Bulletproof Bride - By Diana Duncan Page 0,102

arm around her shoulders. "Exactly why I'm 'retiring.' I can run the P.I. firm on my own if you want to stay with the bank."

"Oh, right. I'd miss it horribly. I'll pine away if Trask isn't dumping all his work on me and chewing out my fanny day after day." She took a sip of cool, tart champagne, enjoying the tingle. "After this last month with you, Mr. Adventure, banking seems as dull as dishwater."

He laughed again. "I guess that's settled, then." He raised his goblet. "To my partner in crime, and Houdini Private Investigations."

She clinked glasses with him. "We're going to be solving them, not committing them. And speaking of crimes, don't turn in your handcuffs. I need them."

"How come?"

"I still owe you for that highhanded stunt at your place. One of these days, when you least expect it, you're going to wake up and find yourself cuffed to the bed, naked and helpless." She arched her brows at him. "Then, Bond, Gabe Bond, it will be payback time."

He inhaled sharply. "Promise?"

She smiled. "It's a promise. Remember, I never break my promises."

Desire glittered in his eyes. "And I always pay my debts, sweetheart." He gave her a wolfish grin. "I look forward to paying this one. With interest."

With the sensual vow glittering between them, the limo arrived at the banquet hall. Gabe held her arm and escorted her inside. She glanced around at the room overflowing with more apricot roses and turned to her husband with a smile of pure bliss. "Did you wipe out every apricot rose in the state?"

He grinned. "Darn near."

Buffet tables off to one side practically groaned under heaping platters of food, and a huge wedding cake topped with a tiny, perfect, auburn-haired bride and raven-haired groom sat at one end. "How did you do all this, contact my friends, know the exact dress and size, order the cake?"

"I was with you when you finalized the arrangements before, remember? I saw what you wanted. Plus, I confiscated your daily planner."

"But how did you have time?" Her cheeks heated. "We've done nothing but make love for three days."

"You slept in between. I didn't. Mel and I nearly went insane secretly getting everything ready. That is one determined pixie. Remind me never to stand in her way." He chuckled. "The honeymoon is up to you. Where would you like to go?"

"How about three or four months sunbathing naked in the Caribbean? On the Serendipity."

He frowned. "What about your fear of water? And you can't swim. You can't be on the boat if you can't swim. It's not safe."

"My phobia got cured, too. The hard way. I found out there are worse things than dying. From now on, I'm living every moment of my life to the fullest." She gave him a tender smile. "You can teach me to swim. Along with tutoring me in a few other skills. Like in the bedroom."

He snorted. "Hell baby, you've taught the tutor a thing or two in that department." He cupped her face in his big, warm hand. "Are you sure? I've never spent even a fourth of my paycheck. I invested it all these years. We've got a nice fat nest egg. We can go anywhere, do anything you want."

"Positive." She glanced at the door as the guests began to drift inside, then back up at him. Her soul mate. "I'm overwhelmed. I love you so much, Gabe. I don't know how to thank you for all this."

"I love you, too." His lips curled in a sensual grin that sent heat sizzling through her from eyelashes to toenails. "I'm sure you'll think of a way to thank me."

When the receiving line ended, he led her to the dance floor. He held up his hand for silence. Expecting a dance, she glanced at him in puzzlement.

"I'd like to present my bride with her wedding gift."

A side door opened, and a stocky man carried in a piano bench. Two others wheeled in a piano. The piano wasn't new. The wood was scratched and battered, the keys yellowed and worn with age. The old instrument looked achingly familiar.

Her breath jammed in her throat.

"Look under the keyboard," Gabe murmured.

Trembling all over, she bent down. The wood bore a tiny handprint in black marker with a larger hand drawn beside the little one. In between was a heart with initials. Hers and her father's. "Dad's piano," she choked. "How?"

"I've been searching for weeks, practically since the day you told me about it. The writing made it easier to track down. I found it in a retirement home in Sacramento." He slid his arm around her and nudged her gently. "Go on, honey. Play something."

Trembling harder, she seated herself on the bench. Gently, reverently, she placed her fingers on the worn keys. Remembering her past, anticipating her future, she played from her heart.

Love Me Tender.

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