Temptation on Ocean Drive - Jennifer Probst Page 0,89
You force Bella to feed you,” he teased.
She flipped her pink hair, saw Zoe had her back turned, and gave him the finger.
Bella shook her head, taking one last sniff of her flowers, then headed to the kitchen. “Coming. Here, put these in water and get the wine poured.”
“That I can do,” Taylor said. “Gabe, you want a Stella?”
“Yes, please.”
Avery and Carter were talking quietly in the corner. He noticed they were looking at her phone, but he didn’t want to interrupt.
“Can I help with the toppings?” Zoe asked.
“Of course,” Bella said. “Your aunt Avery is slacking off. Have Pierce and Gabe help you pour the cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce into bowls.”
“Cool!”
Gabe smiled at her enthusiasm and got the impressive row of toppings sorted out. His mouth watered at the smell of sizzling meat, onions, and the spicy taco sauce. He sipped his beer, chatted with Pierce, and finally Avery came over.
“So I have an announcement,” she said, giving him a pointed look. “That reporter you spoke with at Adele’s wedding? She wrote up an article about us in Bridal Style.”
Bella expertly removed two steaming pans and laid them on trivets. “That’s great!” A frown suddenly creased her brow. “Wait a minute, your tone sounds funny. Is it bad?”
Gabe could tell she was worried about the incident at the bar, and he was happy that hadn’t been included in the article. Still, the slant that he was single and available had been highlighted in the article.
“No, it’s good. But they took an angle I’m not pleased about.”
“I saw it,” he said. “Just before I came over, I got a notification and read it.”
Avery tilted her head and studied him. “What did you think?”
He shrugged. “I like the exposure for Sunshine, but I’m not sure you wanted me as the main star.”
She waved a hand in the air. “I don’t care about that, I care about you. I wished it had focused more on your amazing work at the Dr. Seuss wedding and not that beach-bachelor crap you hate.”
“Bad word, Aunt Avery,” Zoe said.
“Sorry, sweetheart.”
Bella distributed the meal onto a few platters and spoke up. “I didn’t read the article yet, so you guys are driving me crazy. Avery, can you read it out loud?”
“Yeah, let’s sit down, get settled, and hear it,” Taylor said.
They put everything on the table, got in their chairs, and loaded up their plates. Bella got Zoe situated with a hard and soft taco, a few beans, and red peppers. They ate and listened as Avery read the whole article, then passed her phone around so everyone could look at the photographs.
He watched Bella’s reaction, noting her tight lips and stiffened shoulders. Dammit, did she think he’d answered Latoya’s questions by trying to grab the spotlight? It was more of a piece on him than Sunshine Bridal, and if he were an owner, he’d be a bit pissed.
Finally, she spoke. “Once again, they’re making you the angle as a male wedding planner. Pisses me off. If it was reversed, readers would call out the discrimination.”
“Agreed,” Taylor said. “I don’t like that, either. I do like the pics of the wedding, and how they mentioned our clientele and how we bring something special to the business.”
“They hardly mentioned Bella,” he said. “We did that wedding together, but they made it sound like I did it alone.”
Bella gave a snort. “I couldn’t care less about that—we’re all a team here, so if one gets press, we all do. I just want to know how you feel about it, because I can call her up and demand she pull it. Threaten her with a lawsuit.”
Avery nodded. “Definitely. We’ll all back you up on this, Gabe. How do you feel about the article?”
He stared at the women around the table. A deep sense of relief and gratitude washed over him. They knew he hadn’t tried to slant the article his way. And they were willing to fight for him if he felt the article wasn’t fair, even if it gave the business an amazing amount of PR.
They weren’t treating him like a regular employee.
They were treating him like family.
He reached out and squeezed Bella’s hand. “Thanks for the support. I agree, I’m not happy with the way they slanted this whole thing, but as long as you’re okay, I think we should let it run. Brides are still going to see that we pulled off the wedding of Adele’s dreams. I think it’s going to open up an entire segment