was aware of the reason she’d left Memphis. He’d heard the story from Tyson. Her fiancé had called off the wedding to become involved with a woman she’d considered a friend. Although he was certain she’d taken the betrayal pretty hard, the attorney in Eli inwardly argued the point that whether Stacey Carlson wanted to accept it or not, she was better off without the jerk.
But Eli couldn’t imagine any man wanting to give up their bachelor status to marry…period. He would admit his brother, Galen, seemed happy enough and his own parents’ marriage was still holding strong after thirty-plus years. In fact, they were still so much in love it was enough to make a person gag if he was around them for too long. But he and his five brothers were used to them, and were smart enough to know the love affair between Drew and Eden Steele was not the norm. And he could say the same thing about Galen and Brittany. He knew it wouldn’t be that way for him, and to be quite honest, he didn’t want it that way.
Eli opened the bottom drawer to his desk. He shook his head before placing the picture frame inside to join other items he’d purchased at the gift shop over the last couple of months just because it gave him a few moments to be in Stacey’s presence without being so outright obvious about it. Damn, it looked like he had purchased enough chewing gum to last for the next twenty years. He wondered what she thought of some of the items he’d purchased from her shop. She probably assumed he had been buying gifts for his lover, but he didn’t have one currently—and he intended to keep it that way for a while.
He would be the first to admit that the ordeal with Liz had left a bad taste in his mouth. Hell, he wasn’t sure if he trusted women any longer. It seemed they all had hidden agendas. He was a man used to romantic entanglements of the steamiest kind, so quite naturally, lately, his mind had begun filling up with a number of horny thoughts. But what could he say when he was one of Drew Steele’s boys. Everyone from Charlotte, North Carolina, all the way to Phoenix, Arizona, knew just what a ladies’ man his dad used to be before his mother had put her stamp all over him. So in their defense, neither he nor his brothers could help their playboy ways. It was in their blood. Even his mother would admit to that. But then she was known to let every hair on her sons’ heads stand up by predicting that just like she’d brought Drew to heel, there was a woman out there who would do the same to her six sons.
Galen had proved her right when he fell—hook, line and sinker—for Brittany Thrasher. And now his brother, who had once been one of Phoenix’s number one players, had easily moved into the role of a doting husband. It was enough to make Eli and his other brothers jump off the tallest building in Phoenix.
The only saving grace was that they all liked Brittany. And having her around had kept their mother off their backs. Eden Steele was too busy spending time building a relationship with her daughter-in-law that she pretty much left her unmarried sons alone for the time being. A person couldn’t ask for more than that.
Eli closed the drawer and was about to open the file in the middle of his desk when his buzzer went off. “Yes, Ms. Larson?”
“Your mother is here, Mr. Steele, and she wants to meet with you.”
A frown settled on Eli’s face. Apparently, he’d spoken too soon.
Chapter 2
S tacey glanced around the restaurant and smiled when she saw Cohen. He had already grabbed a table for them and she moved in his direction. He had called that morning asking that she meet him for lunch because he had some important news to share with her. She couldn’t help wondering what it could be.
She was proud of her brother, the gifted neurosurgeon, who had kept his deathbed promise to their mother that he’d make sure Stacey got a college education. She knew it hadn’t been easy for him with his own student loans but he’d done so without a single complaint.
At thirty-five, Cohen Carlson was ten years older and had always looked out for her. Normally, he was an easygoing individual. The one and only time she’d seen him really get mad was when he wanted to do Wallace in for treating her so shabbily.
“I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” she said, giving her brother a huge hug before taking the seat across from him.
He chuckled. “No, and I feel bad about hogging your lunch hour.”
She flashed her hand to wave off his concern. “It’s nice to get out of the building for a while, especially since it’s usually slow in the afternoons.
“Besides, since I know you’re picking up the tab I get to order whatever I want, instead of settling for a snack out of the vending machine,” she added.
He laughed and she loved hearing the sound. She could pay for her own meal but she knew her big brother had no intention of letting her do so. And she meant what she’d said about needing the time out of the building. She was still reeling from having seen Eli Steele again today. She should be used to the man’s visits by now, but each and every time he dropped by her shop he managed to leave something behind. Usually it was his scent. But today, in addition to his scent, he’d left a reminder of how he’d looked at her when he’d paid for his purchase. Her stomach was still quivering at the memory of those green eyes aimed right at her.
“And you’re sure I’m not keeping you from making money?”
“I’m positive.”
She usually would put the out-to-lunch sign up between two and three every day anyway, when the helper she’d hired for the lunch rush left, so coming to meet him was no big deal. She owed her brother big time anyway. When she had moved to Phoenix, she had stayed in his condo a month or so until she’d gotten her own place. And he’d been the one who’d told her about the vacancy in the Steele Building and had approached Eli on her behalf with the idea of leasing the space to her to open a gift shop.
“So what’s this news you’re so eager to tell me about?” she asked, seeing the huge smile on his face.
With her question, the smile dimmed somewhat. “I consider it both good news and bad news. The good news is that I’ve been selected as Chief of Surgery.”
Before she could jump from her seat in excitement, he reached across the table and placed his hand on hers and then added, “The bad news is that it’s a hospital in Florida, which means I’ll be leaving Phoenix.”
His words hit her like a ton of bricks. But she quickly recovered and replaced her look of shock with one of excitement. She knew why Cohen thought the latter was bad news. Moving meant leaving her behind again. The last time he’d taken a job promotion and moved to Phoenix, he’d left her behind in Memphis and in no time she’d hooked up with Wallace. Well, he didn’t have to worry about such a thing happening again. As far as she was concerned she was through with men. It wouldn’t bother her if she never dated again.
“I don’t see anything bad about you moving to Florida, Cohen. It’s a wonderful opportunity and I really hope you’re not having misgivings about it because of me.”
“I am and that’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Stace. I want you to move to Florida with me. You’ve only lived in Phoenix for four months. It’s not like you have roots or anything here,” he said softly.
In other words, he was saying she didn’t have a life. She knew it but to have him spell it out for her was another matter. “I have my gift shop and it’s doing very well,” she said proudly.
The first month she’d barely made enough to make ends meet, but once word got out that she was open, customers began
