Chapter
ELEVEN
“If you take out the planters and topiary, you can string the lights along this row of trees and around the windows.” Gavin pointed to the map denoting the exterior of the villa. “I’m okay with you keeping the courtyard open, but I’ll be stationing three extra men at the perimeter. The entire interior team is composed of fully trained close protection operatives. They will also all be dressed appropriately and look like regular guests.”
Mia leaned forward on the sofa to study the map that was spread out on the coffee table. She’d gotten out all the wedding binders, and they’d been reviewing the entire event from start to finish.
“What about the entry from the parking lot?”
He explained the revised plans for access control, and though Mia didn’t love the idea of checkpoints, she understood the need for them. It also looked as if everything would be okay if she didn’t fight Gavin on every change and they worked together instead. She conceded that it must be a pain for him to have to modify all the security measures because of last-minute changes to the plan. And of course she didn’t want anything even slightly bad to happen at the wedding.
She gave him new contact information for several of the vendors, confirmed that only certain people would be making deliveries, and agreed to his changes in access control.
“Where will you be during the event?” She gestured to the map.
“I have a command center set up here.” He tapped a room beside the kitchen. “But I’ll be patrolling the whole area and in communication with all teams.”
“And the fireworks?” Mia asked.
“I’ll review the details and talk to both Hannah and the guy who’s organizing them,” Gavin said. “I won’t make promises, but if it checks out okay, you can still have the fireworks.”
She smiled, the last threads of tension easing from her chest. “Even though they’re a surprise?”
“As you said, they’re not for me.” He rolled up the map and set it back in his briefcase. “I can handle surprises for other people, as long as no one’s safety is compromised.”
“I’m glad you’re the one in charge.” Mia liked his efficient movements, his large, capable hands that could perform any task. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, feeling tired but satisfied at what they had accomplished. “I know everything will be fine in your hands.”
He shot her an amused grin. “You didn’t think that at first.”
“Yes, I did. I didn’t like you messing with my plans, but I’ve always known you can handle anything, especially protecting other people. There’s nothing you can’t do. It’s just one of the reasons I’ve liked you for so long.”
He closed his briefcase and turned to slide his hands around her ankles. He tugged her feet onto his lap.
“Trust me, sweetheart.” He rested his head on the back of the sofa. “There are a thousand things I can’t do.”
“Well, making me feel good, both physically and emotionally, isn’t one of them. Because you do that so well.”
A faint, humorless smile tugged at his mouth. He stroked his hands over her bare feet, trailing his fingers over the curves of her ankles and arches.
“What am I going to do with you?” he murmured under his breath, slipping his hand beneath the hem of her fleece pajama pants.
“Whatever you want.”
He let out a short laugh. “You got under my skin the second I saw you sitting on the counter at the bakery, batting your eyelashes at me.”
Mia smiled at the memory, remembering the zing of excitement she’d felt when she first saw Gavin, all steely-eyed and muscular, stride into Wild Child with his security team.
“When you started talking about the bakery security system, you said you had to conduct a physical assessment,” she said. “And I told you that sounded fun.”
“Mmm. I stripped you naked in my head right then and there. Gave you my own personal physical assessment.”
“I wouldn’t have known that by looking at you.” Mia nudged her toes against his groin. “Given that you merely asked me if I was an employee, then told Polly you were going to check staffing security levels. I think that was the instant I decided to do whatever I could to get your attention.”
“Honey, you had my attention with one look. If only you knew what I’ve imagined doing to you…”
“You don’t have to imagine them anymore.” Mia wiggled her foot, a tingle racing up her leg as his cock swelled under the light pressure. “You can just do them.”
He rubbed his fingers over the soles of her feet in a warm, gentle massage.
“Your list,” he said.
“Which one?” Mia settled back against the sofa pillow. “The guest list?”
“No, the one you texted me at noon.”
“Oh. I didn’t even know you got it.”
“I did.” He glanced at her, still rubbing her feet. “So how did it feel to write those things?”
That was what he wanted to talk about now?
“Well… okay, I guess. I mean, I had to think pretty hard, which wasn’t all that fun.”
“And how do you feel about what you came up with?”
“Fine. It’s all true. I’m good at all those things.” She rolled the hem of her fleece between her fingers. “So why didn’t you respond?”
He studied her with that seeing into her soul gaze that stirred a new longing inside her. A longing to let him into all the places where her fears and insecurities lurked, the ones she usually kept concealed beneath a candy-colored veneer of fun and pleasure.
“I wanted you to think about them,” Gavin said. “You’re using all those qualities right now.”
“What are you even talking about?”
“By planning the wedding. You’re an excellent organizer, good with people and decorating. You also know how to manage your time. You’re a great friend who knows how to make this about Polly, not you. And yes, you make the bad stuff disappear, which is what people want when they’re planning a special event.”
“So what does that have to do with anything?”
“It proves you don’t have to blame yourself for deciding to major in French lit and not developing work experience. You have a skill set. Now you need to put it to more permanent use.”
“I don’t know how.”
“Think about it.”
“Are you trying to psychoanalyze me again?”
“Your beautiful brain doesn’t need psychoanalysis. You just need to know what you want. And to know you can do it.”
She looked at the ceiling as she considered what he’d said.
Maybe he was right that she was using all those qualities with the wedding—more, she’d genuinely enjoyed doing it, not only for her best friend’s sake but for her own. She’d loved processing all of Polly’s ideas, then working with decorators, florists, caterers, and musicians to fulfill her friend’s vision of a perfect wedding. She couldn’t have been more thorough with the details and dedicated to ensuring the event unfolded without a hitch.
“When Granny turned seventy-five, I planned a surprise birthday party for her,” she told Gavin. “She loved wild animals, so the party was zoo-themed. It was so much fun. We had a zebra cake and I put all this greenery by the door so it was like the guests were entering a jungle. We had animal games and party favors. Everyone loved it. So I’m good at this kind of stuff. Planning events and parties.”
“You are.”
“Do you think I could do it for a living?” Excitement sparked inside her, and she sat up to look at him. “I mean, as a career?”
“Do you think you could?” Gavin asked.
“I could try,” Mia said. “Maybe see if there are any event planners looking to hire an assistant. Or maybe just do it myself. If I could put Luke and Polly’s wedding on my resume, that’s already an amazing reference. My friend Susan’s parents have a 40th anniversary coming up. I can ask her if she needs help with the planning.” She chewed on her bottom lip, considering. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s a great idea.”
“I’m not even sure where to start.”
“Sounds like you already have,” Gavin said.
She had, hadn’t she? She wasn’t well-versed about starting her own business, but Polly was now a highly successful businesswoman and could give her plenty of advice. And all their other friends would be happy to help out. She’d always liked going out and having fun with their friends, but she knew they’d rally around her if she needed them.
She rubbed her hands on her pants. “I’ve never thought of starting my own business before. I know from Polly that it’s a ton of work, but I’m a good worker. Especially when I’m working for something I believe in. I think I can do it.”
“I know you can.”
She looked at him, struck by the satisfaction in his blue eyes, the relaxed set of his shoulders.
“Did you have that idea all along?” she asked.
“I figured you could do something like that, yes. But the idea had to be yours.”
“I think you lied. You really are psychic.”
He smiled. “I’d never lie to you.”
He certainly hadn’t yet. In fact, he’d been nothing but honest, sometimes painfully so. She got to her knees and moved across the sofa to him. He opened his arms. She settled against him, her curves fitting perfectly against the hard planes of his chest. Warmth flooded her, banishing any lingering frustration.
“Thank you,” she said.
He kissed the top of her head and folded his arms around her. And just like that, all the bad stuff disappeared.