Jacquie D’Alessandro - Holiday Inn Bed

Kelley turned to Eric. “Why don’t you go with him, Eric? Unless you want to discuss the impossibility of butter-yellow?”

Everything male in Eric wanted to bolt from the chair and escape, but he wasn’t about to abandon Jess. He turned toward her and she nodded. “Go ahead.” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, then whispered in his ear, “Go. Save yourself. No reason we both should suffer.” Her teeth grazed his earlobe and his eyes glazed over. Damn it. All he wanted to do was get her alone. Finish what they’d started before the descent of The Families. He was one breath away from yanking her out of that chair, slinging her into his arms and escaping back to their cabin. Locking the door and telling the world and their families to leave them the hell alone. And by God, if this wedding meeting wasn’t over in the next half hour, that’s exactly what he was going to do.

“Besides, I like that you’ll owe me one,” she whispered.

An inferno of edgy need gripped him. Yeah, he’d owe her one and he couldn’t wait to pay up. Still, he considered remaining with her in case an arbitrator was needed, but then it occurred to him that maybe she wanted some female bonding time. There was woman stuff that guys weren’t supposed to be privy to-maybe wedding decorations were one of those things-what the hell did he know? Plus, this gave him an opportunity for a one-on-one conversation with Marc, something he’d never had with any of her brothers. From what he could tell, they always traveled in a pack. Like rabid dogs. Maybe if it was just the two of them, he’d make some progress. Jess with the women and him with Marc…maybe they could divide and conquer. It certainly was worth a shot. Then he’d get her alone. And naked. And put out this damn fire eating at him.

He stood, picked up his beer then leaned down to drop a kiss on Jess’s curly, honey-colored hair. “I’ll be at the bar if you need me.”

He approached Marc with all the enthusiasm he would a coiled cobra. After sliding onto the empty stool next to his soon-to-be brother-in-law, he waited for Marc to acknowledge his presence, but his brother-in-law-to-be’s gaze never shifted from the hockey game flickering on the TV. Hockey-just another strike against Eric in the Hayden brothers’ eyes. They were all die-hard hockey-and football-fanatics while Eric preferred basketball and baseball. And tennis-which really didn’t help his cause as the Hayden brothers all thought tennis was wimpy. Obviously none of them had ever played a grueling three-hour, three-set match.

Eric finally nodded toward the TV and asked, “What’s the score?”

“Rangers are up, three to one.”

Then more silence. Not a real chatty guy, Marc. Before Eric could think of another conversation opener, the bartender, who wore a Santa hat and a friendly smile, approached. “You need another beer?” he asked, eyeing Eric’s nearly empty bottle.

Eric did a double take, then glanced toward the reception area where he spotted Roland Krause chatting with a guest. “Sure, thanks. For a second there I thought you were Roland. Are you related?”

The man grinned. “We’re cousins. Everyone thinks we’re brothers.” He extended his hand. “I’m Steve. Steve Howell. Roland and I may look alike, but under my Santa hat, I have a lot more hair than he does.”

After Steve had brought the beer and moved off toward the other end of the bar, Eric watched the game for a few minutes while another long silence stretched between him and Marc. Well, it was one way to avoid an argument-don’t talk. At least the guy was scowling at the TV instead of at him.

Just then he felt the weight of Marc’s stare. When he turned to look at him, Marc was-no big shocker-scowling.

“My sister doesn’t look happy,” Marc said.

Eric’s head turned so fast toward the table where Jess sat he practically heard his muscles snap. She was taking a sip of her wine and seemed fine.

“I don’t mean right this second,” Marc clarified. “I mean in general.”

Eric turned back toward him. “Based on your tone it’s obvious you think that’s my fault.”

“Who else’s would it be?”

“You want a mirror?”

Eric wouldn’t have thought it possible, but Marc’s scowl deepened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I’m not the one making her unhappy. You and your family and the nonstop arguing are what’s making her miserable.”

“I guess it’s missed your notice that you are what all the arguments are about.”

A humorless sound escaped Eric. “Uh, no. I haven’t missed that. You’ve all made that perfectly clear. Listen, I get the whole overprotective-brother thing. I’ve given more than a few guys the evil eye for sniffing around my sisters. But once Chloe and Lara found the men they wanted to marry, I was happy for them. They both chose good, decent guys. Believe it or not, I’m a good, decent guy.”

“Says you.”

“Yeah, says me. And says your sister. She’s extremely smart and savvy-hardly the sort of woman to marry a creep.”

“Smart women make stupid mistakes about men all the time.”

“Well, she’s not making one.”

Marc slowly swirled his tumbler of scotch, took a swig, then said, “Your franchise restaurant can’t compare to Hayden’s.”

Eric’s fingers tightened on his beer bottle, but he swallowed his irritation. “They’re both good places and Marble Falls is certainly big enough for more than one restaurant.”

“She shouldn’t have taken up with the competition.”

The hell with trying to use any more polite subtleties. “That was her choice. And mine. And frankly, it’s none of your business. If she and I can work through that-which we have-I fail to see why you and your family can’t.”

“What about your family? I haven’t noticed them turning cartwheels.”

“Maybe not, but any objections they may feel have nothing to do with Jess. My sisters like her. A lot. And they’re happy for me that we found each other.”

Marc’s only reply was a stony stare into his scotch.

Eric resisted the urge to drag his hands through his hair in frustration. “Look, maybe I’m not the guy you would have chosen for your sister, but here’s the brutal truth-it’s not your choice. It’s hers. And for all our sakes, especially Jess’s, it would be nice if we could reach some sort of détente here.”

Eric took a long pull on his beer and waited, but Marc still remained silent. Hopefully he was thinking the détente thing was a good idea, but based on his fierce scowl, that didn’t seem promising.

Unable to stand the awkward silence any longer, Eric said, “I get why your mother is here, but how did you get roped into coming along? Are you the muscle?”

“I’m the driver. She doesn’t like to drive in the snow.” He glanced toward the table then tossed back a swig of scotch. “Last place on earth I wanna be.”

“Last place on earth I want you to be.”

A noise that sounded like a reluctant laugh passed Marc’s lips. “How is it you can take off four days during one of the busiest weeks of the year? Business not good?”

Was that a hopeful sound in Marc’s voice? Probably. “Business is great,” Eric replied. “Definitely not the best time for me to be away, and it wasn’t easy to arrange the time off, but Jess comes first.”

The sound of Kelley’s slightly raised and very terse voice caught Eric’s attention. “It is absolutely essential that the band play a selection of current songs, Carol.”

Marc shot a frown toward the table. “Your sister’s a real ‘my way or the highway’ sort of woman.”

Eric cocked a single brow. “Guess you’d recognize that trait since you’re clearly a real ‘my way or the highway’ sort of guy.”