Once Upon a Bride

Spending the evening with Gabe confirmed for Lauren that since her divorce, she’d gone into a kind of lazy hibernation. She’d quit volunteering at the surf club, rarely joined her mother for the tai chi classes she’d always loved and avoided socializing regularly with anyone other than her two closest friends. It hadn’t been a deliberate pulling away, more like a reluctance to go out and put on her happy face.

That needed to change.

Lauren knew if she was going to find someone to share her life with, she actually needed to start having a real life.

But that real life didn’t include her sexy neighbor.

On Friday night she went to the movies with Cassie and Mary-Jayne, stayed out afterward for coffee and cake and got home by ten.

There was a light on next door. Lauren ignored the fluttering in her stomach and headed inside. As soon as she’d crossed the threshold, she heard Jed’s whining. Minutes later she discovered her great plan of leaving him locked in the laundry was not such a great plan. It was, in fact, a disaster. He’d somehow chewed a hole in the back door, and his big head was now stuck between the timbers. Lauren groaned, cursed her brother under her breath for a few seconds and then attempted to pull the dog free. But he was lodged. His neck was wedged around the cracked timber, and she didn’t have the strength to pull him free.

Surprisingly, the dopey dog was in good spirits, and she patted him for a moment before she grabbed her phone. She could call her father? Or perhaps Mary-Jayne might be able to help?

Just get some backbone and go and ask Gabe.

She reassured the dog for a little while longer before she walked next door. The porch light flickered and she sucked in a breath and knocked.

Gabe looked surprised to see her on his doorstep.

“Lauren?” He rested against the door frame. “What’s up?”

He wore faded jeans that were splattered with paint, and an old gray T-shirt. There was also paint in his hair and on his cheek. She wanted to smile, thinking how gorgeous he looked, but didn’t. Instead, she put on a serious face.

“I need help.”

He straightened. “What’s wrong?”

“It might be better if you just see for yourself.”

He was across the threshold in seconds. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Jed, on the other hand...”

“What’s he done now?” Gabe asked as they headed down the steps.

“Like I said, you need to see this for yourself.”

A minute later they were in her house. They moved to the laundry and were facing Jed’s bouncing rear end. And Gabe was laughing loudly. Really loudly. In fact, he was laughing so hard he doubled over and gripped the washing machine.

“It’s really not that funny,” she said crossly and planted her hands on her hips. “He could be hurt.”

“He’s not hurt,” Gabe said, still chuckling as he moved across the small room and knelt down beside the dog. “The goofy mutt is just stuck.”

“Exactly. He’s wedged in and I can’t pull him free.”

He examined the door. “Do you have a hammer?”

“A hammer?”

“I need to knock a bit of this plywood out the way,” he explained.

She nodded and grabbed the small toolbox under the sink. “I think there’s something in here.”

He opened the box, found the small hammer and got to work on the door. Jed whined a little, but Lauren placated him with pats and soothing words while Gabe made the hole large enough for the dog’s head to fit back through. It took several minutes, but finally Jed was free and immediately started bounding around the small room, whipping Lauren’s legs with his tail.

“Oh, that’s good,” she said on a relieved sigh. “Thank you.”

“He looks okay,” Gabe said, smiling. “But your door’s not so lucky.”

Lauren glanced at the door. The hole was bigger than she’d thought. “I’ll need to call someone to fix it on Monday.”

He nodded as he rose to his feet. “Sure. I’ll board it up for you now so you’ll be safe over the weekend.”

Lauren’s insides contracted. The way he spoke, the way he was so genuinely concerned about her, melted what was left of her resentment toward him.

Admit it...you like him.

A lot.

Too much.

“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?”

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.