Attraction: (A Temptation Series Stand-alone) (The Temptation Series Book 4) (3 page)

Before I was able to just accept my bag at the door, the
bellboy slid past and placed it down on the wardrobe shelf.

‘Oh,’ I said awkwardly, not used to the flamboyance,
‘thanks.’

He smiled genuinely. ‘You’re welcome.’

‘Um ... would you like a tip?’ I went to grab my purse from
within my handbag.

He let out a mild laugh. ‘No, I’m just doing my job.’

‘Oh, well, I know your boss. What’s your name? I’ll name-drop
you,’ I explained, waggling my eyebrows.

‘That’s not necessary,’ he chuckled. ‘Can I help you with
anything else, Ms Henkley?’

Stepping forward, I tilted his name badge up. ‘No. Thank
you, Ben. You’re a sweetie.’

He nodded, smiled meekly and exited the room.

Walking back to the bed with a happy swagger, I flopped down
on it, grabbed my phone and my mini tube of Pringles then dialled Alexis.

‘I don’t know what to wear,’ she blurted out as soon as the
phone call connected. No greeting or words of endearment.

‘Want me to come up and help you pick? I’ve just arrived,’ I
offered.

She sighed. ‘Na, it’s okay. I’ll stew on it for a while. And
anyway, Mum and Dad will be here shortly. I need to have a chat to them about
something before everyone gets here.’

‘Sounds serious,’ I said, mumbling as my Pringle was assassinated
by my teeth.

‘Are you going to use the spa?’ she asked, her deliberate
attempt to change the subject obvious. ‘Bryce said that he left a note for you,
telling you to indulge. You really should. The girls at the spa downstairs are
fabulous.’

‘Yeah, I think I might. Do they do waxing? I need to wax. I
could currently audition for a part in
Gorillas in the Mist
.’

Alexis let out a laugh. ‘Yuck! Yes, yes they do. Go and
de-fuzz, you dirty bitch. I’ll see you later.’

‘Later. Oh, and tell Bryce to give bellboy-Ben a raise.’

‘Bellboy-Ben?’ she queried.

‘Yes. Later, whore.’

I hung up quickly before she could launch a verbal attack on
me. She hated it when I called her a whore, which I had been doing ever since
we were sixteen years old. Why? Because I could.

CHAPTER THREE

Covered in a white fluffy robe, I happily floated into my
room. I was now fuzz-free, dead-flaky-skin-free and free from any tension after
the best massage in history. For the past two and a half hours, I’d been
pampered and preened, and if I weren’t already swooning over Bryce, I most
definitely was now.
Wow! Lexi, you lucky bitch.

Still in my dreamy, satiated condition, I decided to have a
shower and then get ready for the night ahead. I planned on having a big night:
letting my ash-blonde hair down and celebrating to the fullest extent with
Lexi. Well ... technically, I didn’t know how I was going to wear my hair yet.
That dire decision required more brainpower than I currently had in my
spa-inebriated condition.

I’d chosen my new, dark green, mid-thigh length,
one-shoulder cocktail dress, the deep verdant shade highlighting my emerald
eyes. I love green. It’s the colour of mint. I also love the taste of mint. Mint
toothpaste. Mint gum. Mint sauce.
Mm... mint sauce.
Still undecided on
my hair status, I decided to shoot Lexi a quick text for her advice:

Hair ... up or down? ~ Carls

She replied instantly:

Dress ... long or short? ~ Alexis

What a stupid question? Does she not know me at all?
I
was just about to type her an insulting reply when another text appeared on my
phone:

Sorry, of course it’s short. What was I thinking?

Wear it down & give it a loose curl ~ Alexis

I laughed at her response and, taking back my prior thought,
I typed a reply:

This is Y I love U. C U in an hour ~ Carls

I knew she’d respond, because Lexi always had to have the
last word and, like clockwork, my phone beeped once more.

More like 2 hours ... if your hair isn’t already done ~ Alexis

Shaking my head in amusement, I continued to play with her.
I knew I shouldn’t bait her as it was her birthday after all. But fuck, she was
so much fun to taunt.

Whore ~ Carls

Bitch ~ Alexis

Pre-divorcee ~ Carls

Spinster ~ Alexis

Bitch!
Smiling, because Lexi gives as good as she
gets, I left my goading at that and scrolled through my playlist to find some
Gaga, thinking I would ‘Marry the Night’.

Just as I was about to set my phone down, another text
message sounded:

I love U ~ Alexis

I chose not to respond, letting her have the last word as
always. I am such a good freakin’ friend.

***

As the doors opened to the penthouse floor, I was greeted by
someone I could only assume was a member of the hotel’s staff, an usher of some
kind.

‘Good evening, ma’am,’ he politely addressed me with a nod
of the head.
Oh, he’s cute.

I took in his puppy dog, brown eyes. ‘Why, hello there,’ I
drawled.

‘Just this way, ma’am ... right through this door.’ He
gestured for me to follow him.

‘Please, don’t call me ma’am. That’s for women,
post-menopause,’ I said playfully as I nudged him with my shoulder.

He gave away a small half-grin, but remained completely
professional, opening the door to the apartment and stepping aside for me to
enter.

‘Later,’ I said with a wink, stepping backward through the
threshold while keeping my gaze on his puppy dog eyes. ‘I’ll save you a drink.’

He nodded once more, although I sensed it was more of an
acknowledgement, rather than an acceptance, of my invitation. I inwardly
giggled, then turned around to spot Lexi in Bryce’s arms, both of them standing
in the middle of what could only be described as a palace. The place was huge,
the decor contemporary: white, navy, and silver furnishings.

‘Well, fu—’

I just was about to finish my sentence using my favourite
bomb of vocabulary when I noticed Nate and Charli out of the corner of my eye,
‘— out,’ I quickly offered, displaying my best ‘oops’ face to Alexis and hoping
my quick exchange covered my initial slip. ‘Far out, far freakin’ out. This
place is incredible.’

Lexi walked up to me and enveloped me in hug. ‘Hey, Carls.’

‘This place is amazeballs, Lexi!’ I murmured, continuing to
examine the extravagance over her shoulder.

She shook her head which made me smile. I knew how much she
loved my lingo.

‘Yeah, it’s not a bad little place to live, eh?’ she said
with a shy smile.

‘Pfft, yeah, you could say that,’ I replied, then held her
at arm’s-length to get a better look after not having seen her for months.

Looking intently into her eyes, I instantly picked up on
something she was withholding. She could never get away with lying to me. Even
when we were young, when she’d sworn black and blue that she hadn’t arranged a
wedding for me and Kyle Payne. Granted, we were ten years old at the time.

I recalled the altercation. ‘Alexis,’ my ten-year-old self
had said, with my blushing-red cheeks. ‘Kyle Payne-in-the-butt just said that
he and I are getting married tomorrow. He said that he will make me very happy.
Do you know anything about this?’

Now, before I continue with this story, let me clue you in
on something. The first sign that Alexis is lying is that she tilts her head to
the side very slightly. If you are not looking for this particular movement,
you’ll miss it. The next sign is the avoid-eye-contact-at-all-costs trick,
followed by a pause as her mind quickly conjures up her lame excuse. I remember
that when I’d asked her about my pending nuptials with Kyle, she’d performed
these telltale signs just beautifully. She’d said, ‘What?’, followed by the head
tilt and a piercing stare toward something beyond my head. Next was the pause
and finally, the lie: ‘No. I don’t know anything about it. It was probably
Hannah.’
Busted! Liar!

Knowing that she would eventually give her current secret
away, I smiled at her. ‘You look amazing. Shacking up with a rich studmuffin
does wonders for you. Speaking of the sexy studmuffin, I need to formally thank
him for his hospitality.’

I gently placed my hands on her shoulders and moved her
aside, clearing a path to Bryce. He gave me one of those killer smirks that
Alexis was always telling me about. I could definitely see what the fuss was
over — his smirk warmed my Carly-cave.

‘As long as you only thank him, Carls. That studmuffin
belongs to me,’ Lexi said in a firm but loving voice.

‘Not until there’s an engagement ring on your finger,’ I
replied smugly.
That’s it! That’s her secret. ‘
Wait!’ I turned back to
face her. ‘Show me your hand. Is that why you are looking so good?’

She rolled her eyes at me. ‘No! There is no engagement ring
on my finger.’

‘There will be soon,’ Bryce confidently stated.

Alexis froze and gave him a did-you-just-say-that look. He
just smirked his smirky goodness in response. I smiled at them then continued
toward Bryce, wrapping my arms around him. ‘Thank you,’ I said, seizing the
opportunity to feel him up by squeezing his biceps.

‘You’re welcome, Carly,’ he replied with a deep chuckle.
God,
this man is sexy.

Pouting, I reluctantly let him go and made my way back to
where Lexi was standing. ‘So! Lexi, the soon-to-be bigamist,’ I stated,
deliberately baiting her.

‘I am not a fucking soon-to-be bigamist,’ she snapped back
at me.

‘Mum!’ Charlotte exclaimed, waltzing toward us and looking
like a beautiful princess in her pink chiffon dress. ‘You just f-bombed. You
know the rules, now I get to bomb you.’

‘Um, I know, Charlotte,’ Lexi replied, with a quiver to her
voice, ‘but you can’t bomb me. Not now.’
Oh, she is so definitely hiding
something from me.

‘A rule is a rule, Mum,’ Charlotte categorically declared, placing
her hands upon her hips for emphasis.

I tended to agree.

‘Charli, you can’t,’ Alexis ground out through her teeth,
exaggerating the
can’t
bit. ‘You could hurt me. You don’t want to
hurt
me, do you?’
Whaaa—? This is hilarious. Kudos to Charli for riling up
her mum like this. Normally it’s me doin’ the riling.

Smiling like the drama-greedy girl that I am, I was close to
asking for a bowl of popcorn and taking up a seat.

Charlotte dropped her hands from where they sat on her hips
as something seemed to dawn on her. ‘Oh, I could hurt the baby,’ she blurted,
while slapping her hand to her head. ‘Okay, Mum, I’ll let you off this time.’
She walked over to where I was standing — in shock, mind you — and gave me a
hug. ‘Hi, Aunty Carls.’

I couldn’t help but stare at Lexi, my mouth wide open, a
smile forcing its way to the surface of my face. Charli wrapped her arms around
me, so I gave her a half-arsed squeeze, not really paying much attention to the
little secret-shouter. ‘You’re pregnant?’ I asked Alexis, completely stunned by
the revelation.

‘Yes, I am,’ Lexi sighed in surrender before turning to her
daughter. ‘Charlotte, please don’t tell anyone else. Bryce and I want to make
it a surprise and tell everyone later tonight.’

Charli wrinkled her nose apologetically, then dropped her
head. ‘Oh, sorry, Mum.’

‘It’s okay, sweetheart. But don’t tell anyone else, all
right?’

‘Okay,’ Charli said, happily skipping out of the room, the
bomb she had just dropped already forgotten.

Lexi watched her leave, then slowly shook her head from side
to side before turning back to face me. ‘Yes,’ she answered as she placed her
hand on her stomach and smiled. ‘Bryce planted his seed.’

He walked up behind her and positioned his hands on her
shoulders. ‘What can I say, I like gardening,’ he explained, his expression
confident.

Alexis laughed and leaned back into him, she really did seem
happy.

‘Wow ... that’s ... wow! I’m assuming it wasn’t planned,’ I
offered, giving her a hesitant glance. ‘Or was it?’

She closed her eyes for the briefest of moments. ‘No. It
definitely wasn’t planned.’

Bryce shifted his gaze to look at Lexi, displaying nothing
but love and adoration. It really was quite obvious just how much he truly
loved her.

‘So you’re both happy?’ I asked.

They answered simultaneously, just like fucking Tweedledum
and Tweedledee. ‘Of course we are.’

Amused by their cuteness, I smiled and shook my head. ‘Well,
in that case, congratulations.’

With impeccable timing, a waiter appeared next to us with
glasses of champagne on a tray. I grabbed two of them and went to hand one to
Lex, pausing when I realised that she shouldn’t drink any alcohol.
Oh, this
is gonna be great!
The last time Lex was pregnant and off alcohol, she
sulked like a baby when I teased her with my many glasses of wine.

‘Uh-uh,’ Bryce affirmed, grabbing a glass of a slightly pink
concoction which also sat upon the tray. ‘You, my love, get this one.’ He
handed her the drink. ‘The pink glasses are yours. The waitstaff have been
briefed and know only to give you those ones.’

She screwed up her nose, taking a sniff of the contents.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me. What is it?’

Before he could answer, the door buzzer sounded. Bryce
turned and moved off to greet the arriving guests, calling back over his
shoulder: ‘No. I’m not kidding. I never kid where you are concerned. You, my
love, are drinking non-alcoholic rosé tonight.’

I shrugged in mock sympathy and, rather than put one of the
two glasses back on the tray, teasingly took sips from them both. ‘Suffer,’ I
added with a childish grin.
I know, I’m a bitch, but hey, what are friends
for?
Lexi fired me a squinty-eyed look in return. She was good at those. I,
on the other hand, poked out my tongue.