Rock Wedding (Rock Kiss #4) - Nalini Singh Page 0,11

Zenith, he wasn’t worried that Jeremy Vance would do the same. Still, he’d make it a point to tell her about the possible security vulnerability.

If she didn’t punch him in the face the first second she saw him.

Getting back into the rugged black SUV that was the only vehicle in which he felt truly comfortable, he drove out to the Los Angeles County Arboretum. He wouldn’t even know the place existed but for Sarah—and he’d lived in LA far longer than her. One day soon after their wedding, she’d disappeared without warning; when he’d called to check that she was okay, she’d told him she’d discovered “the most amazing garden” within easy travel distance of the city.

Abe had gone with her during the good times, enjoyed the peace of the serene landscapes. Enjoyed even more how bright and bubbly and happy his wife was as she told him about the flowers, his sexy nerd who fooled people into thinking she was a party girl without a brain. Abe had always known different, always known Sarah had one hell of a mind to go along with that knockout body.

He’d figured she’d study further once they settled in, get herself a bunch of letters after her name. It had given him a proud kick that his wife was so intelligent. The only thing he hadn’t factored in was his own assholishness. How the fuck was Sarah supposed to study when he was off his head half the time?

“Kick yourself later, Abe,” he said. “Today, you get on your knees and apologize to her.”

Arriving at the arboretum about an hour later courtesy of LA traffic, he discovered the parking lot comparatively empty thanks to the fact it was only about a half hour from closing time as well as being a weekday. He pulled into a spot next to a little red MINI Cooper, then paid for admission and walked straight to Sarah’s favorite spot in the arboretum: a wooden bench that overlooked Baldwin Lake, with the graceful presence of the Queen Anne Cottage on the other side.

And then there she was, standing on the edge of the lake, looking at the mirror-still water, a faraway expression on her face. Beautiful didn’t describe her, wasn’t good enough a word for her. She was Sarah.

Unique and stunning.

Her African-American, Puerto Rican, and Japanese ancestors had left their mark on her in different ways—that glorious, deep brown skin that glowed under the kiss of the late-afternoon sun, the thickly lashed brown eyes that had a feline edge to them, the sharp cheekbones and masses of curling black hair.

He’d always loved her hair, but Sarah insisted on straightening it more often than not.

Today, however, it ran wild around her head and over her shoulders, the sunlight picking up reddish glints in the glory of it.

His fingers curled into his palms, skin tingling with the urge to touch.

It was then that she saw him. It was as if a steel rebar had replaced her spine, shutters slamming down hard to wipe the expression off her face.

CHAPTER 5

AS HE CLOSED THE DISTANCE between them, she tugged the dark gray of her shawl tighter around her body before turning to face him.

Her legs were exposed by the knee-length sundress of cool blue with white flowers that covered her body, and those legs were as phenomenal as always. Sarah loved to dance, and it showed in the fluid muscles of her body. But she wasn’t all muscle over bone like some dancers became. No, Sarah had serious, dangerous curves along with all that tone. And when she stood straight up as she was doing now, she came to just below his chin.

It made her very tall for a woman.

It made her the perfect height for Abe.

Coming to a halt a couple of feet from her, he looked at her face, specifically the spot where that bastard had punched her. “The bruise is gone.” Fury rumbled in his gut regardless. If he ever saw Vance again, the man would lose that smug face of his, become unrecognizable even to his own fucking mother.

Sarah tugged the shawl even tighter around herself. “What do you want, Abe?” The words were harsh, holding none of the innate gentleness that had first drawn him to his wife… but her body, it trembled.

As if she’d shatter if she didn’t physically hold herself together.

“To apologize properly.” He barely restrained the urge to take her into his arms. He wasn’t used to Sarah looking fragile. Gentle or not, Sarah