The Right Choice(2)
Author: Carly Phillips

She really wanted to run and hide from Mike and from herself. “Truce?” she asked, holding out her hand. To prove she could handle physical contact, not because she craved the sensations his warm touch aroused.

“Truce.” Mike grasped and released her hand in a quick movement. Not because he couldn’t handle touching her soft skin, but because his mere presence had obviously left her shaken. He had no idea why.

“Where is Peter?” Carly asked.

“Work. He was on his way out the door when a last minute crisis hit. He sent me along with his apologies.”

“Lawyers.” The nonchalant shrug of her shoulders was at distinct odds with the disappointed look in her eyes. “At least this time he remembered to send someone to tell me.” She smiled. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure,” he said. The woman standing before him was a definite surprise.

When Mike had asked about Carly, Peter had answered with a distracted, “We’re two of a kind, a match made in professional heaven.” To Mike the answer had been the equivalent of “She’s got a good personality.” Never a rave review for a woman. Mike had then sought answers in the framed picture on Peter’s desk. The black-and-white photo hadn’t done justice to this woman.

Perhaps she wasn’t a knockout, but she definitely possessed a certain something that made a man look twice. An elusive quality he’d like to capture on film. Light brown hair with golden highlights framed her face and caressed her shoulders in soft waves. Wispy bangs fell just below her eyebrows—when she wasn’t swiping at them with one hand. Mike suppressed the urge to brush them aside, just to see if her hair felt as soft as it looked. Her lips were a bit too full but glistened enticingly beneath a sheen of pink gloss.

His brother was one lucky SOB. Not that Mike would ever trade his freedom for the confines of marriage, but he intended to make sure Peter appreciated his good fortune.

“Mike?”

A tap on his shoulder took him by surprise and he flinched.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Fine.” He rolled his shoulder in a circle, stretching the tight muscles. He wondered if the recent injury would ever heal, or if the ache along with the scars were meant as a permanent reminder of what he’d left behind and all he still had to go back to.

“I asked how much time we’ve got” She lifted one eyebrow in question.

“About…” He glanced at his watch. “Another five, ten minutes, depending on whether or not Pete gets sidetracked. If he’s not here by a quarter after, he said to consider him a no-show and he’ll call to reschedule.” He grinned. “His words, not mine.”

“Not a problem. It’s nothing unusual anyway.”

Awfully accepting for a woman waiting to pick wedding bands with her beloved fiancé, Mike thought. “I see Pete still treats his personal life like a business meeting.”

“Don’t judge him.” Her eyes narrowed, flashing angry sparks.

Her defense of her fiancé was admirable if undeserved, Mike thought.

“Lawyers’ hours are unpredictable. I understand.”

“So do I.” But if his driven, workaholic brother often ignored Carly in favor of legal briefs and pestering clients, he needed a libido transplant.

“He wanted to be here,” she said.

“I never said otherwise. I just said he hasn’t changed.”

A muscle twitched in her cheek for a second before she gave in and smiled. “I guess you do know your brother well.”

“You sound surprised.”

“It’s just that he’s always concerned about you, but you’re…” She trailed off. A slight flush stained her cheeks, painting them a rosy pink.

“Rarely in touch,” he finished for her. “Comes with the territory. The places I travel lack the luxury of pay phones.”

“But the two of you are close.”

“We’re brothers.” For Mike, that said it all. But for each other, Mike and Peter had no one else in the world who cared. Except Carly. Peter now had his fiancée and Mike had to stop staring at her as if he’d discovered uncharted territory. Better to concentrate on the upcoming wedding and lifelong commitment between Carly and his brother.

“How long will you be in town?” she asked.

“At least the month until the wedding and probably awhile afterward. Then I hit the road again.” He had no other choice. He’d left mid-assignment because he’d allowed personal demons to haunt him. He knew damn well he had to face them down if he wanted to look himself in the mirror every morning. Mike Novack never left a job undone, and the man he knew himself to be wouldn’t let the past haunt him.

Once he returned to the rambling life he’d always loved, everything would get back to normal. Or so he hoped, glancing at the woman about to marry his brother.

“Ready to check out the rings inside?” Mike asked.

“Sure.” But her gaze strayed to the jewel-filled window once again.

“Is there one you really like?” he asked.

“Those.” She leaned forward and tapped lightly, indicating a set of simple two-toned rings.

A woman with substance. His mind ran through their earlier banter and he realized she’d meant every word. “They’re beautiful,” he said.

She turned to look at him. “But not Peter’s taste.” A frown touched her lips and a corresponding sadness flashed in her gentle brown eyes.

“You’re right. They wouldn’t stop traffic. Pete would prefer something a little more… noticeable.”

She sighed.

“You obviously know him well, too,” Mike said.

She smiled. “We understand each other.”

Did they? Mike had spent but a few minutes with each and he’d already begun to wonder. Watching Carly stare longingly at the rings in the window, he grew concerned.

“It’s getting late,” she murmured. “I hope he realizes these things can’t be rushed and we have to have them ordered, sized and engraved. Then there’s the tuxedos, the final flower arrangements, the…”

“Relax. No list is set in stone. It’ll all get done in time.”

“Only if we follow my schedule.”

Mike placed a comforting hand on her bare shoulder, realizing his mistake too late. Her skin felt like fine silk beneath his roughened fingers. He breathed in deeply. She looked like sunshine and smelled like vanilla. A potent combination, he discovered.