Not a big one though.” Lizzie pinched her fingers in a demonstration of how much his pour would be. “We probably shouldn’t have too much right now anyway. There’ll be plenty of food and drink at the luau later this evening,” she said, then glanced at Rita as if looking for agreement.
“Right.”
“By the way—” Lizzie addressed her brother “—Tessa Campbell has been asking about you since she arrived. She happens to be your roommate, Rita.”
Clint gave her a distracted nod as he stood staring at the majestic view in front of them. “Which one was she again?”
Lizzie gave an exaggerated roll of her eyes in Rita’s direction, the effect so comical it made her giggle. “How can you not remember?” she asked her brother as she gave him the bottle to uncork. “She’s been hitting on you since the tenth grade. Wait till she finds out you’re here alone.”
He actually groaned. “Now I remember. What are the chances I’ll be able to avoid her?”
“Slim to none,” his sister replied. “She is a member of the wedding party after all.”
“Great.”
Clint’s tone held every hint of resignation. He was a man used to such attention. She wasn’t surprised. It was all merely an annoyance for him. He deftly uncorked the bottle with a pop and grabbed two flutes off the serving table then began pouring. Tiny florescent bubbles floated through the air. He handed each of them a glass.
Lizzie suddenly let out a laugh that had her snorting bubbly champagne through her nose. The sight, in turn, made Rita laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Clint wanted to know.
Lizzie rubbed the tip of her nose. “I just had an image of you ducking behind palm trees during the luau when you saw Tessa approaching.”
Rita laughed harder at the visual that invoked. Clint glanced from one to the other, a resigned expression on his face. “I’m glad you two find this so amusing.”
“I’m sorry,” Rita told him but she couldn’t seem to stop one last giggle. When was the last time she’d really laughed? The past few months had been an emotional hailstorm. She was so glad to be here, finally able to get away. To have it be for such a happy occasion was just icing on the cake. This chance to step back from her troubles for a while was exactly what she needed right now.
But then Clint focused those dark chestnut-brown eyes on her, his lips curved into a smile. She had to suck in a breath just as her stomach did a dive straight to her toes. Perhaps she’d found trouble yet again.
* * *
Clint’s intention to get some rest before the luau with a quick nap was not going well. Every time he started to drift off, a set of dark brown eyes framed by silky jet-black hair sprang into his mind’s eye and jolted him awake. What was wrong with him?
He was simply here to see his sister married off and to give her away. Not to explore a wayward attraction to a friend of hers.
A glance at the wall clock across the room told him the shuttle to take them into town for tonight’s festivities would be arriving right about now. He had to get going. Lizzie didn’t tolerate lateness. Not even from the big brother who was paying for this whole shindig. He didn’t mind. Somehow his sister had escaped the cynicism spouted by their grandmother all those years. Bless her for it.
Maybe Lizzie would prove him and his grandmother wrong and make her marriage work. Maybe she’d be the one to break the Fallon chain of doomed relationships.
Lord knew, he wasn’t going to be the one to try.
If that made him cynical, so be it. At least Lizzie had found love. Or what she thought was love. But then she’d always been the dreamer. While he’d had to be the responsible, serious one. He’d had no choice. With both parents gone and only an elderly, bitter matron in charge of them, the burden of responsibility had fallen solely on his shoulders.
He figured he’d done okay. They both had, he and his sister. Hokey as it sounded, he’d have to say he was proud of the woman his sister had become. And happy for her that she’d found someone. Jonathon was a good man. He’d make Lizzie a good husband. Someday, he’d make a good father.
Not that Clint was in any kind of hurry to become an uncle, he mused as he walked to the bathroom and turned on the shower. It would have to be a short one. Officially, Clint was the main host of this wedding. He couldn’t be missing shuttles and ending up running late to the events. That also meant he had to be very cordial and very polite to every one of their guests.
So it galled him that there was only one in particular he was thinking of right now, wondering if they’d be seated anywhere near each other. Or maybe even together. He didn’t know the full wedding party details; he had left Lizzie and Jonathon pretty much to their own devices when it came to planning.
Now he wished he’d been more involved. It might have avoided the whole fiasco at the airport when he couldn’t even remember who Rita was. That had been wildly embarrassing. Had he apologized to her? He couldn’t recall. If he didn’t run into her tonight, he’d have to make it a point to find her and do so.
Right. And that would be the only reason for him to want to seek her out.
Damn it. Why couldn’t he stop thinking about her?
Shutting off the water and toweling off, Clint realized he barely had time to make it downstairs in time for the shuttle bus. Throwing on a pair of khaki shorts and a Hawaiian shirt, he didn’t bother to button it as he ran toward the hallway stairs that led to the lobby. Waiting for the elevator would be too risky.
In his hurry, Clint realized too late that someone else was on the stairway making their way down. The crash was unavoidable. Unable to stop himself at the speed he was going, he collided hard with an unsuspecting, soft body. He just barely managed to catch her in his arms and avoid what was sure to be a harrowing tumble down several sets of steps.
Turned out he wouldn’t have to go looking for Rita after all.
“Oh, my—” Her words cut off as chocolate-brown eyes blinked at him with shock. Her gaze drooped down to his bare chest for a split second before snapping back up to his face.
“I’m so sorry,” he began. “Are you all right?”
She blinked once more. “You’re not even dressed.”
Clint made himself release her in order to pull his shirt together. He began hastily buttoning. “Yeah, part of the reason for my rush. I’m running a little late.”
“I guess running would be the operative word.”
“And colliding. Don’t forget colliding. You never answered my question.”
“Question?”
“Are you all right? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“I’m fine, just a little startled.” She adjusted the hem of her sundress, which had shifted somewhat as a result of their collision. And what a pretty dress it was, a shiny number with thin straps that rested delicately on her toned shoulders. The navy blue of the fabric brought out the deep, rich
