“How did you know you wanted to be an architect?” she asked, trailing along behind him, as he looked at the pictures.
“When I got to be about seven or eight, I noticed everywhere I looked, everything had these fascinating repeating patterns. And I’d look at buildings and see the components, how it all came together to make the whole.”
“Bet you were killer at building Legos.”
He barked out a laugh and nodded. As they got into the hotel elevator, he said, “Plus, my grandpa was a draftsman. I learned about blueprints on his lap. I was always amazed those pictures would become a house or a restaurant or a skyscraper. I wanted to run his firm when I grew up but…”
Matthew trailed off as the elevator doors opened onto the hotel lobby, all gleaming chrome and blue decor. A circular table held an enormous spray of lilies, their sweet scent permeating the air. Low music flowed from hidden speakers to compete with the chatter of the nearby lobby bar, full to overflowing with stranded passengers.
As they stepped toward the front desk, her phone trilled. She excused herself as Matthew continued on to the desk, still pulling her red and black suitcase behind him.
“Hey, Pickle,” she greeted her baby brother, though at twenty-one, he wasn’t such a baby anymore.
“What time’s your flight get in, Bug?” Dylan said, sounding sunny and cheerful. She’d been looking forward to seeing him during her layover in Atlanta.
“Stuck in Chicago.”
“Saw that big storm on the news. No dinner tonight then?”
“No, I’m about to check into the airport hotel. Matthew found us rooms and…”
“Who’s Matthew?”
“Guy I met at the airport.”
“This is Erin Delaney, right?” Dylan said, surprise clear in his voice. “You’re picking up guys in the airport now? Doesn’t that violate an Erin rule?”
“So funny. Not like that.” She eyed Matthew, his back to her as he chatted with the desk clerk. She admired his broad shoulders, highlighted to perfection in his silvery gray suit and perfect, round bottom. Maybe it could be though….
“But do you want it to be?” Dylan teased.
“Hush. Anyway, I probably won’t have time to see you tomorrow but I’ll try to fly through Atlanta on my way back. Rain check on dinner?”
“Sure, sis. We can catch up soon. And have fun with Matthew. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”
“So that leaves out nothing.” As she hung up with Dylan, she looked up to see Matthew walking toward her, biting his lower lip.
“There’s only one room left.”
Chapter Three
“You take it,” Erin said immediately. “You thought ahead to get the room…”
“I can bunk in the concourse. Won’t be the worst place I’ve ever slept.”
“No, it’s yours. I insist. I’ve got an inflatable travel pillow and a space blanket, so I’ll be perfectly fine. I’ll head back over and let you get settled.” Erin placed her hand on her suitcase handle, brushing his fingers as she did, ignoring the frisson of awareness between them. “It was lovely to meet you, Matthew.”
“We can share,” he offered, causing her heart to kick up a notch. “I promise to keep my hands to myself. Purely platonic. It’s pretty bad out there and…”
Erin looked into his hazel eyes, brown now in the low lobby lighting. As a woman traveling alone, she would normally never consider rooming with a stranger, male or female. But, Matthew didn’t feel like a stranger. She felt comfortable, secure, and safe with him, as though they were long-time friends.
The lobby doors opened, sweeping in more stranded travelers and an arctic blast of snowflakes on the wind. Though there were other hotels nearby, visibility was so poor, she would end up stranded on the side of the road if she ventured out. Spending the night in the crowded, noisy concourse held no appeal either.
“You sure you wouldn’t mind?” Erin asked.
“I’d much rather play another round of Go Fish with you than be bored by myself.” He handed her a plastic room key.
“Lead the way then.”
He took her suitcase and she followed him into the elevator. He’d promised to keep his hands to himself and she believed he’d keep his word. The trouble was, what if she didn’t want him to?
“Do you want to head downstairs for dinner after we drop our stuff off?” Matthew asked as they walked down the hallway to the room, their hips bumping in the narrow corridor. “Or should we try out room service?”
“Room service might be good. I haven’t checked in a while. I should…” Erin trailed off as they entered a lovely hotel room decorated in shades of cream and burgundy. Outside the window, the thick, blinding snow whirled into whiteout conditions, with the airport control tower just a shadow looming behind it. A narrow desk sat near the window, topped with a lamp. Other than the desk chair, the only seating in the room consisted of a leather recliner. Across from a large wooden dresser, a wide king bed sat, covered with cream and wine colored bedding. Together, they stepped into the room and both stared down at the single bed.
“I’ll take the recliner,” Matthew offered immediately. “Or get a cot. The front desk didn’t mention it was a king…”
“You could always sleep in the bathtub,” Erin teased and he smiled at her. “Matthew, it’s fine. We’ll figure it out. Thank you for getting us the room. Look what a mess it is out there. Now, I should check in. Do you mind if I use the desk?”
In a few moments, Erin set up her laptop and a temporary command post on the desk. Outside the window, the wind howled and shrieked as the snowflakes battered the pane. A night fit for neither man nor beast. Shivering in the draft, Erin picked up the gold and burgundy throw blanket from the foot of the bed and tossed it over her shoulders as a temporary shawl.
They settled in, her at the desk and him in the recliner just a few feet behind her, both focused on their tasks. As always, life as a professional bridesmaid meant she had a thousand details to track, an out of control to-do list, and a packed calendar. She didn’t have time to go to Georgia to participate in a week’s worth of wedding festivities. But, when the client hadn’t blinked at a double the usual price tag, plus travel expenses, she couldn’t turn it down either.
Matthew flipped on the weather channel and pulled out his tablet. Though Erin worked steadily through her ever-growing to-do list, she became increasingly aware of his presence as he’d shift or sigh as he worked. She sent Lauren a message explaining where she was and mentioning Matthew’s name. Erin realized she hadn’t checked her voicemail all afternoon. She grimaced when she found Lauren’s increasingly frantic messages. This was why she never broke her nothing comes before work rule.
“I need to make a call. Will it disturb you?” she asked Matthew. He’d tossed off his shoes and loosened his tie, his tablet propped on his knees, his dark hair messy from raking his hands through it. She swallowed against her suddenly dry mouth. Slightly disheveled was a good look for him.
“Make yourself at home, Erin,” he smiled as she called Lauren.
“I just got your email. Who’s Matthew?” Lauren demanded by way of greeting. Erin moved from the desk nearer the door, hoping Matthew couldn’t hear her friend. She kicked off her ballet flats, wiggling her toes in the carpet as she paced.
“So, you had a question about the Samson wedding?” Erin asked, careful to keep her tone even and business-like.
“Forget the Samson wedding. Who cares about the Samson wedding? Is he cute?” Erin murmured her assent. “And where are you anyway?”
“Stranded in Chicago. Blizzard closed the airport.”
“You’re sharing a hotel room with a man you just met? I never thought I’d see the day, Erin Delaney. Are you going to break your no one-night stands rule? I mean, if he was so fascinating you couldn’t answer my messages all afternoon—”
“So, the Samson wedding is scheduled for Valentine’s Day. If I recall correctly, they wanted us to—”
�
��Don’t change the subject! You didn’t answer my question. You’re tempted!”
“I am not.” Erin looked at Matthew, who continued to read on his tablet. Well, maybe just a tiny bit… “What’s your question?”
“About the one-night stand rule being broken?”
“Your message said you had a question about the Samsons.”
“I figured that out already. Youngest daughter is fine with being a junior bridesmaid. I got this.”
“I know you do.” Erin smiled. What would she do without Lauren as her best sidekick?
“Take the opportunity! Sleep with the man!” Lauren said. Erin shook her head. She and Lauren did not agree on casual sex. Lauren was all for it and Erin, though she’d tried it a few times, found it left her cold and hollow, feeling more alone than before. She wanted the fairytale. Lauren didn’t believe in them. Still, she eyed Matthew. If ever there was a man worth breaking her carefully crafted life rules for, he might just be the one.
“Duly noted, Lauren.”
“Damn, that means you won’t.” They discussed details for a bit before Lauren hung up. “Just remember you only live once. Go for it.”
A few minutes after she hung up, Matthew piped up, “Are you getting hungry? Want to order room service?”
“Sure,” Erin shrugged, in the middle of building an invoice for a wedding inquiry. “If you’re ordering, I’ll take a chicken Caesar salad and an iced tea.”
“Don’t you want to look at the menu?”
“No need. More efficient to always order the same thing.”
“But doesn’t that get boring?” Matthew stood beside her at the desk, leaning over to reach the room service menu. His arm brushed hers as he returned to the recliner. “Don’t you want to sample all the delights life has to offer?
“Who has time for that?” Erin said.
Matthew placed the order while Erin finished. By the time their food arrived, she’d run out of work to do, a startlingly unusual event for her. They sat together on the end of the bed, eating together companionably. Erin usually ate dinner at her desk or grabbed a protein bar on the way to spin class. It was nice to have someone to share the end-of-the-day meal with.
“Don’t you need to call someone, your girlfriend or someone, let them know where you are?”
“I don’t have a girlfriend,” Matthew answered, his eyes locking on hers, a smile flirting with his plush mouth. Erin fought the thrill that coursed through her at the knowledge he was single. Not that it mattered. Much. “I work too much to have a girlfriend. I just keep things casual. Don’t do long-term anymore.”
“Doesn’t that get lonely?”
“It’s not worth the hassle,” Matthew said.
Erin knew the answer then. Yes, it did get lonely. She told herself the sacrifice was worth it to build her business and care for Dylan. Sometimes, she could even make herself believe it. What was Matthew’s excuse?
They ate in silence for a few moments before Erin finally asked. “So, are you going home early for Christmas?”
“I’m going home to stop my brother’s wedding.”
Erin stared at him, her fork halfway to her mouth. “Why?”
“He’s marrying the wrong girl way too young. I’m not going to let him make the same mistake I did.” Matthew shook his head, his dark hair flopping over his forehead. Erin clenched her fingers around the fork to keep from brushing his bangs back. Would his dark hair be as soft and silky as it looked? “I feel responsible. I haven’t been home much, since my divorce.”
“Why?”
“Avoiding my ex-wife.”
Erin’s stomach pitched. Was he still in love with his ex-wife? And even if he was, what did it matter to her? They were strangers, taking refuge in a hotel room for the night. This wasn’t a date. She would do well to remember that.
“Anna lived next door growing up, and our parents are close friends. We got married right out of college and moved to Boston so I could go to graduate school. Anna hated it up north and she left.” He shrugged, an angry, jerky motion. “Which would have been fine. We were never going to make it. She was right to call it.”
“But?”
“She led everyone to believe she left because I was…”
“Unfaithful?”
“Yeah. I wasn’t though. More fool me.” Matthew set down his burger and sighed, poking at his French fries. “My family believed her at first. Truth is, I’m still furious with all of them. But I can’t let my brother make the same mistake as I did. Not if I can help it.”
“So you’re heading home to bury the hatchet with your family and convince your brother to call off his wedding? And I thought I had a busy week.” Erin shook her head as Matthew grinned at her.
They locked eyes again, as his gaze dropped to her mouth. Erin suddenly realized how close they were sitting on the bed, their thighs pressed together. He licked his lower lip and Erin leaned toward him before remembering she wasn’t on a date. She shifted back, sending her iced tea cascading over her front, cold and drenching. She dashed for the bathroom, pulling the chilly fabric away from her skin.
Matthew brought her suitcase to her and she changed into her pajamas, pulling on her sweater wrap as a robe. Her flannel sleep pants and T-shirt were certainly not lingerie but it felt far more intimate to wear her bedclothes in front of a man who was a virtual stranger to her. She grabbed her salad and sat on the bed, cross-legged. He sat next to her to finish his burger, a careful foot of space between them.
“What’s with the ladybugs? I figured your suitcase was to find it easily but…it’s becoming a pattern.”
Erin glanced down at her sky-blue pajama pants, covered with tiny ladybugs and daisies. “My dad called me ladybug when I was little.”
“But not anymore?”
Erin shook her head, plucking idly at the thin, worn cotton. “My parents died six years ago.”
“What happened?” Matthew asked. Erin hated to talk about her parents but somehow, chatting with Matthew in the comfort of their hotel room made it easy to confide in him. And he’d just shared his secrets with her.
“They wanted to celebrate their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary by going to Machu Picchu for spring break.”
She shredded her napkin, her salad forgotten next to her. Matthew stilled her hands by putting his big, warm hand over hers and waiting for her to continue.
Erin threaded her fingers with his before continuing, “They scrimped and saved for the trip, arranged for me to come home to Atlanta to chaperone my brother. Dylan was still in high school then. And their small plane went down in the jungle. There were no survivors.”
“Six years ago… You would have been just getting ready to graduate college?” Matthew asked and she nodded. Matthew looked at her, his hazel eyes—green now in the dim light of the hotel room—wide. “You lost your parents and set up a business within a few months, when you were twenty-one?”
“I had to take care of my brother somehow. My parents weren’t very good planners.”
“Wow, you are amazing, Erin,” Matthew smiled at her. “But you are a very good planner. Surely that wasn’t what you were planning to do? What were you supposed to be doing instead?”
No one, ever, had asked that question before, asked Erin about her hopes and dreams that crashed into the jungle with her parents that long ago rainy day. “I found out I’d gotten into Wharton the day before the crash.”
“And you gave it up to take care of your brother?”
She nodded. “Maybe I’ll go get my MBA someday.”
“I’m sure you can get anything or anyone you want.” Erin’s heart tripped in her chest when Matthew looked at her again. She could usually get anything she wanted, with hard work and determination. But anyone? She’d have to wait and see. She tugged her hand free and resumed eating her salad.
After dinner, Matthew changed into his gym clothes, long track pants and a soft gray MIT T-shirt. He flipped through the limited selection on the television and finally
settled on an old black and white movie, His Girl Friday. Erin sat on the bed, trying to read a novel on her e-reader, but quickly got sucked into the movie.
“Looking for ideas to ruin your brother’s wedding?”
Matthew laughed. “I love this one. She’d have been miserable if she married that guy. She didn’t want a boring life. Hildy wanted to chase newspaper stories with Walter.”
“And Walter knew best, I suppose.”
“Walter knew her. Far better than the other guy did.” Erin rested her chin on her knees as she watched the movie. By the end, she agreed with Matthew. Hildy and Walter belonged together.
When it ended, Matthew pulled the spare blanket out of the closet and headed back to the recliner. She flipped out the light, snuggling down under the thick comforter. She watched him, silhouetted in the gray light from the windows. His feet dangled over the end of the recliner, as the chair was far too short for his tall frame. He tossed and turned, seeking a comfortable position.
“Matthew? Come lie on the bed. I promise to keep my hands to myself,” Erin said. “It’s big enough for both of us.”
“Are you sure?” Matthew rasped. And Erin nodded. He gave in and lay on top of the covers on the far side, while she nestled under them. She waited until his breathing evened out before tossing the spare blanket over his shoulders and drifting off to sleep beside him.
Chapter Four
The following morning, Matthew snuggled deeper against the warm, soft pillow next to him, inhaling the sweet scents of honeysuckle and vanilla. He opened his eyes to the gray light of a winter dawn. He blinked to orient himself, not sure where he was. He lifted his head, taking in the burgundy and cream hotel room, his carry-on tossed over a chair, and a red suitcase with black polka dots beside it. Erin.
Erin slept, curled on her side away from him, her fist under her chin, nestled under the blankets, her honey colored hair tossed across the pillow. He lay spooned around her, his hand resting on her hip, on top of the covers with a spare blanket tossed over him. He didn’t recall putting the blanket over himself the night before. She must have done it after he’d fallen asleep, which roused warm feelings near his heart which he’d rather not examine too closely.
Forever a Bridesmaid (Always a Bridesmaid Book 1) Page 2