cat that got all the cream. It’s not hard to guess what happened in between.”
The dreamy look returned to Ally’s face. “Okay, you got me. Nate is just so darn irresistible.”
At least one of them was getting plenty. Ally was a lucky girl and about to get even luckier. Tyler reached beneath the counter, pulled out a couple of magazines, and dumped them in front of her daydreaming friend.
“Okay, it’s crunch time,” she announced in a no-nonsense voice. “I’ve bought you the latest bridal magazines. Now you’re going to look through them and pick a dress you like.”
Grimacing, Ally pushed away from the counter. “I hate those magazines. The models are all stick thin and the dresses are hideous.”
“Aw, c’mon. At least take a look.”
Ally waved a hand. “Plenty of time for that later. The wedding’s not for ages.”
Wrong. There were less than three weeks before Nate sprang his surprise wedding, and she had to get Ally a wedding gown. She stalked after her friend. “Ally,” she began, but before she could continue the doorbell jingled and two customers came in.
“Hi, Tyler,” the first woman called out. “Mags and I couldn’t resist coming over for a visit.”
Tyler blinked in surprise at Rosie and Mags. She’d assumed Luke’s twin sisters had just been polite in mentioning they’d visit the gallery, but here they were, looking rather pleased with themselves. She introduced them to Ally and invited them to have a look around.
“So they’re the sisters of your good-looking neighbor,” Ally said to her on the quiet.
“How do you know he’s good-looking?”
“Hey, I’ve seen the poster in Fiona’s bookstore. She has to clean that window every day because of all the women drooling over him.”
“That poster isn’t a very good likeness of him,” Tyler said. “He’s much hotter than that.”
“Ah.” Ally’s eyebrows shot up.
“‘Ah’ yourself. I’m just stating a fact.”
Her friend grinned mischievously. “Bet you’ve got him eating out of your hand already.”
Tyler began to tidy up the sugar sachets next to the espresso machine. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Oh?” A puzzled look descended on her friend’s face. Ally, bless her, had this misguided notion that Tyler only had to bat her eyelashes at a guy to make him fall to his knees. It was a flattering idea, but not too accurate in Luke’s case. Oh, the attraction was definitely there, but Luke wasn’t about to keel over in a heap of lust. He was made of sterner stuff.
“He’s only here temporarily,” Tyler added. “He’ll be gone as soon as he finishes his book.” From the other side of the gallery Rosie beckoned her over. “I’d better go see to my customers.”
Rosie and Mags were standing next to the display cabinet housing Tyler’s jewelry. “We love these pendants of yours,” Rosie said. “Can we have a closer look?”
“Sure.” Tyler took out several of her sterling-silver-and-precious-gem pendants for Rosie and Mags to inspect.
“That one.” Mags pointed to a lace-etched teardrop pendant decorated with a sparkling aquamarine gemstone. “She’ll love that.” She turned to Tyler. “We’re buying a gift for Helen. It’s her birthday next week.”
“She’ll be thrilled with this,” Rosie said. “She’s so practical and down-to-earth, she’d never think of buying something as pretty as this for herself. We should buy her a silver chain to match, too.”
Tyler spent several minutes helping the twins choose a chain for the pendant. Then Rosie couldn’t resist a pair of earrings for herself, and Mags spotted a glass vase she had to have. When they’d completed their purchases, they decided to order coffee and cake.
“We were thinking of dropping by Luke’s place,” Rosie said to Tyler as she brought the order to their table, “but we didn’t want to interrupt his writing. I think we wore out our welcome over the weekend.”
“We can’t help worrying about
The dreamy look returned to Ally’s face. “Okay, you got me. Nate is just so darn irresistible.”
At least one of them was getting plenty. Ally was a lucky girl and about to get even luckier. Tyler reached beneath the counter, pulled out a couple of magazines, and dumped them in front of her daydreaming friend.
“Okay, it’s crunch time,” she announced in a no-nonsense voice. “I’ve bought you the latest bridal magazines. Now you’re going to look through them and pick a dress you like.”
Grimacing, Ally pushed away from the counter. “I hate those magazines. The models are all stick thin and the dresses are hideous.”
“Aw, c’mon. At least take a look.”
Ally waved a hand. “Plenty of time for that later. The wedding’s not for ages.”
Wrong. There were less than three weeks before Nate sprang his surprise wedding, and she had to get Ally a wedding gown. She stalked after her friend. “Ally,” she began, but before she could continue the doorbell jingled and two customers came in.
“Hi, Tyler,” the first woman called out. “Mags and I couldn’t resist coming over for a visit.”
Tyler blinked in surprise at Rosie and Mags. She’d assumed Luke’s twin sisters had just been polite in mentioning they’d visit the gallery, but here they were, looking rather pleased with themselves. She introduced them to Ally and invited them to have a look around.
“So they’re the sisters of your good-looking neighbor,” Ally said to her on the quiet.
“How do you know he’s good-looking?”
“Hey, I’ve seen the poster in Fiona’s bookstore. She has to clean that window every day because of all the women drooling over him.”
“That poster isn’t a very good likeness of him,” Tyler said. “He’s much hotter than that.”
“Ah.” Ally’s eyebrows shot up.
“‘Ah’ yourself. I’m just stating a fact.”
Her friend grinned mischievously. “Bet you’ve got him eating out of your hand already.”
Tyler began to tidy up the sugar sachets next to the espresso machine. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Oh?” A puzzled look descended on her friend’s face. Ally, bless her, had this misguided notion that Tyler only had to bat her eyelashes at a guy to make him fall to his knees. It was a flattering idea, but not too accurate in Luke’s case. Oh, the attraction was definitely there, but Luke wasn’t about to keel over in a heap of lust. He was made of sterner stuff.
“He’s only here temporarily,” Tyler added. “He’ll be gone as soon as he finishes his book.” From the other side of the gallery Rosie beckoned her over. “I’d better go see to my customers.”
Rosie and Mags were standing next to the display cabinet housing Tyler’s jewelry. “We love these pendants of yours,” Rosie said. “Can we have a closer look?”
“Sure.” Tyler took out several of her sterling-silver-and-precious-gem pendants for Rosie and Mags to inspect.
“That one.” Mags pointed to a lace-etched teardrop pendant decorated with a sparkling aquamarine gemstone. “She’ll love that.” She turned to Tyler. “We’re buying a gift for Helen. It’s her birthday next week.”
“She’ll be thrilled with this,” Rosie said. “She’s so practical and down-to-earth, she’d never think of buying something as pretty as this for herself. We should buy her a silver chain to match, too.”
Tyler spent several minutes helping the twins choose a chain for the pendant. Then Rosie couldn’t resist a pair of earrings for herself, and Mags spotted a glass vase she had to have. When they’d completed their purchases, they decided to order coffee and cake.
“We were thinking of dropping by Luke’s place,” Rosie said to Tyler as she brought the order to their table, “but we didn’t want to interrupt his writing. I think we wore out our welcome over the weekend.”
“We can’t help worrying about
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