everybody who wanted to come. Practically the whole town knew Allie, and they all wanted to raise a glass in honor of her nuptials.
“I love this house,” Sara commented as they settled in the den, which was littered with several dresses in bags, shoes, recipes, bridal magazines, florists’ catalogs and a stack of half-addressed invitations. “I’m so glad Cooper decided to rent it.”
“We’re talking about buying it,” Allie said. “It’s perfect for us.”
“And for the bambinos you’ll have,” Sara added. “You’re going to have twelve so their devoted auntie Sara can spoil them rotten, right?”
“First I have to survive the wedding.” Allie looked uneasily at the wedding-planning detritus. “I wanted to keep it simple, and now it’s getting out of hand. Is it too late to elope?”
“Just start making decisions,” Sara said practically. “I’ll help you finish addressing the invitations.”
“Ah, no, thanks. I’ve got that covered.”
“It’s my handwriting, right?” Sara tried not to feel slighted. Her penmanship was abominable.
“That, and the fact you’ll transpose numbers and misspell names. But there is something really important you can do. I know you’re superbusy with Miss Greer’s surgery and all, but I need a caterer. I was going to fix the food myself, but-”
“I’d be honored! You’ll be way too busy to worry about that.”
“Can you do that and be my maid of honor, too?”
“Of course. I’ll fix everything ahead of time. How about a Southwestern theme for the food? Taquitos and flautas, nachos-”
“Whatever you want. For about fifty people. If I can just scratch it off my list and turn it over to you, I’d be so grateful.”
“Give me a budget, then say no more. What about cakes?”
“We’re doing just one cake, from Rominelli’s Bakery. No punch or anything fussy, just champagne and soft drinks.”
“I can do all that, too.”
With the food and drink portion of the planning taken care of, they moved on to dress and shoe modeling and picking out flowers. For once, Allie allowed herself to be a girlie-girl, choosing pink and white roses and carnations.
Sara had to admit she felt a little wistful. As a girl, she’d never been entranced with the idea of being a bride. She’d preferred fantasizing that she was a secret agent or a rock star. Later, she had decided she would never get married-too restrictive. She hated the thought of being tied down.
But seeing Allie in her slightly stressed state of romantic bliss had given birth to fantasies of Prince Charming and happily ever after.
Where was that damn prince, anyway?
She thought briefly of Reece, then shook her head.
“What’s wrong?” Allie asked.
“What? Nothing.”
“You looked sad all the sudden.”
“Allie, is there something wrong with me?”
“What? No. What could be wrong with you? You’re perfect.”
Sara snorted at that one. She was far from perfect, but neither did she think she was repulsive. “Reece is attracted to me-I know he is. He’s hetero and unattached. So why can’t I, you know, get something going with him?”
Allie’s eyebrows rose so high they almost joined her hairline. “This is something you want? I mean, I agree that Reece has a little thing for you. I’ve seen him watching you with this expression of…I don’t know. Wonder, I guess.”
“Wonder?”
“Like he’s watching an exotic, alien creature.”
That didn’t sound so nice.
“But I didn’t think you would be interested in someone so…how do I put this?”
“Boring? A stick-in-the-mud?”
“Now, I wouldn’t have put it that way. But he is more conservative than your usual type of boyfriend.”
“But maybe I need a different kind of boyfriend. All those guys I’ve dated-what’s it ever gotten me? They’re usually flakier than me, even. No stability, no clue about commitment, not exactly loyal…”
“But I thought you wanted someone to have adventures with.”
“I do, but I just realized I also want someone I can depend on. Someone who can ground me.”
“Okay, but maybe you should make the change slowly, by degrees. No more Peter Pans, but someone with a pulse.”
“Allie! Reece has a pulse.” She thought about that hot kiss outside his room. Even the memory made her feel a bit melty. “You should have seen how well he dealt with Miss Greer’s accident. He was calm and efficient, but kind, too. And he didn’t have to agree to help out at the B and B, but he did. He even tried Bulgarian food.”
“Really. You two have been out together?”
“Sort of. But I guess it wasn’t as much fun for him as it was for me. Maybe I should have let him take me to a steak house like he wanted.”
A mischievous smile spread across Allie’s face. “If you want Reece, then I think you should have him. But he seems shy. You’re going to have to make the first move.”
“I already made the first move. I asked him to come with me to the party and he turned me down, remember?” Sara looked away, refusing to admit how much his turndown bothered her. “How many first moves do I have to make before I admit defeat?”
Chapter Six
Reece spent most of the afternoon going over the dratted financials and painstakingly explaining the concept of Collateralized Mortgage Obligation over the phone to his brother, who was handling the financial aspects of a leveraged buyout.
But his thoughts were never far from Sara.
He’d blown it in more ways than one today. First he’d upset Miss Greer with his talk about nursing homes. Then he’d argued with Sara. And finally, when she’d overlooked his boorish behavior and actually asked him to go to a party with her, he’d said no.
The answer was automatic reflex. The thought of going out for a purely social evening with Sara terrified him. He didn’t much like parties, either.
But she’d asked him out. And he’d said no.
Maybe he needed to read a book on interpersonal skills, because he obviously was lacking in them. While he was at it, maybe he should see a shrink, too. He was crazy for being so attracted to Sara, and also crazy for pulling away from her when she’d made an overture.
He heard the front door open and knew without a doubt it was Sara and not one of the guests. She didn’t say anything, but the air in the house subtly changed whenever she entered or exited. Not long ago he would have scoffed at the idea that a person had vibrations that could be sensed, but Sara did.
He had the financial printout, a yellow legal pad and several other documents spread out over the dining-room table. He’d hoped to finish his work early enough to free up his evening-if Sara would give him a second chance at that party.
But he still had several hours’ worth of analysis to do, and Bret needed it by tomorrow morning.
He didn’t like disappointing his brother, especially at this sensitive time, when Remington Industries was about to name a new VP of Finance, a position currently held by their soon-to-retire father.
Reece and Bret had always gotten along well, but sometimes Bret’s meteoric ascent in the family business was irksome. Bret was no smarter than Reece, but he knew how to work the system better. Reece had to remind
