have warned me? You and Char are close to her. You knew she’d be here with Cutter. What the hell?”
“Hey, I have no idea what’s up with her and Cutter.” Beau glanced at Charlotte, heading their way with Morgyn and her toughest sister, Sable, just one of the many Montgomery siblings who had made it to the wedding, and said, “But please tell me you’re not going to back out of watching the animals for us while we’re on our honeymoon.” He had surprised Charlotte with a weeklong honeymoon to the small village in France where her maternal grandparents had lived.
Zev had agreed to stay at the inn and watch their chickens and thief of a dog, Bandit, prior to his epic discovery because none of his siblings had been able to commit. Last night he’d arranged for the remaining, smaller concretions he’d found to be sent to his cousin Noah’s marine biology laboratory on the outskirts of town, where he could work on extracting the treasures while he was watching the inn. He’d spent every minute since wondering which sibling he could wrangle into taking his place. But now that he knew Carly lived there, he didn’t know what the hell he wanted.
“The horses are at Hal’s ranch, so you won’t have to muck the stalls,” Beau said, as if it were a selling point. “I know you’ve got a lot going on right now, but nobody else can do it.”
“Yeah, dude, I definitely can’t stick around to take care of their animals,” Nick said. “I’m heading to Virginia to buy a couple of horses at the end of the week.”
“Morgyn and I are leaving tomorrow for two weeks in Seattle, and everyone else is taking off first thing tomorrow, too,” Graham added. “Jilly and Jax have a big-city fashion show and will be gone for two weeks, and Mom and Dad have a meeting about the winery expansion.” Their mother’s family owned a chain of wineries called Hilltop Vineyards, and their father, an engineer, was helping with the designs. “Sorry, Zev, but it’s all on you.”
Charlotte came to Beau’s side, looking gorgeous in her fairy-tale-style wedding gown, which Jillian and Jax, both fashion designers, had made for her. Beau put his arm around her and leaned in for a kiss. Seeing his brother happy and so in love again brought warm memories of how it felt to be with the person he loved. Zev stole another glance at the only woman who had ever made him feel damn near anything. He may not know what he wanted, but one thing was certain: Leaving was no longer his highest priority.
“Don’t worry,” Zev said. “I’d never leave you hanging.”
“Bet you say that to all the girls, Foreplay,” Sable said with a raise of her brows, earning chuckles from his brothers.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Zev countered. Morgyn had come up with the nickname Foreplay, which she claimed meant he was the guy women sought for a good time but never for anything long term. As far as Zev was concerned, that was pretty damn accurate.
“You’ve been staring at Cutter and Carly for so long, I’m starting to wonder which one you’re into,” Morgyn teased.
“You know I don’t swing that way, Sunshine. But if I did, it wouldn’t be with that cowboy.” Zev took another swig of tequila, his gaze shifting to Carly again. Jillian and Jax had joined her and Cutter, and it looked like they were all having a great damn time.
“Funny, I was thinking a cowboy was exactly what I needed.” Sable flipped her thick mane over her shoulder and turned her attention to Nick. “What do you say, burly boy? Can all those muscles move on the dance floor, or are they only good for toiling away on your ranch?”
“Baby, there’s nothing this body can’t do.” Nick put a hand on Sable’s lower back, leading her toward the makeshift dance floor.
“I want to dance!” Morgyn exclaimed. She grabbed Graham’s hand, and they followed Nick and Sable.
Charlotte took Beau’s hand and said, “They’re playing our song, hubby. We should dance, too.” She stepped closer to Zev and lowered her voice to say, “Carly doesn’t bite, you know.”
“Well, that’s a damn shame, cutes,” Zev said with a grin. “I always loved the way she used that sexy mouth of hers.”
Charlotte gave a happy little squeal and said, “I bet she’d bite if you asked her to!”
“Come on, beautiful. I’m sure Zev doesn’t need any help in that department.” Beau