Fool for Love (26 page)

Arriving at Mac's house a short time later, Joe equated the effort to wake Mac
to rousing a hibernating grizzly bear.

"Come on, man." Joe somehow
managed to get him out of the car and halfway up the stairs to the deck with no
help at all from Mac. Just as Joe's back was about to break from the effort,
Mac came to.

"Hey! We're home. Maddie! We're
home!"

"Shut
up
, will you?" Joe
hissed. "If you wake up Thomas, she'll kill you."

"Shhhhh," Mac said. "Be
quiet. Thomas is sleeping."

Joe rolled his eyes and slid open the door
to find Janey sacked out on one sofa, Maddie on the other.

Maddie sat up when they came in. "Oh,
lovely," she muttered.

"Hey, baby," Mac said.
"Come give me some love."

"I don't think so." She pointed
Joe to the stairs.

He wrestled Mac up the stairs to his
bedroom. After propping him up in the bathroom so he could take care of
business, Joe dropped him on the bed.

Mac was out cold the second his head hit
the pillow.

"Might be a little ugly in the
morning," Joe said to Maddie, who had followed them upstairs.

"That's okay. Did he have a good
time?"

"I'd say so."

"That's what matters, then. Thanks
for bringing him home."

"No problem."

"Did you two work things out?"

"I thought so, but then he blurted out
the whole thing to his brothers, so now I'm going to have to kill him."

"He did not!"
Janey said from the hallway. "I'll help you kill
him!"

Joe reached for her. "We've
officially gone public, honey."

She wrapped her arms around him and rested
her head on his chest. "How public?"

"
All
the way."

Janey groaned as Maddie giggled.

Mac let out a huge snort and turned over
in bed, reaching for something—or someone.

"I guess that's my cue," Maddie
said.

"Don't let him breathe on you,"
Joe said.

They all laughed.

"Thanks for everything tonight, you
guys," Maddie said.

"May the Force be with you," Joe
said.

"He's going to need the Force with
him
in the morning," Maddie said.

Laughing, Janey took Joe's hand to lead
him downstairs. "We'll see you tomorrow." Janey collected her stuff
and locked the door before sliding it closed behind them.

On the deck, Joe stopped her from going
down the stairs. "Come here."

She dropped her purse and jacket and
stepped into his outstretched arms.

"Now that's what I've needed all
damned day," Joe said.

"Mmm," she said. "Let's go
home."

With his arm around her, Joe led her down
the steps and into his truck.

"Smells like a bar in here," she
said, pinching her nose.

"Thank your brother for that."

"You didn't have any?"

He reached for her hand. "A couple of
beers much earlier. I figured one of us needed to maintain."

"Did you guys talk?"

"Yeah, it's all good, baby. Don't
worry."

"That's a relief."

"I had an interesting chat with your
dad, too."

"Really?"

"Yep." He decided not to mention
what her father had told him about vet school. Joe wanted her to tell him
herself—when she was ready. It was enough for him to know she was seriously
considering it.

"What did he say?"

"He basically asked my
intentions."

"Oh, my God! He did not!"

Joe shot her a look. "You know he
did."

"Oh,
God
. What did you tell
him?"

Joe brought her hand to his lips.
"That I've always loved you, and I always will."

"Joe," she said. "That's so
sweet."

"It's true, and guess what? I don't
give a shit who knows it. I'm so tired of hiding it from everyone. That gets
really exhausting."

Janey released her seat belt and moved
closer to rest her head on his shoulder. "How did I get so lucky?"

He let go of her hand and put his arm
around her, bringing her tight against him. "I'm the lucky one."

"We're both lucky." Her arm
snaked around his waist, and her lips burrowed into his neck.

"Janey…"

"Hmm?"

"Driving over here. Don't get too
busy."

As if he hadn't said a word, her hand roamed
his chest and belly before heading south. When she pressed against his
erection, he jolted. With one hand on the wheel and the other arm around her,
he couldn't stop her from unbuttoning and unzipping his shorts.

She stroked him, and it was all he could
do to keep the truck on the road. "Janey! Jesus. Come on."

She laughed and dipped her head to take
him into her mouth.

"
Shit
," he groaned,
pulling the truck to the side of the road.

The heat of her mouth and the caressing
strokes of her hand brought him quickly to the verge of climax. Then she added
her tongue to the mix and took him right over. For many minutes afterward, Joe
focused on getting air to his straining lungs. Her lips and tongue on his neck
drew him out of the stupor he'd slipped into. Reaching for her, he arranged her
on his lap so she straddled him and fused his lips with hers. With one hand
firmly buried in her hair, his other hand ventured under her skirt to find her
panties damp with desire. The discovery reawakened him, and with just the
slightest shift of his hips and her panties, he surged into her.

Her head fell back, and she whispered a
startled, "Oh…" She clutched his shoulders and rotated her hips.
"Thought we were on a diet…"

"Not anymore." Cupping her
buttocks, he urged her to move and couldn't believe how fast she once again had
him fighting for control. Being with her reminded him of his horny teenage
years.

"That was a dumb idea anyway,"
she said.

"The dumbest idea ever." Keeping
one hand on her bottom, he dipped the other under her shirt and up to her
breast. He pushed her bra aside and rolled her nipple between his fingers. That
sent her into overdrive, and her hips began to move more urgently.

Joe pushed her shirt up and replaced his
fingers with his mouth. After just one hard tug of his lips, she came with a
cry of completion that took him with her. He held her tight against him,
absorbing the aftershocks and the scent of jasmine that never failed to arouse
him.

"I've always thought diets were so
pointless," she whispered in his ear.

Joe chuckled. "Some more pointless
than others."

"It wouldn't do for us to be caught
like this. I'd hate for you to end up in jail twice in one week because of
me."

"Then how about we take this
somewhere more comfortable?"

She raised her head to press her lips to
his in a sweet, chaste kiss that took his breath away. "Let's go."

Janey hadn't told anyone about her visit with Francine. As the two o'clock hour
inched closer, she was riddled with anxiety over whether or not Maddie's mother
would show. In hindsight, Janey wasn't sure which would be better for Maddie—if
her mother came or if she didn't. Janey took a look around at the festive
decorations, the buffet table and the small mountain of gifts she and her
mother had contributed.

Linda came up behind Janey and massaged
her shoulders. "Why so tense?"

"Just hoping it all goes well
today."

"It will. Don't worry." Linda
turned Janey so she could see her face. "This has to be hard on you.
Throwing a bridal shower for someone else…"

Janey shook her head. "I'm okay. You
know I couldn't be happier for Mac and Maddie. And I've decided that marrying
David would've been a huge mistake." Memories of her erotic night with Joe
flashed through her mind. Remembering the bliss of waking up in his arms that morning,
Janey smiled to herself. "For a number of reasons." She looked up at
her mother. "We need to cancel the wedding plans." Janey thought
wistfully of the ballroom at the Samuel Turner Inn, the sunset ceremony and
reception they'd planned for next August. The wedding of her dreams—right down
to the music, the cake and the dress.

"Let's get past next weekend, and
then we'll deal with that."

"Yes, you're right."

Linda raised an eyebrow. "Now what's
all this with Joe?"

"That seems to be the question of the
week."

"Do you have feelings for him?"

"Lots of feelings. I'm trying to
figure out what they all mean. It's complicated…"

"How so?"

"He's had… He's been in love with
me." She glanced at her mother. "For years."

"I wondered," Linda said with a
smug smile.

"You
knew?
And didn't say
anything?"

"I only
suspected
."

"Why?"

"His eyes follow you around the room.
He lights up when he sees you coming. He listens to you—really listens."

"Yes, he does," Janey said.

"But you can't let his feelings for
you pressure you into something you're not ready for. You've just gotten out of
a very long relationship."

"Which was over a long time ago, if
I'm being truthful."

"Regardless, it just officially
ended. If you rush in, you risk hurting yourself and Joe."

"We're kind of past the don't-rush-in
warning at this point."

Linda put her hands over her ears.
"Lalala. Don't want to know."

Janey laughed. "What would you think,
really, of me with Joe?"

Linda framed her daughter's face with her
hands. "You'd be one very lucky girl. He's handsome, successful, charming,
attentive, a hard worker, your parents and brothers already love him, and most
important of all, he's
loyal
." With a kiss to Janey's forehead,
Linda went to check the oven. "I'm sure you'll agree there's a lot to be
said for that."

"It's the most important thing. At
least to me."

The screen door swung open, and Maddie
came in with Mac, who was carrying Thomas. Maddie wore a pink floral sundress,
and her hair fell in soft waves around her face. Janey thought she'd never
looked lovelier. Mac, on the other hand, looked like death warmed over.

"Oh, there's my baby!" Linda
said, reaching for Thomas.

Mac winced. "Not so loud, Mom."

"Did someone have a few too many last
night?"

"A
few
?" Janey asked with
a snort. "You were pretty funny."

"I'm never drinking again," Mac
grumbled.

"Can I get that in writing?"
Maddie asked with a charming smile for her fiancé.

He glowered at her.

"Go home and get some sleep,"
Linda said. "We'll keep Thomas with us."

"You don't want to do that," Mac
said. "He's cruising like a mad man. You'll do nothing but chase him all
day."

"We don't mind, do we, Janey?"

"Of course we don't. We can put him
down for a nap upstairs." She gave her brother a push. "Go. Come back
in three or four hours."

"Are you okay with this plan?"
he asked Maddie.

"If it'll put you in a better mood,
I'm all for it." She kissed him and sent him on his way. After he left,
Maddie hugged Janey. "Everything looks beautiful. Thank you so much. And
Linda… Thank you."

"Our pleasure, honey," Linda
said, helping Thomas with a cookie.

"Five more days!" Maddie clapped
her hands with excitement. "The time is flying by!"

"What do you still have left to
do?"

"A quick run to the mainland on
Wednesday to pick up my dress. That's about it."

"Do you want me to go with you?"
Janey asked.

"You'd have to take the day off, and
you're already taking half of Thursday and all day Friday," Maddie said.
"I can handle it. It's just over and right back."

"If you're sure…"

"Don't worry—I'll let you know when I
need you this week."

"You'd better!"

Maddie's coworkers from the hotel flooded
in a few minutes later, along with her sister and baby niece Ashleigh.

"Is Mom coming?" Maddie asked
Tiffany.

Her sister shook her head. "I
tried."

Maddie forced a smile. "That's all
right. We'll have fun without her."

Janey put her arm around Maddie to lead
her to the guest-of-honor chair, which she had decorated with balloons and
streamers. "You bet we will."