style="font-size:15px;"> He couldn’t figure out what the hell was wrong with him. Had he allowed Schuyler to rattle him that much? Hell, he came from a family of six kids. Good-natured teasing was nothing new.
“Did you cut your ski trip short to come to the wedding?”
He blinked. “I did, actually. How did you know?”
“Your sisters talk about you a lot,” she said. She stiffened in his arms, making him regret questioning her. He liked dancing with Christine. She was just the right height and her body fit against his perfectly. She smelled clean and fresh, like strawberries or springtime or sunshine. Okay, that was stupid. Sunshine didn’t have a scent.
He needed to get a hold of himself, but all he could manage was hoping she’d relax into him again. The song ended and another ballad began. Gavin would have to tip the bandleader later for his sense of timing.
“Do you ski?” he asked, tightening his hold on her ever so slightly, splaying his hand across her lower back.
She laughed, low and husky, and his stomach flipped wildly. He hadn’t expected that kind of laugh from straitlaced Christine Briscoe. “No skiing for me. I’ve never even been to Colorado.”
“You’ll have to visit,” he told her. The way her eyes widened in shock was like he’d invited her to have wild monkey sex on the hood of his car. The image did crazy things to his breathing, and he pushed it out of his mind.
“Th-things are b-busy,” she stammered, “at the office right now.”
“That’s right. You moved to Austin to manage the new branch. My dad mentioned that.”
“I’m originally from Austin, and it was a great opportunity,” she confirmed. “Of course, I loved working for your dad in Houston, too.”
“Of course.” He felt the sensation of someone staring at him and glanced toward the bar. The man Christine had been standing next to was still there, shooting daggers in Gavin’s direction.
“Did I steal you from your boyfriend?” Even though it was no business of his, he didn’t like the idea of this woman belonging to another man.
She shook her head, her full mouth pursing into a thin line. “Maddie and Zach invited everyone from the Austin office to the wedding. Bobby and I work together, but that’s all, despite his best efforts. He’s a good real estate agent but can’t seem to understand that I’m not interested in dating him. In fact, you kind of rescued me.”
“So then I’m your hero?”
Christine blushed again, and Gavin couldn’t help but wonder what it would take to make her whole body flush that lovely shade of pink.
“I don’t know about that,” she murmured, her gaze focused on the knot of his bow tie.
He forced a chuckle, ignoring the pang of disappointment that lanced his chest at her words. What was going on with him tonight? He didn’t want or need to be anyone’s hero. “Already you know me too well,” he said as the song ended.
Her eyes darted to his like she’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. “I should get back to...um...the bar.” She squeezed shut her eyes then opened them again and offered him a lopsided smile. The first strains of a popular country line dance song started. “I’m not much for this kind of dancing.”
“We have that in common,” he told her then led her through the crowd. “Thanks for helping me out,” he said as they stopped at the end of the bar. At least the guy from earlier was nowhere to be seen. He waited for her to say something, oddly reluctant to have this strange interlude come to an end.
She crossed her arms over her chest and nodded, barely making eye contact. “Enjoy the rest of your night.”
“You, too,” he said and took a step away, to be almost immediately stopped by an old family friend.
He glanced over his shoulder to see that Christine had already turned toward the bar. She was well and truly done with him.
Gavin didn’t have much experience with being blown off by a woman, but he recognized the signs just the same. Christine Briscoe obviously wasn’t having the same reaction to him as he was to her. He was more disappointed than he would have imagined.
Christine picked up the glass of wine the bartender placed in front of her and drained half of it in one long gulp.
She’d just had her heart’s desire handed to her on a silver platter and she’d made a mess of the whole thing. Gavin Fortunado might not be a hero, but he’d been her secret crush since the moment she’d set eyes on him almost ten years ago.
For ten years she’d harbored fantasies about her boss’s adventurous, drop-dead-gorgeous youngest son. Then tonight, out of nowhere, he’d taken her into his arms, like a scene from every Hallmark movie she’d ever watched. And she loved a good romance.
Unfortunately, Christine hadn’t even been able to put together a decent sentence. He’d actually flirted with her. Of course, Gavin flirted with everyone. Not that she knew him well, other than adoring him from afar, but he’d come into the Fortunado Real Estate Agency office in Houston often enough over the years.
She’d watched his easy banter with his sisters as well as the women who worked in the office. He was always charming but respectful and had a knack for remembering names and details. Half the women she knew in Houston had a crush on him, and she imagined it was much the same in Denver.
At first, when his gaze had met hers as he strode toward the bar, she’d thought he might call her out for staring. She’d been trying to ignore Bobby, who seemed to think he was God’s gift to women. He was harmless but annoying, and Christine wasn’t sure why he wouldn’t give up on her. Maybe because she had very little social life to speak of so he assumed she should be grateful for his attention.
Irritated was more like it.
He’d been blathering on about some property he couldn’t close, and Christine had been watching Gavin talk to Schuyler. Or rather argue. She was used to seeing Gavin smiling and jovial and hadn’t understood the tension that made his broad shoulders appear stiff. Unlike her own, the Fortunado family was tight-knit so it bothered her to see the brother and sister at odds.
She’d been shocked when Gavin had approached the bar and taken her hand. It might have been a simple dance to him. For Christine, having Gavin pull her close, her body pressed against his, was the culmination of all her secret desires come to life. Of all the single women at the reception, he’d picked her. Did that mean something?
Probably not, but a girl could dream. Sadly, all she’d be left with was her dreams since she’d been so discombobulated that she hadn’t been able to truly enjoy the moment. Or relax. Or hold up her end of the conversation.
What was the point, anyway? Gavin lived life in the fast lane. She could barely get out of first gear. Normally, her boring routine didn’t bother her. She was good at her job, had a cute apartment and a sweet rescue dog that adored her. She owned her own car and one designer purse she’d splurged on last year. The barista at her neighborhood coffee shop sometimes
