Like tonight, she’d been afraid to move on.

She wanted to kick her own ass. She wanted Tyler to open the door and not take no for an answer.

But she knew he’d never force her into doing anything without getting her consent first.

And she’d told him no tonight.

At least, she’d made it clear that she’d needed space.

When maybe that’s not at all what she’d wanted.

“Argh!”

Her frustration ate away at her fear. And she really wanted to talk to Annabelle.

Picking up her phone, she typed in Hey. What’s up?

But she erased it before she hit send.

Damn it, she didn’t want to be Needy Best Friend.

With a sigh, she trudged into the gorgeous bedroom, figuring if she told herself long enough she was tired, she actually would be.

Lying on the bed, she closed her eyes—

And jolted awake from a dead sleep when her phone blared “Marry You.”

Fumbling around, she finally snared the obnoxious device and answered with a smoky, “Hello?”

“Oh, thank God! Kate. You gotta get here as soon as possible. It’s a disaster.”

The panicked voice on the other end made Kate fly up into a sitting position. “Talia? Is that you?”

“Of course it’s me. Who else would be calling you at six thirty on a Saturday morning before I’ve had my coffee and right before the biggest wedding of my career!”

Uh-oh. “Please tell me it’s not a problem with the dress.”

Talia Driscoll laughed maniacally and Kate cringed as she threw off the covers and ran for her overnight bag.

“I could tell you that but it wouldn’t be true. I need you here. Five minutes ago.”

“Oh shit.” Kate froze, hands tightening on her jeans as pictures of the wedding dress she’d custom made for one Margaret Mary Shanahan flipped through her mind.

Daughter of Pennsylvania senator Daniel Shanahan. Daughter of old steel money courtesy of Daniel Shanahan’s wife, Tracy Carnegie Shanahan. And yes, she meant those Carnegies.

Her throat felt as dry as the Sahara and her stomach had clenched into a painful ball. “How bad is it?”

Talia didn’t answer right away and Kate thought she might puke. “Not quite apocalypse but definitely Armageddon.”

“Shit.” Kate put the phone on speaker and put it on the bed as she threw on clothes. “I’m not at home. I’ll be there in an hour. Can you deal with it until then?”

Meaning could she deal with an already jittery bride who really was a sweet girl but tended to crumble into complete meltdown at the first sign of trouble?

Talia groaned. “Oh God. I need a drink. And I don’t mean coffee. Just get here as soon as you can. I will pay any and all speeding tickets or I will have Daddy Shanahan wipe them clean. Kate—”

“Don’t panic,” Kate jumped in, knowing exactly what Talia was about to say. This was way too big a deal for them to have something screw it up. “I’m on my way.”

She hung up before Talia could say another word and reached for the bedside phone.

“Good morning, Kate. Did you sleep well?”

She shivered in response to that voice even as she told herself she didn’t have the time for it. “I need to be in Reading as fast as possible.”

A slight pause. “Give me five minutes.”

When the phone clicked in her ear, she sat, blinking at it. Anyone else would have badgered her with questions.

Five minutes.

She sprang into action. No time to wash her hair but she could take a quick shower.

When he knocked at her door five minutes later, she was stuffing the last of her things into her overnight bag.

And even though she didn’t have time to ogle him, she couldn’t help the sharp twist in her gut at the dark stubble on his face, which he obviously hadn’t had time to shave, and the wet and rumpled hair.

Of course, she couldn’t stop her gaze from dropping lower, taking in the tight gray University of Pennsylvania T-shirt that exposed strong arms and the worn jeans that molded to muscled thighs.

She was so totally an idiot.

And he was so absolutely not. “I’ve got the car waiting out front.”

She wanted to throw herself against that broad chest and cling for all she was worth. Instead, she straightened her spine and nodded. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

He waved her out of the door then took her bag. “I hope everything’s okay.”

“Actually, I’ve got a wedding emergency.”

Dark brows curving, he shot her a look as they waited for the elevator to arrive. “A wedding emergency. I thought—”

“Oh, God! Not mine!” She waved her hands like she was guiding in a plane. “No, I made a dress for a girl but something happened to it and the wedding planner called me in a panic. I don’t even know what’s wrong yet and . . . Damn, I just realized I won’t have my box. Shit.”

The elevator doors opened and she hurried inside, as if that would get her to Reading any faster.

“What box?”

“My sewing kit. I’ll need that to repair whatever happened to the dress.”

“Why don’t you call Annabelle and have her bring it to you?”

“I would, but I don’t want to disturb her.” The elevator took them directly to the parking garage and they headed for Tyler’s car. “I guess I’m going to have to. She’s gonna hate me.”

“Do you want me to call Jed?”

She gave him a smile as they got into the car and got on their way. God, she really was an idiot or he really was too good to be true. “No, that’s okay. I’ll call Annabelle.”

As she pulled her phone out, her gaze brushed by his big hand on the gearshift. Long fingers that had brought her so much pleasure. She wanted those hands on her again.

And now was definitely not the time to be thinking about that because she had an emergency.

Annabelle didn’t pick up until the third ring. “Kate! Are you okay?” Then her voice dropped into an almost-whisper. “Did you really leave with Tyler last night and go back to Haven with him? Where are you? Did you have fun?”

“And good morning to you, too.” Kate felt a blush flare and hoped Tyler couldn’t hear Annabelle’s overly exuberant voice. “Hey, I need a favor and I’m so sorry to have to ask—”

“What’s wrong? Is everything okay? Do you need me to come get you?”

Kate couldn’t help but smile. “Nothing’s wrong. Yes, I did. I’m on my way to Reading, and no, I don’t need you to come get me. But I do need you to bring my full kit to Reading for me.”

“Whose— Oh no.” Dread filled Annabelle’s tone. “The Shanahan wedding’s today, isn’t it? And there’s a problem with the dress? Ooh, that can’t be good.”

“No, probably not. I didn’t get a lot of detail from Talia because she was already freaked out, so that’s not a good sign. It must be bad.”

“I’ll get your kit and meet you— Where should I meet you?”

“At St. Catherine’s in Mount Penn. I’m so sorry to interrupt your, uh, morning.”

Annabelle laughed and Kate heard the rumble of a male voice in the background.

“No worries,” Annabelle assured her. “We can’t stay in bed the entire day.”

A pause and Kate definitely heard Jared say, “And why not?”

Annabelle laughed again. “I’ll be there with your kit. See you soon.”

Annabelle hung up, and she set her phone back in her purse, sighing.

“I like Annabelle,” Tyler said after a few seconds of silence had passed. “She seems like a great friend.”

“The very best. We met in college and have been best friends ever since. When my mom died, I don’t think I would’ve managed without her.”

“I’m sorry about your mom. Was she ill?”

She really didn’t want to talk about her mom but she didn’t want to be rude either. And in her current state, she might just snap off his head. “She had an undiagnosed heart defect. Went out for a run one day and never came home. She had a heart attack, fell over, and hit her head on a rock. She was dead before anyone found her.”

He paused. “I’m so sorry. How old were you?”

“Twenty.”

Please God don’t let him ask any more questions. She hated talking about her mom because it always made her cry. And that made her angry. It’d been more than seven years since her death. Most people figured she should be over it by now. Or at least have moved on.

Which she had. Really.

As if he’d picked up on her silent pleading, he changed the subject.

“So this dress, is it your first custom gown?”

Breathing a hopefully silent sigh of relief, she shook her head. “No, but it is the first I’ve designed for one of Talia’s clients.”

“And Talia is . . . ?”

“Talia Driscoll, event planner. This is her first major wedding and she’s been running on Red Bull and dark chocolate for the past week. I was kind of afraid she wouldn’t be able to hold it together until the actual wedding day, but so far she’s managed. Talia’s brilliant. She was able to pull this wedding together in record time.”

“Why the rush?”

“The bride’s fiancé is about to ship out with the Peace Corps for a two-year stint in Africa and the bride didn’t want to wait to get married until he came home. When the Shanahans couldn’t find anyone else to take over the wedding on such short notice, Talia’s mother offered up her daughter’s services. It’s a great opportunity. It’ll make her career if the day comes off without a hitch.”

“But that can’t happen unless you fix the dress. Will you be able to?”

She couldn’t afford to believe otherwise. “Unless the thing got dumped in a sludge pile and shredded, I can fix it.”

“You sound pretty sure of yourself.”

She was, actually. “The dress is pure Cinderella. Lots of tulle, big puffy skirt. The bodice is fitted, but even if I have to resew a few seams, it shouldn’t be a problem. I guess I should’ve asked Talia what happened but I’m almost afraid I’ll psych myself into a panic before I get there.”