Harlequin Special Edition September 2014 - Bundle 1 of 2: Maverick for Hire\A Match Made by Baby\Once Upon a Bride (32 page)

“Forget it,” he said, cutting her off. “You should get out of those wet clothes before you catch a cold,” he said, and then stepped back.

Lauren nodded, turned carefully and rushed from the pool area, water and humiliation snapping at her heels.

* * *

One week later Gabe pulled the
for-sale
peg from the ground, stuck the sign in the crook of his arm and headed across the front yard. The low-set, open-plan brick-and-tile home was big and required a much-needed renovation. But he'd bought the house for a reasonable price, and it seemed as good a place as any to settle down.

And he was happy in Crystal Point. The oceanfront town was small and friendly, and the beaches and surf reminded him of home. He missed California, but he enjoyed the peacefulness of the small Australian town he now called home instead. He'd rented a place in the nearby city of Bellandale for the past few months, but he liked the seaside town much better. Bellandale, with its sixty thousand residents, was not as populated as Huntington Beach, Orange County, where he'd lived most of his life. But it was busy enough to make him crave the solitude and quiet of Crystal Point. Plus, he was close to the beach and his new job.

He liked the job, too. Managing the Crystal Point Surf Club & Community Center kept him occupied, and on the weekends, he volunteered as a lifeguard. The beach was busy and well maintained, and so far he'd only had to administer first aid for dehydration and a couple of jellyfish stings. Nothing life threatening. Nothing he couldn't handle. Nothing that made him dwell on all he'd given up.

Gabe fished the keys from his pocket, dropped the sign into the overgrown garden bed and climbed the four steps to the porch. His household items had arrived that morning, and he'd spent most of the day emptying boxes and wishing he'd culled more crap when he'd put the stuff into storage six months ago. His cousin, Scott, had offered to come and give him a hand unpacking, but Gabe wasn't in the mood for a lecture about his career, his personal life or anything else.

All his energy would go into his job and renovating the house, which he figured would keep him busy for six months, at least. After that, he'd tackle the yard, get the place in shape and put the house on the market again. How hard could it be? His brother Aaron did the same thing regularly. True, he wasn't much of a carpenter, and Aaron was a successful builder in Los Angeles, but he'd give it a shot.

He headed inside and flicked on some lights. Some of the walls were painted black, no doubt a legacy from the previous tenants—a group of twenty-something heavy-metal enthusiasts who were evicted for cultivating some suspicious indoor plants—so painting was one of the first things on the agenda. The kitchen was neat and the bathrooms bearable. And although the furniture he'd bought a few months ago looked a little out of place in the shabby rooms, once the walls and floors were done, he was confident it would all look okay.

Gabe tossed the keys in a bowl on the kitchen table and pulled his cell from his pocket. He noticed there were a couple of missed calls. One from Aaron and another from his mother. It would be around midnight in California, and he made a mental note to call them back in the morning. Most days he was glad the time difference let him off the hook when it came to dealing with his family. At least his younger brother, Luca, and baby sister, Bianca, didn't stick their nose into his life or moan about his decision to move to Crystal Point. As the eldest, Aaron always thought he knew best, and his mom was just...Mom. He knew she worried, knew his mom and Aaron were waiting for him to relapse and go running back to California.

He'd come to Crystal Point to start over, and the house and job were a part of that new life. Gabe liked that his family wasn't constantly around to dish out advice. Bad enough he got lectures on tap from Scott. Hell, he understood their motives...he might even have done the same thing had the situation been reversed. But things had changed.
He'd
changed
. And Gabe was determined to live his life, even if it wasn't the one he'd planned on.

The private cul-de-sac in Crystal Point was an ideal place to start. It was peaceful, quiet and uncomplicated. Just what he wanted. A native bird squawked from somewhere overhead and he stared out the kitchen window and across the hedge to the next house along just as his cell rang. He looked at the screen. It was an overseas number and not one he recognized.

Uncomplicated?

Gabe glanced briefly out the window again as he answered the call. It was Cameron Jakowski, and the conversation lasted a couple of minutes.
Sure, uncomplicated.
Except for his beautiful, blonde, brown-eyed neighbor.

* * *

The thing about being a
go-to,
agreeable kind of person...sometimes it turned around to bite you on the behind. And this, Lauren thought as she drove up the driveway and then pulled up under the carport, was probably going to turn out to be one of those occasions.

Of course, she
could
have refused. But that wasn't really her style. She knew her brother wouldn't have called if there was any other option. He'd asked for her help, and she would always rally her resolve when it came to her family.

What she didn't want to do—what she was
determined
to avoid doing—was start up any kind of conversation with her new next-door neighbor. Bad enough he'd bought the house and moved in just days after the never-to-be-spoken-about and humiliating event at the wedding. The last thing she wanted to do was knock on his door.

Ever.

Lauren had hoped to never see him again. But it seemed fate had other ideas.

She took a breath, grabbed her bag and jacket and stepped out of the car. She struggled to open the timber gate that she'd been meaning to get repaired for the past three months and winced when the jagged edge caught her palm. Once inside her house, she dumped her handbag and laptop in the hall and took a few well-needed breaths.

I don't want to do this....

But she'd promised Cameron.

And a promise is a promise....

Then she headed next door.

Once she'd rounded the tall hedge, Lauren walked up the gravel path toward the house. There was a brand-new Jeep Cherokee parked in the driveway. The small porch illuminated with a sensor light once she took the three steps. The light flickered and then faded. She tapped on the door and waited. She heard footsteps before the door swung back on its hinges, and she came face-to-face with him.

And then butterflies bombarded her stomach in spectacular fashion.

Faded jeans fitted lean hips, and the white T-shirt he wore accentuated a solid wall of bronzed and very fine-looking muscle. His short black hair, clean-shaven jaw and body to die for added up to a purely lethal combination.

He really is gorgeous.

Memories of what had happened by the pool came rushing back. His hands on her skin, his glittering gaze moving over her, his chest so close she could almost hear his heartbeat. Mesmerized, Lauren sucked in a breath. He knew all about her. He knew things she'd told only her closest friends. He knew she'd thought about him...and imagined things.

But if he dares say anything about my knees being weak, I'll...

She finally found her voice. “I'm here...”

One brow cocked. “So I see.”

“Did Cameron—”

“He called,” he said, and smiled as he interrupted her.

“Is he...”

“He is.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder and toward the door behind him. “Safe and sound and flaked out in front of the television.”

She ignored the smile that tried to make its way to her lips and nodded. “Okay, thank you.”

When she didn't move, he looked her over. “Are you coming inside or do you plan on camping on my doorstep all night?”

“All night?”
she echoed, mortified that color was creeping up her neck. The idea of doing
anything
all night
with Gabe Vitali took the temperature of her skin, her blood and pretty much every other part of her anatomy up a few notches. “Of course not.”

He dropped his arms to his sides and stepped back.

Lauren crossed the threshold and walked into the hall. He was close, and everything about him affected her on a kind of sensory level. As much as she didn't want to admit anything, she was attracted to him. And worse luck, he knew it.

Her vow of celibacy suddenly seemed to be dissolving into thin air.

She walked down the short hallway and into the huge, open-plan living area. The furniture looked new and somehow out of place in the room. And sure enough, on the rug in front of the sofa, was her brother's one hundred and fifty pound French Mastiff, Jed. Fast asleep and snoring loudly.

“Thanks for picking him up from my brother's place,” she said as politely as she could. “When Cameron called this morning, he said the house sitter had left quickly.”

He nodded. “Her daughter is having a baby. She took a flight out from Bellandale after lunch and said she'd be back in a week.”

Lauren bit down on her lip. “A week?”

“That's what she said.”

A week of dog-sitting. Great. As much as she liked Jed, he was big, needy, had awful juicy jowls and a reputation for not obeying anyone other than Cameron. Too bad her parents had a cat that ruled the roost, or she would have dropped him off there. She had to admit the dog seemed comfortable draped across Gabe's rug.

She looked around some more. “So...you've moved in?”

“That was the general idea when I bought the house,” he replied.

Lauren's teeth ground together. “Of course. I hope you'll be very happy here.”

She watched his mouth twist with a grin. “You do? Really?”

“Really,” she said, and raised a disinterested brow. “Be happy, or don't be happy. It's nothing to do with me.”

His blue eyes looked her up and down with way too much leisure. The mood quickly shifted on a whisper of awareness that fluttered through the air and filled up the space between them. A change that was impossible to ignore, and there was rapidly enough heat in the room to combust a fire.

Warmth spread up her neck. He had a way of doing that to her. A way of heating her skin. “I need to...I need...”

“I think we both know what you need.”

Sex...

That was what he was thinking. Suddenly, that was what
she
was thinking, even though turning up on his doorstep had nothing to do with her
lacking
love life or her vow to stay celibate. Lauren's cheeks burned, and her knees trembled. “I don't know what—”

“You don't like me much, do you?” he asked, cutting her off with such calm self-assurance, she wanted to slug him.

“I'm not—”

“Or is it because you
do
like me much?” he asked, cutting her off yet again. “And that's why you're so rattled at being in my living room.”

Conceited jerk! Lauren sucked in some air, pushed back her shoulders and called Jed to heel. By the time the dog got up and ambled toward her, she was so worked up she could have screamed. She grasped Jed's collar and painted on a smile. “Thank you for collecting him from Cameron's.”

“My pleasure.”

Pleasure?
Right. Not a word she wanted to hear from him. Not a word she wanted to think about in regard to him. And when she was safely back in her own home, Lauren kept reminding herself of one thing...Mr. Right was
not
Mr. Right-Next-Door.

Chapter Two

I
t was the dress.

That was why he'd had Lauren Jakowski on his mind for the past week.

When Gabe pulled her from the pool, the wet fabric had stuck to her curves so erotically, it had taken his breath away. She was as pretty as hell. A couple of years back he wouldn't have hesitated in coming on to her. He would have lingered by the pool, made small talk, flirted a little, asked her out and gotten her between the sheets by the third date. But he wasn't that man anymore.

Not so long ago, there had been no short supply of women in his life and in his bed. He'd mostly managed to keep things casual until he met Mona. She was the daughter of a colleague, and after dating for six months, they'd moved in together. At thirty years of age, he'd convinced himself it was time he got around to settling down. Gabe had a girlfriend, a career he loved, a nice apartment and good friends. Life was sweet. Until everything had blown up in his face.

Eighteen months later, he was in Crystal Point, working at the surf club and trying to live a normal life. A life that didn't include a woman like Lauren Jakowski.

Because she was too...wholesome.

Too...perfect.

A beautiful blonde with caramel eyes and porcelain skin.

Exactly my type.

But by the pool, she'd made it clear to her friends what she was looking for—stability, reliability, longevity. And since he couldn't offer her any of those things, she was everything he needed to avoid. He didn't want her turning up on his doorstep. He didn't want to inhale the scent of the flowery fragrance that clung to her skin. And he certainly didn't want to remember how it felt to have her lovely curves pressed against him.

The best thing would be to ignore her...just as she'd suggested.

Damned inconvenient, then, that he'd bought the house right next door. If he'd known that before he'd signed on the dotted line, he might have changed his mind. But it was too late to think about that now. All he had to do was get through the renovation and the resale without remembering that she was merely over the hedge.

Lauren was not one-night-stand material...and he couldn't offer anything more.

Gabe dropped into the sofa and flicked channels on the television for half an hour before he thought about eating something. He headed to the kitchen and stopped in his tracks when he spotted the pile of canine accessories by the back door. Damn. He'd forgotten about that. When Cameron had called and asked him to make an emergency stop at his home to collect the dog, the vacating house sitter had thrust the bed, bowls, food and lead into his arms along with a note listing feeding instructions. Things that Lauren would need.

Realizing there was little point in avoiding the inevitable, Gabe shoved his feet into sneakers, swung the bag of dog food over one shoulder, grabbed the rest of the gear and his house keys and headed next door.

Lauren's home and gardens were neat and tidy, and the only thing that seemed out of place was the rickety gate. He pushed it open and headed up the steps. The porch light was on and the front door open, so he tapped on the security screen. From somewhere in the house, he could hear her talking to the dog, and the obvious frustration in her voice made him smile. Maybe she was more a cat person? He tapped again and then waited until he heard her footsteps coming down the hall.

“Oh...hi,” she said breathlessly when she reached the door.

Her hair was mussed and her shirt was pulled out from the front of her skirt, and Gabe bit back a grin. She looked as if she'd been crash tackled on the thirty-yard line. “Everything all right?”

She glanced over her shoulder. “Fine.”

Gabe didn't quite believe her. “I forgot to give you this.”

Her mouth set in a serious line. “Just leave it out there and I'll grab it later.”

“It's heavy,” he said, and jangled the bag of kibble resting on his shoulder. “I should probably set it down inside.”

She looked at him for a second and then unlocked the screen. “Okay. Take it to the kitchen, at the end of the hall.”

Gabe pushed the screen back and crossed the threshold. When he passed the living room doorway he immediately figured out the reason for her distress. Stretched out with legs in the air and jowls drooping, the dog was rolling around on her flowery chintz sofa.

“Jed looks as though he's made himself comfortable,” he said, and kept walking.

“Yes, very comfortable.”

When they reached the kitchen, Gabe swiveled on his heels and stared at her. She had her arms folded, her chin up and her lips pressed together, and even though she looked like she'd rather eat arsenic than spend a moment in his company, Gabe couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful she was.

I haven't gotten laid in a while...that's all it is.

He wasn't conceited, but he'd heard enough by the pool that night to know the attraction was mutual. He also knew she clearly thought it was as impossible as he did. Which suited him just fine. He didn't want to be stirred by her. He didn't want to spend restless nights thinking about having her in his bed.

“Where do you want it?” he asked.

“By the door will do.”

He placed the gear on the floor and turned around to face her. “Would you like me to remove him from your sofa?”

“How did you know I couldn't...?”

“He's got about thirty pounds on you,” Gabe said when her words trailed. “I just figured.”

She shrugged. “I tried dragging him off, but he's as heavy as lead.”

Gabe smiled and withdrew the note from his pocket. “Feeding instructions,” he said, and dropped the paper onto the countertop. “If you want to get his food sorted, I'll get him off the sofa.”

“Thank you,” she said, then laid her hands on the back of a dining chair and grimaced. “Ouch.”

He saw her shake her hand. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing,” she replied and shook her hand again. “Just a splinter I got earlier from my gate.”

“Let me see.”

She curled her hand. “It's nothing.”

Gabe moved around the kitchen counter. “It might become infected,” he said, suddenly serious. “Do you have a first-aid kit?”

“It's nothing, really.”

“It won't take a minute,” he insisted. “So your first-aid kit?”

She shook her head. “I don't like needles.”

“Don't be a baby.”

Her eyes flashed, and she pushed her shoulders back as she marched into the kitchen and opened the pantry. “Here,” she said, and tossed something through the air.

Gabe caught it one-handed and placed the kit on the table. “I'll be gentle. Sit,” he said, and pulled out a chair.

She glared again, and he marveled that she still managed to look stunning with a scowl on her face. She sat down and waited while he dropped into a chair opposite.

“Hand?”

She pushed her hand into the center of the table and turned it over. “Gentle, remember?”

He smiled, opened the kit and took out an alcohol swab and an individually wrapped needle. When he took hold of her fingertips, his entire body crackled with a kind of heady electricity. Being so close wasn't helping his determination to steer clear of her.

“So what kind of work do you do?” he asked to try to get his mind off her soft skin and flowery perfume.

“I own a bridal shop in Bellandale.”

He stretched out her palm. “That sounds interesting.”

“Does it?”

Gabe looked up. She really did have the most amazing brown eyes. Warm and deep and intoxicating. She was remarkably beautiful, and he doubted she even knew it.

“Just making conversation,” he said.

Her brows shot up. “To what end?”

“Are you always so suspicious?” he asked.

“Of what?”

“People,” he replied. “Men.”

She tensed, and Gabe held her hand a little firmer. “Not usually,” she said quietly.

So it was just him? “I don't have any sinister intentions. So relax,” he said as he extracted the splinter without her noticing at first and then gently rolled her fingers into her palm. “I'm not making a pass.”

She swallowed hard. “I didn't think—”

“I would,” he said quietly. “If you were looking for a no-strings, no-commitment kind of thing. But you're not. You're a commitment kind of girl, right? Abstaining from anything casual and with a clear plan for your future. Isn't that why you made your vow of celibacy?”

It felt right to get it out in the open. Maybe it would help diffuse the heat between them. Maybe it would stop him from thinking about kissing her.

She jerked her hand back and stood. “I... What I said at the wedding... It was private and personal and not up for discussion.”

“I'm not mocking you,” he said, and rested his elbows on the table. “On the contrary, I think I admire you for knowing what you want. And knowing what you don't.”

* * *

Lauren's skin burned. He admired her? He'd pretty much admitted he wanted her, too. The awareness between them intensified, and she wished she could deny it. She wanted to dislike him. She wanted to resent him. She wanted to get away and never speak to him again.

“Thank you for the first aid,” she said, and managed a tight smile. “I didn't feel a thing.”

“Then we should keep it that way.”

There was no mistaking his meaning. He thought it was a bad idea, too. She was happy about that. Very happy.

“So...about the dog?”

He stood up and pushed the chair back. “Get his feed ready and I'll drag him off your sofa.”

Once he'd left the kitchen and disappeared down the hall, Lauren got to her feet and quickly sorted the dog's bedding and food in the laundry. A couple of minutes later, Gabe returned with Jed at his side. The dog ambled across the kitchen and into the back room and began eating.

Relieved the hound was no longer taking up her couch, Lauren took a shallow breath. “Thank you...Gabe.”

He looked a little amused by her sudden use of his name and the slight tremor in her voice. His mouth twisted fractionally, as if he was trying not to smile. “No problem...Lauren.”

“Well...good night.”

His glittering gaze was unwavering. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

Her eyes widened. “Tomorrow?”

He grinned a little. “I told Cameron I'd take the dog to work tomorrow so he doesn't destroy your yard trying to escape...until you can make other arrangements, of course.”

She hadn't spared a thought to how she would care for the dog during the day. “Oh, right,” she said vaguely, thinking about how the darn dog had suddenly become a reason why she would be forced to interact with Gabe. She made a mental note to call her friend Mary-Jayne and ask her to help. Lauren knew one thing—she didn't want to turn up on Gabe's doorstep again. “I'll tie him in the back when I leave, and you can collect him from there. You don't start until ten tomorrow, right?”

Gabe frowned. “How do you know that?”

“Cameron left me the roster,” she replied. “I said I'd work the Sunday shifts while he's away if I'm needed.”

“You're the fill-in lifeguard?”

“Don't look so surprised.”

“I'm just curious as to why your brother didn't mention you specifically.”

She shrugged a little. “I may have told him that I thought you were an ass.”

Gabe laughed. “Oh, really?”

“It was after the wedding, so who could blame me?”

He raised his hands. “Because I innocently overheard your deepest secret?”

“Well, that was before I...” Her words trailed. Before what? Before she realized he wasn't quite the ogre she'd pegged him for. Now wasn't the time to admit anything. “Anyhow...good night.”

Once he left, Lauren forced herself to relax. She took a long shower and changed into her silliest short-legged giraffe pajamas and made a toasted cheese sandwich for dinner. She ate in the lounge room, watching television, legs crossed lotus-style, with plans to forget all about her neighbor.

And failed.

Because Gabe Vitali reminded her that she was a flesh-and-blood woman in every sense of the word. The way he looked, the way he walked with that kind of natural sexual confidence, the way his blue eyes glittered... It was all too easy to get swept away thinking about such things.

And too easy to forget why she'd vowed to avoid a man like him at all costs.

She'd made her decision to find someone steady and honest and ordinary. No powerful attraction. No blinding lust. No foolish dreams of romantic love. Just friendship and compatibility. It might sound boring and absurd to her friends, but Lauren knew what she wanted. She wanted something lasting.

Something safe.

Since she spent most of the night staring at the ceiling, Lauren wasn't surprised when she awoke later than usual and had to rush to get ready for work. She fed the dog and then tied him on a generous lead to the post on her back patio and headed to the store. Her mother was there already, changing mannequins and merchandising the stock that had arrived Friday afternoon. Irene Jakowski had first opened The Wedding House twenty-five years earlier. Lauren had grown up around the gowns and the brides, and it had made her fall in love with weddings. During her school years, she'd worked part-time in the store, learning from her mother. When school finished, she'd studied business and accounting for two years at college before returning to the store, taking over from her mother, who now worked part-time.

Lauren dropped her laptop and bag on the desk in the staff room and headed to the sales floor. The rows of wedding gowns, each one immaculately pressed and presented on hangers, filled her with a mix of approval and melancholy.

“How's the dog?” her mother queried when she moved around the sales counter.

Lauren grimaced. “Missing his owner and slobbering all over my furniture. You know, like in that old movie
Turner & Hooch?
”