Once Upon a Bride

“People,” he replied. “Men.”

She tensed, and Gabe held her hand a little firmer. “Not usually,” she said quietly.

So it was just him? “I don’t have any sinister intentions. So relax,” he said as he extracted the splinter without her noticing at first and then gently rolled her fingers into her palm. “I’m not making a pass.”

She swallowed hard. “I didn’t think—”

“I would,” he said quietly. “If you were looking for a no-strings, no-commitment kind of thing. But you’re not. You’re a commitment kind of girl, right? Abstaining from anything casual and with a clear plan for your future. Isn’t that why you made your vow of celibacy?”

It felt right to get it out in the open. Maybe it would help diffuse the heat between them. Maybe it would stop him from thinking about kissing her.

She jerked her hand back and stood. “I... What I said at the wedding... It was private and personal and not up for discussion.”

“I’m not mocking you,” he said, and rested his elbows on the table. “On the contrary, I think I admire you for knowing what you want. And knowing what you don’t.”

* * *

Lauren’s skin burned. He admired her? He’d pretty much admitted he wanted her, too. The awareness between them intensified, and she wished she could deny it. She wanted to dislike him. She wanted to resent him. She wanted to get away and never speak to him again.

“Thank you for the first aid,” she said, and managed a tight smile. “I didn’t feel a thing.”

“Then we should keep it that way.”

There was no mistaking his meaning. He thought it was a bad idea, too. She was happy about that. Very happy.

“So...about the dog?”

He stood up and pushed the chair back. “Get his feed ready and I’ll drag him off your sofa.”

Once he’d left the kitchen and disappeared down the hall, Lauren got to her feet and quickly sorted the dog’s bedding and food in the laundry. A couple of minutes later, Gabe returned with Jed at his side. The dog ambled across the kitchen and into the back room and began eating.

Relieved the hound was no longer taking up her couch, Lauren took a shallow breath. “Thank you...Gabe.”

He looked a little amused by her sudden use of his name and the slight tremor in her voice. His mouth twisted fractionally, as if he was trying not to smile. “No problem...Lauren.”

“Well...good night.”

His glittering gaze was unwavering. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Her eyes widened. “Tomorrow?”

He grinned a little. “I told Cameron I’d take the dog to work tomorrow so he doesn’t destroy your yard trying to escape...until you can make other arrangements, of course.”

She hadn’t spared a thought to how she would care for the dog during the day. “Oh, right,” she said vaguely, thinking about how the darn dog had suddenly become a reason why she would be forced to interact with Gabe. She made a mental note to call her friend Mary-Jayne and ask her to help. Lauren knew one thing—she didn’t want to turn up on Gabe’s doorstep again. “I’ll tie him in the back when I leave, and you can collect him from there. You don’t start until ten tomorrow, right?”

Gabe frowned. “How do you know that?”

“Cameron left me the roster,” she replied. “I said I’d work the Sunday shifts while he’s away if I’m needed.”

“You’re the fill-in lifeguard?”

“Don’t look so surprised.”

“I’m just curious as to why your brother didn’t mention you specifically.”

She shrugged a little. “I may have told him that I thought you were an ass.”

Gabe laughed. “Oh, really?”

“It was after the wedding, so who could blame me?”

He raised his hands. “Because I innocently overheard your deepest secret?”

“Well, that was before I...” Her words trailed. Before what? Before she realized he wasn’t quite the ogre she’d pegged him for. Now wasn’t the time to admit anything. “Anyhow...good night.”

Once he left, Lauren forced herself to relax. She took a long shower and changed into her silliest short-legged giraffe pajamas and made a toasted cheese sandwich for dinner. She ate in the lounge room, watching television, legs crossed lotus-style, with plans to forget all about her neighbor.

And failed.

Because Gabe Vitali reminded her that she was a flesh-and-blood woman in every sense of the word. The way he looked, the way he walked with that kind of natural sexual confidence, the way his blue eyes glittered... It was all too easy to get swept away thinking about such things.

And too easy to forget why she’d vowed to avoid a man like him at all costs.

She’d made her decision to find someone steady and honest and ordinary. No powerful attraction. No blinding lust. No foolish dreams of romantic love. Just friendship and compatibility. It might sound boring and absurd to her friends, but Lauren knew what she wanted. She wanted something lasting.

Something safe.

Since she spent most of the night staring at the ceiling, Lauren wasn’t surprised when she awoke later than usual and had to rush to get ready for work. She fed the dog and then tied him on a generous lead to the post on her back patio and headed to the store. Her mother was there already, changing mannequins and merchandising the stock that had arrived Friday afternoon. Irene Jakowski had first opened The Wedding House twenty-five years earlier. Lauren had grown up around the gowns and the brides, and it had made her fall in love with weddings. During her school years, she’d worked part-time in the store, learning from her mother. When school finished, she’d studied business and accounting for two years at college before returning to the store, taking over from her mother, who now worked part-time.

Lauren dropped her laptop and bag on the desk in the staff room and headed to the sales floor. The rows of wedding gowns, each one immaculately pressed and presented on hangers, filled her with a mix of approval and melancholy.

“How’s the dog?” her mother queried when she moved around the sales counter.

Lauren grimaced. “Missing his owner and slobbering all over my furniture. You know, like in that old movie Turner & Hooch?”

Irene laughed. “It’s not that bad, surely?”

“Time will tell,” she replied, and managed a rueful grin. “I don’t know why he can’t go into a boarding kennel like other dogs.”

“You’re brother says he pines when he’s away from home,” Irene told her. “And it’s only until the house sitter returns, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Lauren said, and sighed. “Gabe is taking him to the surf club today, so at least my patio furniture is safe while I’m here.”

Her mother’s eyes widened. “Gabe is? Really?”

Of course her mother knew Gabe Vitali. She’d mentioned him several times over the past six months. Irene Jakowski was always on the lookout for a new son-in-law, since the old one hadn’t worked out. The fact he’d bought the house next door was like gold to a matchmaking parent.

“Matka,” Lauren warned, using the Polish word for mother when she saw the familiar gleam in her mother’s eyes. “Stop.”