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In the next moment, she flipped her hair back over her shoulder and crossed to the bed to grab the pair of black heels lying on the comforter. He traced his gaze over the enticing curve of her shapely ass when she bent to secure one shoe, then the other. They were nothing more than a sole and two little straps to secure them on her feet, but they were sexy as hell with her dainty red toenails peeking out.
He slid his clenched hands into his pockets to camouflage his growing arousal as she scooped up all her things, stuffed them into her duffle, and zipped it shut.
“All right, then. I’ll get out of your way.” She crossed the room with the handle of her bag slung over her bare shoulder and her gaze fixed about chest level. “Again, sorry about the room mix-up.”
I’m not.
Definitely not in my way.
You can get naked in my bedroom any time you’d like.
Merit would’ve said any or all of those things out loud. Asher stood aside for her to pass with a quiet, “Not a problem. Can I carry that for you?”
“I got it, thank you. I’m going to put it in my car right away.” She paused, shifted her stance while glancing toward the stairs, then gave his chest a quick smile. “I guess I’ll see you down there.”
“Yep.”
Another brief curve of her mouth, a second of hesitation as her gaze dipped, and then she abruptly walked away. He released a low groan under his breath as he watched the subtle sway of her hips before a shift of the duffle blocked his view. When that flaming mane of hers disappeared below the top step, he remembered he’d come upstairs for more than the unexpected wardrobe assist.
That’s right. He was supposed to put his bag in his room, make sure Shelby didn’t still have her nose stuck in her veterinary books, and round up everyone to help greet the arriving guests.
He bent to pull his camera from his equipment bag when he saw Merit in the hall, walking toward him with a shit-eating grin. He met up with him in front of Loyal’s room. His youngest brother’s eyebrows rose until they disappeared behind the unruly mop of hair tumbling over his forehead.
“Never thought I’d see the day Angel Asher snuck a woman out of his room.”
God, he hated that nickname. Roxanna’s was ten times better and even then, he only tolerated it because it was Roxanna. “There was no sneaking going on.”
“There you go. Own it.”
Asher rolled his eyes, though reluctant humor did tug at his lips as he rapped on Loyal’s door, then cracked it open to warn, “Mom wants us downstairs pronto.”
“I can’t tie this damn tie,” his oldest brother groused as he came to the door in his tux.
“Ash got a quickie in with a sexy little redhead before the party started,” Merit said with a grin.
“Help him.” He shoved his loud-mouth brother toward the fashion challenged one before moving across the hall to Shelby’s room. “And grow up, moron. Nothing happened.”
Though, now that he knew Honor wasn’t engaged or dating the guy from the wedding, he wouldn’t have objected if it had. But not here. While their parents weren’t stupid enough to believe their kids didn’t have sex, ‘shenanigans’ were expressly forbidden on the second floor until they were married.
Merit worked his magic on Loyal’s bow tie as he tossed over his shoulder, “Right. Nothing happened. You were just helping her put her dress back on for no reason at all.”
Clearly, Merit had no problem breaking the rules.
Loyal cocked a questioning eyebrow and Asher shook his head. “She baked the anniversary cake, and Celia sent her up here to change. All I did was help with her zipper.”
“That’s your story?” Merit scoffed.
“That’s what happened. Now drop it.”
Shelby opened her door and stepped out in a little black dress and heels similar to Honor’s. Geezus. When had his baby sister become a woman? He was used to seeing her in her vet tech scrubs and glasses. Even with her dark, signature Diamond hair pulled back into a smooth ponytail, her outfit, contacts, and makeup made her look much older than twenty-three.
She eyed the camera in Asher’s hand with resignation. “Show time?”
“Yeah.” He gestured for her to go first, then waited while the other two followed.
As they all headed toward the stairs, Merit asked, “Where’s Mini-Mom?”
“Probably with Main-Mom,” Shelby answered.
