Temptation on Ocean Drive - Jennifer Probst Page 0,7
who watched him hungrily from the bar, Bella figured he’d have enough volunteers.
He reached her and cocked his head. “You okay? You look like you could use a drink of water.”
She heard her sister Taylor’s voice gleefully sing in her head: Yeah, a tall cool one. Like him.
“I’m fine.” Sometimes his sheer physicality affected her like any other woman, but she always mastered it quickly. She cleared her throat and refocused. “Is Paul ready? We need to get this done before the cake.”
“Going to get him now. I situated him in the back room with a pitcher of water and snacks. We’re good.” He winked, his trademark gesture.
Irritation shot through her. Was he always performing for a crowd, or did he ever allow himself to be offstage? “I’ll let Eloise know and signal the DJ.”
Eloise had taken off her white fur stole and detached the collar from her dress so she could dance comfortably. She clapped her hands with glee, her scarlet nails flashing. “Let’s get the children gathered up, Bella. I’m so excited about the dance—the kids are going to love it!”
Bella smiled with a confidence she still didn’t feel. For some reason, she had that strange flutter in her gut that told her something was going to go wrong. So far, the instinct of disaster had led her to three previous wedding-nightmare scenarios, and she didn’t want another one tonight. Probably another reason why she’d been on Gabe’s case to double-check everything. “Our Santa will dazzle them.”
The moment the vow left her lips, her ear speaker beeped. “Code red, code red. I need you in here, Bella.”
She didn’t miss a beat. “I’ll be right back. We can situate the children over there.”
It took her only a few seconds to find Gabe in the small back room where he was holding Paul. Literally.
And it took only a few seconds to realize Santa was drunk.
Paul lay flat on the floor, his padded belly sticking up in the air, snoring through his white beard. She glanced over and saw the pitcher of water, a glass, some half-empty plates of various snacks, and a silver flask that had rolled under the chair.
Ah, crap.
“How bad?” she asked, kneeling to study the man’s slack face.
Gabe shook his head. “Bad. He must’ve had the flask hidden—I didn’t think to look. It was filled with vodka. I can’t believe I didn’t see it. Last time I checked on him, he was fine.”
“Can we sober him up and delay the Santa bit?”
Gabe muttered a curse. “Doubt it. Also, I’m afraid to risk him breathing on those kids.”
“True.” She mentally ran down her list of contacts, but no one came up as a Santa Savior. Then her gaze fell on Gabe. “Only one option left. Strip him and put on the suit.”
Chapter Three
Her words seemed to ricochet across the room like a spray of bullets.
Shock flickered over his carved features. “What? Me?”
“You have a better idea? This is the highlight of the reception, and I’m not about to let them down. Are you?”
He groaned. “Shit.”
She stood up. “Use those extra pillows from the couch for padding. Do you remember any of the dance moves? If not, you’ll just have to freestyle.”
He stared back at her with growing horror, his olive-toned skin blanched of color. “I’m not dancing, Bella. I’ll sing the song. That should be enough.”
“You have to do the dance. Look, don’t worry about being professional. Just make it look entertaining. Let’s go—we’re running out of time. We’ll let Paul sleep it off and get him home after the performance.”
She headed to the door, but his frantic words stopped her short.
“I can’t dance!”
She turned and studied him in confusion. “What are you talking about? You go out to clubs all the time. You’re the damn beach bachelor—you have to know how to dance.”
That perfect square jaw clenched. “I don’t go out all the time, and I never dance at clubs. I hate dancing—all dancing. I can’t do it.”
“I’m sure you can dance; you’re just not used to doing it for a crowd.”
“I can’t,” he said again, his voice slightly strangled.
Her heart began to beat madly. “Gabe, Eloise has been talking about this forever. You have to try!”
He ducked his head and began tugging off Paul’s beard. “Fine. I’ll sing and sway back and forth and hope it will be enough. Let’s do this before I change my mind.”
She left him and spent the next ten minutes corralling stray children, then double-checked that the DJ was ready for