He blew out a sigh. For Christ’s sake, he knew more about the guys who bartended at Yankee Stadium than he knew about the woman who’d captured his heart.
Was this what was meant by love being blind? Did the details really matter so little?
There was no time to formulate an answer after his brain stuttered to a halt when Summer strutted along the sidewalk in front of her building. A floral print duffel bag swung in her grip. She’d changed into jeans and boots. Arnie was an instant fan of the look. He liked how her sweet hips rocked as she marched along. Her sleek blond hair tumbled around her shoulders. A light gray formfitting sweater accentuated her bouncing boobs, and a beguiling smile lit up her expression as she strode toward the Jeep.
Tossing her bag in the back, she climbed in and turned to him. She had a plastic container in her hand.
“I come bearing goodies.” She cracked the plastic lid and waved the container beneath his nose.
“Do I smell brownies?”
“Yes!” she merrily hooted. “From Mrs. Hayashi.” She inhaled the delicious scent and sniggered. “The lady makes a mean pot brownie. Mr. H has a medical card. Cancer,” she growled. “These are standard-issue,” Summer assured him, not that he planned on turning down the treat either way. Brownies were his Hansel and Gretel crumbs. He’d walk naked for a mile over hot coals if a warm homemade brownie waited at the finish line.
He tried to reach for the container, but she smacked his hand away. “You have to earn one of these babies!”
“Yeah?” He couldn’t believe the way his insides jumped for joy.
“Yes. And it won’t be easy, mister, so ixnay on the cocky grin.”
“Are you going to hold it on your lap?”
“Precious cargo.” Summer laughed with a twinkle in her eyes and a cheeky smile.
He floored it to the hotel, pulled up to the valet stand, and stood on the brakes. The squealing stop was an unnecessary but very amusing touch.
Tossing the keys at the approaching valet, he said, “Mariposa Suite. Please let them know the vehicle is back on-site.”
Yanking on the passenger door, he bowed gallantly and offered his hand to help her out. When she clutched his fingers and stood, he caught a whiff of her perfume.
“Grab my bag, would you?”
Arnie reached for the floral bag and hung the straps over his arm. He gathered her close with an arm around her waist and hustled her into the gorgeous hotel lobby with its red tile floor, archways, seating areas, and amazing Spanish tile ceiling.
They stopped at the front desk after one of the hotel managers waved to him. Summer told him to see what the guy wanted, and then she wandered away to look at a wedding photo display.
“Sorry to bother you, sir, but there’s an updated agenda for tomorrow’s retreat.”
Arnie accepted the sheet of paper and scanned the changes. Granddad rescheduled the mandatory hay wagon tour of the flower farm and canceled the cocktail hour tomorrow evening.
He sneered at the paper. Canceling a Wanamaker booze schmooze meant their happy family gathering was fraying around the edges. Too much togetherness had a way of unleashing his family’s barely disguised tendency to behave like privileged morons.
“I love the pretty flower bag,” an unctuous voice cooed. “Such a good look for you, Darnell.”
Ice flowed into his veins at full force. He turned his head and glared at the personification of evil smirking at him.
Giselle.
Bile rose in his throat. He hated the woman with red-hot intensity.
“Fuck off and die.” Direct and straight to the point, and no, he didn’t give a shit if the hotel manager heard.
Without missing a beat, he turned to walk away, took four or five steps, and was stopped dead in his tracks when his father’s ex-wife stepped over the invisible line Arnie kept around his personal life.
“Got yourself a sweet young thing to defile, have you? At what playground did you find her? Does she know you’re a murdering asshole?”
He whirled around and just barely stopped from grabbing her by the throat. Her triumphant sneer enraged him.
Swooning over the gorgeous photo display, Summer had no trouble imagining a wedding at the beautiful hotel. Anything was possible, whether a beach service or something more formal.
Still holding the precious container of warm brownies, she hurried back to Arnie but came to an awkward halt when she found him having a heated confrontation with a woman giving off a Maleficent