Bulletproof Bride - By Diana Duncan Page 0,38

"I promise I can deliver something that will satisfy you."

Her cheeks pinkened, and he clenched his fists under the table. Two minutes and he'd broken his vow. First his body went AWOL, now his brain.

With agile grace, Dale rose to his feet. "I don't mind. Val, what can I get you?"

How about handing over your fiancée, Bubba? "I take care of myself," Gabe snapped, dropping into a chair. "Thanks anyway," he belatedly amended.

Dale melted into the crowd.

"What is your problem?" Tessa hissed. "I thought you were a pro at this cloak-and-dagger stuff."

"I have a headache," he lied. Unfortunately, the throbbing ache originated much farther south than his temples. He'd lost his freaking mind. Everything he knew, everything he stood for, had suddenly come into question. Never before had he had a problem maintaining detachment and control. Never before had his depend-on-himself-at-all-costs attitude seemed shallow and lonely. And he had never before allowed a woman to twist him into knots of self-doubt, and threaten his carefully guarded equilibrium.

"I'm sorry." Her sympathetic gaze caressed his face. "Do you need ibuprofen? I have some in my bag."

"Sure." He had a feeling he'd need serious pain meds before the night was over. He accepted two pills and chewed them dry, swallowing his self-doubt with the bitter powder.

Work, focus on work. Concentrating on the job had always been his salvation. His buffer against dangerous emotional involvement. "Is the senior Mr. Richards around?"

"Yes, he's over by the bandstand with his wife."

Relief coursed through him, and he forcibly snapped his focus into place. "Time to introduce him to cousin Val."

As they wove through the crowd, he mentally reviewed the dossier on Donald Richards. The fifty-eight-year-old bank president had a second wife half his age, and a baby son. His marriage had occurred at the same time the phony checks started showing up.

The short, bald man turned to greet them. "Miss Beaumont."

Tessa nervously cleared her throat. "Hello, Mr. Richards. I'd like to introduce my cousin, Valentine Colton."

Donald shook his hand, then gestured to the woman beside him. "My wife, Kiki."

The bodacious blonde was poured into a clingy silver dress cut down to South America. A diamond necklace that would choke a boa constrictor glittered around her neck. Gabe offered her a smile as he took her hand.

She returned his smile with a scorching I'd like to eat you up look that would have normally inspired an automatic reaction.

His body didn't even stir.

Unfamiliar, suffocating panic jammed his throat. He enjoyed women, enjoyed sex, but he'd always kept things light and playful. He'd never succumbed to one woman and let her fill his mind so completely he couldn't respond to another. But he'd just subconsciously made a mental comparison, and Kiki didn't even come close to Tessa. Cold fear crawled up his spine.

Beside him, Tessa stiffened. "I see Dale returning with our drinks. It was nice to see you again."

Ruthlessly burying his dread, Gabe tucked his hand under her elbow to guide her through the crowd. He had a job to do, and it didn't matter one damn bit how off-balance he felt. He reached deep inside for the cool control that always sustained him. "What is it with these bankers and their hot babes? I thought only ballplayers scored such knockout chicks. There's got to be something to numbers crunching I'm missing."

"A sudden, miraculous cure for your headache?" Tessa muttered.

"Jealous?"

"Not in this lifetime, Super Ego."

Her scathing reply didn't ring true. She was jealous. In a small, idiotic corner of his brain, he couldn't help feeling pleased. Damn, he was losing it.

He lightly squeezed her elbow in reassurance. "I wasn't making comparisons. My point is, these are high-maintenance women. Designer clothes, diamonds, hundred-dollar hairdos and fancy cars add up. Let's face it, they aren't hanging around with Trask and Richards for their looks."

"Maybe they're compatible, did you take that into account?"

"Yeah, Trask has such a warm, fun personality. And Richards—I'm quivering with excitement after talking to him."

"You're impossible," she huffed. "Because a person doesn't bungee jump off the Empire State Building at high noon does not make them boring."

With that proclamation, they arrived at their table. Dale rose, but again didn't challenge him for the privilege of seating Tessa. She scooted closer to the hulk and covered his hand with her own where it rested on the tablecloth.

Gabe stalked to the bar for a Coke. He stayed on the wagon when he worked, but that didn't stop him from craving a shot of tequila. He ground his teeth. Couldn't Tessie