Which honest to God… is a completely appealing thought because Carrick’s brother is like Jax Teller on steroids. Not the perfect beauty of Carrick, but hot, nonetheless.
As he gets closer, I can see his eyes are pure green, not hampered by any tones of brown or gold to make them hazel. In fact, they’re almost close to the color of emerald, and I have to wonder if they’re colored contacts.
“Brother,” the man says as he reaches Carrick, his tone slightly affectionate but weirdly, also a bit flat. They don’t hug or even shake, but instead, they clasp each other at the forearms.
Carrick returns a smile, then nods toward me as they break apart. “That’s Finley.”
The large man turns to me, and I stare back like an idiot, shrimp in hand with cocktail sauce dripping down onto my plate. When I open my senses, I feel nothing out of the ordinary. I drop the shrimp onto my plate, then hastily wipe my fingers with a napkin.
“Finley, this is my brother, Maddox,” Carrick continues the introduction.
Maddox’s eyes widen as he takes me in—head to toe, slowly and thoroughly—and looks back to Carrick. “Holy fuck, brother.”
My chin jerks inward, my body locking tight. I have no clue what to make of those words or the pure shock and appreciation in them.
I slide my gaze to Carrick for his reaction. He merely shrugs before explaining, “He thinks you’re appealing.”
Makes sense. I do look my best tonight.
“As if you don’t.” Maddox grins slyly at his brother.
That makes no sense. Carrick has never regarded me with anything but negative emotion on his beautiful—sometimes slappable—face.
He doesn’t deny it, though, merely ignores the statement and asks Maddox, “Where is she?”
Who? I snap my head toward Carrick, surprised Maddox was supposed to bring someone, and then back to his brother, so I don’t miss the answer. My shrimp cocktail is completely forgotten.
“She refused to come in,” Maddox says with a shrug, then reaches across me and nabs my abandoned shrimp. He has perfectly straight teeth as he bites into the pink flesh above the tail, smirking at me as he chews. Dropping the tail, he grabs the same napkin I’d used and wipes his fingers, shifting to Carrick. “She didn’t feel comfortable with this being a black-tie affair and her being inappropriately dressed.”
“Didn’t seem to stop you,” Carrick mutters.
“Who would ever try to stop me?” Maddox laughs wickedly, and I find I very much like his personality. It’s so much better than Carrick’s. “She’s waiting outside in the park. I can take you to her.”
Carrick glances at his watch with a grimace. “The auction starts in five minutes. How long will she wait?”
“Not five minutes,” Maddox replies regretfully. “She’s a twitchy one.”
“Who?” I can’t help but ask.
Like normal, Carrick ignores me. Maddox easily answers. “Echo. She’s a little bit,” and here, he circles his index finger near his temple, “cuckoo, but I hope she can help.”
“Help who?” I ask as I see Carrick flick his gaze from his watch toward a set of double doors, which I assume is where the patrons may be going in a bit for the auction.
“Why, to help you, of course.” Maddox winks at me. “We need to find out why you do the crazy things you do, right?”
My jaw drops slightly. “You know about me?”
Maddox leans toward me, lowering his voice. “Of course I do. You don’t think I’d just drop all my important doings and run to do Carrick’s bidding if it weren’t important, do you?”
“Well, I know nothing about you at all,” I quip, arching an eyebrow at him.
“Ah, but you do,” he teases. “You know I’d drop everything to come running to do Carrick’s bidding to help figure out why you can do what you do.”
Damn… he’s slightly confusing, but in a charming way. I can’t help but giggle.
And I’m not a giggler.
“Fuck the auction,” Carrick growls, reaching past his brother to take my elbow. He gives a last lingering look at the double doors where some antiquity he wants is. “Let’s go see Echo.”
Carrick escorts me through the crowd and out of the aquarium, Maddox following close behind. It’s not lost on me that both men are attracting attention. Most women gaze at them with naked, lustful interest, while the men appear intimidated and move in closer to their women.
I wonder what’s so important at this auction that Carrick wants, but I don’t bother asking since I’m fairly sure I’d get his standard NYOB answer.
None of your business.
Besides, I’m far too interested in this Echo woman that Maddox indicated is a wackadoodle and what she possibly knows that could help figure out my abilities.
Maddox turns right coming out of the aquarium and we head into Waterfront Park, which is a huge boardwalk with some sculptures, pop-up booths, and a Ferris wheel. The ferries come and go every twenty minutes or so to Bainbridge Island, and there are excellent skyline views to enjoy along with a crisp wind off the Sound. I’m grateful Carrick has me by the elbow as I’m terrified one of my heels will get stuck in a crack in the boards and I’ll go down in a disgraceful heap, ruining my dress.