“I swear,” Chi said with a happy sigh as she clinked her champagne glass with Rosie’s an hour later, “that was the most beautiful wedding in the world. Especially when Noah gave Matt away. Did you know he was going to do that?”
Rosie shook her head. “I asked Jorge if Noah said anything to him about it, but he just zipped his lips like it was a big secret.”
“Adorable,” Chi said.
Rosie agreed, looking over at the boys, who were once again fascinated by Henri the peacock. The bird had wandered onto the dance floor, his tail feathers swishing behind him, and the docent was helping Jorge, Noah, and Jeremy place a trail of breadcrumbs to tempt Henri back to the grass. By now, Noah had taken off the robot helmet, the paint on his face, and the black ducting on his arms and legs.
They’d finished the wedding-party photos—with and then without the robot costumes—and now Ari and Matt were posing for the bride-and-groom shots while the rest of the guests enjoyed refreshments and appetizers. The drinks were prepared with antenna-shaped swizzle sticks, which Jorge and Noah ran to collect whenever a glass was emptied, and the appetizers were served on gear-tipped toothpicks.
Though Gideon stood at the opposite end of the bar nursing a beer, he didn’t join Rosie and Chi. Instead, he remained alone, all of his thick walls back in place in the wake of the emotions that had obviously been roiling through him during the ceremony.
Rosie’s chest ached with longing to reach for him, to make him smile with gentle teasing. Not simply because she wanted to help heal him…but because she liked him. Liked him enough to want him to be happy. Truly happy.
Just as Matt and Ari had said to each other during their vows, sometimes the dark shadows from your past could be so thick that you got lost inside them. Chi and Ari had helped pull Rosie from that darkness.
But would Gideon ever allow anyone to help him?
Now that his photographs were done, he’d loosened his bow tie. To Rosie, he had never looked sexier. The man was positively mouthwatering.
Chi homed in on Rosie’s gaze. “He’s so sweet to have paid for the whole wedding, even splurging for the pianist from the San Jose Symphony.” Chi spoke in a voice low enough that Gideon couldn’t hear.
Gideon wouldn’t let the Mavericks pay for a thing, even though they were all as rich as Croesus. Gideon had lived on the cheap for years, moving from place to place so he could follow construction work, and he’d arrived in the Bay Area with nothing more than a duffel bag. And still, he had granted Ari’s every wish as though he were a genie.
“Ari said the guys finally stopped trying to give him money to help out when he refused to take even a penny.” Rosie tugged on a strap of her dress that had started to fall off her shoulder. She thought she saw Gideon’s gaze land on her bare skin, before skittering away as Daniel and the other Mavericks came up beside him.
Daniel clapped Gideon on the back. “You did a great job up there.” His voice was loud enough to carry to Rosie and Chi.
“Ari’s happy. That’s the only thing that matters.” Yet again, Gideon refused to take any credit.
Daniel had loosened his tie along with removing the black ducting from his arms and legs, as had all the Mavericks. His white tux jacket was undone, revealing his cummerbund. “I predict that in no time, you’re going to have your own construction empire.” He turned to Evan, Sebastian, and Will. “Another billionaire, I guarantee it.”
Gideon was a master of the impassive expression, likely something he’d learned in the military. But Rosie thought she could see something flicker through him as Daniel heaped him with praise—a combination of surprised pride, swiftly followed by disbelief that the praise was anything more than Daniel blowing smoke.
“Ready to break ground on the first warehouse?” Daniel asked.
Gideon nodded, a spark finally coming into his eyes, his excitement over the warehousing project getting the better of his natural reticence—especially when the other guys started asking technical questions.
Chi moved to block Rosie’s view of Gideon. “You’ve got it bad, girl.” Again, she spoke in a low voice no one else would overhear.
Rosie blinked in surprise at her friend. For all that they usually shared everything with each other, she had never admitted to either Chi or Ari just how much Gideon affected her. Not only how attractive she found him, but also how deeply he tugged at her heart. “Is it that obvious?”
“Only to anyone within singeing distance,” Chi replied with a playful smile. “The sparks the two of you have been shooting off today with all your secret glances have been totally hot.”
Hope lit in Rosie’s heart. “I wasn’t sure if I’d imagined the way he looked at me.”
“You aren’t imagining a thing,” Chi confirmed. “However much he might be trying to fight it, Ari’s brother has it just as bad for you as you have for him. The question is, what are you going to do about it?”
The billion-dollar question. “Gideon is a tough nut to crack.”
“Maybe I should buy you a huge nutcracker?” Chi suggested. She had a flair for the dramatic.
Though Rosie smiled at Chi’s teasing suggestion, she knew that was just the problem—Gideon was already cracked. Her heart ached with how badly she wanted to help mend his fractured soul by showing him that he was amazing, loving, caring, strong, and wonderful.
Before Chi could push her more on the subject, the DJ started the music, the “Feather Theme” again, and Ari and Matt entered their reception.
Ari clapped her hands to her mouth first when she saw all the robot-themed decorations and then again when Sebastian, looking like he would burst with pride, whipped the cover off another big surprise—Charlie’s champagne fountain. It was a cross between the Wizard of Oz’s Tin Man and the Lost in Space robot, and Charlie had added additional arms sticking out all around the fountain.
“You guys are amazing!” Ari said, laughing and crying at the same time.
Matt was grinning like a crazy person. Or like the happiest man in the entire world now that he had his friends, his son, and his wife to complete him.
Ari was clearly awestruck as she picked up a crystal flute and tipped it under one of the fountain’s hands, marveling when the robot’s face plate lit up, swirling with reds and greens and yellows and blues like one of those old mood rings, and then the champagne flowed into her glass.
Noah wrapped an arm around Ari’s leg. “Can I try?”
Charlie bent down to his level. “I made a special arm for you and all the kids here today.” She gave him a glass and told him to hold it under an arm that stretched out from the robot’s hip, until his glass filled with lemonade.
“Me too, please!” Jorge was practically shaking with excitement as he filled his glass. “Wow,” he said with such wonder he might have been looking at the paintings in the Sistine Chapel. “This is so cool.”
Ari pulled Charlie into a hug. “It’s amazing, Charlie. Thank you so much.”
“You’re awesome, as always, Charlie.” Matt toasted her. “Thank you.”
“It was a labor of love,” Charlie replied, her cheeks beginning to turn as red as her dress. She grinned as she added, “I thought you could put it to good use at the barbecues at your house.”
“You mean the margarita parties,” Sebastian quipped, his arm tight around Charlie’s waist as he held her close.
Noah tugged at Ari’s dress to get her attention. “Me and Jorge helped with all the Legos on the tables.”
Ari stroked his hair. “They’re amazing. And you’re awesome, sweetie. Thank you.” Then she tapped Jorge’s nose fondly. “And you too. You guys are the best.”
“So tell me how it all works.” Of course, as the robot guy, Matt needed to know all the particulars.
While Charlie described her magnificent machine, the rest of the guests lined up to fill their glasses from the fountain. Gideon backed away, slowly, as if he didn’t want anyone to notice him.
But Rosie noticed.
Her heart fluttered with emotion—and desire. The desire to bring him back, to help him be a part of things, to show him how wanted and needed he was.
Especially by her.
Chi was right. She had it bad.
* * *
Gideon didn’t recognize the song Ari had picked for her first dance, but as he hung back, watching from the sidelines by the bar, he noted that its sweet melody was perfect for the newly married couple’s waltz.
He wondered if they’d practiced, or if Matt Tremont was simply proficient at everything. Despite the Mavericks’ humble beginnings in a grimy neighborhood of Chicago, each man seemed to be a master of anything he touched. Ari had told Gideon their story—how the Spencers, with little money of their own, had taken in each of the Mavericks as teenagers to live with them and their children, Daniel, who was the same age as the Mavericks, and Lyssa, only a baby at the time. No question about it, they were an impressive lot, Susan and Bob Spencer especially, for their incredible generosity.
Bob slid his arm around Susan’s shoulders as they watched Matt and Ari’s first dance, Susan misty-eyed, Bob rubbing her shoulder. When the DJ announced that it was time for Mom and Dad to join in, Bob escorted Susan to the dance floor, then handed her into Matt’s arms while he took Ari into his with tenderness.
Matt’s fellow Mavericks watched, all smiles. Noah slipped his hand into Chi’s while Rosie held Jorge’s. She was so happy, so comfortable in her skin, such a great mother.
So great, period.
“And now,” the DJ called, “it’s time for the wedding party to get on the dance floor to help usher our bride and groom into their new life together!”
Gideon watched as Rosie paired again with Will, her partner on her walk down the aisle. She was so full of life and laughter as they twirled around the dance floor, her skirt swirling around Will’s legs.
What, Gideon was desperate to know, would it be like to hold her in his arms? To make her laugh that way? To feel the warmth of her body against his?
But he already knew. It would feel like heaven.
A small hand curled around his. “We gotta dance, Uncle Gideon. ’Cause we’re part of the wedding party, right?”
Of course Gideon couldn’t resist Noah’s request—and wherever Noah went, Jorge went too.
As Gideon led the two boys onto the dance floor, Sebastian rolled Francine out, twirling around her walker as she bounced her knees and swayed in time with the music. It was the signal for all the Mavericks to join in. Kelsey and Lyssa and Chi swung the boys and Gideon into a big circle, stopping only to drag Jeremy in with them when Will whirled Harper away from her brother.
Through the crowd on the dance floor, Gideon could no longer see Rosie, but his whole body ached to swing her into his arms.
Then at last, Ari and Bob were close enough that he could cut in and dance with his sister.
“I know I’ve already said it, but you look so beautiful, Ari.” She led them into a perfect turn. He’d never been a dancer, but she was so graceful that she more than made up for his two left feet. “Seeing you this happy…” The words caught in his throat. “It’s everything I ever wanted for you.”
“First, you’re too handsome for words.” She kissed his cheek without losing a beat. Then she said, “I am happy, Gideon.” She paused for a moment before adding, “Everything has worked out just the way it should.”
She’d told him so many times during the past nine months that he didn’t need to beat himself up for anything in the past, but he knew she was just being kind. Yet even now, on her wedding day, she went out of her way to let him off the hook.
“Thank you,” she said softly. “For everything.”
“You don’t have to thank me. You know I’d do anything for you. And I wanted your wedding to be everything you’d ever dreamed of.”
Not that he thought it could make up for the years he was gone, for the years he’d left Ari alone to fend for herself. Nothing could make up for his mistakes. But with all the money he’d been saving over the past ten years, paying for her wedding was the least he could do.
Beside them on the dance floor, Paige clung to Evan, a glow about her so bright it was like a spotlight. Charlie had joined Francine and Sebastian. Daniel and Tasha swayed together. Then Rosie floated past, this time in Matt’s arms.
Gideon’s chest clenched. What he wouldn’t give to hold her. To whirl her around the floor. To breathe in the sweetness of her hair, the lightness of her perfume, to feel her body against his.
Then Matt was reaching for Ari. “You don’t mind if I take my wife back, do you?”
A moment later, his sister was swept from Gideon’s arms…and Rosie was twirling straight into his embrace.
* * *
Being held by Gideon was all Rosie had imagined—and more. The strength in his hands, the hardness of his body against hers, his delicious scent in her head. Though he held her as stiffly as the Tin Man, her skin tingled head to toe with the thrill of finally being in his arms.
She’d been aware of his well-defined muscles when he’d played Marco Polo in the pool with Noah and Jorge. But there was nothing like her body pressed to his, his arm around her waist, his heart beating against hers.
Maybe his obvious reticence about dancing with her should have tempted her to let him disappear into the shadows again. But now that Rosie had decided to take off the kid gloves, she wasn’t about to miss this made-in-heaven opportunity. From here on out, she was going to treat him the same way she treated all her friends—with total openness and honesty. Which, in this moment, meant expressing just how much the wedding had meant to her.
“I have to tell you how touching it was when you walked Ari up the aisle. The makeup artist had warned us not to mess up her work by crying, but I couldn’t help it. And when Matt hugged you like you were already his brother?” She smiled into Gideon’s dark blue eyes. “It was such a great moment. When Noah gave him away, I was a total mess. And then again when they said their vows while holding Noah’s hands.” She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so happy that she was floating on air. It wasn’t just the wedding—it was this moment with Gideon, his arms around her, his maleness intoxicating her, and finally, after what seemed like forever, the chance of getting to know each other. “It was all so beautiful, wasn’t it?”
Where she’d been extremely loquacious, he barely managed a nod. But she was still in his arms, and right now, the feel of him against her was all that counted. Other couples floated past them, Evan with a beaming Paige in his arms, Will and Harper, Tasha and Daniel, Charlie in her flame-red dress, Sebastian’s arms tight around her.
“And the boys?” she continued as though they were having a perfectly normal, two-way conversation. “They’re having such a good time today. And,” she said as she pointed across the dance floor, “I’m pretty sure Kelsey and Lyssa are in love with those two kids.” Chi was out there with the boys too, playing ring-around-the-rosy.
“What’s not to love?” he agreed. Though his voice was a little croaky, at least she got a verbal response this time. Probably because they were talking about the boys, the two people who were always able to break through the walls around Gideon’s heart.
Well, Rosie could absolutely work with that. At least for now, when she was so enjoying their dance, the heat and strength of his body against hers, the sense of aliveness that made her want to stretch her arms around his neck and lay her lips on his. If only the song could go on forever, surely he’d realize it would be so much easier to let himself relax when they were together.
“Doesn’t this song seem like it’s been playing forever?” he asked.
She laughed, because it was so close to what she’d been thinking—from the completely opposite point of view. “Are you trying to say you’re not having a good time dancing with me?”
“No.” He shook his head, hard, even stiffer against her now. “Of course I didn’t mean that.”
“I was just teasing,” she said with a little smile, hoping against hope that he’d smile back. God, she wanted so badly to show him that he could dance, he could laugh, he could be playful with more than just the boys. If only she could show him that he didn’t need an excuse to be happy, that he was allowed to feel joy. Barring those choices, she opted for saying, “I am really loving this dance with you.”
In an instant, his eyes turned a smoky blue. It was a new look for him, one she’d never seen before. Maybe the smoke was her special look. She hoped it was about her, that he was thinking about how good she felt, how lovely she smelled, how sexy it was to have his arms around her, their bodies pressed tightly together. Because those were all the things she was feeling.
She wound her arms around his neck, holding him closer, letting him feel everything she thought, everything she wanted, everything she needed to give him.
Naturally, that was when the song ended.
Gideon stopped so fast, she almost tripped. Then he flew from the dance floor like a jet plane taking off into the wild blue yonder, leaving her standing alone in the middle of all the dancers, her arms raised as if they were still around him.
A beat later, the boys rushed her, squealing and laughing, but she could still feel the imprint of Gideon’s body against hers, could still smell his aftershave, could still feel his muscles under her fingertips.
And she knew she would wake up in the night longing to feel every moment with him all over again.