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what’s going on,” she said.
    â€œWork over pampering,” Livi said, pretending to be shocked. “That doesn’t sound like the Tessa Monroe I know.”
    Tessa grimaced. It didn’t, did it?
    A rare and unwelcome feeling of uncertainty washed over her. Was it her life that was in turmoil? Or was it her that didn’t fit her once-perfect lifestyle?
    The worry that’d been following her around like an itchy backpack took on yet another layer. Tessa leaned in to ask Livi’s advice. Before she could say a word, though, she felt a chill over her shoulder.
    â€œWhat’s this I hear?” Pauline said as she slid into a seat next to them. “Our wild child is losing her edge?”
    Tessa’s urge to confess disappeared.
    If she’d learned one lesson good and well at her momma’s knee, it was to never show weakness. Especially not to a woman like Pauline. Or the blonde barracuda, as Livi’s video crew called her.
    With just a twitch of her chin, Tessa’s confidence was back. Her smile turned sharp, her body language sliding into sassy as she turned to greet Livi’s mom.
    â€œI’m as edgy as can be,” she claimed, lifting her glass of sparkling cider to toast the older woman. “How about you, Pauline? Now that Livi’s off the market, are you going to hit the clubs with me?”
    â€œYou won’t have time for clubbing,” Pauline said, waving the invitation away with the same lack of enthusiasm as it was offered. “The wedding is going to take a great deal of time and energy. As maid of honor, a lot of the work is going to fall to you. I hope you’re capable of handling it, Tessa. I’d hate to see Olivia having to pick up the slack if you’re out playing games. Or worse, to have her dream wedding turn into a disappointment.”
    â€œMother,” Livi growled, her sweet face turning ferocious.
    As much fun as it would be to see her friend stand up to the woman who until a couple of months ago had run her life, Tessa knew the stress wasn’t good for Livi, or for the baby.
    She laid her hand over Livi’s clenched fist and gave it a squeeze before angling her body just a little. Enough to put herself between daughter and mother.
    â€œPlease,” she told Pauline with a dismissive laugh. “When have I
ever
left anyone disappointed? I’ll do everything in my power to give Livi the wedding of a lifetime.”
    After another few seconds with that assessing stare, Pauline gave a slow nod.
    What the hell
? Tessa wanted to ask. Since when did she merit doubt?
    A tight, aching ball of doubt knotted in her stomach, all of her worries from the evening feeding the pain.
    Was Pauline inadvertently right? Was she losing her edge?
    A couple stopped at the table to congratulate Livi. As the bride-to-be and Pauline fell into conversation with them, Tessa’s worried gaze wandered the room.
    When her eyes landed on the sexiest man she’d ever known, the only man who might possibly be more than she could handle, her frown deepened. Instead of backing up Gabriel Thorne against that poolroom wall, stripping him naked and riding him like a bucking bronco, she’d run away. Why? Was she afraid she couldn’t handle him?
    Tessa exchanged her cider for champagne and took a contemplative sip. Wetting her lips and letting the taste of the sweet bubbles coat her tongue, she shoved aside her earlier fears. Being worried about not handling any man—even a man like Gabriel Thorne—was about as crazy as being afraid of having body-melting, pleasure-screaming multiple orgasms. Something she was quite sure he could provide, with a few interesting twists thrown in.
    A shot of lust speared straight through her, landing low in her belly with a familiar sexual zing.
    That was the perfect answer, she realized.
    She was going to seduce Romeo.
    Not only would it get him out of her system, but it would also prove that she