The sight of Lauren Harrison walking down the jetway was a sucker punch to his gut, a stunning beauty who had him riveted in place. She looked like a model from the magazine covers on display at the kiosks he’d just passed. She wore a bright-green fitted coat, and her glossy blond hair was twisted in a knot, emphasizing her delicate neck.
With Lauren unaware of his perusal, Gabe had time to take in her long, slim legs and her easy glide in high heels. She exuded sophistication—cool, untouchable—until she laughed. The sound was light and lyrical, and her full red lips lifted, making it impossible for him to look away.
The Wall Street-looking dude walking next to her looked at her as if she’d discovered the cure for cancer. By the way his shoulders and hips were angled toward Lauren, he was trying to get as close as possible. It was unclear if Lauren reciprocated. She was laughing and smiling, but her body language wasn’t open to the man. His training as an operator included CIA analysis of human behavior. Being another male played no part in reading the guy’s intentions as man on the make.
For no clear reason, he already didn’t like this dude, who seemed to feel the same way about Gabe when Lauren introduced them.
Gabe grabbed the bags out of Roger’s hands, wanting to minimize the time Lauren smiled at him.
Gabe gave Roger credit since he read Gabe’s male-speak message of “get lost.” Why he was behaving like an ass was beyond him. He barely knew Lauren. And hell, he was just doing his brother a favor.
“We should get to our gate. With the delay, we’re cutting it close. Is it far?” Lauren started walking.
“Our flight was canceled.”
She twisted fast, pivoting on her heels. “It can’t be. I have to get this dress to Tiffany. I promised.”
“What’s the rush? The wedding isn’t for two days.”
“I have to charter a flight.” She was already walking away, unaware that she was headed in the wrong direction.
He dodged a few distracted cell phone users to catch her. How could she move so fast in those stilts?
“Lauren,” he yelled after her. “The flight is canceled because of weather.”
She stopped and looked directly into his eyes.
For a minute, he lost track of the conversation. She had the brightest green eyes, the color of the Nebraska fields of spring wheat.
“What kind of weather? It’s raining outside.” She nodded toward the long windows being pelted with rain.
“On this side of the mountains, it rains, but in the eastern part of the state, it’s a different climate and it snows. Winthrop is getting hit with a blizzard.”
She dug into her satchel purse and pulled out her phone. She typed furiously and fast.
“You don’t believe me?”
“No, I’m going to rent a car. I can still drive there, right?”
“You’re going to drive?” He had to admire her tenacity. “Do you know how to drive in a blizzard?”
She kept typing, ignoring his questions.
“What’s your damn rush?” Now he was getting irritated. He already had it all taken care of if she’d give him a minute.
“I live in New York. I can drive in a blizzard.”
She lifted her chin, and he was riveted by the pulsing of her throat and the fantasy of kissing his way along the soft, pale skin.
“New York doesn’t have mountains. You need to have a four-wheel drive and probably chains to get over mountain passes.”
“I have to drive over mountain passes?” She stopped typing.
“Didn’t you look at the pictures of the High Mountain Lodge? It sits on a…high mountain…in the middle of mountains.”
“I was too busy looking at the interior. Inspecting the windows and lighting and evaluating how the light would affect the shade of white and the choice of red for the bridesmaid’s dresses.”
Gabe inched closer to avoid the crowd moving around them. “And you didn’t notice that the windows look out toward the mountains?”
Her lower lip lifted and there was amusement in her voice. “The mountains weren’t a priority. Besides, Tiffany renamed the lodge Mistletoe Lodge for her wedding, so I never gave another thought to the mountains.” She shook her head. “I was busy incorporating the shades of red that matched mistletoe berries.”
He watched in fascination the way the light shifted in her eyes, turning them almost golden when she smiled. “What did Tiffany have to do to get them to change the name of the lodge?” He was about to say he couldn’t believe it, but knowing Tiffany, he did believe it.
“The lodge had been scheduled to be closed for some renovations, but she and my father booked all the rooms for the entire week and paid for the signage to be changed. And promised a great bonus for everyone working around the holidays. They had to agree not to use pictures of the lodge in any commercial way with the name change. It meant that the number of guests was limited to only the wedding party, and a lot of her friends had already made Christmas plans.”
Gabe couldn’t believe his brother was part of changing a resort’s name. But hell, as Aiden said, Gabe didn’t have a clue what a man was willing to do to make his bride happy.
Lauren switched the brown leather bag to her other shoulder. “Tiffany is going to have a fit that I’m not flying in before the rehearsal.”
“Tiffany will live. Trust me, she’s going to have at least five hundred more fits before the actual wedding.”
She was watching his face, trying to read him. “But you don’t care if Tiffany is upset?”
“Hell, no. I hope she gets so fricking mad that she decides not to marry my brother.”
Her eyes shot to the people behind him. “Because you still care about her.”
“Care about Tiffany? I haven’t seen Tiffany in seven happy years.”
He took her arm as a tourist was about to run straight into her and directed her to baggage claim. “It was a college moment. And I sure as hell don’t want her to marry my brother. Listen, we can discuss this further when we get our car.”
“You already have a car? Why didn’t you say so?” The outrage in her voice had him smiling. He hadn’t been as entertained by a woman in a long time.
And she started taking off the wrong way again. What was with this woman and her directions? But she was willing to drive in a blizzard.
“Lauren!”
She swiveled. “What?”
“You’re going the wrong way.”
And she gave him the sweetest smile. A dimple on her right cheek. “Sorry. I’m terrible with directions.”
And like a big sap, he was smiling at her.