Bulletproof Bride - By Diana Duncan Page 0,26

Perfect's model good looks.

"Tessa, you look gorgeous," her fiancé rumbled. His eyes lit with pleasure as he brushed a soft kiss on her cheek. "You're obviously feeling better."

An unfamiliar, selfish urge to snatch her out of the other man's arms grabbed Gabe by the throat. His hands balled into fists. What the hell was wrong with him? He took a deep breath, forcing his fingers to relax. Focus.

Tessa gestured toward him. "Dale, I'd like you to meet…" she hesitated briefly. "Valentine Colton."

She must be really torqued about the cousin thing. Nobody called him Valentine and lived.

"Val, this is my fiancé, Dale Winters."

Oh, yeah, Val was much better. Gabe arched a "thanks a lot, honey," brow at her before accepting the massive paw Dale offered.

She flushed. "My future mother-in-law, Lucille Winters."

He studied the delicate woman in beige silk and pearls. Her gray-blond hair was winched so tight, he was surprised her hawklike blue eyes weren't crossed. He ignored her sharp, disapproving gaze as he shook her hand.

"And my best friend Melody Parrish. I've mentioned her."

Mischievous sapphire eyes sparkled up at him from an elfin face. The petite, curly-haired blonde beamed him an impish smile. "Well, well, where has Tess been hiding you?"

"Val is m-my cousin," Tessa stammered.

Melody's eyes narrowed. "You don't have any cousins."

Gabe pulled out Tessa's chair, one-upping Dale by a satisfying fraction of a second. He sat across from her, and poured a strawberry lemonade from the pitcher on the table.

Tessa sucked in a shaky breath. "Long-lost cousin. From my dad's side. We've only met recently."

Melody's brows drew together. "But—"

Lucille's soft-spoken, cultured tones carried across the table.

"Tessa, where have you been all day? I've been frantic to get in touch about this wedding disaster."

"I'm … staying with Ga— Val," Tessa amended hastily.

She was a lousy liar. Gabe could almost see her squirming in her chair. He grinned into his glass.

"My apartment is, ah, bugs. That's it! They're fumigating my apartment and I'm staying with Val."

Lucille grimaced. "That's not a terribly good idea." She nodded at him, "No offense, young man."

"Oh, none taken," Gabe drawled.

Lucille continued. "Tessa, I insist you stay with us."

How would Tessa talk her way out of this one? Gabe swigged a gulp of lemonade.

"There's no problem," Tessa replied blithely. "Val is gay."

He strangled on his lemonade. The icy drink burned down his windpipe and surged through his nose, stinging like acid.

Melody jumped up to pat him on the back. "Wow, I never saw lemonade shoot out of anybody's nose. Must hurt like crazy."

Wheezing, he grabbed a napkin. His eyes streamed tears as he glared at Tessa over the white linen.

Lucille's eyes brightened. "He could be the answer to our problems!"

"How is that?" Tessa asked, wariness coloring her tone.

"Frederick left us high and dry." Lucille offered Gabe a practiced, insincere smile. "And besides, you must be good at that sort of thing."

Tessa scowled. "I don't think…"

"Now, now," Gabe patted her cheek. "It'll be fabulous." Into her ear he whispered, "Remember, honey, paybacks are hell, and now I owe you two."

It was her turn to choke. Out of the corner of his eye, Gabe saw Melody flick a curious glance at Tessa, then himself.

Dale rumbled out his second conversational contribution. "I think it's nice that your cousin wants to join in. Planning a wedding is a lot of work, and with one thing after another happening, we can use all the help we can get."

Gabe winked at him.

A loud, exasperated breath exploded out of Tessa.

Gabe bit the inside of his cheek and swallowed down the snicker desperately trying to escape.

"I need to powder my nose." She bolted for the ladies' room, Melody hot on her heels. Why did women always visit the head in groups? She probably wanted to grill Tessa about her newfound "cousin." Man, he'd love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation.

Before long, the pair returned, a hectic flush still staining Tessa's cheeks. As the wedding talk continued, sweat beaded on Gabe's forehead and dampened his shirt. His neck wasn't even the one in the noose, and he could barely breathe. He surreptitiously loosened his tie. He needed to take his bike out for a spin and blow out this rat-with-his-tail-in-a-trap feeling.

Two torturous hours crawled by. Lucille tried to manipulate the plans, first with finesse, then pressure, progressing to blatant manipulation. Tessa quietly stood her ground, and Gabe's respect for her grew. Dale automatically agreed with his mother when asked. Finally, Tessa called a halt to the ordeal.

As the group parted ways