Skirting the Ice (The Bannister Brothers #3)
Page 23
Great. He was just like her brother. What kind of trouble was this guy in, though? His clothes looked expensive, his watch probably cost more than her car, and he had the hard body of an athlete—maybe he was a drug dealer. That would be just her luck. “Is there someone I can call?”
He pulled his phone from the breast pocket of his suit coat, squinted at the settings, then handed it to her. “Call Bane. Call my brother. Can you tell him to come get me? And tell him I’m sorry. I’m really fucking sorry.”
His words sounded so miserable and sad, she almost felt sorry for him. But she’d been on the other end of a hundred drunken apologies and after a while, they started to lose their effectiveness.
She scrolled through the contacts. Had he said Bane or Ben? Her eyes caught the word Bane, and she pressed the contact and held the phone to her ear.
A sleepy male voice answered. “Dammit, Owen. I told you I’m not coming out tonight.”
“Um. Hello. Is this Owen’s brother?”
“Who’s this?” The voice went instantly alert. “Where’s my brother?”
“This is Gabby Davis. I’m a caterer, and I’m working a party at the Crown Hotel downtown. I’m in the women’s bathroom on the first floor, and your brother appears to be very drunk and passed out on my lap. He asked me to call you. He seems to think he’s in some kind of trouble.”
“Oh, he’s in a whole hell of a lot of trouble. Listen, Gabby, thank you for calling me. I can be there in fifteen minutes. Can you stay with him until I get there?”
“Sure, I guess.” She wasn’t in charge of the whole catering job tonight—only the desserts—and no one would notice she was missing as the party wound down.
“I’m on my way. Keep him out of sight and in the bathroom if you can.”
Out of sight of whom? What kind of trouble was this guy mixed up in?
“I can try.”
“I’d really appreciate it, Gabby. You have no idea how much I’d appreciate it. Tell him I’m on my way.” He hung up.
Gabby set the phone down. “Your brother’s on his way. How about if I just sit here with you until he gets here?” The guy was big, and his brother had said he was in trouble, but she still wasn’t afraid. He didn’t seem dangerous, even with the black eye.
He snuggled into her chest, smearing remnants of chocolate frosting across his cheek. “Are you an angel? Because you smell like heaven,” he slurred. “Seriously, why do you smell so damned good? Like cookies and cake and chocolate?”
He opened his eyes and squinted at her chest. He ran a finger along the top edge of her breast, sending a wave of tingles darting down her spine, and came away with a dab of frosting on the end of his finger tip. Popping his finger into his mouth, he groaned in pleasure. “God, you even taste like chocolate. I just want to frickin’ lick you.”
Wow. Wildly inappropriate to say, but the words still sent a prickle of desire through her. This crazy hot guy just told her he wanted to lick her. Granted, it was a drunken statement and he most likely meant the chocolate frosting spread across the front of her shirt, but it had been a long time since she’d had a man tell her anything half as remotely sexy as that statement had been.
Spending all of her time working, saving money, and taking care of her miscreant brother didn’t leave a lot of time for dating, and she didn’t want to think about how long it had been since anything of hers had been licked.
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the first book in the Bannister Brothers series.
Acknowledgements
As always, my love and thanks goes out to my favorite hockey player, my husband, Todd, for your steadfast love and support in my writing career and in our life together! We make the best team!
Huge thanks to my Entangled sisters, Beth Rhodes and Cindy Skaggs, who helped make this work possible through constant support and lots and lots of writing sprints—whether I wanted to do them or not. Your accountability and support is invaluable!
Special thanks to Kristin Miller for your plotting help. Your friendship and support mean the world to me.
My thanks and credit for this fantastic gorgeous cover goes to Kim Killion and the team at The Killion Group.
Many thanks to my editor, Alyssa Palmer, for your editing talents.
Special acknowledgement goes out to the women that walk this writing journey with me every day. The ones that make me laugh, who encourage and support, who offer great advice and sometimes just listen. Thank you Michelle Major, Lana Williams, Anne Eliot, and Selena Laurence. XO
About the Author
Jennie Marts is the USA TODAY Best-selling author of award-winning books filled with love, laughter, and always a happily ever after. Readers call her books “laugh out loud” funny and the “perfect mix of romance, humor, and steam.” Fic Central claimed one of her books was “the most fun I’ve had reading in years.”
She is living her own happily ever after in the mountains of Colorado with her husband, two sons, two dogs, and a parakeet that loves to tweet to the oldies. She’s addicted to Diet Coke, adores Cheetos, and believes you can’t have too many books, shoes, or friends.
Her books include the contemporary western romance Hearts of Montana series, the romantic comedy/cozy mysteries of The Page Turners series, the hunky hockey-playing men in the Bannister Brothers Books, and the small-town romantic comedies in the Lovestruck series of Cotton Creek Romances.
Jennie loves to hear from readers. Follow her on Facebook at Jennie Marts Books, or Twitter at @JennieMarts. Visit her at www.jenniemarts.com to signup for her newsletter to keep up with the latest news on sales and new releases.
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