One Bride for Five Mountain Men

Clearly, Arsen preferred talking to Lizzy than to Rory. He probably thinks I am some uptight bitch.

“Maybe then I’ll give you a tour once your ankle has healed. The ice pack will take care of that.” Lizzy wasn’t giving up.

“Yes, that’s a great idea. You’re full of great ideas, aren’t you?” Arsen smiled warmly at Lizzy.

Yeah, right. Rory thought. Lizzy and her stupid ideas. Rory was sure that Arsen had some interest in Lizzy. Of course he would. She’s a pretty girl. I have to make sure she doesn’t fall for his charm.

Arsen giving all of his attention to Lizzy was irritating Rory. She told herself it wasn’t jealousy. As Lizzy talked, he instinctively pulled out a cigarette from the pack but stopped, smirked to himself, and put it right back in.

Arsen was indeed attractive in a classic sort of way. Even the unkempt long hair fit his tall, muscular physique very well. He had strong hands, probably from years of playing guitar, and an even stronger gaze. The man virtually spoke with his eyes, which worked for him as he seemed like a man of very few words.

Rory hated herself for pondering over these thoughts and for finding him attractive. She hated herself for liking his deep voice and the dark beard along his sharp jawline. She could see why all those gorgeous Hollywood actresses would fall for him.

Some women will just fall for any dude with a guitar. The sarcastic side of her mind was balancing out all the nice things she thought about him, and as her eyes fell on Lizzy she was annoyed once again. I’m the one who takes him in, the one who cooks breakfast, and she’s the one he calls “honey?”

Her attention was distracted by the sounds of a car coming to a loud screeching halt on the back road. Not another accident, please, she thought. The other two in the room barely seemed to have noticed that. Lizzy was still going on and on about how awesome life must be in LA while Arsen just smiled and nodded.

A man dressed in chauffeur’s clothes walked toward the room. He stopped as he reached the door that led to the living room and his eyes fell on Arsen.

“Mr. Ford. I’m sorry, I just walked in—the gate outside was open.”

Lizzy left the damn gate open again, Rory thought and took another sip of coffee. The man then picked up his cell phone, waited for a beat, and then spoke. “He’s here, sir.” Then he hung up.

“And you are?” Arsen asked, apparently clueless to the identity of the man.

“I’m Mr. Nicks’ driver, sir. You might have seen me at the airport when you arrived in Montcove.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Well, sir, Mr. Nicks asked me to drive him here.” The man was about to say more when Rory noticed a man with long flowing blond hair, sunglasses, and what seemed like a layer of scarves around his neck walk into the room.

You didn’t need to be a genius to guess his profession. The man was the definition of a rock star—at least, he had the perfect look for it.

“Oh my God! This is the best day ever!” Lizzy screamed.

Chapter 7

“Oh my God! It’s Mickey Nicks!” Lizzy’s shrill, excited scream echoed through the room and she got up, ran like the wind, and jumped on the new arrival.

“Oh! Hey there…” The new man exclaimed, forcing Lizzy away from him and then blatantly checking her out. He then lowered his sunglasses and looked around the living room. Two more men, dressed in similar clothes but not as flamboyant as Mickey, entered the room.

“There you are, man. We thought you were fuckin’ dead in a ditch or something. Why the fuck do you have to disappear like that? We looked all over the mansion for you—well, at least they did.” He nodded to the other guys. ”Well anyway, good to know that you’re alive and all that.”

“What are you doing here, Mickey?” Arsen’s jaw was clenched and Rory could make out that he was not happy to see this Mickey person.

“What do you mean? I am here to rescue you. I am the fucking knight in white shining horse or whatever.” The man broke into a huge laugh, pleased with himself for some reason.

“But… Where’s Don? I asked him to come, not you,” Arsen replied sternly.

“Aren’t you the most ungrateful?” he replied with a shocked look on his face. I agree with you there, Rory thought. “I worried about you so much, man. I couldn’t sleep all night. “

“Are you sure it was because of worrying for m

e or maybe it had something to do with the ton of coke you snort every night?” Arsen chuckled.

“Why you gotta be nasty like that, man? Why the fuck?” Mickey glared at Arsen. Rory could feel the heat between the two men rising, and the look Arsen gave Mickey made her feel as if he was going to punch him any second now.

“Shut up, Mickey. Bobby, where is Don?” Arsen asked.