Temptation on Ocean Drive - Jennifer Probst Page 0,4
he’ll be out front to take Eloise from the hotel to the reception.”
His lips twitched. “We actually have horse-drawn carriages in Cape May, yet she insisted on a sleigh. Do you know how long it took to find one of those?”
He enjoyed watching her face relax into laughter. “I know. There’s been no snow, so they had to pay extra to mount wheels, or they would’ve been scraping the roadways with that awful sound the entire way.”
He shuddered. “Never been a nails-on-the-chalkboard type.”
“Me, either. What about the Santa Claus? Is Frank confirmed and set up with the toys we delivered?”
He winced. “Frank broke his leg last week and had to cancel. I had a hell of a time trying to find a replacement. Seems most Santas retire after the holiday until next year or the Salvation Army calls.”
A crease furrowed her brow. “Who’d we get?”
“Paul Traipse finally agreed to step in.”
Her face didn’t register disapproval—she was too much of a professional to allow emotion to show—but he caught the flare in her china-blue eyes. He’d spent too much time imagining what those eyes would look like drugged with passion, chin tilted up, pupils dilated, staring at him. Only him.
Right now, though, there was only a faint judgment that drove him batshit crazy.
“Is he able to do the rap song they requested? He needs to perform the dance, remember?”
Yeah, he remembered. The bride had requested that Santa surprise the kids with a dance coordinated to DMX’s “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” It had taken him a while to convince Paul it’d be short and painless. It’d helped when they told him they’d pay double. “I checked and he’s been practicing. Said he’s ready to go.”
She still looked doubtful. “Paul is known to enjoy too many cocktails during a celebration,” she pointed out. “Are you sure he can be professional enough at a wedding? Should we hire a backup just in case? The Santa Claus dance is key to the reception, so there can’t be any errors. There are too many children to disappoint.”
Once again, she didn’t trust him to do his job, and it stung. “I understand,” he said tightly. “I believe he can pull this off. I’ll be watching him carefully until his appearance, and I’ve already hired a car to take him directly home after his role. He won’t be hanging out and partying with the guests at the bar.”
She nodded. “Then let’s move on to the next item.”
He wondered if she ever lost her temper. The woman rarely gave in to tantrums, whining, or a bunch of other human emotions that were displayed by her sisters. She flowed like cool water over rocks, luring him to delve deeper to see what lay beneath.
He’d spent the past few years trying to unearth the heart she kept stubbornly locked up from him, yet freely offered to others. The moment his gaze had first met hers, something woke inside him, like a sleeping giant rising from a long slumber, suddenly ravenous to feed. When he’d gripped her hand in his, the electric spark sizzled under his skin, causing him to jerk back—he’d been shocked by his reaction. He expected the same surprise from her as their fingers slid apart and dropped away, but she’d barely given him a second glance. Obviously, he hadn’t made the same first impression.
He’d figured it was just a physical connection that would fade. He’d never experienced a jolt of awareness with a woman before, as if a part of him recognized her. Hell, he didn’t believe in love at first sight when 99 percent of the time it was simple lust. But as the months had passed, his feelings grew each day.
Avery brought a strong sense of leadership to the team, and Taylor the daring, creative wit. Bella was different. Her calm focus and gentle heart seemed to be the piece that held them all together. Her talent for supporting and nurturing a couple’s needs impressed him, and she was no pushover. The woman was able to handle the worst of PITAs—Pain in the Asses—with a firm hand that caused the majority to back down immediately. It was the same expert way she handled Zoe, her arguing sisters, or the daily chaos that inevitably surrounded a thriving business built on customer service.
Initially, he’d believed she was dependent on others because of her quiet demeanor. The joke had been on him. Her ruthless independence bordered on obsession—the woman despised asking for help. She never dated, and never stepped