by Sabrina York
Lauren’s head whipped up. “That wasn’t supposed to be released yet!”
The girls high-fived. Georgie announced in her know-it-all tone, “I told you.”
“But you can tell us. We’re family.” Olivia’s smile had the same dimple on the right side as Lauren’s.
Gabe felt like he had been sent to a foreign country without intel. Where was he? What language were they speaking? “Who is Alizada? And what is the Met Gala?”
Both girls, who’d been fixated on Lauren, turned and stared at him with their mouths wide open.
“You don’t know?” Olivia’s voice was incredulous as her wide eyes grew wider.
He lifted his hands in surrender. “I don’t know who Alizada is. And why does she have only one name?”
He loved hearing Lauren’s light laugh and watching her dimple crease on her smooth skin.
“He doesn’t have time. He’s too busy saving the world from terrorists.” Despite hounding her brothers, Georgie always had their backs.
Lauren’s smile disappeared and the furrow was back between her perfectly arched brows. Did she not know his job?
“Thanks, squirt.” Gabe pulled on Georgie’s ponytail, trying to coax another of Lauren’s enticing smiles. “I’m not the only one saving the world. There are a few others.”
“Is that why you’re so ripped?” Olivia asked.
“Olivia, you can’t ask such personal questions.” Lauren met Gabe’s eyes over Georgie’s head, a burning connection arcing between them.
“All my brothers are ripped. But nothing like Raphael. He’s purrrfect.” Georgie drew out the word. “Is he your date for the wedding?”
“He is hot.” Olivia’s head bobbed in agreement.
The two girls stared at Lauren.
“No, Raphael is not coming to the wedding. And how do you know about Raphael?”
Lauren’s stern look and tone had no effect on the nosy and rambunctious girls. The girls reminded him of their two yellow, bouncing Labradors at home who always had their noses in trouble.
He tried to catch Lauren’s gaze, wanting to know who the hell this Raphael was. She was avoiding looking at him, busying herself, adjusting the strap on her purse.
His baby sister knew more about Lauren’s life than he did. This Raphael was real and involved in Lauren’s life? Unlike Roger, whom she had just met. Crazy jealousy twisted his gut. What was up with his reaction? He’d thought she was single. In their drive over, she’d avoided answering his question about whether she was involved with anyone.
“You know they broke up,” Olivia intoned.
“I was just hoping Lauren would bring him despite US saying that Lauren had broken his heart and made him cry. They posted a picture of him leaving a club in NYC looking really down.”
A sense of relief filled him at hearing the news of the breakup. Like an adolescent with raging hormones, his mood was bouncing all over the place because of this woman who he barely knew. But in his line of work, he trusted his instincts. And his connection to Lauren was real.
But what the hell—this Raphael cried? What kind of men did Lauren date?
“Where are you getting this information?” Lauren looked between the girls. “You know they make up whatever they want for their stories, don’t you?”
“Perez Hilton, POPSUGAR…” Georgie recited more Internet sites Gabe had never heard of. “There are tons of sites. All you have to do is Google your name or Raphael’s and you can see your whole dating history.”
Gabe knew what he was going to do once he got to his room. “Does Mom know you’re on these sites?”
What happened to his little sister who loved horses? First Gavin, now Georgie. He hadn’t been away that long, he thought, trying to remember the last time he was in Nebraska. It had been last Christmas.
“I keep Mom up on all the stars. And now that she met Lauren, she wants to know all about her.”
Gabe’s jaw dropped. His mother wanted to know about Lauren. And she followed the lives of movie stars—since when?
“Speaking about Mom, we better go, Olive. My parents are waiting for us for dinner.”
“Lauren, here’s your key. Can we come by later and talk?” Olivia gave the same dimpled smile that Gabe found irresistible on Lauren.
“Of course. Why don’t you and Georgie come to my room after dinner and we can celebrate with hot chocolate?”
“A pajama party?” Olivia and Georgie squealed in unison.
“I bet you have the best nightgowns. My mother made me bring flannel pajamas. What did you bring, Olive?”
Olivia and Georgie each gave Lauren a hug and then, as if Georgie just remembered him, she rushed over and hugged Gabe. “Can Gabe come for hot chocolate, Lauren?”
Georgie gave Lauren a wide-eyed innocent look. What was his sister up to?
“I’m not sure Gabe wants to come to a ladies party.” Lauren gave him the same stern look she had given the girls—squinted eyes, jaw tight, neck thrust forward. “I bet he wants to spend time with your parents.”
He wanted to laugh out loud. Nice try, Lauren. But the idea of seeing Lauren in a nightgown was plenty of incentive, and an added bonus was the chance to tap Georgie and Olivia for more intel on Lauren.
“I’ve never been invited to a pajama party. I’m honored.”
Lauren’s brow snapped together. “Okay, then, I need to get unpacked.”
Georgie and Olivia looked between Gabe and Lauren, their necks swiveling until Olivia poked Georgie in the side. Did Lauren catch their conspiratorial smiles?
“Aren’t Mom and Dad waiting for you two?”
“Come on, Olive.” Georgie grabbed Olivia’s hand as they ran toward the restaurant.
“You know you don’t have to join us tonight. You’ll be bored out of your mind. It will be loads of giggling, eating junkie stuff, and fashion talk. We’ll probably watch a movie, if the lodge has access. For sure a movie you won’t want to watch.”
“How do you know so much about girls?”
Lauren’s dimple reappeared with her grin. “I was a girl before I grew up.”
Gabe closed the distance between them, liking the way she stood her ground and didn’t back up.
“I noticed.” His voice got gravelly with need.
Her breath hitched, her neck pinked. He was glad that she felt the heat between them. It took all his control not to follow the flush on her neck with his lips, feel her pulsate against his tongue.
“You wearing a revealing nightgown will make it worthwhile.”
She leaned closer and every one of his cells stood at attention from her nearness. He held his breath, anticipating she might kiss him. She tugged on the top button on his coat. “I’ll be wearing my sweats.”
She smirked, turned, and headed toward the stairs. And why didn’t he ask her about Raphael? Maybe because he got distracted.
He was already in deep as the snow outside if he was excited by the prospect of a pajama party with his younger sister.
6
Lauren hung up with Roger and stretched against the down pillows. The burning fire gave the room a peaceful golden hue. She closed her eyes, enjoying the solitude after the long day and then the endless giggling chatter of Olivia and Georgie. She should get up and brush her teeth, especially after the hot chocolate and Twizzlers. But, like the exhausted girls who could barely walk to their rooms, she was beat.
Georgie shared that Gabe had dinner with his parents and then headed to the bar with Gavin and his newly arrived brother Gray. He’d asked Georgie to tell Lauren that he’d be late.
In classic younger sister style, Georgie rolled her eyes and declared that she doubted that Gabe would make an appearance once the brothers started partying.
After pushing to be included in the pajama party and flirting outrageously, Gabe was a no show. The same disappointment of promises not kept that her father made then never followed through on caused a familiar ache somewhere near her heart. Calling Roger and inviting him to
the wedding was prevention therapy.
Feeling like she pulled herself back from taking the slippery slope of falling for the wrong guy, she’d waited for the girls to leave to make her call.
She didn’t need any added drama, especially of the male sort, with her father arriving. Thomas Turner was enough for any woman to handle, especially if you were his daughter. Roger would be a sane buffer to all the volatile emotions. Roger was drama free. No fire and heat like Gabe, but no chance of getting burned.
A loud knock startled her out of drowsiness. It would be just like Tiffany to show up. Lauren checked her phone. At one a.m. East Coast time, Lauren didn’t have the energy to face off with her bridezilla half sister. She needed to sleep in prep for tomorrow’s final fitting and the expected tantrums before her father’s arrival with his newest starlet.
Brushing the hair away from her face and pulling her Mets T-shirt down to cover her thong, Lauren jumped out of bed. Shivers shot through her when her feet hit the cold floor. With the fire blazing, the room was toasty enough that she had taken off her sweats and her wool socks.
She made a path around the candy wrappers, popcorn bowl, and pillows on the floor scattered in front of the fireplace. She smiled, remembering how disappointed Georgie and Olivia were that she slept in sweats instead of a designer nightgown. They had the same curiosity about romance and falling in love as she did when she was their age. Despite her parents, she still held onto hope for real love. The kind that stuck.
It had to be Tiffany … but the knocking was insistent and loud. “Come on, ladies, let me in…”
Gabe? Her stomach did the same damn flutter at the sound of his husky voice tinged with amusement. Of course he expected them to be waiting on him to arrive and charm them. Yeah. Too little too late was her relationship with her father, and no way was she signing up for a repeat with the sexy soldier.
She had been convinced Gabe was going to kiss her when they arrived at the lodge, despite his clear message that he wasn’t interested in her. No man who was interested in a woman responded by asking her to invite another man into her life. Even if it was just supposed to entice Tiffany. He probably felt this was the usual wedding setup and as best man, it was his duty to sleep with the maid of honor. Not going there.
She opened the door to send him on his way, but instead was shocked and then spellbound. In his muscular arms were three adorable teddy bear snowmen with blue scarves and blue ski hats and a bag overflowing with candy. “I cleaned out the gift shop.”
His tousled hair hung over one eye as he gave her the boyish crooked grin. Damn him. Right when she was moving forward, why did he have to be so appealing?
His eyes drifted to her legs and then up her body. His breath hitched. “I’m liking this party already.”
“The party is over.” She gestured to the empty room behind her. “The girls crashed pretty quickly after their early flights and all the excitement. I took them to their rooms.”
“Can we have our own party?” He waggled his eyebrows. “I have Sour Patch Kids. And gummy bears!”
Lauren hesitated to invite him in. What was it about him that had her behaving unpredictably? It tempted her into not using her well-practiced good sense. Well, maybe because he was damn sexy, gorgeous, amusing, and loved his family.
Gabe bent his head, pretending to speak to the very cute bears. “Guys, I think she’s shooting us down. Can’t you say something charming in snowmen-speak since I’m losing her?”
Lauren couldn’t stop the giggle. Big strong Gabe talking to the bears was pretty darn sweet. Trying not to give in… “I’m pretty tired.”
“Come on, Lauren. Don’t you want to hear what Gavin had to say about Tiffany?” He lifted his eyebrows.
Lauren stepped from the door to allow him into the room. Knowing it was an excuse, a real thin one.
“I guess I didn’t need you guys,” Gabe spoke to the bears. “I can see my sister was here. I’m really sorry that I missed the party.” His gaze focused on the mess on the floor.
Lauren grabbed the sweatpants that were thrown on the bed and stepped into them while Gabe dropped the bears and candy on a chair. He turned as she was tucking the long T-shirt into the sweats.
“Spoilsport! What’s the fun in a pajama party if you’re not wearing your pajamas?”
Lauren had loads of practice with come-ons. And as long as she kept Gabe in the flirty box, she could cope with the next days before she returned to NYC and he went off to do whatever.
“You’re not in your pajamas.”
“But I am. Easy for me to demonstrate since I don’t wear anything to sleep in.” He peeled out of his flannel shirt to a black tee that hugged his broad chest and bulging biceps. He was impressively ripped.
Lauren quashed the vision of a nude Gabe—his thick thighs, his tight abs, and his…
“Very amusing, I’m sure.” Lauren ignored the sensation of her trembling pulse as she crossed the room to move away from the tension and temptation. She sat cross-legged on the chaise.
“Tell me what Gavin said about Tiffany.”
Had she invited Roger for nothing? Had Gabe convinced Gavin to reconsider? She cringed, remembering the awkward silence in her phone conversation before Roger agreed. He was clear he was coming to be a help to Lauren. No one else.
Gabe sat at the end of the chaise despite another chair across from her.
“It’s unbelievable.” Gabe shook his head. “He’s convinced he loves her. The way he describes her makes me feel crazy. I found myself questioning whether I had been unfair to Tiffany.”
Lauren was too tired to think about Tiffany, but not too tired to appreciate the sexy man at her feet. If only … he were at her feet. She smiled at the thought.
“What are you smiling about?” Gabe smiled back and primitive need sparked between them, making her want to do crazy take-off-her clothes kinds of things. No question there was chemistry between them. More than she’d felt with any other man. Why couldn’t she let herself go and just enjoy the moment? the little devil on her shoulder whispered.
“I’m either punch-drunk or crashing from the sugar high with the girls. I’ve reached my limit on Tiffany talk.”
“Or you could simply be tired. I’m sorry that I’m dumping again.” He lifted her feet into his lap. He acted nonchalantly in touching her as her heart slammed against her chest in booming whacks.
“Your feet are like ice.”
The heat of his big calloused hands on her feet and his confident touch were heavenly. She threw her head against the pillow, giving in to the bombardment of pleasure.
He pressed his thumb into the ball of her foot, hitting the knot from her high heels she had worn for hours.
“Oh, that’s it. Oh, that’s good. That’s the spot,” she crooned in relief.
“Those are the words I like to hear from a woman…”
She was lost in sensation until his words washed over her. She shot upright and pulled her legs under her and away from his mesmerizing touch.
“What are we doing here?” She pointed between them. Maybe it was fatigue that made her speak frankly or that no one had cared for her in a long time, a very long time, and it made her more susceptible than she should be.
“What game are you playing?” Mad at herself for how easy it would be to give in to the fantasy of a caring man made her tone sharp. Hadn’t she learned anything from her childhood?
Gabe dropped his hands and delivered a piercing look. “Game? Maybe you better explain.”
“Just so you know, I’m not going to do the whole maid of honor/best man shtick.”
“And what does that exactly mean?” He leaned forward, trying to use his size and his fierce I-can-break-you look to intimidate her, which caused an effect opposite to what he intended.
Anger ballooned in her chest. “You need it spelled out? I’m not going to sleep with you. Sorry that Tiffany doesn’t have friends to invite to the wedding to hit on.”
His eyes darken
ed, as did his tone. “I’m not sure what kind of man you think I am, but you’ve got it all wrong. I didn’t come here to get laid. This is a family wedding. My parents and sister are present.”
Lauren didn’t meet his eyes, embarrassed by her outburst. “Glad we’re straight.” Why was she reacting to his joke about women and their spots? Is wasn’t like she was inexperienced. Because she didn’t want to think of how many women Gabe had helped discover their “spots.” And how crazy was that when she was clear that she didn’t want to get involved. Crystal clear.
“I invited Roger. He’s only able to come for the wedding. He has some business meetings on Friday. He’ll try to end them early so he can attend the rehearsal dinner.”
“I guess Roger is our last hope.” His tone was detached and distant. “Nothing anyone in the family can say will influence Gavin.”
She busied herself by repositioning the pillow, not wanting to look at Gabe.
“Roger was pretty clear that he won’t make moves on Tiffany.”
“Only on you, right?” He scoffed.
His flippant tone hurt. She didn’t want to be at odds with Gabe. She liked him. She more than liked him. And that was the problem. He made her want … what she shouldn’t want.
“With Roger as your date, you won’t have to worry that I’ll try my best man shtick on you.” He ran his hand along his stubble before he stood.
“I’m going to head out. We both need sleep. There is ice-skating and sledding planned for tomorrow. And I promised the girls I would do both.”
Lauren bolted to follow him to the door. She wished they could go back to the shared intimacy, but she didn’t know how to repair the distance. This was for the best, but why did she have the familiar ache around her heart as if she lost something special?
Gabe stopped at the door and turned back.
“That last comment was unfair. You wouldn’t have invited Roger if I hadn’t pressured you. Thanks. You’ve been a real sport.”
A real sport? She didn’t want to be a good sport. Lauren reached for his arm. “No, I shouldn’t have said that crap. I don’t know why I said it.”
