“Gavin has a problem with the neckline,” Miranda said. “It was such fun to see him scowling when Allie modeled it for him.”

“Gavin scowls a lot, so that’s not news,” Chloe said.

“It wasn’t the scowl,” Miranda said. “It was the reason for it. He was feeling possessive.”

Chloe raised her eyebrows.

“He’s just worried that I’ll embarrass him by falling out of the dress,” Allie said. She couldn’t allow herself to think anything more than that. “Your dress is fabulous,” Allie said, admiring Chloe’s sea foam green sheath with a short tulle train and beaded straps. “The color looks like the water out here when the sun shines on it.”

Chloe heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Once Nathan told me I couldn’t wear shoes, I kind of lost interest.”

“Cinderella here has a shoe fetish,” Miranda said. “You should see her closet in New York.”

“Honestly, Nathan bought most of the shoes in it,” Chloe said. “He sees something he thinks I’ll like and brings it home in my size. I don’t have the heart to tell him I don’t need any more Louboutins.”

Allie’s heart twisted at the sweetness of the CEO shoe shopping for his fiancée.

Miranda turned to Allie. “Did you find the right jewelry for your dress?”

Allie blushed slightly. The night before, Gavin had undressed her slowly and deliberately in front of a full-length mirror. Then he fastened the necklace around her throat and made her come using only his hands as he stood behind her. He said he wanted her to see how beautiful she looked with just his hands and the jewelry on her. It was the most erotic thing she’d ever experienced. “Er, yes. I have it in my purse. What are you wearing?”

Miranda opened a velvet box on Chloe’s bed and showed her a pair of long, dangling ruby-and-diamond earrings. “Luke bought them to go with the red of my dress.”

“You are very lucky, both of you,” Allie said. “You found really good men.”

Chloe and Miranda exchanged a look before Chloe said, “We think you’ve found a good man, too.”

“Me?”

Miranda nodded. “Luke says he’s never seen Gavin so relaxed.”

“He’s still snarky, but it’s funny instead of having a bitter edge,” Chloe chimed in.

Allie shook her head. “He’s relaxed because he’s writ—” Too late, Allie remembered Gavin didn’t want anyone to know that his creativity had returned.

“It’s okay,” Chloe said. “Luke and Nathan know he’s back to Julian again.” She plunked down on a chaise longue and drew Allie down beside her. “Miranda and I both know about the intimidation factor.”

“She’s engaged to a genius, and I’m married to a sports legend,” Miranda said with a crooked smile. “But you have to get past the labels to the living, breathing men. They bleed, they have dysfunctional families, they get lonely. They need love just as much as us average folk. Maybe more so.”

As soon as she heard the word love, Allie held up her hand. “It’s not like that with Gavin and me. He needed help with the physical symptoms of his writer’s block. Now he’s broken through it and . . .” Allie shrugged.

“So you don’t feel anything deeper for him?” Chloe asked.

Allie looked at the woman gazing at her with such concern and realized she couldn’t lie. “What I feel for him is different from what he feels for me.”

“Sometimes you have to push the issue a little,” Miranda said, leaning her hip against the dressing table. “We don’t mean to pressure you, but we’ve been in your position, so we want to help.”

“So you’re saying that I should tell Gavin that I’m, er, fond of him.”

Miranda’s laugh pealed out like a tinkle of silver bells. “I might phrase it a little more strongly.”

Chloe snorted. “What she’s saying is that you have to hit them over the head with the obvious.”

Miranda sobered. “We just don’t want you to let his money or his career stop you from saying what’s in your heart.” She crossed her arms. “Gavin is one of Luke’s best friends, so I’d like to see him happy.”

“And you think I could do that?” Allie was startled by the confidence these two women had in her.

Chloe gave her a firm look. “The only people who can answer that question are you and Gavin.”

“Here’s to the return of Julian!” Nathan held up his beer bottle.

Luke tapped his against it, but Gavin turned and touched his bottle to the wooden paneling of Nathan’s man cave. “For God’s sake, don’t jinx me.”

“You’re more superstitious than an NHL goalie,” Luke said. “And they’re really weird.”

“What brought Julian back?” Nathan asked, settling back in a huge brown leather chair set beside a blazing fire.

Gavin didn’t hesitate. “Allie.”

Nathan’s eyebrows slanted upward in surprise. “Physical therapy breaks down writer’s block?”

“She’s a woman of many talents, and one of them is being a muse.” Gavin sipped the beer.

“Don’t muses wear floaty white dresses and dance around with harps?” Luke asked.

“Those are Greek muses. Mine’s a West Virginian,” Gavin said. “She comes with a cat who vomits on car rides.”

“You brought her cat?” Now Luke looked surprised.

Gavin shrugged. “She wouldn’t leave New York without it. Without her. The cat’s a female.”

Nathan and Luke looked at each other. Nathan cleared his throat. “I hear you’re not a fan of Allie’s dress for the ball tonight.”

Gavin was beginning to see where the conversation was headed, so he gave Nathan a bland look. “Once she demonstrated that it wasn’t completely transparent, I had no problem with it. Would you want your date wearing slightly cloudy Saran wrap?”

Luke coughed. “Do you remember calling me an idiot?”

“Many times,” Gavin said, but he remembered exactly the occasion Luke was referring to. After Luke had thrown Miranda’s declaration of love back in her face, Gavin had told him what he thought of Luke’s intelligence . . . or lack of it. Gavin shoved up from the sofa where he’d sprawled. He was damned if he was going to let Luke give him advice about his personal life.