“Can we make it quick?” Peter asked. “I’ve got a brief to finish and file by nine tomorrow morning.”
“Pete...”
“Sure,” Carly said, cutting Mike off. He hadn’t been around often enough to understand the demands of his brother’s job. Having grown up the daughter of a prominent attorney, Carly did. “Humor me for a little while,” she said and began to pull items from her bag.
Calendar, lists and pictures soon decorated the table. Despite Peter’s token protests, Carly knew he realized that a few hours tonight would save them both a lot of aggravation in the future.
“See what I have to put up with?” Peter asked. She recognized the tinge of humor in his voice.
Mike glanced at Carly. “Life’s rough, Pete. Next time a beautiful woman wants my undivided attention for a few hours, remind me to complain.”
“Even if she wants to domesticate you?” Peter held up a glossy photo of a bride and groom.
The brothers shared a laugh, allowing Carly to see the bond that existed between them. One she hadn’t truly believed in before now.
“In that case,” Mike said, “I’d be on the first plane out of here.”
Carly’s stomach contracted painfully, a spasm she attributed to an aching emptiness and a sudden need... for food.
* * *
Mike yawned, glad the wedding plans were finally winding down.
“That’s two P.M. Friday at the tuxedo place and ten A.M. Saturday at the florist?” Pete asked.
Carly glanced down at her appointment book and nodded. “No excuses, no delays.” She pointedly raised her eyes and looked at her fiancé.
“As long as no surprises come up.”
“They won’t.”
Mike closed the pizza box. Despite the presence of his brother and Carly, he’d eaten alone. For the better part of two hours, Carly and Peter had bargained their way through last minute wedding arrangements. If the couple sitting before him was to be believed, the perfect wedding involved little sentiment and a lot of details. The Carly Wexler he’d seen mooning over her favorite wedding band hours earlier had displayed more emotion than the one here tonight.
What had happened to the glimpse he’d gotten of the softhearted romantic? Around his brother, she was nowhere to be found.
“You’ll be there or I’ll compromise my principles and have my father cover your caseload himself.” An angelic smile lit her features.
“Father?” Mike couldn’t help but interrupt.
His brother glanced over. “Senior partner,” he muttered. A match made in professional heaven. Mike nearly choked on a mouthful of soda.
Peter turned to Carly. “I’ll be there,” he promised.
“Then we’re all set.” She snapped her leather-bound diary closed.
“Definitely for the tuxedos, possibly for the flowers,” Pete said in an obvious last-minute attempt to maneuver the plans to his advantage.
She lifted one eyebrow. Mike held his breath.
“Done,” she said.
A woman who apparently knew when to accept compromise gracefully.
Peter stood. Carly followed, rising from her seat on the floor. She stretched her arms above her head. Her round breasts lifted enticingly beneath the body-hugging material of her tank top. Mike’s groin hardened, thrusting against the rough denim of his jeans. He swallowed a groan. A long night was about to get much longer.
“Time to let you get back to your work,” she said to Peter.
His brother smiled. “A woman after my own heart.” He placed one hand on the small of her back.