“By yourself?”
“It doesn’t take two to celebrate, Mike.”
He grinned. “No, but it’s a heck of a lot more fun.”
At his deliberate innuendo, she felt the heat rise to her face.
“You made a deal with the publishers?” The genuine excitement in his voice brought her earlier rush of adrenaline back full force.
She nodded, pleased with herself, proud of what she’d accomplished and suddenly not ashamed to show it. “Yup. A good deal, too.”
“Hey!” Before she knew what hit her, he’d swept her into his arms and twirled her around the floor. His body felt warm and hard against her breasts.
“That’s great.”
As he lowered her to the floor, the slight bulge in his pants caused a quickening in her stomach. Apparently Juliette’s aphrodisiac worked all right... with the wrong brother. Carly stepped back to avoid further contact.
“How about another glass so I can share the celebration?”
Using the time to catch her breath, Carly walked into the kitchen and returned with a second wineglass. She grinned. “Only the finest.”
“I’m used to drinking out of bottles and cans. Anything else is paradise.”
“Peter said something about you being a photo-journalist?”
“I was,” Mike said.
“And now you’re...?”
“On vacation,” he said smoothly. He glanced around the room and chose a reclining chair in the corner. It rocked slightly under his weight and he laughed. “I love these things.”
She smiled. “Me, too.”
“So much more comfortable than that hard leather thing Pete calls a couch.”
Carly’s smile faded and he regretted whatever he’d said to cause the change.
“I see. Talking about work is off-limits?” She pushed the topic away from herself and back to him.
“Not if there’s something you really want to know.”
“What subjects have you covered recently?”
“This and that,” he said, unwilling to delve deeper into his most current assignment. Even for Carly.
“Can’t you be more specific?”
I’d prefer not to. “I cover hard news. I don’t dig around in celebrity trash cans.” He forced a grin.
She smiled in understanding. Her brown eyes met his. A man could drown in the compassion he saw there. “I’d like to see your work sometime,” she said.
“My pleasure.” That he wanted to share his private photos with Carly gave him some indication of his level of involvement. More than was prudent he knew. For a man who avoided emotional entanglements, the revelation stunned him.
He forced himself to think of his brother and suppressed a groan. “After you left this afternoon I spoke with Pete.”
“And?”
“Since he’ll be busy training a new associate, I’m at your disposal for any wedding-related things you need.” Or anything else, for that matter.