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I decide ignorance is bliss, so I tap out a message to Chance with Bronwyn Bear in my lap while we wait for Alice and Tucker to arrive.
Her strawberry blonde head tilts toward me. “You do know, Alice is going to want to be a bridesmaid.”
What the hell? Random. Much?
Giving her a side-glance, I laugh, which sounds desperate even to my ears, to cover up the shock of her blatant comment. “You are having a lot of fun, aren’t you?” I throw at her, adding in a dash of snark.
She holds her hand up and pinches her thumb and pointer finger to within an inch of each other. “Eh, maybe a teensy bit.”
“I am going to pretend I don’t know who you are being presumptuous about.”
“Okay… but I am up for a placeholder spot, too, just sayin,’” she replies without an ounce of shame.
“I am starting to see similar personality traits between you and your brother,” I mumble under my breath, and this time she laughs at me, nudging me with her shoulder.
“Get used to it, honey. We Royals are a force to be reckoned with when we see something we want,” she unapologetically announces, sitting back. “You know he has Alice rooting for him. Just turn your head and see.”
My mouth drops open. The brother and sister duo are walking out of the elevator. If this was a movie scene, I am sure it would be in slow motion.
Tucker walks with Alice on his arm, and they are both wearing aviator sunglasses, which is super cute on Alice with her pink cowboy hat. But Tucker makes my girly bits stand up and dance. He’s dressed to impress in a crisp white business shirt (open at the collar) and an aviation-style vintage leather bomber jacket with pressed black slacks and polished black shoes. It leaves nothing to the imagination how the pants mold to his round, tight arse—combined with his confidence—and it is “ooo-la-la”territory.
“Bloo-dy… hell.” I stop myself from waving my hand in front of my face to fan myself becausehotdoesn’t even begin to cover Tucker dressed like this.
Teagan squeezes my thigh. “You might want to close your mouth before my twin notices the stunned look on your face.”
And as though they share telepathy, he looks straight at me through the open window and adds a Colgate smile to his outfit.
My mouth snaps shut, helping me to shake off the stupor that fogs my brain. “Whatever.” I one-shoulder shrug, trying to sound blasé while Tucker helps his sister up into the SUV.
Teagan smothers a smirk behind her hand.
The woman has me pegged.
“You ladies talking about me, back there?”Smug bastard.
I choke out a compliment about his clothing choice instead of answering him, watching him walk to my window to the beat of my pounding heart.
He rests his elbows on my open window. “I hoped to put your mind at rest about my piloting capabilities. You seemed a little quiet at breakfast, so I thought anything less than business attire wouldn’t ease any concerns you have regarding my piloting skills. The hot air balloon experience reminded me you have a thing for floating up into the sky.”
It was the farthest thing from my mind at breakfast, but okay, we can ignore the wild sex elephant in the room.
When I don’t respond, he reaches in, tipping my chin, so we are looking into each other’s eyes. “You are safe with me, Ophelia. I won’t let anything happen to you. Okay?”
Gahh. Loins. Melting.
“Yeah, okay,” I croak and then clear my throat as though I did not almost lose the power to speak in front of him.
Tucker double taps the roof of the SUV as though any fears I previously had got settled before getting in the driver’s seat.
I look at Teagan. “Hot air ballooning was just plain freaky, floating off the ground in just a wicker basket and an envelope filled with hot air. You can’t blame me for getting a little jelly in the legs until I got my airlegs.”Sheesh!
I look up to see Tucker watching me in the rearview mirror, and then he winks before turning the engine over and reversing out of the parking space.
My eyes dart around, not knowing where to look because I can feel Tucker’s eyes on me as we drive out of the underground garage.
“Oh, honey, you’ve been claimed. Denial is futile,” Teagan singsongs happily.
Oh, boy.
