a romantic.”
She almost laughed. Her? A romantic? She was exactly the opposite. She was a woman who believed romance and the mythical concept of “love” only caused problems—especially for women. She would never let herself be so vulnerable as to fall in love.
“I’m not a romantic. You know as well as anyone that our family had a rough time.” A dad who couldn’t be faithful and a mom with three kids who lived in fear of his temper. “I never thought either of my brothers would get married.”
Ziggy nodded. “Yeah. I guess you’re right.”
She straightened to her full five feet six inches—five-nine with heels—and still she only came up to about his nose. Odd that she’d notice that with so much on her mind. “You’re damned right, I’m right. Now, if you’ll excuse me, don’t follow me to the ladies’ room.”
He laughed.
She strode away, feeling more like herself than she had all day. There was nothing like righting a wrong to get her blood flowing. Having her spunk back helped her to weed through some of the confusion in her brain.
Number one, she wanted the baby. Because of her parents’ abysmal marriage, she’d vowed never to marry, but she wanted to be a mother. This pregnancy might have sped up her timetable, but she was ready—
No. She was eager to become a mom.
Number two, she had to tell Pierre. She expected him to be appalled and tell her that he wanted nothing to do with their child. But she’d chosen him as a lover, someone with no intention of falling in love, not a father for her children, so that was okay. She had no qualm about raising this baby alone. In fact, she’d prefer it.
Number three and four, telling her mom and telling her brothers couldn’t happen until she told Pierre.
She had to go to Paris.
She walked into the elegant lounge section of the ladies’ room and leaned across a vanity to get a peek at her makeup. Now that she wasn’t falling apart internally, her face had gone back to normal. She could have nitpicked every tiny imperfection. She could have second-guessed her choice of lipstick color. Except she looked like the lady her mother had raised her to be. She might not be perfect, but she was firmly in her role.
She drew a long breath and left the restroom, heading back to the ballroom. She spotted Ziggy and walked in the opposite direction. Jake was about to introduce Seth and Harper and the bridal party. She ambled up to Harper, who looked elegant in her simple satin dress. Her short, dark hair gave her the look of a pixie. Her blue eyes sparkled with love—for Sabrina’s brother. Sabrina could never appreciate anyone more than she did Avery and Harper for helping her brothers to heal. Theirs were the rare unicorn of relationships that did revolve around love, exactly what her brothers needed.
But Sabrina didn’t need to heal as her brothers had. A daughter, not a son, she hadn’t endured the kind of cruel mistreatment from their dad that her brothers had. Her chauvinistic father didn’t see her as a businesswoman, so he had no reason to “train” her. But she had seen how he treated her mom, how her mom had cried over his infidelities and worried for her sons. At fourteen, Sabrina had promised herself no man would ever treat her the way her dad had treated her mom. And she’d kept that promise.
“Anything I can do for the bride?”
Harper hugged her. “No. We’re fine. I’d just like to get to dinner already. I’m starved.”
“You should have had some hors d’oeuvres at your penthouse. They were wonderful.”
“I was saving my appetite for the Beef Wellington.”
As Jake began announcing the wedding party, Ziggy walked up to her and escorted her to her seat. Jake then introduced himself and his wife, Avery, who joined him by the podium. He introduced Seth and Harper and the room broke into joyous applause.
Tears filled her eyes. She really couldn’t express how grateful she was to her two sisters-in-law for saving her brothers, healing them, helping them to believe in love and lead normal, happy lives.
Harper finally got her Beef Wellington and the dinner progressed with Ziggy making small talk with her one minute and turning to his left to talk to her mother the next. She supposed he was an okay guy—
All right. He was sort of a great guy, considerate of her and kind to her mother. She shouldn’t have snapped at him.
She never snapped at anyone.
But there was something about Ziggy today. Something about the sexy way he looked in a tux—or maybe the way he’d asked if she needed someone to talk to—
She didn’t know. Her hormones were a mess and so were her reactions. But now that she’d worked everything out in her head, she could get back to normal.
The band announced Seth and Harper’s first dance, and her brother escorted his bride to the dance floor. When the music ended, the band announced Jake and Avery, who joined Seth and Harper, then Trent and Sabrina, who walked out onto the dance floor with them.
The band began a slow, romantic song for the bridal party dance, and Sabrina drew a quiet breath. Trent slid his arm around her waist. She put her hand on his shoulder—his very solid shoulder.
That was a surprise. Pierre was a tall, thin man, and touching someone more solid sent a jolt through her. She hadn’t expected Ziggy to be buff.
“Do you work out?”
He waggled his eyebrows. “Liking my muscles?”
She rolled her eyes. “Can you be serious for one second?”
“I tried to be serious in the limo. You shut me down.”
“You weren’t being serious. You were prying into my life.”
“See, there you go again. Making distinctions that don’t need to exist.”
The music shifted into something faster for mere seconds, but Trent took advantage of those seconds to spin them around. Silly though it was, the movement lightened her mood. She laughed.
“See? That’s what I wanted to hear. A laugh. A spontaneous one at that.”
She shook her head. “You’re weird.”
“No. We’re opposites.”
She inclined her head in agreement.
“Which means if you told me whatever was troubling you, I’d come up with an out-of-the-box solution that might help you.”
This time she didn’t try to deny that she was in the throes of figuring out a problem. “You can’t help me.”
* * *
Her honesty surprised Trent. Not only did it mean she trusted him, but also, he’d never been able to do a real, solid favor for Seth. The McCallans wanted for nothing. If he could do something kind for the sister of the guy who’d given him the boost he’d needed to become the success he was, he was at her beck and call. “You’re so sure.”
She
