Strip Search (Tap That)

Leighton tried not to be turned on by the arousal in his voice and failed miserably. “It’s a wedding, not a night out at the strip club. Cleavage will be tasteful.”

“Well, that sucks.” Axl punched his pillow in protest.

She laughed. “But you get to play with the cleavage after the wedding. Just keep that in mind.”

“What are you wearing under the dress?”

She had no idea. “It’s a secret.” Even from her. She needed advice but she was scared to ask Zach. She didn’t trust his taste level. Barbie would happily give her recommendations but that was not a conversation Leighton wanted to have with her mother. That meant she was going to have a phone a friend. A lifeline. She had three close girlfriends and she had to invite them to the wedding anyway.

Which reminded her. She had so much to do. This was insane.

Normally she didn’t get freaked out by To-Do Lists but this was different and she refused to think about why that was the case.

“Oh, my God,” she wailed. “I have so much to do it’s bananas.”

Axl laughed with a snort, which he covered with a cough. “You’re bananas, because you use words like ‘bananas’ in that context. Relax. This is your job and you’re damn good at it, remember? I know you can do this.”

She loved that about him. Her mother, Sadie, they were always telling her she needed to be more. Axl thought she was fine just the way she was. There was nothing to bring because she already had it. She took a deep breath and concentrated on not panicking.

He reached out and stroked her cheek. “Hey. You’ve got this.”

What she was starting to really wish was that she had him. He felt like her champion. The guy who always knew the right thing to say to her.

“Thanks,” she murmured. Then before she said something he wouldn’t want to hear and she shouldn’t say, she rolled over to face away from him and resolutely closed her eyes.

“Are we done cuddling?” he asked, even as he shifted in to spoon her.

“I have to get some sleep or I’ll hate myself tomorrow.”

Almost as much as she hated herself for falling for Axl.

Ten

“It’s really beautiful here,” Leighton said as Axl jumped on board his boat and held out a hand to help her.

“The most beautiful thing I see is you,” he said, and it wasn’t a line. He meant it. Not only was she beautiful, she was special. He didn’t take women out on his boat because the lake was his sanctuary. His quiet space. He loved the lake but he had some serious like going on for Leighton.

She rolled her eyes but she gave him an indulgent smile as he took his hand. “You need to get out of Minnesota more often.”

“I’ve been out of Minnesota. Don’t plan on doing it again.”

Leighton was gingerly stepping onto the boat in shorts and an off-the-shoulder sweater. She had pristine white shoes on that he suspected would no longer be white when he dropped her at the hotel later.

“You’re never leaving Minnesota?”

“For vacations, sure. But I don’t plan on living anywhere else.”

Leighton gave a squeak and jumped delicately onto the boat deck from the marina dock. She dropped his hand and put hers on her hips. “Nice rig. Is that what you call it?”

“No. I call it a boat.”

She rolled her eyes again. It was her favorite expression, it seemed. “My parents have a sailboat. I’m seaworthy.”

That made him smile. She had the cutest way of talking. There was something almost retro about Leighton that made him think his grandmother would have really liked her. His father’s mother, who had passed away the year before. She had been very feminine, into all things domestic. She had run her house with an organizational skill that rivaled his drill sergeant.

“Good to know you won’t get seasick.”

Leighton rubbed her arms. “It’s a little chilly. The temperature took a nose dive.”