Butterface

Oh, she was definitely going to regret going straight into that pose without a warm-up first, but it was totally worth it for the stunned look on Ford’s face when she put both feet back on the ground. She had a feeling it wasn’t very often that he got that fish-out-on-dry-land gobsmacked look. Victory is mine.

“There’s no way in hell my body is ever going to do that,” he said, his voice raspier than it had been moments before.

“You never know.” She shrugged. “Come to a few yoga classes and you might surprise yourself.”

The doorbell bonged. The plumber. She was going to owe Huey his weight in cannoli for getting out here so quick. She started toward the foyer, but Ford’s voice stopped her.

“I’m gonna have my gun, Gina. It’s part of my job, but you won’t see it.”

She stood in the doorway but didn’t turn around. She didn’t like guns. Hated them. But he had a point. The story about someone coming back to clean up after Grandpa was suspicious, but if it was on the level…

“Fine,” she managed to get out through clenched teeth. “But I don’t see it. Ever.”

“Not unless you’re in danger.”

Now she did turn around. Ford was standing by the sink looking like a model but in well-fitting jeans instead of…briefs. Yep, he was totally a briefs guy. They were probably white and saggy tighty whiteys and OMG she couldn’t even lie to herself about it, judging by just how low his jeans were riding this morning, making her imagine those V lines that made smart people do very dumb things, she liked to think that he didn’t have any underwear on.

Focus, Regina! You’re about to tell him off. Remember?

Oh yeah. That. Questionable threat story. Cop sniffing around. All thoughts of Ford’s undies—or lack of them—faded to the background.

She crossed her arms and gave him what she hoped was a snarky smile. “And we don’t really expect me to be in any real danger, now do we?”

One eyebrow went up before he mirrored her posture. “Like you said, you never know. That’s why it’s important to be flexible.”

The doorbell rang again. Huey was a good guy, but he wasn’t going to wait forever on her front porch with its creaky boards that dipped and shimmied even when a squirrel ran across them. Letting Ford have the last word grated, especially when they were her words, but she wanted to take a shower today and that wasn’t happening until Huey worked his magic. After shooting her uninvited if totally hot guest one last dirty look, she strode out of the kitchen and answered the front door.

They would pick this conversation up later, though. She hadn’t missed the way his gaze had shifted away from hers in that last second.

Ford was definitely hiding something.

Chapter Seven

Donna Taylor and Scott Drake were the sweetest couple, but Gina was going to kill them, and considering that there was a cop just outside her door, that would be equally bad for her business and her determination not to be a Luca that ended up behind bars.

“I don’t know. The pink is so pretty but I love yellow.” Donna looked up, her big blue eyes filled with a silent plea for help. “I just can’t make up my mind. Scott, honey, what do you think?”

Scott glanced down at the envelopes—not the actual invitations, just the envelopes they’d come in, and got a deer in the headlights look.

It had been like this with every decision—every decision—these two had to make as part of the wedding planning. Oh sure, Gina had dealt with brides who changed their minds, control freak mothers, and soon-to-be grooms who showed up drunk, but nothing like Donna and Scott, who wanted to make every decision themselves but spent hours analyzing each and every choice. How these two had actually managed to make up their minds enough to get engaged was a mystery to Gina.

Luckily, after five years of dealing with the chaos of wedding planning, she knew exactly how to steer the happy couple so they made forward progress. Gina let out a breath and framed herself in the big bay window that looked out over the Victorian’s backyard—the one that someday would be the perfect location for intimate weddings—and turned her attention to Donna and Scott as they looked between the envelope samples as if the fate of the free world was at stake.