"I think you two have to work this out for yourselves."
"They're getting married." Ansley jerked open the door. "Noel, I wrote you and Tyler a wedding song and I'm singing it tomorrow night. Now, what room is he in?"
"Nine twenty-one."
Up the elevator and down the hall, Ansley rapped on Tyler's door, rehearsing a short speech, her heart thumping, as she waited for him to answer, the clank of dishes reverberating through the door.
When the door swung open, she launched her speech. "Listen, Tyler--"
But it wasn't Tyler on the other side, it was Drew Callahan from Honolulu, from Atlanta, from first class. A thick anticipation surged through her.
He leaned against the door in nothing but a pair of board shorts, his T-shirt fitted to his tan, muscled frame. His blue gaze bore through her until she felt every secret she possessed about to be exposed.
"Ansley Moore's doppelganger. What a pleasant surprise."
"Wh-what are you doing here?" Her words tripped over her lips. Drew's presence set the edge of her heart on fire.
"I was about to ask you the same thing." He eyed her, still with that enticing gaze and stood aside for her to enter. "Want to come in?" He gestured to the open balcony doors. "The Atlantic is perfect this morning. Calm, blue, beautiful."
The word beautiful lingered on her.
"No, no, I can't. I'm on a mission." She backed away. "I must have the wrong room." Ansley glanced at the number on the door. 921. "I was looking for Tyler Houston."
He tipped his head, beckoning her to enter. "You're in the right place. He's my brother."
"You're Tyler's brother?"
He watched her as she entered, making her conscious of her movements, of her bare face, of her hair in a sloppy ponytail.
"He'd like to deny it from time to time, but yeah."
Drawing a deep breath, Ansley faced him. "Well, my best friend is a broken, scared, sobbing bride because of you." She tapped him on the chest.
His eyes widened. "Your wedding is this wedding?"
"Yes. And you're messing things up." She sat in the nearest chair, then shot to her feet again, hands on her hips, her jaw set. "You're really Tyler's brother? Where is he by the way?"
"Out running errands. Look, Ansley, I'm sorry for your friend, but Tyler has no business getting married to someone he's only known three months. Most of those long distance."
She regarded him for a second, trying to dislike him, trying to be angry. But compassion rimmed his eyes, and she knew he loved his brother.
"That's not your decision, Drew. It's theirs. Do you have a vendetta against happily ever after?"
"Ha! There is no such thing as happily ever after. My brother knows it. I know it. Our mom married four times trying to find that elusive land of happily ever after."
"Ah, I see. A cynic." She took a step toward him. "Did you know Noel's parents have been happily married for thirty-two years? My parents are going on thirty-five. Happy, lasting marriages do happen ... despite the cynics and naysayers."
"Do you know Tyler has been engaged twice before?" He moved around the chair, his attention set on her. "He falls in love at the drop of a hat."
"I don't know about dropping hats, but what he has with Noel is real." Ansley stepped closer, into his space. A fragrant, clean space.
"How do you know?" He mirrored her step with his own. "How much time have you spent with them? And when were you last in love?"
"Besides not being any of your business, my love life has no bearing on theirs." She jutted out her chin and moved nearer. "But I know true love when I see it."
"Do you now? What is that, some sort of super power?"
"Maybe. Yeah, it is. It makes me a great country song writer." Ansley poked him in the chest again. His very firm chest. "Here's my question. What gives you the right to barge in here and demand Tyler abandon his fiancee? This is their wedding, their decision, their lives."