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at my wedding.”

      “And it won’t,” Gabe assured her. Without even seeming to do so, he guided them to the table the hostess had waiting for them, seated them, and ordered coffee and a platter of house specialty sandwiches. “May I make a proposal that might help with your decision?” he asked Annie.

      “Gabe—” Catherine began.

      “No, it’s okay,” Annie interrupted. “He can try.”

      Catherine fell silent, struggling to suppress an irrational annoyance. After all, Gabe was just trying to help, even if it did feel as if he’d swooped in and taken command of her meeting. Still, she didn’t appreciate him seizing control like…well, like a damn pirate.

      “How about this, Annie?” Gabe was saying. “If you agree to continue to use Catherine and Elegant Events as your wedding planner, I will personally guarantee that your wedding goes off without a hitch.”

      “You can’t do that,” Catherine instantly protested.

      “You can do that?” Annie asked at the same time.

      “I can, absolutely.”

      The coffee arrived in a slender, wafer-thin porcelain urn hand-painted with an intricate pattern of wild red strawberries and crisp green leaves. After aiming a dazzling smile of dismissal in the direction of their waitress, Gabe took over the chore of pouring fragrant cups for the three of them. The delicate bits of china should have looked small and clumsy in his large hands. But instead he manipulated the coffee service with an impressive dexterity that made him appear all the more powerful and male. He made short work of the chore, and Catherine could see that she wasn’t the only one dazzled by the way his raw masculinity dominated and subdued the fussy bit of femininity.

      “Let’s see if this offer doesn’t appeal,” he said as he handed Annie her cup. “If you’re not one hundred percent satisfied with your wedding, I’ll personally see to it that you’re refunded every penny.”

      She accepted the coffee with a smile. “That doesn’t exactly guarantee that it’ll go off without a hitch,” she pointed out with impressive logic.

      “True,” Gabe conceded, while Catherine silently steamed at his high-handedness.

      She didn’t want or need anyone to guarantee her ability to pull off this wedding. She was capable. Competent. She knew the business inside and out. But with one simple offer, he’d reduced Elegant Events in the eyes of her client to a struggling start-up in need of a “real” businessman to back its ability to perform successfully.

      Gabe relaxed in his chair, very much in charge. “I may not be able to guarantee that nothing will go wrong if you honor your contract. But understand this, Annie. There is one thing I can guarantee.” He paused to add weight to his comment. “Your wedding will be an unmitigated disaster if you try and do it on your own at this late stage. You’re just asking for trouble attempting to be both bride and coordinator.”

      Annie gnawed on her bottom lip. Clearly, the same thought had occurred to her. “I might be able to pull it off,” she offered.

      “You think so? Then I suggest you consider this…”

      He turned the full battery of Piretti charm and business savvy on her and Catherine watched in amused exasperation. Annie didn’t stand a chance against him, poor thing. She hung on his words, her eyes huge as she tumbled under his spell like every other woman who’d come up against those devilish blue eyes and persuasive personality.

      “After what happened at the Marconi party, Catherine is strongly motivated to make certain your wedding is perfect in every regard, if only to prove that her reputation for excellence remains intact.”

      Catherine shot Gabe a quelling glare. Not that it did much to quell him. The man was unquellable. “I can’t go into specifics about what happened,” she explained to Annie, deftly assuming control. “But I want to assure you that the problems we experienced were not a result of anything I did wrong, but for the most part caused by some mischief maker out to amuse him—or herself by turning on the sprinklers. On top of that there were a few boaters who crashed the party. I know this is a stressful time for you. And I don’t doubt you’re under tremendous pressure.”

      “My mother’s insisting I get rid of you,” Annie admitted. “And since she’s the one paying…”

      “If you’d like me to meet with her and address her concerns, I will.”

      Annie gave it a moment’s thought before shaking her head. “No, that won’t be necessary. One of the agreements Mom and I came to about the wedding was that it was my wedding. I get to make the decisions.” Her gamine smile flashed. “She gets to pay for them.”

      Catherine responded with an answering smile and gave one more gentle push. “In that case, I hope you’ll decide to honor our contract.” She kept her eyes trained on Annie’s, hoping the younger girl would see Catherine’s sincerity, as well as her determination. “I promise to do my absolute best for you.”

      “But Gabe’s guarantee stands, right?”

      Catherine gritted her teeth. “Gabe’s guarantee stands.”

      “In that case…” Annie beamed. “Okay.”

      “Then it’s settled? We move forward?”

      “It’s settled. You can stay on as my event stager.” Her attention switched to Gabe and she shot him an impish look. “Although I have to admit I’m almost hoping something does go wrong so you’re stuck footing the bill.”

      He leaned in. “I’ll see what I can do to sabotage something,” he said in a stage whisper. “Something that won’t cause too much trouble, but just enough to get you off the hook.”

      Annie giggled. “Nah, don’t do that. It would only make me feel guilty, afterward. If you can make sure there aren’t any screwups, that’s all that matters to me.”

      “Gabe won’t have to worry about it,” Catherine inserted smoothly. “That’s my job.” She leveled Gabe with a single look. “And it’s a job I do quite well.”

      Lunch sped by, though afterward Catherine couldn’t have said what they talked about or even what they ate. While part of her was grateful for Gabe’s assistance—after all, he’d rescued the account, hadn’t he? The other part, the major part, was hands-down furious.

      “Go on,” he said the minute they parted company with Annie and were walking toward his Jag. “What’s eating you?”

      She didn’t bother to hold back. “I realize you’re accustomed to being in charge, but I’d appreciate it if you’d remember that this is my business.”

      He paused beside the passenger door, key in hand. “You resent my offering to guarantee a successful event?” he asked in surprise.

      “To be blunt, yes. I felt like a teenager purchasing her first car and needing Daddy to cosign the loan agreement.”

      He considered that for a minute. “Perhaps it would help if you examined it from a slightly different angle.”

      She folded her arms across her chest. What other angle was there? “What other angle is there?”

      “I’m a businessman. It goes against the grain to lose money.” He thought about it, and added, “It more than goes against the grain.”

      “Then you better hope everything proceeds without a hitch, because otherwise you’ll be on the hook for…” She silently performed a few mathematical gymnastics and named a total that left him blanching. “Weddings don’t come cheap,” she informed him. “Especially not ones I stage.”

      “Why don’t they just buy a house?” he argued. “It would last longer and one day show a return on investment.”

      “Fortunately for Elegant Events that doesn’t occur to most couples.”

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