Chapter 15

SARAH

If Sarah thought Gabe looked good in his muddied T-shirt the day before, it was nothing compared to the sight of him in a black suit, white dress shirt, and black tie with royal blue balloons on it. She couldn’t stop her eyes from following the line of his black pants as they hugged his muscular thighs, and her gaze took in the black leather belt tied at his waist. She had to keep reminding herself that they were in a church at a ~christening~ and that they were the ~godparents~ standing around the baptismal font. His spicy cologne filled her senses, and she could barely think, especially when their shoulders brushed against each other, a hot spark setting her skin on fire. She almost regretted the short-sleeved lime-green sundress she wore when goosebumps shimmered down her arm. At least her hair was loose, and she could hide her flushing cheeks with her long waves.

Seth narrowed his eyes when she missed her cue, his questioning green eyes pinning her. She took a deep breath and tried to focus, but then Gabe took tiny Connor in his large hands, her bones and everything attached to them, melted. Gabe’s palm cradled the curved butt while his long fingers supported the spine and neck while the other handheld the hymnal. Sarah was so aware of his large size beside her that she could barely concentrate on the words being said. At five foot nine, Sarah was tall, and she was used to the bulk of Seth who was six-three. But Gabe, at the same height as Seth, made her feel so petite, so dainty, that she forgot about her feelings of inelegance when she was with him.

As aware of Gabe as she was, he barely glanced at her, his attention on Connor, the priest, and what they needed to do during the service. He was Connor’s only godfather, while Grace and Sarah were joint godmothers, a friendly competition between them as to who could spoil the little boy more.

Sarah glanced over at Amelia sitting next to Grandma, her red dress filled with white sheep dancing along the edge of the skirt, her long blonde curls gleaming in the sunlight, tied back with two large red bows. It was a huge relief to Sarah when she couldn’t find a spot of mud on Amelia, and Grandma had whispered to her that Gabe had woken up extra early to wash, dry, and style Elli’s hair, bows, and all. The ponytails were slightly misaligned, and she had guessed that Gabe had struggled to keep Amelia’s head still long enough to get them even. Her heart melted at the thought of this gentle giant being so attentive to her daughter.

She peered up at him through her lashes, only to suck in a sharp breath when she found his gaze on her, his royal blue eyes electric as they connected with her own. The glance was only for a second or two, but there was so much in that brief look, and Sarah read the promises, the want, the need… But then he blinked, and his shutters went up, pushing her out of his thoughts and raising those barriers to insurmountable heights.

It was as if that look was the icy water she needed to pay attention to the rest of the service without a hitch. Her heart sank as she recognized Gabe’s withdrawal, the sight chasing away any heat that she had in her body, the late summer sun not reaching the depths that it needed, to warm her soul.

GABRIEL

He had once again had little sleep the night before, the four kids having used his large frame as a mattress, the twins occupying his arms, Amelia his chest, and Riley lying across his stomach, their sleeping weights pinning him to the ground. It had the advantage of keeping him in the tent throughout the night, but it also made him feel trapped and eager to escape when the sun broke through the leaves of the maple tree.

It was a mad rush to get the four kids showered and dressed, fed, and out of the door in time for the service. He tugged one of Amelia’s bows into place after taking her out of the truck before helping Grandma down.

A smile pulled at his mouth when he remembered the whole tie discussion, Amelia’s big green eyes blinking up at him as she watched him pick out a tie. She had shaken her head at all of his choices, saying that they were all boring. He had raised an eyebrow at the plain-colored ties on the bed, then frowned when she held out the black one with the blue balloons and didn’t have the heart to say no to her bright smile.

He just had time to escort Grandma and the kids to the second pew before Seth pulled him to the front, where he stood next to Sarah. She took his breath away in a soft, lime-green sundress that imitated her eyes and made her skin sparkle with a golden hue. Each shoulder held four spaghetti straps that crisscrossed her back, exposing her skin to his gaze, the flared skirt falling seductively to mid-calf.

The heels on the silver sandal she had completed her look, which had him seeing images in his mind that were definitely inappropriate for a church. It didn’t help that her dress was cut modestly low in the front, not low enough to be scandalous, but giving him enough of a view of her cleavage from his height. The sight had him silently groaning when his body forgot where they were, making things very uncomfortable in his pants area. He kept his gaze firmly averted, focusing on everything, including the beautiful architecture of the old church, the crafted marble font, and the grain of the hardwood floors, rather than on the tempting sight of Sarah’s cleavage.

He was surprised at himself when he responded as he needed to and was very relieved when Indie put Connor in his hands because it meant that they couldn’t do as they were tempted to. He smiled down at the tiny baby sleeping on his forearm. He hardly felt the weight of the six-week-old, gently running his fingers over the soft downy blond hair and white velvet suit, while Connor squirmed, smiling in his sleep. Gabe felt his heart squeeze tightly wondering at the magnitude of love he had for this kid. How would he feel about his own kids? Would he ever have his own kids?

Thoughts of Sarah pregnant with his baby had Gabe choking on his breath. He cleared his throat, catching a questioning glance from Seth, but glanced away quickly, not wanting to answer those questions to himself, never mind his best friend. It was the same way he felt about Amelia and the Rexton boys. It was the feeling of protecting them from anything that could harm them. He would tear any motherfucker apart with his bare hands if it came to it.

“Gabe…” Seth nodded at the priest as he waited for Gabe to hand Connor over to him. Holding tightly onto the baby for a split second, Gabe relinquished his grip on Connor. After the process, the priest handed Connor to Sarah who cradled the disgruntled baby against her shoulder. Gabe was stunned at how natural she looked with a baby and had the crazy idea to make sure she had a baby on her shoulder constantly. Again, Gabe found himself looking for air and desperately needed to loosen his tie. He clenched his fists so that he didn’t actually reach for the blasted joyful neckpiece and toss it in the baptismal font.

It seemed that ~that~ thought gave his body license to react to every scenario imagined, and none of those scenarios were church-friendly. And he couldn’t get rid of the image of Sarah holding a baby that was a mixture of the two of them. No matter how hard he tried, the image stuck, unshakable. He was very relieved when they could return to their seats, sing the final hymn, and leave the cool church for the sunny morning.

He sighed heavily as he loosened his tie as he made his way to his truck, happy that Grandma hadn’t put up much of a fight when he took his keys and not those of her car. He pulled a bottle of water out of the little cooler box in the console. The water in the bottle was not enough to quench the thirst or heat that he felt. At least the celebration that was to take place at Grandma’s house would allow them to have some space between them and he wouldn’t be teased with her proximity.

“Gabriel.”

He looked up at his grandma as she walked toward him. “Yes, ma’am?”

“Help me up.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He placed his hands on her waist and boosted her into the seat despite her yelp of protest and leaned over her to clip the seatbelt into place. He just closed the door when he heard Amelia call him. He turned in time to catch her in his arms.

“The camp was awesome! Thank you!” She kissed his cheek and held tightly onto his neck before she pushed out of his arms and ran over to her mom. He kept his gaze on the way her high-heeled sandals accentuated her long legs that disappeared beneath the hem of her flared skirt. He cleared his throat and took another swig of water.

“I’ll see you at the house, then.” He looked up at Sarah, her statement more like a question.

He nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

She smiled but it was filled with tension. “Great. I’ll see you there.”

He opened his mouth to answer when his grandmother called through the window, “Either walk away or marry the girl as long as you make up your mind.”

That broke the tension between them, making Gabe chuckle with a wry shrug. “I guess that’s my cue. I’ll see you later.”

She nodded with a soft smile. “See you, Gabriel.”