The Accidental Fiance - Christi Barth Page 0,124
and the brick wall. No escape.
And how bad was it that she wanted to escape from the three people she loved most in the world?
“Everleigh?” Alex asked. His ice-blue eyes sparkled, like he knew she’d say yes and they could start celebrating again.
Rats. She’d been worrying about this moment all night, barely sleeping after their celebration. Even the blissful treat of champagne hadn’t smoothed over her concern. “I’m really happy for you, Alex.”
“For all of us, you mean?”
“For you. Getting your dream. I love you to pieces, so I want to help. I just…I don’t think you want me to.” Then she slid sideways against the wall, like a cartoon villain trying to blend into the shadows.
It didn’t work. Everleigh got to the doorframe. Well, her shoulder got there first, fell through, and she did a starfish thing with her right leg and left arm to catch herself from hitting the floor.
Which meant instead of slinking away unnoticed—already hard to do in a two-window-wide rowhome—her friends were staring at her with all of their attention.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Teague asked with his usual bluntness.
At the same time, Amelia rushed over, counterbalanced her arm and Teague’s brusqueness by saying soothingly, “Ever, what’s the matter?”
Alex didn’t move. Or say anything. He did something worse.
He watched her. Studied her. Like he could figure out what burbled in her head without her even speaking.
He could do it, too. At nineteen, he’d become Amelia’s guardian when their parents were killed. Overnight, he’d somehow acquired the skillset of a parent: eyes in the back of his head, the ability to see through the most foolproof lie, and the uncanny knack of sensing when Amelia and Ever were talking about boys instead of doing homework.
That freaky mental mojo only got stronger as they got older. It felt like he rolled it out more on Everleigh than on his actual sister. Probably because she 1) got in way more trouble, 2) made far worse decisions, and 3) had a well-deserved reputation as a hot mess.
Which came right back around to the present moment. Excusing herself from the most amazing opportunity to ever fall in her lap.
She and Alex had a stare down, Wild West duel style.
Obviously, she cracked first. “You guys don’t need me.”
Amelia threw an arm around her shoulder, looking confused that Everleigh would say such a thing. “Of course we do.”
Yeah, yeah, they were besties and were joined at the hip. The support and the love was automatic. In this particular case, though, it was misguided.
“I mean, you guys don’t need me screwing it up.”
Alex kept up that assessing gaze for another few seconds. Then he pushed Teague’s feet off the couch. “Up.” Once the spot was empty, he patted the cushion for Ever to come sit next to him.
Oh, geez. He was going to be all thoughtful and make her cry.
She’d try to babble. If she did it fast enough and long enough, sometimes it distracted him. “Alex, you managed the most exclusive, swankiest hotel in Pittsburgh. You bring all the expertise. Amelia will do the same for the outdoors. Teague’s a workhorse. But what am I going to bring to the table? My worthless art history degree, not to mention my own personal history of failure and bad decisions? I don’t have useful skills. I’m a walking, talking jinx. You might as well have Scooby Doo as your fourth partner.”
“Scooby sheds,” Alex said, almost absentmindedly.
“So do I,” Everleigh laughed, flicking at her long black hair. And felt relief that she had, indeed, steered him off of the lecture course.
“Scooby also poops. Everywhere. Whereas your bathroom is immaculate. A thing of beauty.”
“Geez. Thanks, I guess?” Alex was now getting weird. Why would he bring up her bathroom?
“Before you moved in with what’s-his-name—”
“Randall,” she supplied.
He glowered. Everleigh wasn’t sure she’d actually seen a glower before, but the deeply creased forehead and squinty eyes could be nothing else. “I know. I’m choosing to not say his name, because the man’s an idiot. He fired you and cheated on you. He’s lucky I haven’t grabbed Teague and gone over and bruised his heart, along with a few other body parts.”
Awww. That was sweet. Very big-brother-y. “Technically, Randall didn’t cheat on me. He cheated on his fiancée I knew nothing about, with me.” Even though she’d been in the dark about the other woman’s existence, Everleigh felt a sense of responsibility. Well, guilt. Massive guilt, at doing that to a member of her gender.
“Isn’t today Boxing Day?” Teague pushed up the sleeves. “I don’t know what the name is supposed to mean, but how about we personalize it for our purposes? Let’s go over there and teach Randall that he can’t treat you so badly.”
“It’s over. There’s no point.”
“He was reckless with your heart,” Amelia said softly. “I’d like to give him a kick where it’d hurt the most myself.”
Her friends were the best. So supportive. A hundred times more than she deserved. A million times more so than her own parents were.
“Look, your bathroom was spotless.” Alex rotated a hand in the air. “And it had this amazing color scheme that was relaxing but not too feminine.”
“Sea foam,” she murmured.
“Sure. You have an eye for all that. Probably from all those art history classes you soaked up. You’ll be the best one of us at making the inn look right.”
Everleigh appreciated it, but that logic might be a bit of a stretch. “Oh, I don’t know…”
“You also have a superior attention to detail.”
Now he was laying it on too thick. “You’re judging this all based on my bathroom?”
“And that you have an above average preference for cleanliness,” Amelia added with a snicker.
Right. They’d need someone to clean all the guest bathrooms. No wonder they wanted her on the team.
Everleigh immediately regretted the thought.
Her friends would never see her as only good enough to wield a scrub brush and bucket. It was unfair to them. Seeing as how that thought was entirely her own battered husk of self-esteem talking.
Alex glared at his sister before turning back to her. “That’s simply the first example I called to mind. For Christ’s sake, Everleigh, I’ve known you forever. I’m telling you that I believe you have talent and heart and grit and will be an excellent partner.” He leaned over. “I just wish you believed it.”
Yeah, a deep dive into her self-confidence issues was definitely a topic for another day. Because she was already welling up from his words. Everleigh fanned her hand in front of her eyes.
“Okay, yes. I’m in. Let’s do this.” She jumped up, gesturing for everyone to come in for a group hug. Of course, Amelia was first, bounding over to throw her arms around her. The big, brash ex-soldier was next, because he never turned down a hug.
And Alex slowly joined last, as if still shell-shocked by his good fortune.
“We own an inn.” Alex rocked back and forth, his long arms somehow encompassing all of them.
Amelia shot her arm straight up in the middle. “We’re going to make our guests so stinking happy.”
“We’re going to make them feel like they belong,” Teague vowed.
“We’re going to be a success.”
At least, the three of them were.
Everleigh would, of course, try her hardest. But she knew better than to truly believe it.
Find out what happens next…
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About the Author
USA TODAY bestseller Christi Barth earned a Masters degree in vocal performance and embarked upon a career on the stage. A love of romance then drew her to wedding planning. Ultimately she succumbed to her lifelong love of books and now writes award-winning contemporary romance.
Christi can always be found either whipping up gourmet meals (for fun, honest!) or with her nose in a book. She lives in Maryland with the best husband in the world.
Visit her website at ChristiBarth.com
Like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @christi_barth
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