Undertaking Love Page 0,23

seconds. Was he weather watching, or praying, even? If he needed a sign, he should have said. She would have hurled a bucket of cold water over him.

It was the first time she’d seen him out of jeans and leathers, and, although if quizzed she would have hotly denied the thought had even entered her head, the sight of him in a close-fitting suit did something strange to her insides. Of course it could be the ill effects of the omelette that Rupert had attempted to cook for breakfast …

Whichever. It was immaterial. The grim fact was that the funeral parlour was now officially open for business, which meant that the chapel was officially a step closer to closing down.

Marla huffed, and kicked the desk leg with frustration. Jonny had assured her that the petition was going great guns, and that in no time at all they’d have enough signatures to present the council with a dossier fatter than the Oxford dictionary. He’d better hurry up about it, because every day with the funeral parlour as a neighbour was a day closer to bankruptcy.

For now though, they had a frantic couple of months booked and Gabe had successfully backed her into a corner. She sagged down into the chair and opened the desk diary. Much as she hated the idea, she needed to pull on her big girl pants and take him up on his offer of a civilised discussion, because damage limitation was about as good as it was going to get for the foreseeable future. She twisted her hair into a bun, pushed a pencil through the knot, then grabbed the diary and headed to the door.

Nerves made her hesitate as she approached the funeral parlour door. She gave herself a mental shake and pushed the door open, to find herself pleasantly surprised by the tasteful, welcoming decor. Not that she was sure what she’d been expecting. Cobwebs? A rattling skeleton in the corner, maybe? The reception desk looked empty apart from a bright jug of tulips, but then a slender, dark-haired girl straightened up from behind it and smiled.

‘Hi there, come on in.’

Marla smiled back. Her fight wasn’t with Gabe’s pretty young receptionist.

‘Hi. Is Gabriel around, please?’

The girl’s smile dimmed from mega watt to energy saver at Marla’s use of Gabe’s first name. She glanced quickly over her shoulder. ‘I can certainly check if he’s free. Who should I say is here?’

Her eyes flicked up and down Marla’s red spotted tea-dress and high heels.

‘Marla Jacobs. From the chapel.’ Marla noticed the flash of recognition in the receptionist’s eyes and the energy saver smile disappeared altogether.

‘Ah. I see.’ She shook her head. ‘Well, I’m sorry. No. I’m afraid Gabe isn’t here right now.’

The obvious way she shortened his name to stamp her position of authority infuriated Marla. ‘But you just said you’d check if he was free.’

The girl shrugged. ‘I can tell him you called by, if you like?’

That smile was back, this time simpering with saccharin instead of sugar.

They stared at each other for a few long seconds. Short of yelling for him, there was nothing Marla could do.

‘Make sure you do that.’ Marla shot back through gritted teeth and turned on her heel.

Gabe stuck his head through into reception. ‘Did I hear the door?’

He looked up just in time to recognize Marla’s familiar red hair through the window as she stomped away.

‘That woman from the chapel, yeah.’ Melanie rolled incredulous eyes. ‘Some nerve, coming over here to cause trouble on our first day, eh?’

‘What did you say to her?’

‘Just that you were busy.’

Gabe shook his head and tried not to sound as irritated as he was. ‘Ask me. Always ask me, okay?’ He opened the door and broke into a jog to catch up with Marla before she disappeared into the chapel.

She stopped and slowly turned when he called her name.

‘Well, well, well. Did your receptionist give you permission to talk to me after all?’

‘Sorry, crossed wires. Did you, err … did you need something?’

He glanced down at the diary clutched against her chest, and noticed the pale gold freckles on her throat as his eyes made their way back up to her face.

She nodded. ‘We need to talk.’

Gabe’s heart tripped a beat. You’re telling me lady, you’re telling me. ‘I’m a bit tied up over there right now.’ He jerked his head back towards the funeral parlour, where he’d been in the middle of a practice session with his new pallbearers. ‘How about tonight?’

Marla shook