“Y’all don’t need any enemies, then.”
“Oh, don’t you worry,” Evie said. “If anyone messes with one Steele, you’d better believe the rest of us will be hot on that person’s trail.”
Aubrey’s mouth twisted downward. “I’m not a Steele. Not really.”
“Bullshit,” Evie said, with no apologetic shrug for the curse word. “You’re as much a Steele as any of our kids will be one day. My babies won’t have the last name Steele. Unless I hyphenate. Which could be pretty cool. Regardless of your last name, you’re a Steele where it counts.” She poked Aubrey’s chest. “Right here.”
Before Carlie Beth could spiral down the rabbit hole of what to do about her daughter’s last name, another knock came at the door. “Girls!” Joan called. “I have cookies ready!”
Aubrey and Evie jumped off the mattress like it had bedbugs.
“Hey,” Carlie Beth protested. “What about me? And the dress?”
“You do not say no to my mom’s brown-butter-and-pecan-chocolate-chip cookies,” Evie said. “Not ever. Yvonne can get you out of it. But I’ll need to help you dress a half hour before Grif is supposed to be here because that tape can be a little tricky. Make it an hour and we’ll do hair and makeup, too.”
“That’s good,” Aubrey said. “All she has to do is bathe.”
Once they raced each other out the door and, by the sounds of it, down the stairs, Yvonne asked, “You’re wearing that to the reception?”
“Too much?” Half-embarrassed for being caught looking so girly, Carlie Beth bent her head and reached for the catch at the back of her neck.
“No! Here, let me help you with that.” Yvonne shooed Carlie Beth’s hands away and released the hooks. Carlie Beth held the bodice against her chest while Yvonne worked on the zipper. “Sorry, this one’s being cranky.” The back of her hand grazed Carlie Beth’s spine, sending a shiver over her skin before the zipper finally gave way. “Must’ve had a piece of fabric caught in it.”
“I’ll be more careful when I put it on later.” Because she wanted to wear this dress in the worst way. And even more, she wanted Grif to see her in it. Which also meant digging through her things for the very best pair of panties she could find.
With her back to Yvonne, Carlie Beth stepped out of the dress and quickly pulled on her clothes. They were friends, but they weren’t shopping friends and it felt uncomfortable to be stripped down to the skin in front of her.
Adjusting the hem of her T-shirt, Carlie Beth turned to find Yvonne standing in the middle of the room with a thoughtful expression on her face. “You okay?”
She nodded, the movement slightly jerky. “Yeah, it’s just, you know. I just keep thinking about Austin.”
Carlie Beth rushed forward and grabbed her friend’s hands. “Oh, God. Me, too.”
Yvonne squeezed her fingers. “I wanted to make sure you were okay. That you weren’t blaming yourself.”
Why would she think Carlie Beth would blame herself? “You know it wasn’t an accident, right? They think someone…someone killed him.” Because a person didn’t fall, knock into a worktable, and have steel spikes tumble down hard enough to pierce skin.
And probably muscle and bone.
Carlie Beth shuddered.
Dropping Carlie Beth’s hands, Yvonne said casually, “Did Aubrey happen to mention the little scene after school earlier?”
Her shudder froze halfway down her spine. “No. What happened?”
She wandered across the room, ran her fingers over the other dresses Evie had taken from her closet. “Oh, it was nothing.”
“If it were nothing, you wouldn’t have mentioned it.”
“When Grif picked her up, he got a little…sideways…with me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was chatting with Aubrey, just to check on her, too. He lost it. Opened my car door and dragged me out.” She pushed up her shirt sleeve to display a bruise above her elbow.
Although her stomach felt uneasy, Carlie Beth said, “If you were in your car, that means Aubrey was outside the school. We told her several times she wasn’t to leave the building without her dad.”
“I didn’t realize that. No wonder he was so upset.” Yvonne pushed down her sleeve and smiled, but the expression was obviously forced. “If Austin was murdered, if there’s someone else dangerous around town, the sheriff should let people know.”
“They’re still investigating.”
“You look a little shaky, Carlie Beth. You’re sure you’re up for a date with Grif tonight?”
A date she was hopeful would end with another visit to Grif’s bed because she needed to feel his arms around her. Needed him. She plopped down on Evie’s mattress, feeling it sink beneath her. “I don’t know what this thing is.”
“I know that look.” Yvonne sat beside her and gave her a bolstering hug. “I’ve worn it myself.”
“What look?”
“That puppy-dog-mixed-with-preteen-girl mope one second and high-on-life sparkle the next.”
With a wince, Carlie Beth said, “Is it really that obvious?”
“It’s clear you’re getting in deep.”
“Maybe over my head.”
“Just promise me you’ll be careful, with Grif and Austin’s death.” Yvonne patted her shoulder with a light, sympathetic touch. “It would break my heart to see you get hurt.”
30
The good news was that Grif wouldn’t have to kill his brother, because the tux fit perfectly. Possibly better than the three Grif had hanging in his closet in LA. Not that he would admit that to the Baby Billionaire.
Even though Grif knew he looked good, he stood on his mom’s front porch and shot his cuffs. Then he adjusted the line of his pants. Then he went for his bowtie.
“So help me, if you start fiddling with your bra next, I’m fucking outta here,” Reid drawled.
Grif looked over to find his brother at the far end of the porch. “What’re you doing out here?”
“Just keepin’ an eye on things.” Reid rubbed his chin. “I was able to get feet on the ground out here and I’m working with a company on a security system. But that isn’t something they can just run out here and toss together. Not the kind I want.”
“You trust the guys you have making the rounds on the property?”
“Enough to bet my life on.”
Yeah, but he was also betting on Carlie Beth’s and Aubrey’s lives. “I tried like hell to pump everyone who came through my office today, and believe me, there were plenty of them.”
“Anything pop?”
“Not unless you think the PTA is getting even with Carlie Beth for missing the last bake sale. Good news is no one else seems to have made the Carlie Beth connection with everything that’s been going sideways in town.”
“Yeah, we wanna keep it that way.” Reid strolled over and adjusted Grif’s bowtie. “You fucked it up.” Then he sniffed. Sniffed again. “Man, you smell better than a two-bit whorehouse after the Avon lady leaves.”
Grif looked up toward the sky just as he’d done a million times before when his brother said something completely offensive, but God had yet to get around to striking down Reid. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Suddenly, Reid grabbed his wrist and wrapped his thumb around the inside.
“What the hell?” Grif tried to pull away, but Reid was a strong son of a bitch.
“If I had to guess, I’d say your pulse is in the low hundreds. Someone’s either tachycardic or nervous.”
“What are you—the date monitor?”
A big shit-eating grin spread across Reid’s face and he leaned a shoulder against a porch column. “I’ve seen her, and she looks hot.”
“If I didn’t know you were yanking my chain, I’d lay you out right here on Mom’s porch. Let her find your chewed-up ass after the coyotes got ahold of it.”
Reid’s face took on a serious expression, one he wore once the joking took a hike. “Don’t do Carlie Beth wron
g. She deserves a hell of a lot better than that.”
“I know she does. I’m working on it, okay?” Which was the main reason his hands weren’t steady. “You are staying here tonight, right?”
“Like I got anywhere else to be?”
“Jonah’ll be back after the reception, but I plan to talk Carlie Beth into going back to my place. But Aubrey—”
Reid clapped him on the back so hard, Grif had to take a step forward to keep his balance. “Don’t worry about her. Not a damn thing’ll happen to her with me around.”
Brotherly affection welling up in him, Grif grabbed Reid in a headlock. “She’s a hell of a kid, isn’t she?”
Reid halfheartedly punched Grif in the side. “Yeah, bro, she’s a Steele through and through.”
And Grif planned to make that legal. He released his brother with a playful shove and went inside. His mom came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. “Well, don’t you look handsome?” She straightened his tie.
Once she was done with her fussing, he handed her a box, one crammed packed with protective cushioning.
“What in the world?”
“Your teapot. Good as new.” The porcelain restorer had been worth every penny, and his mom’s soft expression told him that he was forgiven.
“You’re a good boy. Now, did you bring Carlie Beth flowers?”
Pure panic streamed through him. Fuck, fuck, fuck. But he said, “This isn’t prom.”
“Griffin, flowers are always appropriate.”
With a glance at the stairs to be sure they were empty, he blew out a breath and reached into his interior coat pocket. “What if I told you I brought something else?” When he pulled out the black velvet box, his mom’s eyes glistened.
“I would ask to see it, but I’m sure I’ll get a good look later.”
“About that,” he said, “Carlie Beth and I need a little time alone. Reid assured me he’d be here all night.”
“You don’t worry about a thing. Evie, Aubrey, and I already had a movie night planned.” His mom’s smile faded. “But honey, how are you and Carlie Beth going to manage between here and LA—”
“I’m still working on that.”
“I’m proud that you’re taking your responsibilities seriously, but I want you to be happy, too.”
He kissed her cheek. “Mom, just like you don’t see the ring first, you don’t hear the words first either.”
Her smile returned. “I’ll run up and get Carlie Beth.” She headed for the stairs.
After showing his mom the ring box, his nerves were back full force. He wandered over to the fireplace and rearranged the poker, broom, and shovel so they stood nice and straight in their own places. Everything in its place. Wouldn’t it be nice if his life would fall back into place? It would if Carlie Beth said yes.
When he heard footsteps on the staircase, he turned and wham! Awe hit him square in the chest.
Good God, he should’ve asked Reid for a Kevlar vest to wear under his tux.
Carlie Beth was slowly descending the stairs. He vaguely registered that his mom, Evie, and Aubrey were hovering behind her. But Carlie Beth was the epicenter of his universe.
The dress she was wearing gleamed in the light, flashing black one second and bronze the next. The skirt wasn’t tight but had a slit over her left thigh. Obviously, the designer had realized it wasn’t necessary for walking, but it was damn sure necessary for Grif’s enjoyment. Carlie Beth’s shoes were strappy black sandals with thin heels. He’d never once seen her in anything like them, and the sight of her slender ankle made his skin flash hot.
But the part of the dress that almost stopped his heart was the strip of fabric that came from her waist and circled around the back of her neck. With every step she took, he caught a peek at the curve of her breasts.
He wouldn’t survive an evening of speeches and small talk with the city council members and business owners while Carlie Beth was in the room.
When she stepped off the final tread, she wobbled a little in those sexy shoes, charming him. Reminding him she was his Carlie Beth. He caught her elbow to steady her, but his heart was beating so loudly in his ears that he couldn’t string together a sentence to tell her how gorgeous she looked.
“I think,” Evie said in a singsongy voice, “an I-told-you-so is in order here.”
The tentative smile Carlie Beth had worn on her way down the stairs faltered. “I shouldn’t be wearing these shoes,” she muttered. “I feel stupid.”
“Griffin,” his mom said sharply, yanking him out his sexual stupor.
He cleared his throat and said, “You look beautiful.”
“You don’t have to say that.”
As he leaned in close to her ear, a tendril of hair from her updo brushed his cheek, and he whispered, “I can’t say what I’m really thinking because there are other people in the room, and I doubt you want Aubrey hearing how I want to shove my hands under your skirt, rip off whatever sexy panties you have on under there, and fuck you against my mother’s living room wall.”
Color rushed into her cheeks. “Oh. Well, then.”
But he did kiss her, right there in front of their daughter, his family, God, and everyone. It was sweet and innocent as far as kisses went, but it made a statement. Made a claim.
“You not only look beautiful. You are beautiful. Inside and out.”
The pink in her cheeks depended. This was a woman who needed to be complimented more. To be reminded just how much of a woman she was.
And he planned to do that every day for the rest of his life.
He looked up to catch their daughter watching them closely. He wished he could reassure her that everything was going to turn out fine, but that was a conversation for later. After he and Carlie Beth had things settled between them. “Aubrey, you’re staying here tonight.”
“Are you sure I can’t go to the reception?”
“Your mom and I will both feel better with you here, and she’s staying with me tonight.”
“Oh.”
Carlie Beth shot him a wide-eyed did-you-really-just-tell-her-that look. But he knew she was always upfront with Aubrey and he wasn’t about to change that. “Do you feel okay about that?”
“As long as Mom does.”
“I promise she’ll be as safe as you are out here.”
“Does Reid have security at your place too?” his mom asked.
“Nobody’s getting through me,” he told her before turning to Carlie Beth. “You ready?”
She took an audible breath and nodded.
After hugs all around, he took Carlie Beth’s hand and led her out the front door. She looked up, a smile lighting her eyes. “You brought Louise.”
“I figured this called for something a little fancier than the van.” He laughed and pointed at the car. “But I had to drape towels over the seats. I didn’t want you to snag whatever you were wearing.”
She stopped right there in the driveway and turned to him. “Not once in all the chaos over the past few days have I said thank you.”
“For what?”
“For all the things you’ve done. But if I listed them all, we’d be standing here all night. So the short list is…Thank you for being thoughtful, for looking out for Aubrey and me, and for being an all-around good man.”
Now, he could feel heat filling his face. “I’m just being me.”
“And that’s what I’m most thankful for.” The kiss she gave him was sweet and simple, filled with a sweet and simple message that inflated his heart.
They could do this. They could damn well make this relationship work. He just needed to get them through this reception first.
* * *
It was an education, watching Grif sleekly weave his way through the crowd in the ornate city hall lobby. Even though everyone was dressed up—tuxes, suits, and pretty dresses—he was like a beautiful shark swimming through a pool of minnows.
Because her feet were protesting from being forced into the i
nsane shoes Evie had insisted were the only ones that would do the dress justice, Carlie Beth was hanging back, leaning part of her weight on a cocktail table near the buffet and people watching. A few stopped by to grab a plate and chat. Everyone complimented Aubrey’s work with the caterer, who’d provided everything from tiny cornbread and peach tarts to delicate cheese straws.
Wearing a caftan the color of plums with tiny silver bugle beads at the neckline, Jeanine from the bakery swept by and said something that sounded like, “Friends are like boobs. Some are real, and some are fake.”
Carlie Beth chuckled at the strangely profound soundbite.
That’s when she noticed Dave standing on the other side of the room, sipping a beer and glaring into the crowd. She traced his line of sight to find Grif in conversation with Brynne Whitfield, the owner of the boutique Carlie Beth’s dress had come from. Dave must’ve caught her scrutiny because he turned toward her, wearing an expression that was a twist of anger and agony. And the way he was strangling the neck of his beer bottle hinted that he wanted to do the same to her. He started in her direction, but Lord, this was not the time or place for him to throw a hissy fit. So she shook her head, pointed at Grif, and mouthed I love him.
His face tight, Dave slammed his beer down on a nearby table with enough force to rock it, sending two wine glasses tumbling to the floor. He never glanced at the broken shards at his feet, but simply stepped through the mess and stalked out of the reception.
After his exit, people near the front door parted like something out of the Old Testament, and in walked an eye-blindingly beautiful couple. Jonah still had his scruffy look going on, but his hair was tamed and his tuxedo reminded Carlie Beth that although he was lean, he was a big guy. As big as any of his brothers.
Baby Billionaire indeed.
But the woman on his arm made every junior-high insecurity threaten to rise up inside Carlie Beth. The blonde was a head taller than she was and strolled in her peacock-blue heels as if they were an extension of her body. And if Carlie Beth had been concerned her dress might be a little too provocative for Steele Ridge, she shouldn’t have worried because Jonah’s date was wearing a strapless sheath that hugged her very obvious assets.
Going Hard: Steele Ridge Series Page 25