A White Wedding Christmas. Andrea Laurence

plates, silver vases and cake stands, they had one round dinner table set up. There, Gretchen put together mock-ups of the reception tables for brides to better visualize them and make changes.

      “Gretchen has selected a soft white tablecloth with a delicate silver overlay of tiny beaded snowflakes. We’d carry the white and silver into the dishes with the silver chargers, silver-rimmed white china, and then use silver-and-glass centerpieces in a variety of heights. We’ll bring in tasteful touches of sparkle with some crystals on white manzanita branches and lots of candles.”

      Colin ran the tip of his finger over a silver snowflake and nodded. “It all looks great to me. Very pretty. Gretchen has done a very nice job with it.”

      Natalie made a note in her tablet and shook her head with amazement. “You’re the easiest client I’ve ever had. I refuse to believe it’s really that easy. What are you hiding from me?”

      Colin looked at her with a confused expression. “I’m not hiding anything. I know it isn’t what you’re used to, but really, I’m putting this wedding in your capable hands.”

      He placed his hand on her shoulder as he spoke. She could feel the heat radiating through the thin fabric of her cashmere sweater, making her want to pull at the collar as her internal temperature started to climb.

      “You knew my parents. You know Lily. You’ve got the experience and the eye for this kind of thing. Aside from the discussion about flowers, I’ve had no clue what you were talking about most of the time. I just trust you to do a great job and I’ll write the check.”

      Natalie tried not to frown. Her heated blood wasn’t enough for her to ignore his words. He was counting on her. That was a lot of pressure. She knew she could pull it off beautifully, but he had an awful lot of confidence in her for a girl he hadn’t seen since she wore a retainer to bed. “So would you rather just skip the cake tasting?”

      “Oh no,” he said with a smile that made her knees soften beneath her. “I have a massive sweet tooth, so I’m doing that for sure.”

      Natalie wasn’t sure how much her body could take of being in close proximity to Colin as friends. She wanted to run her hand up his tanned, muscular forearm and rub against him like a cat. While she enjoyed indulging her sexuality from time to time, she didn’t have a reaction like this to just any guy. It was unnerving and so inappropriate. This wedding couldn’t come fast enough.

      * * *

      “Thank you for all your help with this,” Colin said as Natalie closed up and they walked toward the door.

      “That’s what I do,” she said with the same polite smile that was starting to make him crazy. He missed her real one. He remembered her carefree smile from her younger days and her seductive smile from the engagement party. This polite, blank smile meant nothing to him.

      “No, really. You and your business partners are going out of your way to make this wedding happen. I don’t know how to thank you.”

      Natalie pressed the alarm code and they stepped outside where she locked the door. “You and Lily are like family to me. Of course we’d do everything we could. Anyway, it’s not like we’re doing it for free. You’re paying us for our time, so no worries.”

      Their cars were the only two in the parking lot, so he walked her over to the cherry-red two-seat Miata convertible. Had there been another car in the lot, he never would’ve guessed this belonged to Natalie. It had a hint of wild abandon that didn’t seem to align with the precise and businesslike Natalie he knew. It convinced him more than ever that there was another side to her that he desperately wanted to see.

      “Let me take you to dinner tonight,” he said, nearly surprising himself with the suddenness of it.

      Natalie’s dark brown eyes widened. “I really can’t, Colin, but I appreciate the offer.”

      Two up at bats, two strikeouts. “Even just as friends?”

      Her gaze flicked over his face and she shook her head. “You and I both know it wouldn’t be as friends.” Turning away, Natalie unlocked her car and opened the door to toss her bag inside.

      “I think that’s unfair.”

      “Not really. Listen, Colin, I’m sorry about the other night at the party. I’d been hit by a big dose of nostalgia and too much wine and thought that indulging those old teenage fantasies was a good idea. But by the light of day, I know it was silly of me. So thank you for having some sense and keeping me from doing something that would’ve made this whole planning process that much more awkward.”

      “Don’t thank me,” Colin argued. “I’ve regretted that decision every night since it happened.”

      Natalie’s mouth fell agape, her dark eyes searching his face for something. “Don’t,” she said at last. “It was the right choice.”

      “It was at the time, but only because it had to be. Natalie, I—”

      “Don’t,” Natalie insisted. “There’s no reason to explain yourself. You made the decision you needed to make and it was the right one. No big deal. I’d like to just put that whole exchange behind us. The truth is that I’m really not the right kind of woman for you.”

      Colin wasn’t sure if she truly meant what she said or if she was just angry with him, but he was curious what she meant by that. He was bad enough at choosing women. Maybe she knew something he didn’t. “What kind of woman is that?”

      “The kind that’s going to have any sort of future with you. At the party, I was just after a night of fun, nothing serious. You’re a serious kind of guy. Since you were a teenager, you were on the express train to marriage and kids. I’m on a completely different track.”

      They hadn’t really been around each other long enough for Colin to think much past the ache of desire she seemed to constantly rouse in him. But if what she said was true, she was right. He wanted all those things. If she didn’t, there wasn’t much point in pursuing her. His groin felt otherwise, but it would get on board eventually.

      “Well, I appreciate you laying that out for me. Not all women are as forthcoming.” Pam had been, but for some reason he’d refused to listen. This time he knew better than to try to twist a woman’s will. It didn’t work. “Just friends, then,” he said.

      Natalie smiled with more warmth than before, and she seemed to relax for the first time since he’d arrived. “Friends is great.”

      “All right,” he said. “Good night.” Colin leaned in to give Natalie a quick hug goodbye. At least that was the idea.

      Once he had his arms wrapped around her and her cheek pressed to his, it was harder to let go than he expected. Finally, he forced himself back, dropping his hands at his sides and breaking the connection he’d quickly come to crave. And yet, he couldn’t get himself to say good-night and go back to his truck. “Listen, before you go can I ask you about something?”

      “Sure,” she said, although there was a hesitation in her voice that made him think she’d much rather flee than continue talking to him in the cold. She must not think he’d taken the hint.

      “I’m thinking about giving Lily and Frankie the old house as a wedding present.”

      “The house you and Lily grew up in?” she asked with raised brows.

      “Yes. It’s been sitting mostly empty the last few years. Lily has been living with Frankie in the little apartment over his motorcycle shop. They seem to think that’s great, but they’re going to need more space if they want to start a family.”

      “That’s a pretty amazing wedding present. Not many people register for a house.”

      Colin shrugged. “I don’t need it. I have my place. It’s paid for, so all they’d have to worry about are taxes and insurance. The only problem is that it needs to be cleaned out. I never had the heart to go through all of Mom’s and Dad’s things. I want