Four For Christmas (13 page)

“You—you mean he actually thought his…that
it
was…?”

“I swear. And he was too afraid the doctor would tell his mother, so Simon and I had to drive him to the next town while Eric and Raf covered for him with that ridiculous fish story.”

Lori Ann spurted out her margarita, and the three girls wailed in renewed humor as they toweled her off. “You’d think that thing was made of gold the way men go on about it.”

Connie’s smile was sly. “Well, Lee’s is certainly worth its weight in gold. The things he can do…mmmmmm.”

“Lalalala. TMI, people. Friend and business partner over here. I don’t need to know anything about what he can do with any of his bits and pieces.”

Lori Ann tilted her head at Charli. “Come on, girl. What are you, made of stone? You’ve been surrounded by four of the
finest
men on the planet. When Lee first introduced me to your group I almost climaxed before dessert. And you not only work with Simon, but you spend most of your free time connected to all three at their hips. Tell me you haven’t fantasized about one or more of them in all the time you’ve known them, and I’ll tell you I have some ex-girlfriends you might be interested in.”

Charli choked on her drink. It was hard to get used to female gossip. She’d never been good at it. The curse of being a tomboy. Give her a fishing rod or a mountain to climb, but please God, save her from the conversations in the ladies’ room. “Of course I know they’re gorgeous. I’m the one all their wannabe girlfriends chum up to in order to get me to put in a good word. But we’ve been friends forever. And some things are more important than my sex life, or lack thereof.”

Connie frowned. “See, that’s what
I
don’t get. You’re every man’s wet dream. You love football, you have the body of a pole dancer, no offense, and you co-own a chain of fantastically popular sporting-goods stores. How are you still single?”

Charli snorted. “Ever had older brothers?” Both girls shook their heads. “Well I have four. Four very overprotective, irritating, but good-intentioned brothers. To be fair, Lee’s never really jumped on that bandwagon. But there hasn’t been a man yet who can get through the tests.”

“Tests?” both girls spoke in unison. Lori Ann filled Charli’s glass with more frozen margarita.

She nodded. “They have a system. Eric goes for the brains. He grills them, tests them, tries to trip them up. If they get through a conversation with him, Raf takes over. He’s so over the top, you never know if he’s going to humiliate them or hit on them, or both. If the man is determined enough to survive that encounter, the heavy hitter is called in.”

Connie placed the back of her hand on her forehead, pretending to swoon. “Simon. That is one tall, dark and handsome hunk of man.”

Charli rolled her eyes, though she secretly agreed. “Yeah, he’s a legend in his own mind. Mister Universe scares the pants out of any suitors left standing and, poof, no sex life for Charli.”

Lori Ann shook her head as if to clear it from its margarita fog. “So wait a second. You’re saying that your quote, unquote friends scare all your dates away? That would seriously piss me off. Why do you let them anywhere near a prospective boyfriend? Sounds like your safest bet would be to avoid introducing them altogether.”

“I could never do that.” Charli’s tone was adamant. “I mean, it drives me crazy, but on the other hand, why would I want someone who can’t handle the guys? They’re my best friends. Simon, Eric, Raf, they are my family. Lee too. Hands down, I’d choose them every time.”

Connie held up her hand. “I may be drunk and giddy with newly married bliss, but I have a theory.” She weaved a bit in her lounger before pointing at Charli. “You love them.”

“Of course I love them.”

“No, no. You
love
them.”

Charli sat up straighter. “Don’t be ridiculous. We’re practically related.”

Lori Ann shook her head. “Not even a little related. I’m a nurse, I know these things. And love them or not, you definitely want them. All three of them.”

This was ridiculous. “Three? If we’re being delusional why not add Lee to my fantasy list?”

“You don’t want Lee. Trust me, we’d have been able to tell. No, with him you’re right. You love him like a brother, and he feels the same about you. But it’s more than obvious that the rest of you have…tension.”

Charli was squirming in her chair. Men were so much simpler. They didn’t pick up subtle hints, or notice things you didn’t want them to notice. Not usually. And if they did they were too much of a guy to bother you by mentioning it. “Tension?”

Connie fanned herself. “Oh yeah. If you could only see the looks you get when your back is turned. Lava hot, girlfriend.”

“Who looks at me?”

“They all do, Charli. Simon, Eric, Rafael. As far as they’re concerned there are no other women when you’re around. Much to the chagrin of the female population of Denver.”

“See? Now I know you’re lying. They’ve brought dates to our get-togethers. I’ve seen them pick up girls in bars. Hell, we have each other’s house keys. And let me tell you, from the amount of women
and
men I’ve seen passing through the revolving doors they call bedrooms, none of them are suffering.”

Lori Ann popped a strawberry into her mouth, chewing and swallowing before she spoke. “Have you seen any of that recently? Cause we’ve been with Lee for about two years now, and the only woman we’ve seen them with, apart from us, is you. Rafael, for all his bluster, hasn’t brought anyone around either. Think about it.”

She thought about it. They were right. The guys hadn’t brought many dates around recently. And Lord knew they hadn’t let a man within ten feet of her. Maybe they were just burnt out on dating. Maybe they’d gotten into a rut. Who knew? Whatever the case, the girls were wrong. It had nothing to do with
her
.

But were they right about her own feelings? She thought of the brooding Simon, his protectiveness, his fiery blue eyes. Shy Eric, the English professor with the looks of a blond Adonis, and a wit and intellect that always amazed her. And Rafael. Raf. His olive skin and dark eyes made her drool, but it was his sense of humor and irreverence that she loved. He always made her laugh.

Oh brother. She was in trouble.

“Look, I know you mean well, and you may be right. Any woman who’s known them for more than five minutes develops a crush on at
least
one of them. So I’m human. But that doesn’t mean anything is going to happen.” She shrugged. “I’m not like you, I’m not really good at…sharing. No doubt a flaw on my end, but there you go.”

Connie came to sit beside her, throwing a friendly arm over her shoulders. “Love comes in many packages. I wrote that myself. However you find it, if it makes you as happy as we are, then it’s the right one for you.”

Charli closed her eyes on a groan. “If I could find a package that wrapped them all up into one guy I’d be happy. Together they’d make the perfect man.”

“Now there’s a fantasy.” The three women toasted the thought, giggling.

“Care to share the joke?”

Now it was Charli’s turn to spill her drink. Icy strawberry margarita soaked her fingers and covered her thighs. “Damn it.”

“Oops. We’ll go get some napkins.” Connie and Lori Ann jumped up faster than was wise considering how much they’d been drinking, and disappeared in a wobbly mass of giggling female.

“Wow. You’re a mess, Chuck.”

“Thank you, Simon. I don’t know what I’d do without you to point these things out to me. Are you going to help or just mock from afar?”

Simon chuckled, pulling off his T-shirt and using it to wipe her thighs. God, he was gorgeous. “Help, of course. You think the girls are happy? Lee is feeling no pain. Everybody and their brother has bought him a round to celebrate. If people really liked him they would buy him a few rounds of coffee, otherwise his wedding night will be a hazy memory of porcelain-god worshipping and pain.”

Charli nodded, licking the cool sticky liquid off her fingers. “It’s true.”

“What’s true?”

Charli looked down, noticing that Simon was still rubbing her legs with his cotton shirt. Rubbing in a slow, circular caress that was kind of turning her on. Kind of? She snorted. Who was she fooling? “That you shouldn’t drink on your wedding night.”

“Uh-huh. Need any help with that?”

“With what?” Charli caught his gaze. He was looking at her fingers still dripping with margarita. Before she had a chance to refuse, Simon reached out to grip her wrist, pulling it toward his mouth.

Oh. My. God. Charli didn’t move, barely breathed as he slipped her fingers one by one into his mouth. And sucked. She pressed her thighs together, unwilling heat filling her belly, her sex. A small whimper escaped her throat, and Simon’s eyes darkened.

A loud screech, followed by several splashes from the nearby pool caused Charli to jerk her hand back. “Thanks, Simon.” Her laugh sounded forced, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it. She took his T-shirt and finished wiping herself off before handing it back to him. “I think I’ve had a little too much to drink myself. Connie and Lori Ann are a bad influence.”

Simon stood, his expression affable as ever, unless she looked in his eyes. They were telling a different story. “Well, that’s why this floating party boat was such a good idea. No need to worry about having too much fun, Chuck. This time you won’t have to be the designated driver. Even though, you know me, I’d rather be camping.”

“I hear ya.” Thank heavens they were back on familiar ground. “Hey, make sure you tell the boys not to have
too
much fun tonight. I need all of you at your best tomorrow.”

“That’s right. The shore excursion in Cozumel.”

Charli nodded, rubbing her hands together. The Race Fantastique. Apart from the wedding, it was what had convinced her to hand the business over to the supervisors and come on this cruise. It was just like the television show, a scavenger hunt on speed. It would take brains and charm and stamina. And she had the perfect men for the job. “We’re going to win that race. We’re an unbeatable team.”

“Yes. We are. I’ll fill them in.”

Simon turned to walk away, his shirt balled up in his fists, and Charli groaned. What the hell was
that
? Other than one of the sexiest things that had ever happened to her. And how sad and pathetic was that truth? Very. Maybe when she got home from this vacation, she would rethink running a man through the friend gauntlet. She needed something, and it damn sure wasn’t a friendly peck on the cheek. Or finger sucking. Though that
was
nice.

Charli needed a man. One man. If she said that to herself enough times, she might start to believe it.

Three For Me?

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