watched as the two had fallen madly in love. Marco deserved that kind of happily-ever-after, though.
He glanced up and saw a striking woman in a flowing, halter-top jumpsuit. Who was this beauty? She looked vaguely familiar and yet he couldn’t quite place the face. Was this a new friend? Somehow outside the high school circle? No...wait a minute. Wait a damn minute. That’s...Gabriela Cruz. He was sure of it. She was the only other bridesmaid it could be. Yet...how?
He racked his brain. Gabriela Cruz, the shy, nerdy and very smart salutatorian at their school. She’d always gotten As, always known all the answers. But he never, ever, remembered her having a body like that. The flowy jumpsuit hinted at her ample curves and the halter top seemed to be holding itself up. Her skin was amazing, too, and those dark, smoky eyes. Oh, mama. He’d remembered a wiry girl with braces. But she was all grown up now.
Sebastian finished his drink, put it down on the table and stood. Looked like they had some catching up to do.
GABRIELA TRIED NOT to panic. Sebastian Lott was coming her way. Surely that was a mistake. No way the golden boy of high school with those amazing hazel eyes meant to pay her any attention.
Stay calm, Gabriela. She held her clipboard like a shield. Just stay still and he’ll pass on by, just like he did in high school.
“Hello.” Sebastian almost sounded tentative. She glanced up so quickly she almost gave herself whiplash. His hazel, not quite green, not quite blue eyes, focused on her. Gabriela froze for a nanosecond, feeling like the awkward girl of high school burdened with glasses and braces her sophomore year, the one boys like Sebastian Lott looked right through. Except he wasn’t looking through her this time. He was looking right at her. Intently. On purpose.
“Uh...hi.” She smiled, feeling the awkwardness bubbling up in her. Why did the man look so good? The ten years since high school had been very kind to him. He’d always been striking, but now he was even more...manly somehow. More grown-up. The just barely there hint of stubble on his squared-off chin made her want to put her hands on his face. Feel the roughness beneath her fingers.
Snap out of it, Gabriela. Geez. This isn’t high school. You’re not boy crazy. This is Sebastian Lott. The last guy on earth you should even consider touching.
“Gabriela...right?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“You look good enough to eat. I just wanted to tell you that.”
“R-really?” Her reply came out as a squeak. Was Sebastian Lott, the guy who’d never given her a second glance in high school, calling her gorgeous?
“Can I buy you a drink?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” She hesitated. She was still clutching her clipboard, still hoping she could convince the other bridesmaids to leave. “We shouldn’t be here that long. Sorry about crashing the bachelor party. I tried to convince them...”
“Don’t worry about it.” Sebastian smiled, a gleaming, white, toothpaste-ad-ready smile, and Gabriela felt her insides melt a little. The charisma was real. She could feel his charm washing over her in waves. No wonder so many women fell for Lott. All you had to do was get lost in those warm hazel eyes, that deep baritone voice. Stop it, Gabbie. He’s trouble and you know it. Hadn’t she just convinced Felicia to avoid him?
“I’m glad you’re here,” he murmured.
She felt the words in her toes. Sebastian Lott was glad to see her. Her heart sped up a little. Could it be that maybe she’d been wrong all these years she’d assumed Lott thought she was invisible? Could it be possible that even during her awkward high school days of glasses and braces, that somehow he’d seen her? All those years she thought her school-girl crush was unrequited, could it be that he had feelings for her, too? But why would she care? He was toxic, she reminded herself again. Completely and utterly toxic.
“Uh...” Gabriela felt all her college vocabulary leave her head. She was a successful CPA, but now she felt like a stammering, no-social-skills teenager all over again. She inwardly shook herself. Come on, she wasn’t an awkward teenager anymore. She was a successful woman who had men pinging her dating app every weekend. Sometimes more than once. So what if her first serious crush of all time was finally, after a decade, paying attention to her? She could handle this.
“Let me buy you a drink.” Sebastian waved to the bartender, who nodded as he finished the round of drinks he was pouring for Felicia and Liv. “What does the lady want?”
Sebastian raised his eyebrows, his attention like a beam of warm sunshine. Suddenly, Gabriela felt hot. Sweat broke out on the small of her back. What was wrong with her? He was just a man and yet she felt so flustered, he might as well have been a celebrity. Then again, she reminded herself, he was a celebrity at Culver High.
“Vodka soda,” she managed to say.
He nodded swiftly and proceeded to order her cocktail with the most expensive vodka offered on the menu. He ordered himself a whiskey on the rocks. As the bartender put the two drinks down in front of them, Gabriela glanced up to find Felicia staring at them, frowning. She’d noticed Sebastian paying her attention.
“So, what are you doing with a clipboard at a party?” Sebastian nodded at it, resting on the bar.
“I just like to be organized,” Gabriela said. “Someone has to keep the party on track.”
“Not too spontaneous, are you?” Sebastian’s eyebrows shot up. “Let me guess. You sort your underwear drawer by color?”
Gabriela felt heat rise in her cheeks. Actually, as it turned out, she was exactly one of those women. Not that she’d ever let him know that.
“You are!” Sebastian laughed. “So, how about you show me that drawer sometime?” He laughed a little, to show her that he understood how cheesy that line was. That was the charm of Sebastian Lott. He was an unapologetic player, but he also knew it.
“You think I’m going to invite you over to look at my underwear drawer?”
“I was hoping you’d model some underwear for me.” He grinned.
“Has that line worked on any woman ever?” Gabriela cocked her head to one side, dubious.
“Not yet. But there’s always a first time.” The man’s ego and confidence were out of control and, Gabriela noted, somehow all that swagger worked. He seemed to know his lines were cheesy but he didn’t care. That was the amazing part. But then again, Gabriela was sure the man could pick up a woman reading a Chinese take-out menu.
Felicia and Liv had sidled over to their side of the bar. “What are you doing, Lott?” Felicia barked, not even bothering to hide her derision.
“It’s nice to see you, too, Felicia,” Sebastian said, barely giving Felicia a glance before focusing his attention right back on Gabriela. “If you must know, I’m having a drink with a beautiful woman.”
Gabriela felt the tops of her ears burn. At least her hair covered them, she thought. Beautiful...really?
“Beautiful?”
