“James wanted to have a secret affair with you?”
“It wasn’t an affair. Neither of us is with anyone.”
“You were kind of dating Ethan.”
I gave her a look. “Please.”
“Okay. I guess you weren’t really dating Ethan.”
“It wasn’t romantic,” I said.
To my embarrassment, my voice cracked.
Sophie’s eyes filled with sympathy.
“Oh,” she said. “You mean it wasn’t supposed to be romantic.”
I struggled to breathe. I was afraid to try to talk. The heartache I’d been suppressing was fighting to get out of my chest.
“But it got romantic.”
A whisper was all I could manage. “Only for me.”
I blinked against the threat of tears. I wasn’t going to cry. I wasn’t going to let this make me cry. That would be a whole other level of pain.
“Oh, Nat.”
I shook my head, and I swallowed hard. “I’m fine. I just... I didn’t want Jamie to ask you about the phone call and have him find out I made it all up.”
“Yeah, because that’s the biggest problem here.”
“I’d be embarrassed,” I said.
“He’s the one who should be embarrassed. What was he thinking? Sleeping with you, swearing you to secrecy. What kind of a man does that?”
I realized I’d mischaracterized our relationship. I hadn’t been fair to Jamie. This wasn’t his fault. It was my fault for letting it get out of hand.
I should have pulled the plug earlier. I recognized the signs. I’d have to be an idiot not to recognize the signs that I was falling for him.
A knock came on the door.
I wasn’t expecting anyone.
“Do Bryce and Ethan know you’re here?” The last thing I wanted was to deal with anyone else right now.
“Maybe it’s Brooklyn,” Sophie joked.
I couldn’t find the humor in it.
“Too soon?” she asked.
“I think it is.”
“Tasha?” a voice called.
It was Jamie.
Sophie’s mouth dropped open. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I’m guessing nobody else calls you that?”
“Tasha, open up. I can hear you’re in there.”
I looked to Sophie for advice.
She cringed and shrugged at the same time.
“Tasha?” Jamie sounded frustrated. “This is ridiculous.”
“She’s coming,” Sophie called out.
I shot her a look of astonishment.
“You can’t hold him off forever.”
* * *
I opened the door.
“What is going on?” Jamie asked.
“Sophie’s—”
“You don’t pick up the phone. You barely answer my texts. You said you were coming back. Why didn’t you come back?” He barged into the apartment. “There were papers to sign.”
He spotted Sophie.
“Hi, James,” she said.
He clamped his jaw and glared at me.
“I can leave,” Sophie said.
“No,” I said.
I wasn’t ready to be alone with Jamie. Okay, that was a lie. I was dying to be alone with Jamie. But that was a bad thing, a very bad thing.
Seeing him now, I wanted to grab him and hold on to him. I wanted to be wrapped in his arms...like...forever.
It was worse than I thought.
I was in love with Jamie.
“We need to talk,” Jamie said to me.
I backed away from him. “She knows most of it anyway.”
“What do you mean she knows most of it? What does she know?”
“She’s right here,” Sophie said. “Listening.”
Jamie ignored her. “What does she know?”
“That we slept together.”
“You told her that?”
“I pretty much guessed,” Sophie said. “And why would you ask her to keep that a secret anyway?”
The question seemed to stump Jamie for a second. When he spoke, it was to me. “I didn’t think you’d want to tell people. I don’t care if anyone knows.”
The conversation felt surreal. “Well...Sophie knows.”
“Fine,” he said. “Why didn’t you come back? What did I do?”
I found the question more than absurd. “You moved to California.”
He seemed puzzled. “Yeah...and I asked you to come with me. You said you would.”
I almost laughed at that. “You asked me to help you buy a house.”
“Uh-huh. A house. That we both loved. That we could live in. Together.”
“Whoa,” Sophie said. She came up on her knees and watched over the back of the sofa.
“You did not,” I said to Jamie.
If he had...well...I would have... I didn’t really know, but it would have been something different than what I had done.
Now my brain and my heart started fighting again, trying to work out what Jamie had meant, what Jamie meant now.
He took a few steps toward me. “Tasha, what did you think was happening between us?”
“Makeovers,” I said. That much I knew for sure. “We wanted to attract the opposite sex.”
“Really?” Sophie asked.
“We did attract the opposite sex,” Jamie said. “We attracted each other.”
I waved my hand. “You know what I mean. We were friends.”
“With benefits,” Sophie said.
We both looked at her.
“Should I go now?” she asked.
“Don’t bother,” Jamie said.
He took another step toward me. “I don’t know how it went off the rails. I wish I’d said or done something different.” He came closer. “I don’t know how you feel about me, Tasha. But I have to think there’s something there. I can’t be in this all alone. It doesn’t make sense. I’m wild about you, wild about you, intellectually, physically, romantically.” He leaned in. “I want to be your best friend. I want to be your lover. And I want to do it all forever. Rock climb with me, dance with me, skydive with me, buy tuxes with me. It can be in LA. It can be here. It can be anywhere. I don’t care about any of that.” He took my hands. “I’m in love with you, Tasha.”
“Swooning over here,” Sophie said.
“Marry me,” Jamie said.
My brain—which was already struggling to process his words—fogged completely over. “Huh?”
Jamie grinned at my baffled expression. “I think you have to give me a yes or no to that.”
“Yes,” Sophie said. “Say yes already.”
Jamie cocked his head in Sophie’s direction. “I like her. I always have.”
“Yes,” I said, barely believing it was happening. “I love you, Jamie. I love you so much.”
He pulled me into a hug, and then a kiss, and then a deeper kiss.
“I’m out of here,” Sophie said.
This time she didn’t wait for either of us to answer.
* * *
Ours was going to be the simplest wedding in the history of weddings.
We both wanted it that way.
And we tried, we really did. But Sophie insisted Layla had to be there.
It was hard to argue that Jamie’s sister shouldn’t attend.
And if Layla was coming, Max had to be included. If Max and Layla were going to be there, it seemed churlish not to invite Brooklyn and Colton. Especially since Jamie was adamant that he didn’t hold anything against Brooklyn.
He told me if it hadn’t been for Brooklyn breaking up with him, he never would have found me. And he realized now that what he’d felt for Brooklyn had been puppy love. He’d hung on to it for so many years, he didn’t know how to let it go, even when they grew
apart.
He also said if it hadn’t been for me, he wouldn’t have grown from James into Jamie.
I believed him. I felt the same way. I wasn’t Nat anymore. I wasn’t only Tasha either, but I had a lot of Tasha in me, and I loved it.
Our parents had to be included, of course. Mine had traveled up from Houston.
Jamie’s parents spent the winters in Fort Lauderdale now, but they were happy to put off their travel plans for a wedding.
Me, I just wanted to be married to Jamie. I didn’t much care where or how.
We found a rustic resort on Waddington Island, an hour’s boat ride from Seattle. It had a chapel overlooking the ocean, a five-star dining room, and cottages for everyone to spend the night.
I wore a short white dress, with a lace overlay and a scalloped hem. The lace neckline was scooped and detailed, while the underdress was strapless. I wore a little diamond pendant that Layla had lent me. Jamie had once given it to her for her birthday. I matched it with diamond stud earrings.
I felt pretty. I didn’t think I’d ever felt this pretty in my life.
My shoes were sleek, heeled pumps, white with blue soles. Something blue. I liked that, too.
When the music came up, Sophie started down the aisle in front of me. She wore a simple aqua dress that let her beauty shine through. She looked amazing, as she always did.
I saw Jamie at the front of the chapel. He wore the tuxedo we’d bought together.
I smiled, and he grinned back, gesturing to the suit.
Yeah, I’d take a guy with a perfectly cut, perfectly fitting, owned tuxedo any day of the week—especially this guy.
“Nice touch,” I whispered to him when I got to the front.
He took my hand. “Not as nice as you.”
“Brookswood Bridal Department.”
“Seriously?”
“Where else would I shop?”
“Friends...” the preacher began.
I sobered and stopped talking.
We said our vows, promising love and laughter and adventure forever.
When we kissed and made our way down the aisle, I thought my heart would burst open with joy.
In the garden out front, Layla hugged Jamie. Then she pulled me to her.
“I can’t believe it,” she whispered. “I’m so happy to have you as a sister.”
“I love Jamie very much,” I told her.
“I know you do. And I can see how much he loves you. You’re perfect for each other.”
Brooklyn was next.
I hesitated in front of her. We hadn’t spoken since she’d left Jamie at the altar.
“Congratulations,” she said. It was clear she was as nervous as me. I thought of all the platitudes I could offer.
“This is so weird,” I said instead.
Her expression relaxed. “Isn’t it?”
“I don’t know how it happened this way. But I’m so glad it did.” I pulled her into a hug.
“I do love James,” she said into my ear. “Just not in the right way.”
“I love him in exactly the right way.”
She hugged me tighter. “I’m so happy for both of you.”
“Thanks for leaving him,” I said.
We both laughed.
“Do you think he wants to talk to me?”
Her question was answered before I could say anything. Jamie was there beside us.
“Hello, Brooklyn.”
She looked up at him and stepped back from me. “Hi.”
“Thanks for coming,” he said.
“Thanks for inviting us.”
They both fell silent.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
Jamie shook his head. “I’m not. You were braver than me. I’d have gone ahead and made a mistake for both of us.”
Brooklyn looked startled.
“You were right to walk away.” He paused. “Okay, maybe you could have done it a day or a week or a month before the wedding. But at least you did it.” Jamie took my hand and drew me to his side. “And I’m the big winner.”
“I’m so glad you feel that way,” Brooklyn said.
I caught movement out of the corner of my eye as Colton approached.
I couldn’t tell the twin brothers apart, but from the expression on his face, I was pretty sure this one was Colton, not Max.
He firmly stuck out his hand for Jamie. “Congratulations,” he said.
“To you, too,” Jamie said. “You have an amazing wife.”
“I hear you lucked out, too.” Colton looked to me.
Jamie wrapped an arm around me. “She’s the best. I’m not sure I deserve her.”
No one seemed to know where to take the conversation from there. I didn’t want to leave it at this. Brooklyn was one of my best friends, and I was deliriously happy at how things had turned out.
“Thank you,” I said to Colton. “I appreciate you stealing Brooklyn.”
It was clear he had no idea how to react.
I let him hang for a second.
“I...uh...” He gamely stepped in. “It was my pleasure.”
I looked around the circle. “We all agree it turned out right?”
Everyone enthusiastically nodded.
“Great. Then let’s quit being so weird about it.”
Jamie leaned in. “Way to go, Tasha.”
“Tasha doesn’t mess around.”
“Yes,” Brooklyn said with enthusiasm. “I’m through being weird.”
“Okay by me,” Jamie said.
He gave Brooklyn a hug.
They were both smiling when they pulled back.
Colton looked happy, too. He looked relieved and happy.
Other people came forward with their congratulations. We cut the cake, threw the bouquet and danced the night away under a full moon and the scattered stars.
Later, at our cottage on a point of land overlooking the rolling ocean, Jamie carried me across the threshold. An open window had the sea breeze flowing into the pretty room.
Jamie set me on my feet, his arm staying around my waist. He smoothed my windblown hair. “I love you, Tasha Gillen.”
My heart was big and full in this perfect moment. I touched his face, stroking the rough whiskers that shadowed his chin. “I adore you, Jamie Gillen.”
He smiled as he leaned in for a kiss. “I’d point at you across any old room.”
* * *
If you missed Layla and Max’s
unforgettable romance, and how Brooklyn
met Colton, check out Barbara Dunlop’s
The Twin Switch,
available now from Harlequin Desire
at www.Harlequin.com!
Keep reading for a special preview of
Forbidden Promises
the first book in Synithia Williams’s irresistible Jackson Falls series.
India Robidoux wants nothing more than to avoid her sister’s ex-husband...even if they did share one unforgettable kiss years ago.
What do you do when you want the one person you can’t have?
Coming March 2020 from HQN Books!
Forbidden Promises
by Synithia Williams
CHAPTER ONE
A LARGE CALLA lily bouquet came entirely too close to slapping India Robidoux in the face the moment she entered her family’s home for the first time in four years. Only a quick slide to the right saved her from that indignity.
The woman carrying the flowers rushed by with a barely audible “excuse me.”
India jumped back to avoid being hit by another bouquet as a different woman with an equally large arrangement hurried by. The ornate oak-and-glass front door swung open behind her. India stutter-stepped to the right to avoid being hit. Maybe she should have taken up dancing ins
tead of the violin. She clearly had the footwork down.
The front door opened again, and a man carrying a large box rushed through. “Where do you want these?” he asked her. He shifted and the sound of glasses clinking together came from the box.
India’s mouth opened, then closed. She glanced around in the hope he was talking to someone who had some clue what was going on.
The man loudly cleared his throat. “Ma’am?”
Blinking rapidly, India pointed down the hall where more noise came from the back of the house. “Um...the kitchen?” That had to be where glasses needed to go.
The man nodded and hurried on his way. Yet another woman carrying a huge bouquet, roses instead of calla lilies, rushed by again.
India moved out of the entryway and the line of people going back and forth. She pulled her cell phone out of the back pocket of her jean shorts and checked the date. No one’s birthday, no anniversary and no major holiday. Why were there dozens of people zipping around making the already impressive interior of her family home even more extravagant?
People were everywhere, placing flower arrangements, hanging decorations, carrying crates and cleaning every nook and cranny. The effort put into whatever was going on wasn’t surprising. Her family didn’t do anything half-assed. It was as if four years hadn’t passed and she was back home in time for another Robidoux Family production.
“I told the caterer there were to be no oysters, at all. If my brother dies from an allergic reaction to oysters at his own party because the caterer is too dumb to remember my instructions, there will be hell to pay.” Her sister’s cool Southern accent was laced with frustration.
India rolled her eyes and sighed. Apparently, Elaina’s tendency for overdramatic threats hadn’t diminished recently.
The quick apologetic reply of the unfortunate assistant her sister spoke to accompanied the sound of heels clicking along the marble in India’s direction. For a second, she considered hiding, but dismissed the urge. There was no reason to hide from her sister. Their relationship wasn’t the closest, but neither were they enemies. Elaina always viewed India as the annoying baby sister in need of her guidance. Adulthood hadn’t changed that perception.
Elaina and a woman India didn’t recognize came into view. Elaina’s deep sepia skin, dark almond-shaped eyes and perfectly flat-ironed hair hadn’t changed at all. Even though Elaina was thirty-four, India swore her sister had stopped aging at twenty-five.
The Dating Dare (Gambling Men Book 2) Page 19
