When Love Comes Around Read online

  “What are you two back there whispering about?” Trevor teases.

  “Wedding colors,” I quickly reply, looping my arm through Evie’s and hurrying to catch up with Gina and Trevor.

  “So what colors have you decided on?” Gina excitedly asks Evie as we step up alongside her into the hotels elaborately posh banquet hall.

  “Lavender, pink and white, in honor of my springtime wedding.” Evie readily supplies. Lucky for me, she already knew what she wanted. Tucking that morsel of knowledge in the back of my mind, I walk forward stretching out my hand to greet the event planner waiting for us inside the double doors. He’s a handsome man in his mid, to late, forties, with intelligent brown eyes and a head full of neatly combed sandy brown hair with just a touch of gray on the sides.

  “Good morning, Mr. Lassiter. I’m Megan Kane. I spoke with you on the phone last week. This is my best friend, and the bride-to-be, Evelynn Woods,” I say by way of introduction. The sharply dressed man reaches out his hand giving me a welcoming megawatt smile and quickly turns his attention to Evelynn.

  “Nice to meet you Ms. Kane, and of course, Ms. Woods. It will be my pleasure to show you around and tell of all the accommodations we offer or brides and her guests,” he says, gently guiding her by the elbow. Gina is more than eager to tag along, quickly falling into step on the other side of the friendly event planner as he lists the hotel's excellent amenities.

  “Wouldn’t it be easier if she just got a wedding planner,” Trevor breathes huskily in my ear, startling me and giving me goosebumps all at the same time.

  “Yes, but wedding planners are crazy expensive. Besides, I sorta, kinda, got help with the planning,” I grudgingly admit.

  “Oh yeah? Who is it?”

  “I’m not really good at this sort of thing. So I asked Jamie for help. He was so excited that he jumped right on it and gave me this,” I say, taking a list out of my purse and handing it to Trevor. His fingers brush lightly against mine as he takes the paper from me and I feel a spark of awareness at his touch. He gives me a knowing smirk and then turns his attention to the paper.

  “Wow. This is a detailed and itemized list. Jamie really went all out, but he always has been a stand-up guy,” Trevor comments, handing the paper back to me. “My plan is to help Evie and Hunter with this wedding financially. She doesn’t know it yet, but I’m going to pay for whatever dress she decides to buy. And you let me know if you change your mind about getting a wedding planner, I’ll see if I can swing that too.”

  If I had a heart, it would be thawing just a little in Trevor’s favor right now. That’s so damn sweet of him. I know he’s trying to fulfill the role a father would during this time if he and Evie didn’t have an absentee father. Evie hasn’t said what her budget for the wedding is going to be, but I know that these things can spin out of control pretty quickly.

  “Are you sure? I know you Army guys don’t exactly make the big bucks.”

  “I’m a single guy with no real bills to speak of. I’ve put away a nice little nest egg,” he replies, being somewhat vague about his finances.

  “What, you’re not saving up for your own big wedding someday?” He shrugs his shoulders as we walk, following far behind Evie and Gina as they interrogate the event planner.

  “I’m hoping that the future Mrs. Woods will be more like me and settle for a small intimate wedding, or hell, even just a civil union at the Justice of the Peace,” he confesses.

  “So you buy into this whole love thing?” I ask in surprise.

  “Are you telling me you don’t?” He turns his head to look down at me, and I feel his hand graze against mine as we walk. Our arms are swinging back and forth, until his pinky catches mine and holds on. I want to jerk it away, but I fight the urge. When I told him he couldn’t handle me in the booth at IHOP, I didn’t think he’d take that as an invitation to try and date me. Hand holding and long conversations are for couples or people who are dating. That’s definitely not what I’m looking for.

  “Love is fleeting. It doesn’t last,” I tell him with certainty. “It only exists because people want to believe in it so badly.”

  “Do you love your family?” he asks. I know exactly where he’s going with this.

  “Yes. It’s just my mother and me. But that’s not the same kind of love. There’s a familial bond built from respect and a sense of…I don’t know, indebtedness.”

  “I get what you’re saying. Sometimes I feel like I owe Granny Mabel my love and respect for raising my sister and me when she didn’t have to. So I completely understand your sense of obligation.”

  Damn, that’s exactly the word I was looking for, obligation.

  “But what about your love for your friends?” Trevor challenges. “That’s by choice. No familial ties or obligations there. Are you telling me that one day you’ll stop loving them for no reason? Or maybe because they do something to piss you off?”

  Of course, I wouldn’t stop loving Evie or Gina because they did something to piss me off. Hell, I’m sure I tick them off several times a day. But we laugh, cry, scream, yell – whatever we need to do – and get over it. Trevor’s line of questioning is getting under my skin, and I don’t like it. I silently detach or fingers, tucking my hands into the pockets of my black jeans.

  “There are all different kinds of love. And love isn’t always easy, but it’s definitely real.” With those parting words of wisdom, he jogs ahead and catches up with Evie, slinging an arm around her shoulders and kissing her on the top of her head. He looks over his shoulder and Evie’s head back at me. And I can’t help but think…

  Prick − as I flip him off.

  Chapter Four

  Trevor

  A chick that doesn’t believe in love? Unbelievable. But there she is, looking like walking sex in leather high heeled boots. I’m not one to wax poetic, but she caught me completely off guard when she practically said love was a figment of people’s imaginations. That’s bullshit.

  It was as if she sent up a silent plea, begging for me to prove her wrong. Megan doesn’t know it, but she just became my next mission. And there hasn’t been a mission yet, that I haven’t successfully completed. Failure is not going to begin with a red-headed sex-kitten.

  Gina smacks me playfully on the shoulder, bringing me out of my mental preparations for the emotional and psychological warfare I’m planning to unleash on Megan.

  “Why are you shooting daggers at the back of Megan’s head?” She whispers next to me in the back of Megan’s Escalade, as we’re being chauffeured to some fancy bridal boutique in Lafayette.

  “Was I?” I ask innocently. “I think I was dreaming of my last supper, seeing as how I don’t know when my next meal will be with the ‘bridal brigade’ holding me hostage.”

  “Hey, you said you were a willing captive,” Gina comments with a pretty pout, batting her vivid blue eyes, framed by thick black lashes, at me.

  “That was eons ago before my stomach started eating itself from the inside out.”

  “Alright, drama queen. We’ll pull into the next drive-thru we see,” Megan concedes, after overhearing my complaints to Gina in the back seat.

  Fifteen minutes later we’re pulling out of a burger joint. I’m in the backseat shoveling cheeseburgers and fries down my throat, washing them down with a strawberry milkshake. My instantaneous foodgasm temporarily takes my mind off of the excruciatingly slow removal of my manhood that’s been happening today.

  Gina’s looking at me from the corner of her eyes as she daintily picks at the salad she ordered. All the girls ordered some different variation of bird-like food that they could find on the menu. They’re all trying to slim down for the wedding, except maybe Gina, she’s already tall and lean. I certainly don’t envy them. Shaking my head at the thought, I drop another handful of salty deliciousness into my mouth, licking my fingers in noisy satisfaction. Catching Megan glowering at me in the rearview mirror I give her an antagonizing grin. She practically growls at me in irritation
– mission accomplished. These next two weeks are going to be fun.

  “You’re really a great brother for doing this. I don’t have any siblings, but I can’t imagine that many guys would agree to go looking for wedding venues and shopping for wedding dresses with their sister and her friends,” Gina says to me.

  Gina’s the sweetest and most reserved out of the three women. She’s also rich and absolutely gorgeous to top it all off. Her olive complexion, bright blue eyes, and runway-model figure, makes most men do double and triple takes when she walks into a room. The kicker is, Gina’s kind and unassuming, which is in complete disaccord with the way she looks. Looking into her beautiful blue eyes, with her black hair, framing her face – she does absolutely nothing for me. I like my women with more confidence and just a pinch of attitude.

  “I’m sure there are a few guys out there that would do the same thing,” I finally reply.

  “Alright, enough stroking Trevor’s ego, we’re here. He already prances around like a peacock on steroids, as it is,” Megan scathingly comments.

  “Ouch. Somebody’s hangry. You want a french fry?” I tease, waving one at her. Evie can’t help but laugh, and Gina looks confused.

  “Hangry?” she asks.

  “A combination of feeling hungry and being angry about it,” Evie explains. Gina covers her mouth, muffling her giggle.

  “You’re so right. Megan is ‘hangry’,” Gina whispers conspiratorially, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

  “Are you guys getting out, or are you going to stay in there whispering to each other all day,” Megan snaps, causing the three of us to crack up.

  “I think I’m going to have to start carrying fun-sized snickers in my purse before we do any more of these outings,” Evie comments before climbing out of the passenger side of the SUV.

  “Oh my gosh, it’s so adorable.” I hear Evie gushing as I unfold my 6’3 frame from the backseat. Megan’s Escalade is roomy, but I still felt a little uncomfortable with the minimal leg room in the back. It’s a bit chilly outside, but still a beautiful day. The bridal shop is in a small outdoor shopping center located in a beautiful area. I can see a wedding dress hanging in a large storefront window. The awning over the front door has the words Bustle & Lace in elegant writing.

  Rushing forward I grab the shop’s door, holding it open for the ladies. An older Hispanic woman with graying brown hair and warm brown eyes greets us with a friendly smile as we walk into the shop.

  “Welcome to Bustle & Lace, I’m Luna and my daughter Veronica will be out in a moment to assist you. “Would you like anything while you wait? We have champagne, water, tea, cupcakes, and cookies.”

  “Wow. No wonder women love this sort of thing. They get to combine their two favorite things. Shopping and eating,” I remark. Evie socks me in the arm. “What? It’s the equivalent of a sports bar for men.”

  “You’re right,” Luna chuckles, coming to my defense. “But we don’t like to admit it. Why don’t you relax and have a seat.” Luna ushers me to an off-white sofa against the wall as the girls start looking at the dresses hanging on the cloth covered hangars around the room. Settling into the comfortable sofa, I mentally resign myself to a few more tedious hours of wedding preparation musts. After all, this is what I took leave to do – aside from visiting my family for the holidays.

  A younger woman walks out from the back of the shop, and the first thing I notice about her is her eyes. She has the biggest brown eyes, even larger than Evie’s, with long thick lashes. Her smile is like an ad for toothpaste, with perfectly straight, ultra-white teeth. She heads straight for me, smiling and reaching out her hand.

  “Hello, I’m Veronica Martinez, you must be the groom,” she introduces herself. Standing up to greet her, I chuckle as I shake her soft hand.

  “Not even close. I’m the bride’s older brother,” I explain, watching as a slow blush creeps up her bronze cheeks.

  “Veronica? Veronica Martinez?” Evie asks in amazement, walking up behind the woman. Veronica turns around and a look of recognition lights up her face. The two women laugh and embrace.

  “It’s been forever since I last saw you Evelynn. You’re looking beautiful,” Veronica compliments her.

  “Hey Megan, Gina. Come meet an old friend of mine from high school,” Evie calls out to the girls waving them over to her.

  Sighing, and tuning out their inane chatter, I resign myself back to my position on the couch. Looking beside me at the ornate end table, I notice a stack of men’s magazines. Lucky me, I guess I’m not the only sap who’s been roped into dress shopping. Picking up one about health, I begin thumbing through it.

  “Oh my,” I hear Veronica breath, pulling my attention away from an article about erectile dysfunction.

  Oh shit! Things just got interesting again. Gina and Megan are standing on a raised platform wearing identical lavender dresses with spaghetti straps. My eyes gloss over Gina but seem to be magnetized to Megan. Gina looks sweet and innocent in the satin dress. Megan looks like someone poured her into the dress or maybe even painted the damn thing on her. I place the magazine on my lap using it to disguise my lack of ED.

  “Sweet Jesus,” I mutter under my breath.

  “It’s amazing how the same dress can look so different on another woman, right?” Veronica asks rhetorically. I hadn’t even realized she was standing so close to me. She looks at me giving me a knowing smile.

  Evie steps out of the dressing room next to Megan in a gorgeous, strapless, off-white wedding gown and all eyes are on her. The top of the dress is form fitting, showing off her curves and the bottom flows out to a skirt with small train. She looks absolutely stunning.

  Gina and Megan are staring at Evie with their mouths wide open in shock, but Evie’s attention is on Megan.

  “Um, yeah. No,” Evie says, pointing at Megan’s dress.

  “No? Too sexy?” Megan asks, laughing a little. She knows damn well she looks too hot in that dress. “But, you. Definitely a yes.”

  Evie looks down at her dress and then at Gina, who nods her head emphatically in agreement. Next, she turns her big brown eyes to me in question.

  “You look amazing, sis. Hunter won’t know what hit him,” I reply, with an encouraging smile. Evie’s face lights up as she smooths her hand over the dress.

  “Okay. I’ll put this one to the side. But I still need to try on more dresses,” she tells Veronica.

  Damn it! What’s wrong with women? They find the perfect dress on their very first try. But are they satisfied? No. They still need to try on every other dress in the freakin’ store. I fall back on the couch in despair. Veronica laughs, handing me another glass of champagne.

  Somebody, please shoot me.

  Chapter Five

  Megan

  By the end of the day, Trevor looked like he was ready to put a bullet in his head to put himself out of his misery. I have to hand it to him like Gina said, I don’t know many guys that would have done what he did for his sister today. Especially not a guy like him. Trevor’s definitely a man’s man. He’s not all, let me go chop down some trees for firewood, and skin some rabbits for dinner, kind of man. But he’s got a dangerous edge to him that you can see in his eyes and the way he carries himself when he’s not trying to be funny and antagonistic. He wears a mask, and it makes me want to find out what’s underneath it.

  Trevor went to Evie and Hunter’s to visit for a while, although he’s staying with their Granny Mabel while he’s in town. Gina and I are headed back to our apartment. It’s really my apartment, but Gina moved in a while back. She got tired of her father, Governor Santos, ruling her life so she moved out of the penthouse apartment he bought for her. She was staying in a hotel when I insisted she move in with me.

  It’s been great. We get along perfectly. But I don’t know anyone that wouldn’t get along with Gina. She’s so freakin’ perfect and kind. I don’t think our roommate situation is going to last much longer, though. Her boyfriend, Brayden, is head-over-heel
s in love with her and wants her to move in with him. Gina’s been fighting it. I don’t think she still trusts that Brayden won’t revert to his playboy ways, but I see her slowly starting to cave. And when she does, I’ll be the only one of the ‘Three Amigos’ all alone.

  Hearing a knock at the door, I jump up from the couch to see who it is. Checking through the peephole I see it’s Jamie, my long lost brother from another mother. Yanking the door open I startle him as I pull him into a hug.

  “Damn woman. You almost gave me a heart attack,” he accuses, pulling out of my arms and stepping into the apartment.

  “What are you doing here? I wasn’t expecting you,” I accuse him.

  “Oh I’m sorry,” he says, hands on hips. “I just assumed I had a standing invitation.”

  “Well, you’ll do as you please, as always. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “Please, I’m well aware of your impromptu sexcapades. A little birdie told me all about the fireman sandwich you created a while back. I’m so jealous,” Jamie says teasingly.

  I can’t believe I’m actually blushing at that comment. Yes, I did have sex with two firemen on the same night. But not at the same time – well, not simultaneously. Unless you count… oh to hell with it.

  “That wasn’t my fault. I didn’t plan that. ” I say in my defense.

  “Yet, and still, it happened,” Jamie smiles, wagging his finger at me. “Where’s Gina?”

  “In the shower. We had a long day of wedding planning,” I explain, plopping down on my purple velvet couch.

  “I heard. I brought you this,” Jamie says handing me a Snickers bar and a bottle of red wine I hadn’t noticed he was carrying.

  “You brat! So I snapped a little? I don’t do well on birdseed,” I huff. Jamie just laughs taking a seat next to me on the couch and propping his feet up on the coffee table. He puts his arm around my shoulder, and I lay my head on his chest.