Temptation on Ocean Drive - Jennifer Probst Page 0,14

quarter?”

He shuddered. “No. Though I do have more openings than you.” He hesitated, but forged ahead, ignoring his mental warnings. “I’m happy to help you out with anything. I know you’re probably glad this weekend is over, but I liked working with you.”

He expected her usual dismissive response, but for one moment, emotion flared in her powder-blue eyes, and the breath whooshed out of his lungs like a lovesick teen desperate to hear the answer to his prom proposal. Her lush lips parted, poised to say something; then she blinked, half turning away, as if she’d changed her mind. “Me, too. Eloise mentioned she made a love match. At least you got Jing’s number. Not a bad reward, huh?”

Her words were delivered with a mocking lightness that tore through him. He wished Eloise hadn’t mentioned it, especially since he had no plans to call Jing. Did Bella really think he was constantly searching for women to date? “I’m not calling her,” he said, desperate to explain. “I was just being polite.”

She laughed. “It’s okay. The wedding’s over, and she’s not a client. I can’t imagine how you keep track of everyone, though. Good thing your phone holds unlimited contacts.”

Annoyance skated through him. “No, I don’t—”

But she’d already disappeared into the crowd without a glance back.

Shit.

Soon, the bride and groom waved goodbye from their covered carriage. Gabe watched them lean in for a kiss while the horses pulled them to their happy ending, wondering if there’d ever be one for him.

A few days later, he walked into the conference room at Sunshine Bridal for the regular morning meeting. Avery already had her favorite breakfast in front of her—a perfectly baked chocolate croissant and coffee. She was the leader of the crew, and he’d been lucky to learn the business under her guidance—her perfectionist ways equaled a perfect wedding, and he’d instituted a lot of her tricks of the trade. With her wildly curly hair, hazel eyes, and curvy build, she was like a firecracker always on a slow simmer, ready to launch.

“Good morning, Gabe!” she boomed out, a big smile on her face.

“Morning, Avery.” He took his usual seat beside her and propped open his laptop. “How was Texas?”

“Amazing. Hot as hell and I adored every moment. Did I miss anything?”

Taylor sat at the end of the table, combat boots resting on the opposite chair, crossed at the ankles. Her diamond nose stud winked in the light streaming from the window, and pink hair shimmered with more enthusiasm than her words. “It’s Cape May in the dead of winter. There’s nothing to miss, dude.”

He tamped down a laugh at Avery’s sisterly sigh. “Well, it’s rare that we’re all gone an entire weekend.”

Taylor smirked. “Your control-freak tendencies are showing. Admit it. You loved taking a vacation, didn’t you?”

Avery was a proud admitted workaholic, but since meeting Carter last summer, she’d begun to ease away from her crippling schedule. She bit her lip in guilt. “I did,” she whispered. “So much that we planned another one. What’s happening to me?”

“It’s called love,” Bella sang out, entering the room. He automatically stiffened as the energy swirled around her—a feminine, light cloud that he wanted to savor. She grabbed her coffee and took her seat across from him. “Enjoy, you deserve it. Let the commoners take up your slack.”

“Speak for yourself,” Taylor said. “I have one year left on my prison term, and I don’t intend to spend it working nonstop every weekend.”

Gabe caught the worried glance Avery shot her sister. When Taylor had joined the family business, she’d always been clear it wasn’t permanent. She’d never been interested in settling down in the small beach town where she grew up, and now that the time for Taylor to leave drew near, Gabe knew they had to make some hard decisions. Bringing in another employee was a big risk, especially since they were a tight-knit crew.

As usual, Bella smoothed things over. “We’ll work it out. In the meantime, the Royal wedding went off beautifully, right, Gabe?”

He nodded. “Perfection. We almost recruited another client for March.”

Avery perked up. “Oh, next March is a great time—we have openings.”

“She wanted us for this March.” He almost laughed at Avery’s horrified expression. “With a Dr. Seuss theme.”

Taylor groaned. “Nightmare. Bet you had fun saying no to that one.”

“She was lovely,” Bella said firmly. “Just not in her right state of mind. She said she’d fired all her other wedding planners.”

“That’s a code-red situation,” Avery said. “Thank goodness we didn’t