No Reservations (7 page)

“Do you want me to call Jed?”

She gave him a smile as they got into the car and got on their way. God, she really
was an idiot or he really was too good to be true. “No, that’s okay. I’ll call Annabelle.”

As she pulled her phone out, her gaze brushed by his big hand on the gearshift. Long
fingers that had brought her so much pleasure. She wanted those hands on her again.

And now was definitely not the time to be thinking about that because she had an emergency.

Annabelle didn’t pick up until the third ring. “Kate! Are you okay?” Then her voice
dropped into an almost-whisper. “Did you really leave with Tyler last night and go
back to Haven with him? Where are you? Did you have fun?”

“And good morning to you, too.” Kate felt a blush flare and hoped Tyler couldn’t hear
Annabelle’s overly exuberant voice. “Hey, I need a favor and I’m so sorry to have
to ask—”

“What’s wrong? Is everything okay? Do you need me to come get you?”

Kate couldn’t help but smile. “Nothing’s wrong. Yes, I did. I’m on my way to Reading,
and no, I don’t need you to come get me. But I do need you to bring my full kit to
Reading for me.”

“Whose— Oh no.” Dread filled Annabelle’s tone. “The Shanahan wedding’s today, isn’t
it? And there’s a problem with the dress? Ooh, that can’t be good.”

“No, probably not. I didn’t get a lot of detail from Talia because she was already
freaked out, so that’s not a good sign. It must be bad.”

“I’ll get your kit and meet you— Where should I meet you?”

“At St. Catherine’s in Mount Penn. I’m so sorry to interrupt your, uh, morning.”

Annabelle laughed and Kate heard the rumble of a male voice in the background.

“No worries,” Annabelle assured her. “We can’t stay in bed the entire day.”

A pause and Kate definitely heard Jared say, “And why not?”

Annabelle laughed again. “I’ll be there with your kit. See you soon.”

Annabelle hung up, and she set her phone back in her purse, sighing.

“I like Annabelle,” Tyler said after a few seconds of silence had passed. “She seems
like a great friend.”

“The very best. We met in college and have been best friends ever since. When my mom
died, I don’t think I would’ve managed without her.”

“I’m sorry about your mom. Was she ill?”

She really didn’t want to talk about her mom but she didn’t want to be rude either.
And in her current state, she might just snap off his head. “She had an undiagnosed
heart defect. Went out for a run one day and never came home. She had a heart attack,
fell over, and hit her head on a rock. She was dead before anyone found her.”

He paused. “I’m so sorry. How old were you?”

“Twenty.”

Please God don’t let him ask any more questions.
She hated talking about her mom because it always made her cry. And that made her
angry. It’d been more than seven years since her death. Most people figured she should
be over it by now. Or at least have moved on.

Which she had. Really.

As if he’d picked up on her silent pleading, he changed the subject.

“So this dress, is it your first custom gown?”

Breathing a hopefully silent sigh of relief, she shook her head. “No, but it is the
first I’ve designed for one of Talia’s clients.”

“And Talia is . . . ?”

“Talia Driscoll, event planner. This is her first major wedding and she’s been running
on Red Bull and dark chocolate for the past week. I was kind of afraid she wouldn’t
be able to hold it together until the actual wedding day, but so far she’s managed.
Talia’s brilliant. She was able to pull this wedding together in record time.”

“Why the rush?”

“The bride’s fiancé is about to ship out with the Peace Corps for a two-year stint
in Africa and the bride didn’t want to wait to get married until he came home. When
the Shanahans couldn’t find anyone else to take over the wedding on such short notice,
Talia’s mother offered up her daughter’s services. It’s a great opportunity. It’ll
make her career if the day comes off without a hitch.”

“But that can’t happen unless you fix the dress. Will you be able to?”

She couldn’t afford to believe otherwise. “Unless the thing got dumped in a sludge
pile and shredded, I can fix it.”

“You sound pretty sure of yourself.”

She was, actually. “The dress is pure Cinderella. Lots of tulle, big puffy skirt.
The bodice is fitted, but even if I have to resew a few seams, it shouldn’t be a problem.
I guess I should’ve asked Talia what happened but I’m almost afraid I’ll psych myself
into a panic before I get there.”

His mouth quirked into one of those smiles she couldn’t seem to get enough of. “Sounds
like you’ve got this all worked out.”

“Yeah, except now I’m wondering if I shouldn’t have had Annabelle pick up some extra
fabric and the bolt of tulle . . .”

Even as she spoke, she reached for her cell to text Annabelle.

“Better safe than sorry.”

Tyler’s voice hit that spot deep inside that made her shiver. Her thumbs fumbled the
message and she had to retype it before she hit send.

Then she noticed the tremble in her hands and her racing heart.

Damn. She couldn’t afford to panic.

“So, Tyler. Tell me
all
about the hotel business.”

Tyler turned to look at Kate, noticed the shaking hands and the tremor in her voice.

And realized he didn’t know enough about her to know what to say to calm her down
because she was about to lose it. He figured that wouldn’t be a couple of sniffles
and a tear or two.

He knew just where to touch her to make her shiver and he knew that if he sucked on
her breasts a certain way, she moaned.

But heading off a meltdown?

Shit. Jared handled women much better than he did. He knew what to say to calm them
down, to get their minds turned in another direction.

Tyler had known that when Mia dissolved in tears, he could pull her into his arms
and let her cry it out against his chest.

He hadn’t pegged Kate as a crier and, as he watched her struggle to maintain her composure,
he realized she didn’t want to cry. Was fighting against it hard.

Her bottom lip trembled but she bit down on it as she took a deep breath. She stared
straight out the window, her hands held tight in her lap.

Strong. Battling.

He liked that.

So he talked about zoning laws and union workers and waste management contracts, figuring
if nothing else he would bore her into a state of numbness.

Except she surprised him. She asked questions. Questions that told him she was actually
listening to him instead of just nodding her head when he paused for a breath.

So they discussed aspects of the company he never discussed with anyone other than
Jed.

Mia had never wanted to know details about hotel management. She’d been content to
let him handle all financial aspects of their relationship. Anything having to do
with money or business had been off Mia’s radar.

She’d been more concerned with their impending marriage, which had still been six
months in the future at the time of her death. They’d seen no need to worry about
when they held the actual marriage, but Mia had wanted the whole royal wedding deal—big
church, ten bridesmaids, ten groomsmen, ring bearer, flower girls, huge dress, ice
sculptures, ten-piece orchestra and an entire warehouse of flowers decorating the
hotel ballroom.

He’d gone along with everything because he’d loved Mia.

“Tyler? I’m sorry. I don’t mean to bombard you with all these questions. It’s okay
if you don’t—”

“No, Kate.” He shook his head and reached for her hands, twisted into a knot on her
lap. He wrapped his fingers around hers and squeezed. “Sorry. I just kind of zoned
out there for a minute.”

“What were you thinking about?”

He paused. “My fiancée.”

“Do you want to talk about her?”

No. Not at all.
“Would you like to talk about your ex-fiancé?”

He wanted to take back the words as soon as they left his mouth. Damn it, he hadn’t
meant to sound so damn defensive, especially in the state she was in.

Mia would have broken down in a hysterical mess if he’d said the same to her

Kate laughed, a short burst of sound that hit him low in the gut. “Touché. Okay, so
no talking about former partners. How about you tell me the story behind the Salon?
That should take my mind off of other things.”

For a second, he couldn’t believe she’d let it go so easily. Mia—

Kate wasn’t Mia. And he had to remember that.

“I wasn’t really involved in the inception of the Salon, but I know Jared’s inspiration
comes from his interest in Victorian erotica.”

“Not something you typically hear guys get worked up about.”

Tyler slid a grin in her direction. “Have you met my brother? He’s not exactly the
poster child for typical.”

“No, Jared definitely is not typical. But then neither is Annabelle.”

“They suit each other.”

He glanced over and caught Kate’s smile. Damn, he really liked making her smile.

“Yes, they do. Seeing them together helped me realize what I’d be giving up if I married
Arnie.” Her smile disappeared. “I decided I didn’t want to live half a life.”

Something in her voice made him want to dig a little deeper. “What do you mean?”

She paused so long he wasn’t sure she was going to answer.

Finally, she said, “My mom . . . She was never really happy. When you’re a kid, you
know how you pick up on things that you know aren’t right but you can’t really figure
out what’s going on?”

He nodded, his jaw tightening as images of his own mother’s troubled past crowded
to the forefront. “Yeah, I do.”

“I didn’t realize until I was about thirteen or so that my mom wanted to be a photojournalist.
I thought she’d always wanted to teach college. Then one night, I heard her and my
dad arguing. That wasn’t unusual. My dad was born in Reading, but my grandparents
are from Korea. He’s never been a real affectionate person. It just wasn’t how he
was raised. But my mom was Italian.” She stopped to shake her head, her smile bemused.
“They met at college and, according to my mom, it was love at first sight. My dad
defied his parents to marry my mom, and Mom gave up her dream of traveling the world
for him.

“My dad’s parents have been gone for years and we didn’t see them much growing up.
My mom’s parents got over the fact that their daughter married a guy who acted like
he had a stick up his butt and I think they were relieved that she wasn’t going to
fly off to some foreign country and never return.”

“Sounds stressful.”

She nodded, gaze fixed on a point in the distance. “Yeah, I guess it was. But when
you’re in it, and you’re a kid, you don’t really understand it. I mean, you know it’s
going on but you can’t really do anything about it. I only figured out what was really
going on when I was in college. I knew my mom was unhappy and I thought it had to
be my dad’s fault.”

Pausing, she sighed before looking up at him with a rueful smile. “But nothing’s ever
that simple, is it?”

Considering his parents’ problems, he knew that for a fact. “No, it’s not.”

She must have heard something in his voice because she paused again, staring up at
him. But she didn’t press him on it. “After she died, I blamed my dad for a lot of
stuff that probably wasn’t his fault.”

“But you still returned home after college.”

He didn’t phrase it as a question but she had to know he’d meant it as one.

She shrugged. “I love my dad.”

As if it was that easy. And maybe it was.

Jed had had a tough time forgiving their father for his indiscretions. Tyler had realized
at a much younger age that their parents’ marriage had gaping wounds that might never
be healed.

He’d never wanted to go through that with his own wife.

Which had made Mia perfect for him.

The perfect doll who never talked back.

And that was totally unfair.

“So do you still want to be a costume designer?”

“Yes.” She spoke without any hesitation. “But I have to be realistic. The time for
that might have come and gone. It would’ve been easier to get an apprenticeship right
out of college, when I had the contacts with my professors.”

“But it’s not like you’re over the hill. You’ve been working in the field—”

Her short, sharp laugh cut him off. “I don’t think hemming pants and suit jackets
qualifies as working in the field.”

“And the lingerie and wedding design don’t either? I think you’re selling yourself
a little short.”

He snuck a quick glance at her—traffic was getting heavier the closer they got to
Reading—and did a double take at her smile. Holy shit. That one could cut him off
at the knees.

“I appreciate the vote of confidence. But all you’ve seen are little bits of lace
and satin so far.”

“And two beautiful fairy costumes. And the dress you wore last night was stunning.”

Another pause. “Thank you. I don’t . . . Thank you, Tyler.”

She laid her hand over his on the steering wheel and he wanted to twine their fingers
together and bring it to his mouth, but that seemed like a gesture a lover would make.

He wasn’t sure they were at that stage yet. But he was fast realizing he wanted to
be.

And that kind of scared the shit out of him.

**

The knot in the pit of Kate’s stomach tightened as they stopped in front of the church
less than an hour later. For all that Tyler seemed like such a steady-as-he-goes guy,
he had a lead foot.

Which she
so
appreciated at the moment.

She had the door open before the car came to a complete stop behind another car she
recognized. Jared and Annabelle were already here.

Kate had a quick moment to panic over where to go. She didn’t figure anyone was in
the church yet. The bride-to-be was probably in one of the ancillary rooms in one
of the wings off the church but—