his brain had straight-up fizzled. He’d been lucky he’d remembered his name when he’d stood across from her.
It was shaming for a man with his reputation to admit—even to himself—but if she’d crooked one of those sexy fingers of hers and led the way, he’d have followed her anywhere. Which meant she was dangerous. To his reputation, to his ego and to his peace of mind. All three of which Gabriel protected fiercely.
Gabriel had learned young to recognize trouble, a talent honed to perfection by his years in the military. But recognizing or not, he never ran from a fight, and he didn’t back down from trouble.
But trouble like Tessa Monroe? An angel’s face wrapped in a body that’d tempt the devil?
A wise man stepped carefully.
A wiser man plunged deep, reveled in the delight and found a way to walk away unscathed.
He just had to find his opening.
And he wasn’t going to find it in here.
“I guess I’d better help Irish, and let you get back to the waiting ladies,” Gabriel said.
The two men moved easily through the crowd toward the far side of the room, where it looked as if an entire platoon had gathered. Seeing the groom-to-be talking to an older woman who was the spitting image of Mitch’s fiancée, Gabriel tapped Shane on the shoulder before tilting his head to indicate he was gonna do his duty.
“Chief Petty Officer Thorne, reporting for duty,” Gabriel said when he reached Mitch and the woman who was apparently going to be his friend’s mother-in-law.
Interest flashed in the blonde’s eyes as she smiled. Mitch just shook his head in resigned amusement.
“Pauline, I’d like you to meet Gabriel Thorne. Gabriel, this is Livi’s mother, Pauline.” Waiting only long enough to finish the introductions, Mitch made his excuses to escape.
Leaving Gabriel alone with a cougar who looked as if she’d enjoy lapping him up for breakfast.
“Gabriel, thank you for your willingness to help make Mitchell and Olivia’s wedding a beautifully memorable event. I’ve created a list for you,” she said, unsnapping the tiny seashell-shaped purse dangling from her wrist to pull out a slip of paper. Gabriel was encouraged by its small size until she unfolded and unfolded and unfolded it again.
“That’s quite a list,” he observed, noting that the computer-generated printout had multiple bullet points and appeared to be color coded.
“Read through it carefully, please, and let me know if there are any issues with the duties or timing.” She handed it over with a smile that said she didn’t care what he objected to.
“The ceremony will take place on Catalina Island in six weeks. Since it’s a destination wedding, the events will span the entire first week of May. You’ll need that entire week off. But if you could get time off beforehand to help with preparations, that would help, of course.”
Gabriel squinted a little to see if she was joking. Seeing she wasn’t, his lips twitched.
“Of course,” he repeated, giving her the words she wanted to hear, but not the actual agreement. Because everyone knew how easygoing Uncle Sam was about letting entire SEAL teams go off the grid at the same time.
He glanced at the list, his eyes widening at the extent of duties listed. He’d executed complicated hostage rescue missions that hadn’t required this many steps.
Then he gave those steps a closer look.
And saw how many of them had him paired with a certain angel-faced seductress. Gabriel’s expression eased into a natural smile; that was to say, one that was filled with a whole lot of wicked.
Host beach bonfire, he noted.
Collaborate on romantic moonlight dance.
This could get interesting.
“Tessa Monroe is the—” he glanced at the top of the page, where it listed all of the players and their assigned roles “—maid of honor?”
“Mmm, yes. Tessa and Olivia have been friends for years, all the way back to college.” When Gabriel gave her his most charming, do-tell-me-more smile, her own expression softened and she started chatting about Livi’s time at San Diego State. Barracuda or not, the woman had good feelings for her kid. That brought her up a few notches in Gabriel’s estimation. He knew firsthand that mother didn’t mean maternal.
“When Livi launched her fitness videos, she brought Tessa in. I’m not sure Olivia could have achieved the level of success she did without her friend. Not only is Tessa a beautiful woman who has great camera presence, her being there made the touring and live events so much easier on Olivia.”
“So Tessa’s a trainer, too?” Gabriel asked, finally voicing one of the thousands of personal questions he hadn’t let himself ask before.
“A trainer? Oh, no. Tessa doesn’t have the patience to teach. She’s actually a writer. Journalist?” Pauline frowned, then waved the distinction away as if it didn’t matter. “She writes for a very successful digital magazine. I think she’s also in charge of editorial, among other things. That enabled her to work from her laptop for weeks at a time while traveling. And, of course, her travels gave her so many new article ideas and contacts. I think two of the pieces she wrote on the road went on to win national attention.”
Not sure why he felt so proud since it had nothing to do with him, Gabriel still smiled. Maybe because it proved what he’d already known. In addition to being gorgeous and sexy, Tessa was savvy and smart.
“It’s a fitness magazine?”
“Flirtatious? No, it’s more of a relationship magazine for singles. A lot of emphasis on sex, the mating games, bedroom games, how to use it all to get ahead.” Pauline’s voice dropped to a husky timbre as she reached out to trail her fingers along the back of his hand. “I’ll be happy to share some of them, if you’d like?”
Gabriel blinked, surprised at how fast she went from businesslike to motherly to amused to cougar with barely a blink. Talented lady. But as attractive as she was, he didn’t figure he’d be offering up more than his respect.
With that in mind, he lifted the list in a modified salute and suggested he find the groom and discuss the details.
“If you need anything, just call. My numbers are all there,” Pauline instructed. Then she leaned forward and whispered a creative suggestion in his ear that made Gabriel’s brows arch. Before he could refuse, she patted his ass and went on her way.
Amused, Gabriel headed in the opposite direction through the crowded ballroom. Figuring he’d earned it, he grabbed another beer on his way to where Mitch was seated.
“Did I offer my congratulations yet?” he asked, grabbing a chair, then straddling it before tilting his beer bottle toward his friend in a salute.
“So far you’ve offered three warnings, two enigmatic stares and the suggestion that I see a counselor,” the groom-to-be mused with an easy smile. “You finally going to add a congrats to that?”
“On
