by Chloe Lang
“Please, Charly. Sit.” Carlotta took a seat in the wingback.
“Okay.” She decided to not argue with the woman. Once this was over, they could move on to the awful task at hand with the bridesmaid’s dress.
“You’re just as closed off as your cousin vas vhen she first arrived in Vilde. Tsk tsk tsk.” Carlotta shuffled the cards several times. She patted the deck and created three piles on the table. “Let’s see vhat da spirits tell us. Point to da vone dat you are most drawn to, my dear.”
“What the hell.” She pointed to the deck to her left.
“Okay. Mmm. Like your cousin in some ways, but different. I tink six-card spread for you.”
“Let’s get this silliness over with,” she mocked.
Carlotta frowned.
“I’m sorry. I’m being rude. But this kind of thing is something I don’t really care for.”
Carlotta didn’t speak for a full minute, but fixed her with a searing stare.
“Seriously, I’m sorry.”
“I know, Charly. I’m often too passionate for some.” The woman’s tone was soft. “Shall I continue?”
Charly hoped to mend her error by agreeing to the reading. “Yes. Please.”
Carlotta smiled broadly. “Yes. Very much like Jessie.” She took the pile of cards Charly had pointed to and placed six cards face up on the table. “Da first is how you feel about yourself right now. Da second vhat you vant most at dis moment. Da third is your fears. Da fourth is vhat is going on now for you. Da fifth is what is working against you. And da final card is da outcome. Simple as dat.” Carlotta studied the six cards.
Charly waited for the psychic to finish reviewing the mystical future she saw on the plastic rectangles.
“You see dis card, Charly?”
She nodded.
“It’s da Hermit.”
The card had a picture of an old man dressed in a long gray robe. He was looking down and holding a staff and a lantern.
“He represents da feelings dat you have about yourself right now. You are struggling and veary. You feel solitary and dat da task ahead rests on your shoulders alone. Too much vorry in dat heart of yours, my dear.”
Charly thought about her mother, about the interview in Malibu, and even about her rotten dad. Yes, she did feel the weight of the world on her back.
“Dis card is vhat you want the most. It’s da Empress.”
Charly looked at the image on the card. A smiling woman with blonde hair, wearing a crown of stars and a white gown dotted with red, sat on a throne surrounded by a lush garden.
“At dis time you desire comfort, security, and happiness and may vell need some emotional support and reassurance. Underneath dis is da desire to belong and have a family.” Carlotta looked up from her review of the cards. “You may even vant to have a baby soon.”
Charly frowned. “You had me until the pregnancy thing. I have no time for a baby. Not now. Maybe not ever.” She wasn’t sure about bringing a child into the world. Her parents had started out with the best of intentions, but things had gone very wrong early on.
“My dear, dings will turn out fine, I’m sure.” Carlotta returned to inspecting the cards on the table. “Dis card represents your fears. Mmm.”
“I don’t like the sound of that, Carlotta.”
“Don’t fret. Just vait and see. Dis is da Ace of Cups.”
The picture was of a hand coming out of a cloud. In its palm was a cup with four streams of water pouring out of it to the lily-filled pond below. A dove with a circle hovered above the cup.
“Vhen reversed, like now, dis card sometimes represents a missed opportunity for joy, contentment, fertility, or enlightenment. Does dat sound like someding you fear, my dear?”
Charly thought about the pending interview. “You are going to make a believer out of me yet, Carlotta. Yes.”
Charly was worried about not landing the job. She’d worked really hard to get it. The receptionist had been awesome, giving Charly the inside scoop. But still, what if it didn’t work out? What would she do? The job market was less than favorable at the moment.
“I sense dhere is more to dis card dan dat.”
“What?”
“Da Ace of Cups also can mean someding coming. An unexpected message, a chance meeting, or da start of a romance. I dink, even more dan da fears, dat’s vhat dis card is saying to you.”
Heat filled up Charly’s cheeks. Romance? Drake? No. Not possible. The cards were wrong.
“Moving on to da card dat reveals vhat is going in your favor. Anoder high arcana card. Dis is da High Priestess.”
This card intrigued Charly more than the others before it. The picture was of a woman seated between a white pillar with the letter J on it and a black pillar with the letter B on it. A lunar crescent sat at her feet. Her head was adorned with a diadem in the form of a globe between two horns. She held a scroll. Her vestments were flowing and gauzy.
“She’s telling you to trust your intuition. Listen carefully and secrets vill be revealed.”
“Okay.” Charly felt ensnared by the eccentric woman’s spell. The reading was actually kind of fun.
“Dis is da Eight of Swords.”
Charly hated the look of this card. A hooded woman stood with her hands bound behind her back with a bunch of swords around her.
“Dis is vhat is vorking against you. Dis card tells me dat you are letting a past humiliation take your power, Charly. If you give in to it, you vill lose yourself to confusion and powerlessness.”
Under Carlotta’s enchantment, an image of her dad’s arrest floated into her mind. That moment had changed everything. Like it or not, Charly had recalled that fateful day over and over, using it as a motivator to keep working for her goals. It had worked perfectly, even though the pain of those memories had kept her awake often.
“Go on, Carlotta.”
“Da final card is da outcome should you not change direction.”
Charly studied it. Trudging through a snowstorm were two vagabonds were passing a lighted casement.
“Charly, dis is hard. Vhat I see...vell, I don’t mean to vorry you.” Carlotta looked up from the cards. Her face was full of concern.
“I’m a big girl. Tell me what you see.”
“Da spirits vant you to know dat if you don’t change directions soon, you vill have hard times.”
Charly felt a sense of dread fill her up. “What kind of hard times, Carlotta?”
“Rejection, loneliness, and da need for comfort. A vretched outcome looms in your personal finances.”
Poverty. Hell no! Enough of this witchery. Charly believed in one thing. Malibu would work out. It was her future to success and stability.
“Thank you for the reading, Carlotta. May I try on my dress now?”
* * * *
Drake sat behind the counter. Not a single customer had come in since Charly had gone to the back with Carlotta. He pulled his cell out of his Levi’s front pocket. The time let him know that they’d been in the back for forty minutes. What the hell was taking so long?
He was totally gone for Charly. But could she really be the woman for him, Dax, and Seth? She was not a local. They’d always planned on marrying some girl from the area, not someone like Charly.
Though Jessie had proven to fit into the Wilde way, Drake wasn’t certain Charly would. Still, he was drawn to her like no other woman before. She was strong and had a fire that appealed to him on many levels. Plus, she was incredibly sexy and had the most amazing body. The smart thing to do would be to enjoy being with her while she was in Wilde and then let her go. But how?
“I really don’t want to show you, Drake.” Charly’s voice came from behind the beaded doorway. “Dresses aren’t my thing.”
As hot as she looked in jeans, he couldn’t imagine that any dress would improve on displaying her curves. No matter, he wanted to get a preview before the wedding. “Sweetheart, I’m sure you look great.”
“Fine. Then close your eyes.”<
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“They’re closed.” Drake heard her part the beads in the doorway. He listened intently as she stepped closer.
“Let’s get this over with. Go for it, cowboy.”
Drake opened his eyes, and his jaw dropped. In clear view was an even more stunning image of Charly than before. She was dressed in a pale, strapless gray gown that hugged her curves perfectly. Seeing her delicate shoulders exposed made him instantly rock hard. The upper half of the gown afforded him the view of a little of her tempting cleavage.
“Well? Was I right or not?”
Drake shook his head. “Right about what, sweetheart?” He continued his scan, following her curves down her sides to her waist and round hips.
“Bridesmaid’s dresses suck. Don’t tell Carlotta I said so. She’s putting away some things in the back.” Charly tilted her head down, looking at her dress. She frowned. “I look like a stuffed gray sausage.”
“Hell no. You look like a princess. You’re a vision, Charly. Seeing you in a dress…well, I thought you looked incredible in jeans…but this…” Drake let his eyes drink in every drop of the tasty sight before him. “I think I’ll burn your jeans and require you to only wear dresses from now on.”
She laughed. “You think so? Who died and put you in charge of me?”
“No one died.” But Drake would gladly take on the job of protector of Charly. He reached out and pulled her close. “But you’re definitely worth killing for, princess.”
“Do you smooth talk all the girls this way, Drake?”
Rather than answer, he kissed her full mouth. She tasted warm and inviting. He forced her lips apart with his tongue. There would be no other women for him anymore.
Charly was the one.
He would somehow convince Dax and Seth of that fact, too. Once they saw Charly at the wedding in this dress, convincing wouldn’t be too difficult even though she was not from Wilde.
* * * *
As Drake kissed Charly to oblivion, she melted into his brick-like frame.
“I see da boy likes da dress, too.” Carlotta’s voice startled Charly.
She put her hands up to Drake’s chest and gently pushed.
Their kiss ended, and he looked at her with his dreamy eyes. “Yes. I like the dress, Carlotta, and especially the woman inside it.”
Charly had actually looked at the dress in a full-length mirror in the back with Carlotta and had been surprised.
The thing fit perfectly. Not one seam needed to be adjusted. Thankfully, it wasn’t one of those awful poofy disasters. Instead, it was something that could’ve been worn to any formal event. But even as gorgeous as it was, Charly believed no dress would ever work with her full figure, including this one. She’d always seen herself as big and plump. But the way Drake kept looking at her had her taking another look at herself.
* * * *
Drake walked into the chapel. The bride and grooms weren’t there, so the rehearsal hadn’t begun. And where is Charly? She’d completely dominated his thoughts since her arrival in Wilde. He’d only left her thirty minutes ago, but he hated every second away from her.
Late as usual, Seth hadn’t arrived.
Dax stood to the left and was talking to Selby. She was the one woman his twin had kept trying to pin on him and Seth, but Drake just didn’t find her to be that interesting. Not like Charly. He wanted her in the worst way. He craved her. He couldn’t stop thinking about her.
On the right, Aunt Mary studied the flower arrangements, making adjustments to several of them. The officiator, Pete, who also owned the casino, read some notes at the podium. There were other family members milling around, but the one he was most worried about, his brother Nate, thankfully was missing.
His other brothers, Tobias and Heath, had one of the sexy tellers from the bank cornered. Hopefully, they would remain distracted by her when Charly finally arrived.
Though he’d tried to insist on being Charly’s escort to the rehearsal, she’d refused him. “It’s only one block away. Hell, in this town everything is only a couple of blocks away at most. What can happen?”
He’d finally relented and left Charly in her room. Besides, he wanted a moment with Dax and Seth to fill them in about her. He knew they would discover, like he’d come to know already, she was the woman for all of them.
No matter what, Drake was determined to marry Charly one day. That he was certain of.
Love at first sight? Maybe. All he knew was that in the short time he’d been with Charly, his whole world had been turned upside down. He’d never felt so strongly for any woman before. Could he explain these feelings for Charly? No. He just knew.
Drake waved his twin over.
As Dax approached, he sighed. “Weddings, God, help me. How you holding up, bro?”
“I’m doing great.”
“Babysitting?” His twin’s eyebrows shot up. “Jessie’s cousin must be a looker then.”
“That and so much more, Dax.”
“Oh God. You’re so like a woman.”
“Don’t go calling me a hopeless romantic.”
“Why not? You can fall in love at the drop of a hat.”
“It’s not like that. Besides, I have always cooled off in the past.”
“And you will again.”
“Not this time. Not with Charly.”
“Drake, we’ve gone over this time and again. We’re going to choose a local lady. That’s what we’ve all agreed on.”
“You and Seth have agreed on that. I. Have. Not.”
“Bullshit. You were on the same page until this new woman showed up in town.”
“Just hold your judgment until you meet Charly.” If Dax and Seth didn’t come around, he would let go of his share of the ranch his parents had slated for the three of them. But Drake didn’t believe it would come to that.
Still, winning an argument with Dax was impossible. He loved to argue. For his strange brand of fun, he’d even dispute the sky being blue, and eventually, due to exhaustion, everyone would agree with him.
Best to let Charly make my argument for me.
Once his twin met her, the battle would be won. Dax would be mesmerized just like he’d been. So would Seth. Drake had no doubt.
Charly was such a special woman. So intoxicating on every level. Sexy. Charming. Didn’t take crap from anyone. She was the one. He knew it to his core. Soon, his two brothers would, too.
* * * *
The sun slipped behind one of the mountain peaks as Charly left the hotel. Sneaky Pete’s Casino was only a block away, and its chapel was on the opposite side of the street. Wilde’s streets were empty. The air’s coolness had a bite to it. A little uneasiness filled her up as the streetlamps came on. Though she’d wanted Drake to leave her earlier, now, she wished he were with her.
She looked in her purse and saw her pepper spray. It made her feel better—but only a little. “What the hell am I afraid of? For crying out loud, I’ve lived in the Bronx before.”
“This ain’t the Bronx, missy.”
Charly jerked her head up in the direction the voice had come from. The man was close. Very. She couldn’t make out his features because the streetlight didn’t shine in the place where he stood. He was only a silhouette. What she could surmise was he was tall and wore a cowboy hat. Typical for this town.
Charly curled her fingers around the container of pepper spray and placed her index finger on the trigger. She didn’t pull it out of her purse. But should the guy make any wrong move, she would.
“I bet you’re headed to the rehearsal.” The shadow’s voice was deep and had a slight drawl.
Charly didn’t acknowledge his statement. Instead she began to cross the street, continuing to keep track of the man from the corner of her eye. He moved toward her. She turned to face the man with her only defense drawn and ready. “Don’t make another step, mister.”
“You must be Jessie’s cousin.” He laughed. “I like your style, missy. Very much. Put your little weapon away. I’m no threa
t to you.”
“Why should I believe you? You’re slinking around in the dark. Who the hell are you?”
“I’m one of Drake’s brothers. Seth Strong.” The male silhouette moved into the center of the streetlamp’s circle of light. Like Drake, he was one hundred percent cowboy. His eyes were the palest blue, almost gray, with dark lashes that drew the onlooker in. He wore a white T-shirt over his sinewy frame. A tat of a dragon was on his left bicep. “You still have me in the crosshairs of your spray. I understand that can burn a man’s eyes pretty good. You plan on using it on me?” His tone was filled with incredible confidence and wicked seduction.
Charly placed the pepper spray back in her purse. “Not unless I need to.”
Seth’s eyebrows shot up. Then he stepped closer. He was tall, though not as tall as Drake. Charly guessed him to be six four. His demeanor had an edge, making her wary.
He lifted his hat, revealing blond, wavy hair. “I’d be honored to escort you to the rehearsal, Miss Wynn.”
Then he smiled, and Charly felt tingles spread over her. God, the men in Wilde are so sexy. “Thank you, but I’m okay.”
“I’m headed to the chapel, too. Might as well go together.” Seth bent his elbow, offering his arm. But it really wasn’t an offer at all. It was an order, a command. Normally, she would’ve been put off by such arrogance, but not this time.
“Why not?” Charly moved next to him, taking his offer by slipping her arm around his muscled bicep with the gorgeous tat.
Being next to him on the small-town streets of Wilde made her feel like she’d stepped onto a movie set. The whole scene seemed to transport her to another time and place. She enjoyed action, sci-fi, and detective movies—chick flicks had never done it for her—but this moment with Seth reminded Charly more of her favorite type of film, the Western. If Drake would’ve been perfectly cast as the cowboy in the white hat coming to the rescue of the lady in distress, what part would his brother Seth have been suited for?