Once Upon a Bride

“Ah—thanks,” she said quietly and moved Jed out of the small room.

Gabe followed her. “Be back soon,” he said as he strode down the hallway and headed out the front door.

He returned five minutes later with a large square piece of plywood, a cordless drill and a box of screws, and quickly repaired the hole. Lauren watched from her spot near the door, absorbed by the way he seemed to do everything with such effortless ease. Nothing fazed him. He was smart and resourceful and sexy and warmed the blood in her veins. Gabe made her think of everything she’d lost. And everything she was determined to avoid.

“Lauren?”

His voice jerked her back to earth. He was close. They were sharing the space in the narrow doorway, and Lauren’s gaze got stuck on his chest and the way the paint-splattered T-shirt molded his chest. Her fingertips itched to reach up and touch him, to feel for herself if his body was as strong and solid as it looked. She remembered how he’d pulled her from the pool at the wedding and how his hands had felt upon her skin. It had been a long time since she’d felt a man’s touch. Longer still since she’d wanted to.

Memories of Tim swirled around in her head. She’d loved him. Adored him. She’d imagined they would spend their lives together, loving one another, having children, creating memories through a long and happy marriage. But he’d never, not once, made her knees quiver and her skin burn with such blistering, scorching awareness. Even the fleeting desire she’d felt for James seemed lukewarm compared to the way Gabe made her feel. Her sex-starved body had turned traitor, taunting her...and she had to use her head to stay in control.

“I was...I was thinking...”

Her words trailed off when she looked up and met his blistering gaze. There was so much heat between them. Undeniable heat that combusted the air and made her stomach roll.

“Thinking?” he asked softly. “About what?”

Lauren willed some movement into her feet and managed to step back a little. “Your jacket,” she muttered and turned on her heels and fled through the kitchen and toward the guest bedroom.

When she returned, Gabe was in the hallway, tools in hand.

“I forgot to return this,” she explained and passed him the dinner jacket he’d given her the night of the wedding and which she’d since had dry-cleaned. “Thank you for lending it to me.”

“No problem.” He took the garment and smiled. “Well, good night.”

“Ah—and thanks again for freeing Jed.... Your saving me from disaster is becoming something of a habit.”

“No harm in being neighborly,” he said casually.

Too casually. She knew he was as aware of her as she was of him. But they were skirting around it. Denying it.

“I guess not. Good night, Gabe.”

He left, and Lauren closed the door, pressing her back against it as she let out a heavy sigh. Being around Gabe was wreaking havoc with her usual common sense. He wasn’t what she wanted. Sure, she could invite him into her bed for the night. But that was all it would be. He’d called her Commitment 101, and he was right. He’d told her he didn’t do serious. He didn’t want a relationship. They were too different.

* * *

When she arrived at The Wedding House the following morning, her mother was there before her, as was their part-time worker, Dawn.

“You look terrible,” her mother remarked, clearly taking in her paler-than-usual skin and dark smudges beneath her eyes. Lauren wasn’t surprised she looked so haggard—she hadn’t slept well. Instead, she’d spent the night fighting the bedsheets, dreaming old dreams, feeling an old, familiar pain that left her weary and exhausted.

“Gee—thanks,” she said with a grin. “Just a little sleep deprived because of Jed, but I’ll tell you about that later.”

Irene smiled. “Are you heading to the surf club this afternoon? Or do you want me to go? We have to have the measurements for the stage and runway to the prop people by Monday, remember?”