Alaskan Adventure (Destination: Desire) (14 page)

Chapter Eleven

She was so beautiful. Maybe at a wedding, he should be looking at the bride, but Gabe couldn’t tear his gaze away from Anne.

She wore the same floaty strapless navy dress as the bridesmaids, but she stood on the groom’s side, next to the best man. They were on a bluff overlooking a gorgeous stretch of the Pacific Ocean, a breeze blew, and the weather was seventy-five and sunny. But Gabe’s focus was on Anne, not the view.

God, he’d missed her. Every single second since she’d left him in Alaska had been a torment. It was an ache that wouldn’t quit. It had also sucked pretty hard to realize he didn’t have her phone number, email or home address. He hadn’t needed any of those things on the cruise, but he’d remembered that her friend Julie ran a fiber arts store in Half Moon Bay. It wasn’t exactly a big town—how many shops like that would have an owner named Julie? So, he’d done a web search and called her friend’s business. At the very least, she’d know him from the ice climbing pictures Anne had sent.

It turned out all three of her best friends had been more than willing to help him out with his campaign to get Anne back. They’d told him to forget the phone or email; he needed to show up in the one place she couldn’t run away. Gabe and his entire family had received impromptu invitations to Meg’s wedding. Since his mother had pointed out that his fabulous family was his trump card, he’d made damn sure all the Warrens were in attendance. His parents, brother, and sister-in-law sat beside him in a row toward the back.

Anne’s sister, Hazel, turned in her seat, met his gaze, and subtly winked. He nodded back, giving her a small smile. She then bent to whisper in Cami’s ear, who whispered to Nora.

“Those three redheads have to be her sisters, am I right?” his mom asked softly.

“Yep.”

The night before, he’d been dragged out to dinner by the sisters and interrogated. That had been interesting. He’d had an are-you-good-enough grilling from a woman’s father before, but never her posse of younger sisters. They were good girls, and he could see a lot of Anne’s no-bullshit demeanor and world-class sense of humor had rubbed off on them.

They’d also promised to
take care of
their mother for Anne and him. He’d tried not to get an ominous chill over how they intended to go about that, but in cases like this, maybe it was better not to ask questions.

The ceremony was thankfully short, the bridal party filed out to be quickly waylaid by the photographer, and everyone else rose to walk the fifty feet to the banquet hall where the reception was being held. One wall of the building was made of glass doors that were thrown open to let the ocean breeze in and let the guests out on the deck to take in the view. A DJ was set up inside, already playing some slow tunes and encouraging people to dance. A few couples were out on the floor, swaying to the beat. Apparently Meg and Finn weren’t big on the formality of people standing around watching them do the first dances. That was fine with Gabe. He wasn’t a fan of formality either. Buffet tables were set up with glasses of the bubbly and trays of tiny hors d’oeuvres. Gabe and his family got some food and drinks and went out to lean against the deck railing.

“You okay?” His dad glanced at him.

He took a fortifying swig of champagne. “I was less nervous on my first date.”

David snorted. “Little brother, you went out with a hot senior cheerleader on your first date. And you were a sophomore.”

“I know. This is worse.” This actually mattered in a long-term, rest of his life kind of way. He had no idea how Anne would react to him showing up here. He hoped she’d be pleasantly surprised, but she had a habit of catching him off-guard.

Had she thought about him in the last ten days? Had she woken up in the middle of the night, reaching for him the way he’d reached for her? Had the loneliness been eating her alive, even though she was surrounded by people? He’d suffered through a one-week cruise on the
Alaskan Adventure
, then he’d told the cruise company he needed to be gone for the three-week cruise after that. He’d promised to return to finish up the season, but he hoped it was with the knowledge that Anne would be waiting for him when he was done.

“It looks like the photographer is done.” His sister-in-law grinned, sipping a glass of ginger ale. “This is exciting. She must be really special for you to fly us all in for this.”

“She is, and thanks for coming on short notice.” Gabe blew out a breath. Seeing Anne had only made him more certain of what he wanted—her, in his life, always—but he needed to know if she still felt the same way she had in Alaska.

“Gabe, turn around.” His mom ordered, and he pivoted without thinking.

There she was, so precious and beautiful she made his heart ache. He stepped forward, his feet carrying him across the distance that separated them. He was intensely aware of her friends, his family and her sisters all watching with acute interest. She examined a stuffed mushroom and popped it in her mouth. The moment she glanced up and saw him, her eyes went wide, she sucked in a quick breath, and choked.

He reached out and thumped her between the shoulder blades, and she coughed the hors d’oeuvre into the napkin she held.

“Well,” she wheezed. “That was elegant.”

As if he cared about elegance. He rubbed a hand up and down her spine. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.” She tossed the wadded napkin into a nearby trash can and turned to look at him squarely. Her gaze searched his face, but her expression was unreadable. “I’m…shocked to see you.”

“Good shocked or bad shocked?” He braced himself for the answer.

“I—”

Their audience decided that was the moment to break in. Damn it. Julie stepped forward. “He called my shop, and I told Meg and Karen.”

“So I invited him.” Meg and her new husband stood hand-in-hand, looking entirely pleased with their part in this conspiracy.

The hugely pregnant friend, Karen, piped up. “It was pretty clear you were depressed from the moment you got home. We know you too well for you to hide it from us.”

Anne closed her eyes. “I’m sorry, Meg. I didn’t want to ruin your celebration.”

“You didn’t,” the bride assured her. “But all of us wanted you to be happy today too, and you weren’t. I thought importing a really hot wedding date for you would help. You’re welcome.”

A laugh straggled out of her and her eyes opened again. “Thanks…I think. I don’t even…this wasn’t…”

None of those things sounded particularly positive or promising, and Gabe’s heart sank.

The sisters descended, and Cami blurted, “We evicted Mom this morning.”

Anne’s head snapped around and she stared at her youngest sibling. “Excuse me?”

Hazel folded her arms, chin jutting pugnaciously. “We had a little Come-to-Jesus meeting with her, and then we told her she had one week to pack up her stuff and get the hell out of
your
house.”

“How’d that go over?” Gabe’s eyebrows arched. Well, that was better than he’d feared when they claimed they’d handle their mother.

“About as well as a nuclear bomb.” Nora’s expression was somber. “But we were serious and she knew it. We even got out boxes and started packing her up.”

“Is that why she had a sudden headache and couldn’t make it to my wedding?” Meg asked.

“Yep. That, and she was hoping to make us feel guilty enough to ruin our day too. Or maybe just guilt us into staying there to pamper her in her hour of need.” Cami shrugged. “Whatever. It didn’t work.”

Groaning quietly, Anne rubbed a fingertip between her eyebrows. “That’s going to be a fun meltdown to go home to.”

Hazel shook her head. “Nope, you’re not going home until she’s gone. You can stay with one of your friends—”

“Or with Gabe.” Cami grinned, flashing dimples. “He’s staying at the Bayside Inn with his family. I’ve always thought that was the cutest B&B in town.”

“Back to the point.” Nora met Anne’s gaze, something resolute, angry, and sad molding her features. “You’ve put up with Mom’s crap for
us
since Dad died. We’ll handle this for you. When you come home, you’ll have a drama-mama-free house.”

Cami added, “She didn’t bother to raise us, and if it weren’t for you we’d have been so hosed growing up. But we’re adults now, and we can fend for ourselves. Mom needs to do the same. She’s
not
your responsibility, and she has no right to act like she’s given up so much to raise the four of us. That’s bull crap, and we read her every kind of riot act about her behavior toward you and us.”

“That part was kind of fun,” Hazel admitted. She seemed to be the quietest of the three, but no less determined to help Anne.

“It really was.” Nora cracked a smile. “Her sense of entitlement blows my mind, but it stops now. So, Anne, if you want to run away with Gabe, you don’t have to worry about Mom. She’s going to have to start taking care of herself.”

“Or find someone else to enable her, which is more likely.” Cami rolled her eyes. “I’m guessing we have a new stepdaddy in the next year.”

Nora and Hazel looked equal parts annoyed and nauseated by that idea.

Cami steamrolled right along. “For the record, I like Gabe.”

“We had dinner with him last night.” Hazel bit her lip. “We threatened to kill him if he wasn’t good to you, Anne. Nora used some very medical sounding terms to tell him she’d cut off his dick if he behaved like a dick. And he seemed to think that was fair. Or at least he didn’t run screaming. So, you can keep him…he’s nice.”

“And hot.” Cami waggled her eyebrows. “You were all thinking it.”

“Yep.” Nora laughed, grabbed her baby sister’s arm and towed her toward the buffet tables.

“Absolutely.” Hazel hid a grin behind her water glass. “I’m going to go see if Karen’s brother wants to dance. That’ll bug Nora, don’t you think?”

Silence fell after the sisters left, and Gabe cleared his throat. “I take it Nora doesn’t get along with Karen’s brother.”

“A long-standing feud, unfortunately.” Karen shook her head and sighed.

Anne still didn’t say anything. Her gaze went from her departing sisters, to her friends, to his family, to him. Her lips trembled and she looked like she was about to lose her cool. Her cheeks flushed, and he could see a hint of tears in her eyes. He knew she’d hate crying in front of a crowd of wedding guests, and he couldn’t bear seeing her so upset. Everyone was pushing her toward him, emotions were high, and she needed some breathing room.

“Dance with me.” He didn’t wait for an answer, just grabbed her hand and hauled her out to the dance floor.

He pulled her close, they moved together, and it felt so fucking good to hold her again. Soft strands of her hair brushed his jaw and cheek, her scent filled his nose, and her breasts and thighs brushed against him with every step.

She took a few jerky little breaths, her fingers digging into his shoulders.

“Shh.” He smoothed his palm in circles along her spine. “Deep breaths, honey. It’s going to be okay.”

Something remarkably close to a sob emerged. “I don’t…I don’t know…”

“Despite what everyone’s said, you don’t need to know anything right now. You don’t have to run away from home or agree with your friends and sisters.” He pulled her closer. “Just dance with me.”

Little by little, she relaxed against him, swaying to the beat. Gabe never wanted this song to end because he wasn’t sure he’d survive when it came time to face the music. He’d do whatever it took to keep her, but that only worked if she was willing to compromise to make something real and permanent happen between them. He hoped she’d be willing to listen when he apologized for demanding she give up her entire existence for him. He still thought he was right about what would make her happy, but that was her choice to make, not his.

He only prayed she made a choice he could live with.

Being in his embrace felt so damn amazing, it made Anne’s eyes well with tears. The cessation of pain was so sharp, it was almost too much to bear. She moved with him, and it felt as natural as breathing. The last ten days had sucked on a level she didn’t like to admit, but she refused to lie to herself. She’d barely managed to go through the motions.

Just hold it together, just smile like you’re happy to be back, just try not to fuck up your friends’ happy moments.
That had been her mantra lately. Finn and Meg had their wedding. Karen and Tate were about to have their baby. Lukas and Julie were moving in together.

Their contentment oozed around her, but she didn’t feel it herself. She’d been smothered under a blanket of wonderfulness she couldn’t quite internalize. She’d known her friends could tell something was up, but other than the occasional sideways glance, they’d left her alone. Now she knew why, since they were planning to spring Gabe on her at the reception.

She’d thought her mother’s nonstop drama had kept her sisters too preoccupied to notice anything was wrong with Anne. It was one of the few times she’d thanked God for Dinah. Her ability to keep the sisters distracted was probably the only thing that had spared the drama llama’s life this past week.

Though it appeared she didn’t need to worry about her mom anymore. There was no need to figure out how to have The Talk. Her sisters had taken care of it for her. There was a certain irony to the daughters Dinah hadn’t bothered to raise handing her ass to her. It wasn’t nice, but Anne smiled against Gabe’s chest as they danced. Hey, she deserved a bit of
Schadenfreude
after everything her mom had pulled. She was just glad that the dirty work of evicting Dinah hadn’t fallen to her. She owed her sisters one.

She apparently also owed her besties one for hooking her up with a hot wedding date. “Hey, Gabe?”

“Yeah?” He swept his hand up her back, and a sweet tingle broke out everywhere he touched.

“It was good shocked, for the record.”

It took a moment for him to react, and then his breath whooshed out. “Thank
God.”

A short laugh escaped her. “It doesn’t solve anything though, does it?”

“Look, I was a pushy jackass that last night. I threw out an all-or-nothing deal to you, and that was wrong. You have every right to decide what kind of job you should have, and whatever reasons you have for keeping that job are your own. I have no business critiquing that.” His fingers toyed with the short curls at the base of her neck. “Be a teacher, be whatever you want. I’ll support you one hundred percent. What’s most important to me is that you’re willing to make a relationship work between us.”