Authors: Susan Mallery
“You go, Mom.”
“Don't mock me. I'm a woman on the edge.” Her mother gave her a brief hug, then kissed her cheek. “Thank you for being normal.”
“You're welcome.”
When her mother had left, Jackson came out of the bathroom. He'd already dressed.
“Looks like you're safe from Aunt Tully,” Katie told him. “She's replaced you.”
“So it seems. Do you really think she's sleeping with the father of the groom?”
“With her, it's not hard to believe anything.”
He winced. “There are going to be some wild fireworks.”
“There always are.”
He grabbed her hand. “Want some help looking for Alex? Divide and conquer?”
“That would be great. I'll take the kitchen and the lower floors.”
He nodded. “I'll change into jeans and check the grounds.”
“Watch out for bears. You're pretty enough that they'll want you.”
“No guy wants to be pretty.”
She smiled. “It looks good on you.”
“You look good on me.”
He kissed her, then left. Katie stood there, wearing nothing but a robe, thinking this was probably the best wedding ever.
Seven
D
ivide and conquer might make sense, Katie thought a half hour later, when she'd dressed and made her way to the kitchens. But there was a flaw in the plan. A tall, red-headed flaw with long legs, a perfect pouty mouth and an ability to only think about one thing.
“You're with the wedding, right?” Ariel asked as Katie entered the kitchen.
Jackson's ex stood by a counter, carefully assembling a four-tiered wedding cake. Smooth, white fondant covered all the layers. Stacked trays contained already-made flowers in pale pink and yellow. Silver dots lined paper sheets.
“Yes. My sister is getting married.”
“Good, so what do you know about Jackson? I saw you with him. You guys are friends?”
Katie thought about Jackson's intimate kiss that morning, in the shower. The way he'd pressed his open mouth on the most sensitive part of her. There wasn't
an inch of skin he hadn't touched or tasted. He'd made her come in ways that were borderline illegal.
“We're friends,” she said, hoping she sounded calm and slightly disinterested. Her instinct was to rip off Ariel's face, something the other woman might resist. And there was the cake to consider.
“Is he⦔ Ariel sucked in a breath. “Is he with anyone? We used to go out. I left him because I was stupid. Now I see we were great together. He's amazing, and I totally blew it. I made a mistake. I want him back.”
Tears filled her perfect, almond-shaped eyes. No red nose and blotchy skin for Ariel when she cried, Katie thought bitterly.
What Katie wanted to say was that she and Jackson were together. Practically in love. Because theyâ
The world stood still. She'd heard the phrase, read the phrase, but this was the first time in her life she'd felt it. Everything stopped moving. There was total silence. Even her heart was quiet.
Practically in love? She couldn't be in love. She barely knew Jackson. Okay, yes, he was everything she'd ever wanted and nice and funny and kind. The man had agreed to be her date for the weekend because his mother had asked him. How many guys did that without being scarily attached to the mother in question?
If he was everything she'd been looking for
and
they had amazing chemistry in bed and he made her feel like a goddess, was it unreasonable to assume that there was the tiniest possibility that she was falling in love with him? Crazy, maybe, but possible?
The world lurched into place again.
“Are you okay?” Ariel asked.
“Fine,” Katie murmured, feeling more than a little dazed. “I, uh, don't know anything about his love life.” She was speaking the truth. Well, excluding his relationship with her.
While she was sure he wasn't seeing anyone seriouslyâhis mother wouldn't have asked him to do the wedding weekend if he wasâshe didn't know about casual relationships. For all she knew he had a string of women lined up, waiting for their turn. If last night was only a sampling of his talents, then it made sense there would be plenty of takers.
Ariel sighed. “I want to talk to him. Explain. I want him back. I can't believe how stupid I was. A guy like Jackson doesn't come along very often.”
“No, he doesn't,” Katie said, backing toward the door. “You haven't seen the groom, have you?”
“No. Only your mom. She's really nice.”
“We all think so. Thanks.”
“Wish me luck with Jackson.”
Katie waved instead, and left the kitchen. Dazed, she walked into the lobby, then out into the bright morning light.
She was falling in love with the man her mother had tried to set her up with a thousand times. Talk about ironic. Even more confusing was the fact that she couldn't begin to have any idea about how Jackson felt. Asking him was out of the question. She refused to be one of those scary, needy girls who wanted to talk marriage on a second date. She was used to hiding her feelings from the world. Why should this time be any different?
She glanced toward the hotel. Maybe because Jackson was different, she thought. Or maybe he
wasn't. Maybe she was making too big a deal out of a great smile and even better sex.
* * *
Jackson didn't have to go very far to find the missing groom. He was passed out on a bench in an outbuilding probably used to store skis in the winter.
Jackson shook Alex's shoulder a couple of times. The other man groaned, rolled over and blinked sleepily up at him.
“Hey,” Alex said, his voice hoarse. “I know you. You're here for my wedding. I miss Courtney. She's great. Have you noticed how great she is?”
“Courtney's amazing,” Jackson told him. “And you're going to marry her tomorrow.”
Alex slowly pushed into a sitting position. “I know. She's beautiful and stuff, but she can be selfish and it makes me crazy. Then I think about not being with her and it hurts to breathe. What do you think that means?”
“You're nervous about getting married,” Jackson said firmly. “It happens. You need to focus on what you love about Courtney, how you felt when you proposed. Back then you knew you'd be happy together forever. Remember that now.”
Alex blinked several times. “That's deep, man.”
“I'm a trained professional,” Jackson said, comfortable with the lie. “You need to get up and go back to the hotel. Shower, shave and have a lot of coffee. Then you're going to find Courtney and tell her how much you love her. After that, you'll have to deal with your mother. It's possible that your father slept with Aunt Tully.”
Alex's stare turned glassy. “My father what?”
Jackson helped Alex to his feet. “Your mother will fill in the details. Now do you remember what you're supposed to do?”
“Shower, shave, coffee, Courtney, Mom. Got it.”
“Excellent.”
“So you're a shrink?” Alex asked, leading the way out of the small building.
“Something like that.”
“Katie's lucky to have you. She deserves someone really great.”
“I know.”
“It wasn't me.”
“Apparently not.”
Alex sighed. “I miss her, too.”
“She's not on your list.”
“I know.”
Jackson watched Alex trudge toward the hotel. When the other man disappeared inside, Jackson stayed where he was and wondered how big a disaster this wedding was going to be.
Eight
“W
hy does Alex think you're a psychiatrist?” Katie asked later that afternoon as she and Jackson walked toward the room where the rehearsal would be held.
“I gave him advice and he assumed.”
“Makes sense.” She smiled. “He's not going to be happy when he finds out the truth.”
“If the wedding goes as planned, it shouldn't matter one way or the other.”
Jackson sounded confident and he looked yummy. Or maybe it was the fact that due to all the stress and trauma, she'd missed lunch.
She eyed him, taking in the tailored pants, the long-sleeved shirt and sports jacket. He looked good. Good enough to make her forget the growling in her stomach.
Danger,
she reminded herself. Falling for Jackson wasn't smart. Not until she knew a little more about him. But they hadn't had much time alone and now that they were by themselves, she couldn't think of a single
normal opening line. “So tell me about yourself” didn't exactly meet the subtle requirement.
“Did you get any sleep?” Jackson whispered in her ear, his hand at the small of her back.
Something warm and liquid flowed through her. “I tried, but there were too many interruptions.”
“Should I apologize?”
“You weren't the one interrupting me.”
He grinned at her. “You know what I mean.”
Their gazes locked. She felt the crackle of awareness, of need. “No,” she whispered. “Don't apologize.”
“Good.”
They'd stopped just outside the open door. Katie could hear conversation and knew they should take that last couple of steps and go inside. But staring into Jackson's eyes was the best part of her day. Well, kissing him was better and when he touched herâ¦
“I read science fiction,” he blurted.
“What?”
“I read science fiction. I like spy movies and thrillers. I can sit through a romantic comedy if it's important to you. I like relaxed vacations, preferably by the beach, but I can do the mountain thing, too.”
He cupped her face. “Tell me what you like.”
“Um, I read romances and mysteries. I like most movies, as long as they're not too violent or gory. I can't remember the last vacation I took, but a beach would be nice.”
“I fell out of a tree when I was eight and broke my arm.”
“I have a tattoo on my butt that says Buddy.”
He dropped his hands and stared at her. “Buddy.”
She laughed and kissed him. “Kidding. No tattoo.”
“I didn't think so. I would have seen it last night.” He grabbed her in his arms and spun her around. “We wasted way too much time, Katie. My mom's going to love hearing that.”
Her heart pounded hard and fast. What exactly was he saying? Could she hope that he was as crazy about her as she was about him? Was it possible that she was going to get that lucky?
She opened her mouth, prepared to ask, when a soft voice spoke his name.
“Jackson, do you have a second?”
He put her down and they both turned to find a very beautiful, worried-looking Ariel standing behind them.
“I have to go to the wedding rehearsal,” he said, his hand still on Katie's waist.
“This shouldn't take long. Please?”
Katie thought about how much Jackson had come to mean to her and how, when compared with the tall, leggy beauty, she was perfectly average. Before falling for him, she would have instantly gone to the bad place. While she was flirting with heading in that direction, there was a part of her that felt strong.
“You should talk to her,” she told him.
“Why? I know the rehearsal won't be fun.”
“I'll survive, and you won't be that long.”
At least she hoped he wouldn't be. Besides, if he was the kind of guy to sleep with her and then want to get back together with an ex, better she know that now. When there was still a chance of getting out with her heart intact. Or at the very least only slightly shattered.
“I'll be right back,” he promised, then walked toward Ariel.
Katie didn't want to see the two beautiful people together, so she hurried into the rehearsal room.
She would be fine, she told herself as she raised her chin and strode forward purposefully. Then promptly fell over a handbag, stumbled, twisted, felt an ugly pop and crumpled to the floor.
* * *
Katie really wanted to stay where she was. If she could lie on the floor and have everyone pretend they couldn't see her, she would be perfectly happy. Instead, they all gathered around, hovering, asking questions and offering advice.
Alex reached her first and helped her into a chair. “Where does it hurt?” he asked, rubbing his hands up and down her legs.
She pushed him away. “I'm fine. It's nothing.”
Her mother reached her next. “Are you all right?”
“I think I pulled something. I'm sure I'll be okay in a second.”
Her mother squeezed her hand. “If you're going to try and get out of the wedding, you'll have to do better than this,” she whispered.
Katie managed a smile through the growing pain in her knee. “The window was too far.”
Her father knelt in front of her and cupped her knee. “It's swelling, kid. I'm guessing a sprain. Let's go have a look.”
He helped her hobble to the room next door. She pulled off her sandals and white jeans, then winced when she saw her knee. It was nearly double in size.
“That's attractive,” she murmured.
Her dad, a family doctor, probed and squeezed. “You're the sports nut in the family. Want to guess?”
She'd seen enough knee strains to recite from memory. “Ice, elevation, rest, ibuprofen and wrap it when I'm standing.”
“That's my girl. If it's not better in the next couple of days, we'll do an X-ray, but my guess is you'll be fine.” He stood. “Trying to get out of walking down the aisle?”
“If only.” She poked at her knee, then winced. “Talk about graceful.”
He supported her as she stood, then helped her back into her clothes. “We love you anyway.”
“I appreciate the lack of conditions on your affection,” she said and hugged him.
He held her for a second. “This wedding is a disaster. You hear about Tully and Bruce?”
“It beats thinking about you and mom having sex.”
“Don't go there.”