her.
Either that or she was just ridiculous.
Definitely the second one.
Either way, she was definitely enticed.
God, she needed to get over this…weirdness or whatever was going on with her. He was Sarah’s little brother, and she didn’t have time for romantic nonsense. Or drama. And getting tangled up with him would just lead to disaster.
“I got three videos in total,” he said as he pulled up the first one.
As they started watching, she laid her head on his shoulder even as she questioned her motive. “This champagne is incredible,” she murmured.
“I know.”
“And investigative work is pretty boring.”
He laughed, a low, sexy rumble, and made her smile. “Yeah, it is, but I like the company.”
“Me too.” Way too much. But it was hella hard to concentrate with him so close, and the feel of his shoulder muscles under her cheek.
For the next hour they poured over video feeds with no sound and caught up on the last couple years. It was nice getting to know him now that they were both adults on even footing, but she still couldn’t get over the reaction she had to him.
Of how very aware she was of him as a desirable man.
“Wait, pause that!” She sat up as he went back twenty seconds, then paused on a woman in a long dress standing across the street from the restaurant where they’d held the rehearsal dinner. “That looks like Ian’s ex-girlfriend. Can you zoom in any?”
“Yeah…” He worked his magic and the woman’s face was larger and clearer on screen.
“Oh, that’s definitely her.” Violet pulled up the woman’s name on social media to compare. Tall, pretty blonde.
“Looks like her.”
“Huh. I mean, she’s just standing across the street. Where does she go after this?”
He pressed play again, then the woman headed in the opposite direction of the restaurant toward a cross street. “We’ve already watched the feeds from the opposite angle. She didn’t come back around at the time of the flamingo incident.”
“Not that we can see anyway. Can you pull up that feed?”
He pulled it up again and nope, there was no one suspicious around the flamingo fiasco, as everyone had taken to calling it, on the main road.
“Someone had to have used the gaps in the wall behind the courtyard.” The restaurant backed up to a lawyer’s office and it wasn’t open until Monday.
And for all they knew, no one there would share the video feed anyway. She’d seen a couple cameras out back, so she knew they had some at least.
“Really small gaps,” he murmured.
“Flamingos are skinny.”
“Yeah,” Tripp muttered, looking way too adorable as he frowned. Then he leaned back. “At least we’re all on alert at this point. No one will get into the ceremony that isn’t on the guest list and really, flamingos and ruined desserts aren’t the end of the world.”
“True. They’re annoying and childish, but not too worrisome.” Which didn’t really line up with what Sarah had told Violet about Ian’s ex. The woman had been torn up about the breakup, but this stuff was…over-the-top ridiculous.
He closed his laptop and set it aside with another frown. “I really thought we’d figure this out.”
“That would have been nice,” she murmured, trying not to stare as his lips. Had they always been so full and bitable?
“If you don’t stop looking at me like that, I’m going to go down on you right here,” he growled. “And I won’t stop until you come against my face.”
Oh. Shit. Her gaze snapped to his to find him staring at her with raw heat. No mistaking that. “What?” She was hallucinating. Had to be.
“Pretty sure you heard me, Violet.” Desire simmered in his dark eyes that she felt all the way to her core.
She scrambled to form a coherent sentence. “You’re…Sarah’s brother.”
“So? We’re both adults. I’ve wanted you for years—and I can tell you want me.”
She couldn’t even deny that. Not one little bit, as her gaze fell to his soft, gorgeous mouth. God, it was the only soft thing about him and when she found herself leaning in…
He moved fast, taking her mouth in a searing claiming she felt all the way to her core.
She’d never seen him coming. Had never expected the walking god she’d picked up at airport arrivals.
Part of her wondered what the hell she was thinking, knew there would be consequences.
But as she straddled him on the little couch, she couldn’t find it in her to care one bit that the man sliding his big, rough palms up her thighs was her best friend’s brother.