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  "Your overall design is good," he continued, "but I'll want to change the roof line and the stairs a bit." Before she could even try to protest that he didn't need to build it, he said, "Did you draw this?"

  "It's just a rough sketch so that you could visualize what I was thinking."

  "It's a better drawing than most architects or graphic artists can do by hand. What's your training?"

  "I'm not trained. I've just been drawing weddings all my life." When he looked confused, she explained, "My mother started Dromoland Weddings & Events when I was a little girl, and I sometimes needed to stay with her during the weddings when she couldn't find a babysitter. She would give me crayons and paper to keep me from getting bored."

  "You were never bored at those weddings, were you?"

  "No." She smiled at the memory, a little girl watching all those beautiful brides and dashing grooms saying their vows, giving each other their first kiss, and dancing in each other's arms. "I loved it." Belatedly, she realized she'd lost her focus. Something else that never happened to her, especially during a meeting. "I'm sorry, I know you're a busy man. I didn't mean to veer us away from discussing the gazebo."

  "I'm the one who veered," he said in that low voice that kept doing crazy things to her insides even though she knew better than to let it. "I was planning on heading up to the lake a few days before the wedding anyway, so I'll take care of building the gazebo while I'm there. For now, I'll do a drawing with my changes to run by you before I order the wood for it."

  It was the perfect solution to her new plan for Rafe and Brooke's wedding, but all Kerry could feel was panic about having more meetings with Adam beyond this one. It didn't make sense, the kind of breathless impact he was having on her, especially when they'd only just met. But just because it didn't make sense, didn't mean her heart wasn't beating too fast or that her lips weren't tingling from nothing more than his gaze dropping and holding on them while she spoke.

  Adam Sullivan was exactly the kind of man her mother had warned her about her entire life. Exactly the kind of man she needed to keep her distance from, no matter how much she might want to bring him closer instead.

  "Rafe and Brooke have told me how busy you are with your work as an architect. It's wonderful that you want to help out with their wedding like this, and I know how much they would appreciate it, but I can't possibly--"

  "He's my brother. She's one of my closest friends. Building this gazebo is the very least I can do for the two of them."

  Yet again, it wasn't poetry, but his words were so heartfelt that Kerry couldn't help but lose a little piece of her heart to Adam right then and there.

  "What else can I help with, Kerry?"

  Yet another unexpected offer. One that somehow seemed sensual, even though that was totally crazy. Just as crazy as the fact that she could easily think of a dozen ways he could help her...and none of them had a thing to do with the wedding.

  "Everything else is already arranged." She stood. "Thank you so much for coming to meet with me and for offering to help with the gazebo."

  She held out her hand to shake his politely, but instead of pumping her hand once, he covered it with his and held on. "I want to see you again. And not just to go over my new drawings of the gazebo."

  Inside, her heart was screaming, Yes! But she knew better, knew he was not only everything her mother had warned her about, but also every husband she'd ever seen stray, every groom she'd ever seen leave his bride at the altar so that he could continue to run wild.

  "No, I can't."

  "Are you seeing someone else?"

  "I'm not, but I still can't go out with you." There were a dozen excuses she could have made--she was busy, he wasn't her type, she didn't date relatives of the couples she worked with--but she didn't want him to think dating her was up for negotiation. Gorgeous men with reputations as players were off-limits. Period.

  And yet, despite the fact that she'd now said no to him twice in a row, he didn't seem at all daunted. "Do you always say no to something you want?"

  It was on the tip of her tongue to say, I don't want you, but she was certain he'd know it for the utter lie that it would be. Thinking about the box of chocolates she was going to devour the second he left her office, she replied with utter honesty, "I never turn down Brooke's chocolate truffles."

  But she was turning him down, beginning with pulling her hand from his and forcing herself to stop thinking about what kissing him would be like.

  "I don't want to take up any more of your time," she said in her most polite tone. "I'll walk you out."

  And though he didn't try to ask her out again, but simply walked beside her back to the front door of her building and then out into the downtown Seattle streets, Kerry couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't anywhere close to being in the clear yet where he was concerned.

  Not only did Adam Sullivan not play by any rules but his own, but something told her that he always won, too.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Adam closed his front door behind him at nine o'clock that evening and headed for his home office. He'd bought his home eight years ago. It had been a wreck--a teardown, according to everyone else who had seen it. But Adam had seen elegance beneath the rot and a foundation of strength in the beams behind the thick ivy covering the windows. The garden had looked beyond repair, too, but his mother hadn't been the least bit daunted, and over the years they'd spent plenty of weekends working to transform it into something pretty darned spectacular.

  The house, however, had been entirely his project, and his passion. The restoration of the old Craftsman had grabbed him by the heart and had shown him what a difference it made when he was one hundred percent invested in a project. In the winter months, when he needed to draw plans or work up quotes, he'd light a fire in his den, sit down behind his antique Arts and Crafts desk, and get to work.

  A great idea for the stairwell in one of the historic buildings he was reviving had come to him during dinner, and he wanted to get the sketch down right away. He was glad at least one good thing had come of his date tonight. He'd done his best to pay attention to the woman sitting across from him, an aspiring actress who had been all but throwing herself at him during their too-long meal. But Adam couldn't get the image of the shockingly sexy wedding planner out of his head. Heck, it was going to take some serious focus to sketch his idea tonight, given that Kerry was still front and center in his brain.

  He grabbed his pencil and notepad and began to draw and make notes. Nearly an hour passed before he stopped to stretch out his back. After letting his initial sketch sit overnight, he knew he'd make more changes tomorrow.

  Before leaving the den, he checked his watch and saw that it wasn't yet ten o'clock. Normally, he would still have been out with his date, usually back at her place by now. But since he'd dropped her off without so much as a good-night kiss--all while deftly ignoring her hints about getting together again--he'd gotten home pretty early.

  Figuring Rafe and Brooke were probably still up, Adam dialed their number at the lake. Rafe picked up after two rings, sounding a little out of breath. "Good to hear from you. I'll put you on speaker."

  Adam was grinning as he asked, "Are you two ready for your meeting report, or have I called at a bad time?" His brother and his fiancee couldn't keep their hands off each other, so he figured the odds were pretty darn high that he was interrupting something. And from what he could hear on their end, he was all but certain Brooke was currently throwing on some clothes.

  "Hi, Adam." Yup, her voice sounded a little breathless, too. "How was your meeting with Kerry?"

  "I was impressed with her. She's clearly good at what she does."

  "I know, isn't she amazing? And even though she looks so perfect, she confessed that she has a terrible sweet tooth, so I've been sending her tons of chocolates. All of which she says are the best she's ever tasted," Brooke said happily. "She's even going to be using them in her weddings from now on!"

  "That's great news
, Brooke." Adam had known Brooke since she was a little girl and couldn't think of a woman who was a better fit for his brother. "You and your chocolates are going to take over the world."

  "As long as people are happy eating them, that's all that matters to me," Brooke said in her typically modest way. "But, back to Kerry--considering how beautiful and intelligent she is, can you believe she's actually still single?"

  Adam's eyebrows rose as he finally got confirmation that the meeting had been, at least partially, a setup. Clearly, Brooke had hopes that he and her wedding planner would make a connection.

  He could have told them that he'd asked Kerry out. However, apart from the fact that she'd said no, he hated to set up his brother and Brooke for disappointment by getting their hopes up about his own happily-ever-after. Because even if Kerry had said yes, nothing would have changed for Adam. He still wasn't looking for forever--and he was absolutely certain that a wedding planner must be looking for just that.

  Not that he'd given up on getting Kerry to say that yes, of course. Not by a long shot. He wouldn't be a Sullivan if he gave up that easily on an intelligent, sexy-as-hell woman who pushed every button he had--a woman he found himself wanting with a red-hot intensity that stunned him.

  Still, even if he didn't want to get their hopes up, what fun would it be if he didn't play with the matchmaking couple a little bit?

  "You should have told me what a looker she is."

  "Did you really think so?" Brooke asked in a hopeful voice.

  "Absolutely," he agreed. "My date tonight paled by comparison."

  "Oh." He almost felt bad, Brooke sounded so disappointed. "You had a date tonight?"

  "And he probably has one tomorrow with someone different," Rafe put in before getting down to business. "Kerry said there was a last-minute change she wanted to run by us. Did she present it to you?"

  "She did, and you're going to have to add artist to your list of her great qualities, because the sketch she did of the gazebo she wants to build out on the beach was really good. The plan is that you two will say your vows in the gazebo, and then during the reception, it will be moved off to the edge of the property for your guests to have their pictures taken. Kerry is planning to have the photos developed on site and ready to go home with everyone at the end of the night."

  "I love the idea of our guests taking home a personal keepsake from our wedding!" Brooke said enthusiastically.

  "I agree about that part," Rafe said, "but I thought we had agreed to get married in front of a campfire?"

  "Before you make a decision," Adam suggested, "let me send over the drawing so that you can see the way it will work with the setting. Honestly, I think it's better than the campfire plan. I need to make a few changes to the sketch first, so give me until midday tomorrow, okay?"

  "Wait, why are you making changes to her sketch?" Brooke asked.

  "I'm going to be the one building it."

  "She asked you to build it?"

  "No. In fact, she tried to convince me that she could find a reasonably priced carpenter to do the work. But I wouldn't let her shake me off."

  In more ways than one, he thought, as an idea came to him based on what Brooke had said earlier: Kerry had a sweet tooth. And Adam wasn't beyond taking advantage of that fact.

  "That's amazing of you to offer--"

  "Let me know what you think after I send over the drawing tomorrow, and if you do choose the gazebo, I'll be the one building it," he said, deliberately cutting off his future sister-in-law's protests. Sure, he was busy with work. But he was never too busy to pitch in for his family. "Now I'm going to hang up so that the two of you can get back to whatever you were doing that had you so out of breath when I interrupted you."

  Adam could hear his brother laughing as he hung up. Hell, he'd be laughing too if he were heading to bed with a beautiful woman, rather than to an empty one.

  All the more reason to get going on the plan he'd just hatched to get Kerry to reconsider that date with him.

  *

  A beautiful little silver box was delivered to Kerry the next day. Though she recognized the logo as belonging to a great local bakery, she still wasn't prepared for the absolutely gorgeous miniature cakes inside--one with a fondant bow-tie on top, the other with a lacy wedding veil made of icing. The thought of not promptly gobbling them down was laughable. Because, just as she'd said to Adam Sullivan at the end of their meeting, there were certain things she absolutely never said no to--cake being very high on the list--even if it meant she'd already ruined her lunch at nine in the morning.

  Thought it had come as a total surprise, she was glad that the local bakery had sent her this out-of-the-blue reminder about how good they were. She hadn't used them for a wedding in far too long, and she decided to rectify that immediately. No question, sending her miniature cakes was a far better idea than a phone call or email from them would have been. Wedding cakes needed not only to taste delicious, but to look amazing, too. This perfect little sample had nailed it on all fronts.

  She was in the middle of typing a thank-you email to the owner of the bakery when Joe, her regular delivery man, came rushing back into her office. "I can't believe I forgot to give you this." Though she assured him that no harm had been done, there was something about the handwriting on the note he handed her that had her wondering if that no harm sentiment was really going to be true.

  Because, as she slid her finger beneath the flap of the envelope, she had the strangest feeling...

  Kerry,

  You know how many siblings and cousins I have, so I'm sure you can guess how many weddings I've been to in the past few years. I'm sure you already work with all the best bakers in Seattle, but I figured I'd send over something from one of my favorites.

  I'll email you my changes to the gazebo drawing later today.

  Enjoy the cake,

  Adam

  Her heart started to pitter-patter before she could stop it. Romance was her job. She often found herself giving gentle tutoring to her grooms on how to continue wooing their brides both before and after the wedding. She knew all the tricks, and yet this wooing was just subtle enough, and sweet enough, to get over even her walls.

  Walls that were supposed to be particularly high and thick when it came to men like Adam.

  Walls that suddenly looked like they might need some reinforcements to make sure they stayed strong.

  He'd given her his email address during their meeting, so she quickly deleted the email to the bakery and sent him one instead.

  Adam,

  Silver's Bakery is one of my favorites, and the miniature cakes were delicious. Thank you for sending them to me.

  I'm looking forward to receiving your new sketch of the gazebo.

  Best,

  Kerry

  There. Done and dealt with in a professional but gracious manner. Surely the fact that she'd thanked him for his surprise without gushing like a teenager with a crush would show him that she'd meant it when she said she wasn't interested in dating him.

  *

  Alas, she'd known it wouldn't be that easy to shake off a man like Adam Sullivan, hadn't she, even though their email correspondence throughout the rest of that day about his changes to the gazebo--which she thought were great--had been perfectly professional. Because when the next little box came the following morning, hadn't a part of her been waiting, and secretly hoping, for it?

  Perhaps she should have refused to accept this second delivery from Joe, who remembered the card this time. At the very least, she should have told Joe to stop looking at her as if he knew there was romance in the air.

  There most certainly was not any romance heading Kerry's way.

  But when she didn't recognize the company logo on the pretty sea-green box, her curiosity got the best of her. She'd never be able to stand not taking at least a quick peek to see what he'd decided to send her today. Another delicious baked treat? Or...?

  When she lifted the cover, she was more than a little
surprised to see that Adam had mailed her candy this time. But not just any candy--gorgeous sugared, sparkly seashells and starfish and even one mini-meringue shaped like a wave about to crash onto the shore. Some looked to be sour, others sweet, but they were all beautiful.

  And, as she soon found out when she popped one into her mouth, incredibly delicious, too.

  She knew she was going to eat the entire box of candy by the end of the day. Unfortunately, the threat the candy posed to her hips wasn't her biggest problem. Not even close.

  No, what had her truly worried was the fact that, as curious as she'd been about the contents of today's gift box, she was much more curious about what Adam had written in his second note to her. Especially when his gift was so perfectly spot-on for her tastes that it was almost as though meeting her only once had been enough for him to see through to all her secret delights.

  Kerry,

  You know that big family of mine? One of my cousins out in Maine is a genius with sugar. It's just a hobby for now, but I've been trying to convince her to go pro.

  What do you think?

  Adam

  Seriously? He was not only sweet enough to volunteer to build the gazebo for Rafe and Brooke's wedding, but he was trying to encourage one of his cousins to turn her candy-making hobby into a career?

  Kerry pushed back from her desk and walked out into the garden her mother had planted a little more than two decades ago. The roses were in full bloom, but today Kerry was so caught up in her spinning thoughts that she barely noticed them. Especially when she was still licking crystallized sugar from her fingers.

  From the first moment she'd seen Adam standing across the room, she'd known he was a lady killer through and through. Now, however, she saw the error of her thinking--she'd assumed he used the same tired moves every other player did. Compliments, flowers and, of course, those ridiculously hot bedroom eyes.

  But he was too smart for that. No, the game he was playing was on another level entirely.