Chapter Two
“Ari, can you call the lighting guy and tell him the spots on the banquet table aren’t working? When you’ve done that, can you ask Polly why the gold ones weren’t delivered with the rest of the sugared almonds yesterday, please. Tomorrow’s bride said it’s a tradition in her family to scatter gold almonds on the tables for good luck, and I’d hate for her to walk in and not see them here. She’s stopping by this afternoon, so I want to make sure they’re here for her.” Grace picked up a stepladder and moved it to one of the columns in the room. “And why does this ribbon keep coming unstuck?” She stabbed at the material.
“Let me help,” Ari said as he moved closer, impressed by her energy levels—and the fact she could talk so much without taking a breath. As they’d worked together this morning, he’d become increasingly aware of Grace—the way she took charge and made decisions, so organized, and with a spark in her eyes. Sometimes he’d stood where she’d walked just so he could breathe in her floral scent. In quiet moments, he’d catch her scribbling in a notebook or making a phone call to one of her friends, and her face lit with excitement every time she spoke of her new business.
“I’ve got it,” she said and was on the third rung of the ladder before he could reach her. She picked up a piece of ribbon hanging loose and turned back to him. “Can you pass me some of that tape on the table?” She blinked. He’d never seen such long lashes. They kicked up at the ends and were lush against her olive skin. But the dark smudges under her eyes said she was stressed by all this. He was glad he’d put a few of his cases on hold—it’d mean he could be here a lot more before his family got back.
She turned away, and he ripped a piece of clear tape from a roll on the table. Everything was a blinding sea of white, the only relief the bright red and gold table decorations and large sashes of gold across the main table—and Grace standing on a ladder like a sexy center piece in the middle of it all. A slinky blue top hugged every curve from her full breasts to her rounded hips and finished at the top of pants. Her hair was expertly pinned at the back of her head, not a strand out of place. What he wouldn’t do to make it all messy.
He focused on her glossy lips as she turned back and began talking to him again. He handed her the tape. How good would those lips feel under his own?
“Are you listening? Do you remember what I asked you to do?” she asked, smiling as she taped the ribbon into place. “I swear, sometimes I can see you wishing yourself a lobotomy rather having to deal with all this.”
If she only knew what I was wishing. He shrugged. “Lights?”
She blew out an exasperated breath. “Scorpios.”
“Sorry?”
“You’re a Scorpio.” She looked down at him. “Your mom told me about delivering you in a snowstorm just before Thanksgiving.”
He grinned. She’d been talking with his mother about him? What else had his mom said? “Not a good star sign for wedding planning, then?”
She bit her lip and studied him. “You like to be involved, but you’re not so good on the details or at toeing the line.”
“That’d be right.” He chuckled. “I’d rather scoop my eyeballs out with a blunt spoon than have to count napkins and polish champagne glasses all day. What sign are you?” He leaned against the column, now intrigued as all hell by astrology, despite never giving it a second’s thought before.
“Libra,” she said. “The one with the scales. Trying to make everything balanced and hoping everyone has a great time. Perfect for wedding planning.” She finished taping the ribbon and had started down when her foot slipped and the ladder wobbled. He reached out and grabbed her, but when he set her on the floor, he didn’t let go.
“I find balancing overrated,” he said with a grin, and her blue eyes rounded. “Far more fun when things are unpredictable.” She smelled of spring flowers and bubble bath, and he held her closer, the bare skin of her arms smooth under his fingers. “Are they a good match, Scorpios and Libras?”
Her lips parted as she started to pull away. “Scorpio and Libra?” She shook her head as she studied his left shoulder. “No. Scorpios have a dark and intense side, and Libras would rather keep things lighter. More realistic. Not a good match at all.” She stepped from his grip as a trail of pink swept across her cheek.
“Dark and intense?” Was she referring to a textbook on star signs, or was that how she really saw him? The way she was looking everywhere but directly at him suggested this was her own little personality profile for him, and it set his blood simmering.
“Apparently.” She picked up the pen and clipboard from the table and surveyed the room, and he could see her doing an internal balancing act. She was definitely attracted to him, he was certain of it, but there was some sort of war going on within her. The Scorpio in him was itching to test it.
He rubbed his neck. “I don’t know how you do this job. I grew up around weddings, and I don’t get the whole drama—bitchy people who smile together one day and stab each other in the back the next, the crazy expense, the double standards.”
Her jaw dropped open. “You don’t believe in marriage?”
He shrugged. “Marriage? Hell, no. Weddings, double hell no.”
“But the romance of a wedding. Watching people so in love coming together with their families?” Her brow crisscrossed in a frown.
He snorted. “And the tension? The fights? The mothers who can’t keep their noses out of things, and the uncles who drink too much.”
“Oh, there you are.” Polly, one of the restaurant staff, came rushing into the room carrying another clipboard. “We have some major problems.”
Grace turned. “What is it?”
“Well, the groom for the nineteenth called to cancel because he’s being deployed so they’re going to a registry office this afternoon, and the guy from the sugared almond place just called to say the gold almonds for tomorrow’s wedding went to the wrong venue. He delivered them to O’Malley’s last night, and he’s busy on the other side of town right now so can’t fix the mistake. Don’t we need them to show the bride this afternoon?”
Grace put the end of the pen between her lips. “Shoot. If it were anyone else, it’d be easy enough to get them to put the almonds in a cab or something, but I’m never sure how things will go at the O’Malley’s, especially without Erin there. I heard her father’s back while she’s away.”
“Can’t you substitute candy or something?” Ari said, fascinated by her ability to think through every little detail and multitask.
“We have to have those almonds.” Grace’s frown deepened. “I’m not going to tell the bride her lucky charms aren’t here.”
Polly put her hands on her hips. “Can’t we get them from somewhere else then?”
She shook her head. “There’s no time. And besides, these have the bride and groom’s initials on them. Don’t worry, I’ll sort it. Polly, can you go and check the outdoor bar?”
Ari pushed himself off the table. “I’ll go to O’Malley’s. If I remember right, the old man can be pretty intimidating.” His last memory of Erin’s father was when he had Ari’s father Mano by the collar over a wedding booking they’d both wanted. It was a miracle blood hadn’t been spilled. He supposed they were going to be practically family soon—when Nick and Erin were married—so it wouldn’t hurt to drop by and introduce himself.
Grace shook her head. “No, you won’t. If I’m going to be organizing his daughter’s wedding, what better time to show Mr. O’Malley I’ve got things under control.” She took out her phone. “I’ll get an Uber now.”
“An Uber? It won’t take long to drive there and back.”
She had her cell to her ear. “I don’t have a car.”
No car? He’d known women living in downtown Manhattan who didn’t own a car, but that must be pretty tough in Beauville. Especially with the sort of job she had.
“Then it makes sense I give you a lift,” he said as he reached into his pocket for his keys.
“I didn’t know you had a car here.”
“I don’t. I have a bike.”
She hesitated—the war thing happening behind her eyes again. “How can you carry me and a stack of almond boxes?”
“I’ve carried all sorts of crazy things on my bike,” he said. “Once, I had a client who needed me to take back the cat her ex-girlfriend had taken off with. If I can handle a scratching, spitting cat while riding through NYC traffic, I think we can work something out. Whatever we do, you need to make a decision now.”
“I guess.” They were running out of time. “We don’t really have any choice.”
“That’s settled, then.”
Five minutes later, they were in front of his motorcycle in the garage under his parents’ apartment. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d let a woman ride on the back of his bike, but the thought of Grace Bennett pressed against his back for the next ten minutes made him wonder why not. “Here, take this,” he said, holding out a leather motorcycle jacket he’d found hanging on the wall.
She didn’t move. “What for?”
“Because even though it’s warm out, it can feel cold when you’re riding. It’ll give you some sort of protection if you fall off. And”—he smiled—“it’s a leather jacket. What’s not to love?”
She was still dubious, playing it safe again. “I’ve never been on a motorcycle before. My mom says they’re death traps.”
He grinned. “I’ll take good care of you.”
Her face softened, and she put her hand on the seat. “Been riding long?”
“As soon as I could get a license—and before that. I couldn’t wait to get out of here, and when my uncle introduced me to Harleys, it was like I could finally have my freedom.” As far away from playing it safe as I could get.
She tilted her head. “Why did you want to get out of here so badly?”
His mouth dried, and he moved behind her. When she held out her arm, he guided the jacket sleeve up her arm. Why had he said that? It wasn’t something he’d thought about for a long time and not something he discussed with anyone, and it made his chest hollow.
“You know, teenage stuff,” he said as he drew the jacket around her shoulders.
…
With the jacket on, Grace stepped out of Ari’s hold. When she’d slipped from the ladder and fallen into his strong arms earlier, her breath had died in her lungs. Now she was going to get on the back of a bike and be pressed into that perfectly defined body, and it sent goose bumps racing across her skin.
“Whose is it?” she said as she stroked one arm.
“An old one of mine. Gives you kind of a wild vibe.”
“I’m not interested in being wild,” she said as she crossed her arms in front of herself. Was that what he had wanted for himself? Was that why he’d left home so young? She stood taller as he picked up another leather jacket and put it on. Taking a deep breath, she tried to force her racing heartbeat to slow down. “We haven’t got much time.”
His scent of sea breeze and freshly cut wood seeped into every part of her.
“And you’ll need this,” he said, picking a red and white helmet off a rack. “Yasmin used to wear it, but I think it’ll fit if you take your hair down.”
He stepped closer, and her lungs searched for more air. “This will take too long,” she said in a fluster. “Maybe I could try to call Erin’s sister and get her to send the almonds over. I really shouldn’t leave Polly on her own.”
He sighed and shook his head. “Polly’s fine, and you’ve got your phone. Let’s go.”
She moistened her lips.
He folded his muscled arms across his chest. “Nervous?”
“What?” She could barely breathe.
“About being on the back of a bike with me.”
She took what she hoped would be a calming breath to move oxygen around her body. “I’d be nervous on the back of a bike with anyone.”
He said nothing, but his lips tipped slightly at the corners, and heat blossomed on her neck.
Why, oh, why did he have this effect on her? It made no logical sense, and she had to get herself under control. “Do you know how to get there?”
He blinked. “Of course.” He paused. “Are you taking your hair down?”
He took another step closer, reached up, and pulled the pin from her hair. He kept his dark brown eyes fixed on her as the waves fell around her face, and the air around them stilled. Every one of her cells jumped to attention.
Her body came alight under his touch and she fought to keep her reaction under control. Breathe!
Gently, he put the helmet on her head and pushed it down.
He fastened the strap under her chin, his gaze like an untamed animal, confident and sure. Was he imagining their bodies pressed close? She swallowed, and then he flipped down her visor, turned, and threw one denim-clad leg over the seat.
He did up his own helmet. “You’ve got a license, right?” he asked over his shoulder.
She shrugged and tried to make her voice breezy. “Oh, I got a license. I just never got around to getting a car, and now I’m not sure I could remember how to drive. I have a mountain bike, and that gets me where I need to go.”
“Going to be tricky running your own business without a vehicle.” He fiddled with something up front as she battled with indecision. How should she get on? How close should she sit? And what would his strong body feel like under her fingers? “Meeting clients and suppliers will be difficult,” he said, oblivious to her turmoil. He twisted around again. “Hey, maybe I can help you find a car.”
She pushed up the leather sleeve of the jacket and looked at her watch. They really didn’t have much time.
“Okay, we’re going,” he said, misinterpreting her indecision. He grabbed the handlebars and started the machine. The Harley came to life, and the air around them was filled with the deep rumble of the engine. “You can get on now,” he said over his shoulder.
Grace hesitated.
This was a test, just as this week’s horoscope had said. She couldn’t help the way she was wired—the way the sexually charged parts of her body and brain fired first. But she wasn’t going to let that side of her dominate anymore. All sorts of mischief was brewing in Ari’s sinful, dark eyes, and she’d resist it at every turn.
Of course, she could touch a man like Ari and have nothing come of it. She chewed the inside of her lip.
Just do it.
He’s so hot.
“Are you getting on?” he asked again.
She lifted one leg over the bike and grabbed hold of him to steady herself. Her hands met his strong shoulders before she got control. Her mouth dried, and she had to take a minute for her pulse to stop racing.
When she was settled behind him, he reached back and held her wrist. “Hold me tight around here. And scoot forward a little. The closer we are the better the balance. And when we go around a corner just lean the way I lean. We need to move together.” Scared of what her body might do when it was flush against Ari’s, she took a second to compose herself.
Placing her arms around his waist, she breathed in his scent. A new mix of freshly laundered cotton, rich nutty, leather, and strong, warm male assaulted her senses, and her whole body came alive. His jacket was open at the front, and under the black cotton T-shirt was rock-hard torso, his warmth bleeding into her fingers as they flattened on his abs.
Stupid body. Behave.
“Okay?” he called over the roar of the engine.
“Yes,” she breathed, and the bike sprang to life under her, and they were moving out onto the street. The vibrations from the engine were a deep buzz between her legs. How in God’s name had she ended up squeezed tight against Ari like this?
As he swerved around a parked car, she squeezed her knees into his thighs and instinctively hugged him tighter. She marveled at the shape of him under his jacket, the power in his legs as they gripped the bike, and she couldn’t help but imagine being under him, wrapped in those powerful arms, his body providing the vibrations for hers.
And a fantasy was fine. There was absolutely nothing wrong with imagining a guy like Ari Katsalos taking her to bed and fulfilling every twisted wish she’d ever had. She could imagine him kissing his way down her. It was okay to think about opening herself to him, to dream about him making love to her…
As long as it stays a fantasy.
Heat rolled through her, and she sat a little straighter. Fantasies and dreams were fine, harmless fun, but that was all she could have with a guy like Ari now. Of course, sex and sexual attraction were vital parts of a relationship, but they wouldn’t be what defined a partnership for her anymore.
You’re strong. And smart. You will not give in to whatever the hell this is.
He tilted his head back. “Everything okay back there?”
She watched as his fingers closed again around the handlebars, and dreamed about him running his rough hands up her thighs. “Mmm-hmm,” she managed.
But it so wasn’t.
…
Ari pulled his bike up in front of the impressive black iron gates of O’Malley’s Weddings, killed the engine, and placed his feet on the ground. He’d said nothing more to Grace as they’d woven through the streets of Beauville, but he’d noticed her sharp little intake of breath when they’d swerved to miss a driver opening his car door, and whenever he’d changed gear to go a little faster.
Grace climbed off the bike as quickly as she could, brushing down the legs of her pants.
“Did you like that?” he asked as he undid his helmet.
“Not really,” she said, in a tighter tone than he was used to. “I don’t know how you ever keep your clothes clean when you ride out in the open like that.” She tugged at the helmet fastening. “And I’m sweating underneath this.”
He took her helmet and locked it with his to his bike. “I’m sorry if I scared you.”
“You didn’t scare me,” she said as she finally managed to undo the jacket. “I was just wondering why you’d want to use that as a way to get around.”
“I told you,” he said as he followed her to the gate. “I like the solitude of it.”
“I bet it’s great for all the women you date.”
He smiled. “You’re the first.” He opened the gate for her. “Grace, we should probably clear the air about the last date we went on.”
“The only date we went on.” She stared straight ahead, but her cheeks were flushed.
He grinned again. “Yeah, that’s the one. I did try to call you the next day, you know. And I’m sorry if you thought I was too pushy. Yasmin told me about your divorce and—”
“My divorce had nothing to do with it.” Her words were clipped. Maybe he shouldn’t have brought this up. “Sorry I didn’t call you back.” She spoke a little more quickly than usual. “I just felt we weren’t right for each other, and there was no point in pretending otherwise.”
Punch. To. The. Gut.
He cleared his throat. “How could you know so quickly we weren’t right for each other? And besides, it was only dinner. I wasn’t asking you to run away with me.”
She blinked. “I thought it was pretty obvious there wouldn’t have been a future for us. We live in different towns, have different lifestyles.”
He frowned. “Are you telling me you only date guys you can imagine walking down the aisle with?”
She kept moving, but he could tell by the tight set of her shoulders that he’d hit a pretty big nerve.
“You can’t be serious,” he said as he lengthened his stride to catch up. “You only want to spend time with guys you can see yourself married to?”
“This really isn’t the right time to be discussing this,” she said as she went up to the door and pressed the bell. “But for your information, no, I don’t. Life’s too busy to spend all my time kissing frogs. A guy at least has to have the right temperament to be my prince, or there’s no point in taking things further.” Her eyes sparked.
He stared at her as she turned back to face the door. Temperament? She didn’t like his temperament?
No way. He’d seen the way she looked at him, and she probably hadn’t noticed how she rubbed her hands against his abs when they were on the bike.
He had.
She didn’t want to admit she was attracted to him, and he burned to know why.
The door opened, and Grace was back in her business mode. “Hi, I’m Grace from the Aegean Palace,” she said to the smiling woman. “You have a delivery that should’ve been for us?”
“Oh yes,” the woman said and then turned and held out her hand to Ari. “Hi, I recognize you. I’m Faith O’Malley. I believe we’re going to be family soon?”
“Ari Katsalos,” Ari said as he shook Faith’s hand and returned her smile. “And sooner than any of us imagined.”
“We’re thrilled to be hosting Erin and Nick’s wedding and really pleased it can be a joint effort with you doing the planning, Grace.” Faith gestured inside. “Would you like to come in?”
“No, thanks,” Grace said, resuming her normal, chatty tone. “I’m afraid we need to get back for an appointment this afternoon, but I’d love to come by tomorrow and talk through some of the plans with you, if that suits.”
Faith smiled again. “Sounds perfect. I’ll just grab your package.”
When she’d gone, Grace turned to Ari, a determined tilt to her chin. “Given that most of your family will be back here in the next week or so, why don’t you just leave things to me? It doesn’t make sense to be involved in something you really don’t know anything about. I’m sure I’ll be fine on my own.”
She didn’t want him at the Palace because she didn’t trust herself around him.
“I want to do my bit for my family,” he said. “I haven’t been around much lately, and having my parents in Greece for so long… Maybe I should have been around more. We need to clear the air so we can move forward.”
Faith arrived back with the package, they said their good-byes, and then Grace turned and headed back up the driveway.
“What is it you’re worried about?” Ari asked as he followed her. He’d never met a woman who pretended so hard she wasn’t attracted to him. “That I’ll distract you? I’ll get in your way?”
That I’ll want to kiss you every time I see you? It was true. He’d thought of little else the last week.
She stopped and turned to face him. “My life is jam-packed, and I don’t have any time to play games. It would be unfair to pretend differently.”
His eyebrows rose “So, you’re not attracted to me? Or you don’t have time to be attracted to me?”
She did the sexy little lip rub thing he’d noticed whenever she got flustered. “I was married to someone who had chemistry off the charts with me.” She paused and pulled in a breath. “Dangerously so, and it made me do stupid things. I want something different now.”
A small muscle tightened in her cheek.
“One second,” he said, trying to hide his shock at what she seemed to be suggesting. “You mean the next person you have a relationship with, you don’t want to be attracted to? How does that even work? And why not just have some fun with someone when you find you like them?”
This time the skin on her cheeks turned scarlet, and it was the most beautiful thing he’d seen in a very long time. “I’m flattered, really, I am,” she said, “but under the circumstances, I think it’s best if we just focus on our own priorities. I just panicked when Erin asked me to plan their wedding. You don’t need to be here anymore.”
He blew out a hot breath. “So now you’re saying you can’t work with me?”
She rubbed her hand up and down her neck. “Yes, I guess that’s what I mean.” She cleared her throat and held his gaze. “I’m sorry, Ari.” She held out her hand as if to shake his, but he ignored it. They were waaaay past the hand-shaking stage.
He paused, trying to find the words to bring back the sparkling, open Grace he’d seen in the past. “If that’s the way you feel.”
She nodded. “I think it’s for the best.”
He shrugged. “Well, I’ve hired my office space in town now, and I may as well stay around until Nick and Erin’s wedding. I just want you to promise me one thing.”
She blinked. “Which is?”
“If you do need me, you’ll put aside your feelings and give me a call.”
“I don’t think that’s going to be necessary,” she said. “And if it’s all the same to you, I’ll be getting an Uber back to the Palace.”