She gave a little whimper as her cheek rubbed against mine. “Like a long and tortuous wait.”
“Good.” Smiling, I straightened away from her. “What colour is your dress for the wedding?”
“Coral. Why?” she asked with a wide smile.
“So I can pick a tie, of course.” I hadn’t spent all those years dressing in designer labels without learning a thing or two. “A gentleman always dresses to complement his date.”
Gabi laughed happily and we returned to finishing our breakfast. The silence between us was both comfortable, because we were happy about our upcoming date, and uncomfortable, because our almost kiss had left us both horny. I didn’t mind, though. I wanted her to be horny because of me. After all these years, I finally had my chance to prove to Gabi we belonged together, that we’d always belonged together—with or without Lawrence—and I would do anything to make it work.
THIRTEEN
______
LAWRENCE
“She’s late!” Frank barked into my ear. I yanked the phone further away to avoid permanent damage. “She said she’d be arriving at three.”
I checked my watch. “It’s only a quarter past. I’m sure she’ll be here soon.” I peered through the steady stream of guests and hotel staff to the glass sliding doors at the entrance to the crowded lobby. Still no sign of Gabi.
“The rehearsal starts at four. As long as we have you both here by then it’ll be fine. But if she doesn’t show up Caroline’s going to rip me a new one…”
Frank’s words faded into the background as I finally spotted Gabi through the crowd. Her dark hair fell straight and loose around her shoulders and her hips swung enticingly in skinny jeans. She tugged a small, wheeled suitcase behind her as she hurried to join the long line at the reception desk. A carefree, if somewhat shy, smile graced her lips as she spoke to the man at her side, who tugged a second suitcase.
My gaze followed hers, and everything inside me stilled. Connor.
“Lawrence, are you listening to me at all?” Frank’s voice snapped back into focus in my ear. “You know, as the best man, ignoring me is rude.”
“For heaven’s sake man, dig the wedgie out of your crack and settle down,” I told Frank, my gaze locked on Connor’s hand at the small of Gabi’s back as they waited to check in. “She’s here.”
“Thank Christ for that,” Frank sighed in relief. “Another disaster averted.”
Personally, I hadn’t considered any of the minor obstacles we’d faced since our own arrival two hours earlier as potential disasters. But then, I wasn’t the groom. Weddings put people on edge and Frank was currently teetering on the brink of a full-on meltdown. The sooner Caroline slipped that ring on his finger, the sooner we could all relax.
“Connor’s with her,” I told Frank. “What’s he doing here?”
“Gabi decided she wanted to bring a date at the last minute.”
“Connor’s her date?” I tried to keep my voice down, but the blood rushing in my ears made it hard to hear anything outside my own skull. “As in a real date? Or a friend date?”
“I don’t fucking know,” Frank cried. “She said it was a date. I honestly don’t give a crap as long as she gets her butt to the chapel in time for the rehearsal.”
“Don’t worry,” I said as I made a beeline for the other end of the long reception desk. “I’ll make sure she’s there.”
Frank heaved a sigh of relief. “Thanks, man. I owe you one.” He’d owe me thirty by the time the weekend ended, but if the event went as I suddenly hoped, I’d call it even.
Ending the phone call, I caught the attention of the resort manager. I’d been dealing with her on and off over the past year, having been put in charge of arranging the hotel rooms for the wedding party and their immediate families, so she came over straight away. “I’m hoping you can help me out,” I said with a smile, hoping to convey charm rather than desperation. “I need to make a quick change in one of the rooms for the Hannigan wedding.”
Her return smile depicted an eagerness to please, with a slight undertone of annoyance. “It’s getting a bit late for changes, Mr Miller. Are you sure this is the last one?”
“Definitely.” Glancing down the length of the counter, I could see Gabi and Connor moving forward through the line. If I didn’t act now, it would be too late. Turning back to the woman in front of me, I added, “If you can fulfil both my requests in the next five minutes, I promise to make it worth your while.”
Her eagerness to please increased noticeably. “I’m sure we can accommodate you, Mr Miller. Tell me what you need.”
Nearly ten minutes later, Gabi and Connor had checked in and were tugging their suitcases in the direction of the elevators, which put them on a path directly towards me. Excitement coursed through my veins as I tried to keep the wickedness of my ways from showing on my face. Subtlety was everything.
Connor saw me first. Turning his head, he said something to Gabi and her gaze swung in my direction, locking on once it found me. They reached for each other, their fingers entwining. If this wasn’t a real date, they were going to do their best to make sure it looked like one. By the time they reached me, they wore matching expressions of smug satisfaction.
“Lawrence, how lovely to see you again,” Gabi crooned, her eyes dancing. If we were in a competition to see who had the upper hand, and apparently we were, she wanted me to know she’d already won. To prove it, she leaned forward to touch her cheek to mine with an air kiss. She hadn’t done that once in the past five years. But she could do anything she wanted now. She had Connor. Connor had her. And I didn’t have either of them. At least, not yet.
