Twice Smitten (A Modern Fairy Tale) Read Free Page B

The wedding colors of burnt-orange and silver decorated the walls. Some of the orchid arrangements placed in the middle of the tables made conversations hard unless you were willing to lean to the side and chat. There were more people at the reception than the ceremony, at least three hundred. Still, it took her a full five seconds to find what she believed was his type.
    “There,” she said.
    Drew already knew which woman she’d point at before Abby’s head notched to the front of the bar. If it were possible to wear less clothes and still be decent, Drew couldn’t imagine it.
    “Cute,” he bit out.
    “I know, she is. Not bad, Carter.”
    “No, your choice is cute.” A thread of tension leaked out in his words. “I wouldn’t date her in a million years.”
    “No one said anything about dating.”
    He snorted. “Doesn’t change the fact I wouldn’t.”
    She crossed her arms. “So, what’s your type?”
    He met her gaze and said without any hesitation, “Smart. Sexy and knows it and flaunts it tastefully.”
    “You think G-strings are tasteful. Surprising.”
    He let it slide, because the coup de grace was next. “I have a thing for short women with sharp chins and chocolate-brown eyes. It’s my weakness.”
    “Oh.” She scouted the room again, and from the way Abby said the single word, the connection was lost on her.
    Of course, them, together would never cross her mind. If for whatever reason his cousin wasn’t the perfect man, Drew damn sure wouldn’t make the ticket. And from the type of woman she’d picked, his former reputation preceded him. The notion dug under his skin and turned his mouth sour. He placed his hands on her shoulder and turned Abigail to the table where the friends sat, watching.
    “There. The one with the broken-heart necklace. Sharp chin. She’s smart. Sexy as hell and she whispered in my ear.” He groaned softly. “And I liked it.”
    As though trying to feed an infant vegetable goo from a jar, Abby shook her head adamantly. “Sasha’s off limits.”
    “Ok.” He forced an affable tone into his voice. “The one next to her. The women that look sweet and quiet are—”
    “I will rip out your tongue if you finish that sentence.”
    “Such violence.” His cock tightened at the passion in her voice. “One would think you like me.”
    “I love my friends.”
    And there was his in. “You will do anything for them?”
    “Absolutely,” she said without hesitation. “And the sweet, quiet one is engaged to a former cop.”
    A laugh burst from him. She thought he was a criminal. His reputation rolled out a red carpet of misinformation. Absolutely wonderful. “Definitely not my type then.” He made a sound of disappointment and met her gaze. She probably had no idea how much desire filled her brown irises when she looked at him like that. “What exactly do you think I do for money?”
    “You’re rolling in it, so nothing honest, I’m sure.” She shrugged one shoulder, but kept her body turned toward him.
    “Define honest.” He stepped forward and she moved too, without noticing the telling action.
    “Something your family knows you do.” She ticked off a finger. “Something that requires you to file your taxes. Something that isn’t a sales pitch that ruins people’s lives.”
    “Huh.” He considered the last one and asked as if he didn’t know. “Still an ad executive?”
    She blinked. “Accounts. Yes.”
    “Isn’t that what you do? How many men have suffered a heart attack using some of your clients’ products?”
    Her eyes narrowed. “How do you know what I do?”
    He scoffed. “You latch onto that fact?”
    “What you’re saying about my job is deflecting and absolutely irrelevant.”
    But her eyes had widened with guilt. Drew tutted. “Irrelevant because you decided to play catch in your glass house. Let’s end this line of arguing because you’ll be insensitive just to spite me.”
    She parted her lips to speak, and he quieted her