Just A Kiss (Angel Sands 4)

God, he was a sight for sore eyes. The most beautiful man she knew. And though she had no idea what he was doing here, she’d never been so happy to see Brecken Miller.

“Martine’s been a great help,” Caitie said, trying to catch her breath. “We’ve had a few snafus, but we’re ironin

g them out.”

“Snafus?” Juan looked alarmed.

“My brother’s too sick to join us this weekend. His fiancée, as well. So Martine and I are going to have to plan this without them.”

His eyes flickered to Martine’s. “Do you need any help? I can give you extra staff.”

While Martine and Juan continued their conversation, Caitie found her eyes drawn to Breck’s. She wanted to ask him why he was here, and find out who the guy with him was. Who was she kidding? What she really wanted to do was drag him to her hotel room and show him how much she’d missed him.

Breck and the man with him walked toward her. “Cait, do you remember Aiden Black? He’s in charge of the Silver Sands Resort.”

She smiled at the man next to Breck. He didn’t look much older than them. Way too young to own such a huge resort. “Hi, I think we met at Lucas and Ember’s engagement party. It’s good to see you again.” She stood to shake his hand.

“You, too,” he replied, a smile catching his lips. He was slightly shorter than Breck, but shared the same build. Muscled and lean. But where Breck’s hair was sandy blond, Aiden’s was dark. With his warm skin and full lips, he had the sort of face that was more at home on a movie poster than in a hotel.

“So what are you guys doing here?” Caitie asked.

“I wanted to show Aiden some of the finishes we used on this place,” Breck said, his voice deep. “When I heard you were here I wanted to come say hi.”

Juan turned his attention to Aiden and started talking rapidly, showing him the tiling in the outer office. The two of them bent their heads together, Aiden nodding as the hotel owner continued to point things out. Neither of them were paying Breck – or Caitie – the slightest attention.

She tried to suppress a smile. Breck knew she was going to be here. She loved that he’d come up here just to see her in the flesh.

“I guess you heard about Lucas,” she said, biting her lip. “Terrible food poisoning. He and Ember can’t make it up here as planned.”

“They can’t?” He raised an eyebrow. For some reason he didn’t look at all surprised. “That’s a shame.”

“It really is,” she agreed.

“So I guess you’ll need some help now that they’re not here. I’m free all weekend, and more than happy to be of service.”

She narrowed her eyes, wondering if he had anything to do with her brother’s sickness. She shook her head at the thought. She knew far too much about her mom’s experimental cooking. Food poisoning wasn’t an isolated incident at the Russell house.

“It’s a shame you didn’t know before you left. That way you could have packed a bag,” she said lightly.

“Strangely enough, I do have one packed. I was planning on going away for the weekend.”

“I’d hate to interrupt your plans,” she said, smiling. The frisson of excitement in her belly started to grow. “If you have some place to be.”

Though his expression was serious, she could see the amusement in his eyes. “It’ll be a worthwhile sacrifice to make sure one of my closest buddies gets the wedding he deserves.”

“You’re my knight in shining armor,” she whispered. “Thank you.”

“The pleasure’s all mine.” He lifted his hand. “We’ll let you get on with the arrangements while I show Aiden around the place. Catch you later?”

She grinned. “Not if I see you first.”

* * *

Later that afternoon, Caitie was searching through her suitcase for her toiletry bag when there was a knock on her hotel room door. Juan had suggested she try out the Bridal Suite, but the thought of being in that room before her brother was way too disconcerting. Instead, he put her in a junior suite at the front of the hotel.

“Hey,” Breck said, as soon as she opened the door. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good. You finished working?”