A Fool's Gold Wedding - Susan Mallery Page 0,5

to finish for the wedding. But instead of being excited about that, she had to worry about Joaquin—boy genius and amazing doctor.

It would have been easier if he weren’t a guy, she thought, forcing herself up the few steps leading to the hotel. Not that she didn’t like men—she did. One day she planned to marry one and everything. It was just sometimes she couldn’t get past her disappointment. She’d had lots of boyfriends, lots of great times, but she’d never been in love. She’d never felt anything close to what people talked about in songs or the movies or even in her family. She’d never wanted anyone desperately. She’d never quivered at the thought of seeing someone. She’d never lost sleep or her appetite or even her train of thought.

She paused. Fine, she’d lost her train of thought but that happened all the time. She was twenty-two years old—shouldn’t she at least have flirted with love by now? Only she hadn’t and now she was going to spend three weeks with someone she didn’t want to meet and it was going to be terrible.

She sighed heavily, then went inside and took the elevator to the third floor. After squaring her shoulders and telling herself that by the time the wedding arrived she would have amassed so much good karma that she wouldn’t have to worry about it for decades, she knocked loudly and waited.

Seconds later the door opened and Abby was staring at a tall man. Okay, not tall-tall, but close to six feet with dark blue eyes that were kind of compelling and floppy blond hair and high cheekbones and why on earth hadn’t Melissa said Joaquin was gorgeous because that would have been important information to have in advance so she could have practiced her talking and breathing.

“Abby?”

As he spoke, he smiled. O.M.G.! That smile.

“Uh-huh.” She mentally slapped herself on the side of the head. “I mean, hi. Yes, I’m Abby. You must be Joaquin.”

He held out his hand. She took it and she was pretty sure they shook but it was hard to focus on anything but how good-looking he was.

“Come on in.”

He stepped back to let her inside. She managed to take the necessary steps without, you know, falling or anything. She had a vague impression of an oversize room with a view of the town before she turned back to holy-cow-Joaquin.

“You don’t look anything like your brother,” she blurted before she could censor herself. Davis was a cutie for sure, but maybe five-eight with a more muscular build. He had dark hair and eyes and could probably bicep-curl a building, but he looked nothing like lean, dreamy Joaquin. Again—the question of the day—why hadn’t anyone warned her?

Later she would grill her sister and tell her to never do anything like that again, but until then, she was going to have to get a grip and deal.

“So,” she said, wishing she’d been born glib or charming. As it was, she was stuck simply being her normal, happy, slightly goofy self. “You’re in Fool’s Gold until the wedding.”

“Through the wedding actually.”

Right, because he wouldn’t want to leave before the big event. And sure, brilliant surgeons probably used precise language.

“That’s a long time,” she murmured, thinking it was actually less long now that she’d seen him. Wait—did that make her shallow? She supposed it did. She’d been all whiny and pouty about spending time with Joaquin until she found out he was hot? That made her an awful person. Well, crap, and here she’d just gotten her karma on track.

“It is but I, ah, wanted to take a few weeks off. I’ve been working long hours. While I enjoy what I do, it’s better for everyone if I’m rested.”

His gaze slipped away as he spoke. For a second, she had the weirdest sensation that he wasn’t telling her the truth about something, which was totally not possible. No doubt he was being modest because, you know, godlike creatures did that.

“I’m also very excited about the wedding.”

“Really?” she asked before she could stop herself, then held in a groan. “I mean, you haven’t been around much so I wondered if maybe you didn’t approve or something.” As she spoke she realized how ridiculous she sounded. “Not that you wouldn’t approve of Melissa. How could you not? She’s great. Isn’t she great? She’s so smart. Way smarter than me. She’s a lawyer. International law. And Davis is in something with finance. But then you already know that.” Her voice