by Casey Hagen
Jack turned her attention to Edie. “How are you today, Eddie?”
Edie hitched a thumb toward Francine. “I was fine until this lump decided to go with us.”
Annette shook her head. “Edie, please behave.”
“Someone capable of handling you had to come along,” Francine said with her chin hitched into the air.
“I behave just fine, thank you very much!” Edie crossed her arms and huffed.
“You run roughshod over everyone, and they let you get away with it because they’re terrified those loose lips of yours will spill that stockpile of secrets you store, like a squirrel does nuts.”
Edie sneered. “And you think you’re exempt from these loose lips?”
“I have no secrets,” Francine said with her nose in the air.
“Really? I seem to remember just last year, seeing you behind the gardenias with—”
Francine slammed a perfectly manicured, veined hand over Edie’s big mouth and held it there.
Until Edie licked it.
“Careful, Francine. I have no husband, no kids, nothing to do with my time but watch people. That includes you.”
“Noted,” Francine ground out.
Jack and Corrine glanced at each other and burst out laughing. Annette hid a smile behind her hand.
“Well, now that that unpleasantness is over, what do you think, Jack? Ready to be pampered?” Edie asked.
Jack grinned and patted Edie’s knee. “I think we’re all your bitches and whatever you say goes.”
“I knew I loved you the minute I laid eyes on you,” Edie said with a wink and smile.
The small talk flowed as they snacked on fresh fruit and croissants washed down with mimosas. Jack had never liked Champagne, but mimosas grew on her. Annette and Corrine chattered on about the baby. Edie shouted out name suggestions, despite the fact that Corrine had already revealed the two choices for names. Francine glared, but kept her mouth shut.
She let out a bit of a giggle and set her glass down. She absolutely did not giggle. Or she can’t remember ever having giggled. Not even after getting wasted on tequila with her brother and his friends.
“These are dangerous. Here, Corrine, take this away from me and don’t let me have another,” Jack said.
Corrine laughed and stowed the glass. “I’ve got you covered, Jack. Here, have some fruit.”
Jack giggled again.
“On second thought, have another croissant. Maybe it will soak up the alcohol.”
“If I have another croissant, I’ll need another drink.”
“Orange juice it is.”
By the time they pulled into Eden, Annette’s spa of choice, the buzz had started to clear. Stepping through the double doors, Jack leaned over and whispered into Corrine’s ear, “Is this going to hurt?”
“Don’t be silly. It’s going to be fun.” Corrine said.
A half hour later, they all sat in their individual chairs with their feet soaking in bubbling warm water. Light filtered through lace curtains, setting the cream-colored room aglow. Staff members in sage scrubs with Eden embroidered across the pocket attended to their every need with soft voices and friendly smiles.
More mimosas made their way into the room. She took one and resolved to sip slowly. She could fall asleep right there. Her own fault. Sneaking out of her room had been stupid. She should have sent Lathan on his way. Instead, she’d found a leather couch, the only kind of couch he owned, and she tossed and turned on the thing for the rest of the night. The minute she heard movement upstairs, she peeked into her room to see he had left.
He had every opportunity to give her hell for it over coffee, but didn’t. She appreciated that. Since agreeing to marry him, her life had propelled to a hundred-mile-per-hour joyride. Sure it was exciting, but the risks made her heart trip in her chest.
“So, Jack, tell me, what kind of dress would you prefer for the wedding?” Annette asked as she flipped through a copy of Vogue.
She stifled a moan when her attendant, Raj, lifted her foot and began massaging the arch. “I don’t know, I hadn’t really thought about it. What will Lathan be wearing?”
“I guess that depends on your dress, but probably a black tux. Tails seem like a bit much for Lathan. Liam, he could have pulled off tails,” Annette said as she continued to flip through the magazine.
“Why do you do that?” Jack asked. Okay, she should have kept her mouth shut, but those damn mimosas, the soothing foot soak, and Raj’s magic hands conspired to give her loose lips.
You could practically hear a pin drop in the room as all eyes locked on her.
“Do what?” Annette asked.
She’d gone and done it now, but now that the words had slipped out Jack didn’t want to let it go. “Why do you constantly compare Lathan and Liam? What’s worse is you make little comments that always imply that you find Lathan lacking.”
The magazine fell to Annette’s lap. “I don’t do that!”
“Hell yes, you do!” Edie said. “That poor Lathan has been practically tearing his hair out trying to live up to Liam’s ghost. He even let you rope him into that stupid marriage clause.”
“That was for his own good,” Annette protested.
“That was so you guys could determine the course of his life because you didn’t approve of the course he was on. Jack, here, is the only one who had the nerve to call you on it.”
Annette turned to Jack, a look of sheer horror in her eyes. “Is that what he thinks? That he’s not good enough?”
Annette looked like someone kicked her puppy, and Jack wished she had kept her mouth shut. This wasn’t her business. Or was it? She was marrying the man, after all. Plus, she had at least a year she would spend with Annette and Bradford, so maybe they should clear the air. Or not. Jack’s family talked about everything. It was hard for her to maintain a decent mad at her pain in the ass brother because of those talks, but then, she didn’t harbor a bunch of resentments either.
“He hasn’t flat out said it, but by look he gets sometimes that would be my guess,” Jack said.
“I don’t want him to think that,” Annette said, wiping away tears.
Jack patted Annette’s shoulder. She had already opened her mouth, and she was going to be part of this family, so she might as well go for broke. “Listen, losing Liam must have been devastating, but Lathan is still here; he’s lost his brother and, from the looks of the pictures, his best friend.”
“I didn’t realize I was doing it,” Annette whispered. She sniffled into a handkerchief she had pulled from her purse. “For two years now, I’ve been hurting my baby boy and I didn’t even know it.”
Francine patted Annette’s shoulder. “It’s okay, dear. You’ll make it up to him. I know you will. He’s a good boy… he’ll understand and he’ll forgive.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive, honey!” Edie patted Annette’s hand. “No more tears now. This is supposed to be a happy day.”
Francine waved a dismissive hand in the air. “So where were we?” Francine asked.
“Wedding dresses,” Corrine said.
“That’s right, wedding dresses. I would presume nothing with a train,” Francine said.
Jack laughed. “No train.”
“Strapless?” Annette asked.
Annette’s sniffles were subsiding, much to Jack’s relief. “Ummm, I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“Why on earth not? You have a gorgeous figure,” Corrine said.
“I thought maybe I would need to hide this.” She slid off her sweater since she had a tank top underneath, and revealed the dagger running from her shoulder to her elbow. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. She had just been attacked on a tow and disabled the guy with a heel to the top of his foot, an elbow to his sternum, and a sharp knee to his balls. She was pissed off and feeling like a total badass. Her brother’s best friend had just opened a tattoo shop. He now had an eight-month wait time, but then he’d had all the time
“Whoa,” Edie said.
“Well…” Annette offered.
“I love it!” Corrine said.
“Isn’t it a bit too much for a woman in a strapless dress?” Jack said.
All eyes turned to Francine. “I think it’s just right for a woman named Jack.”
Jack looked for it, but there was nothing mean or underhanded in the way Francine said it. For the first time since the Lathan and Liam talk, her lips spread into a genuine smile. “Strapless it is!”
They rolled back into Lathan’s driveway shortly after 7 p.m. Everett had their car all packed and ready to go. They said their goodbyes, leaving Jack alone with Lathan. Alone and incredibly relaxed.
Yeah, and a little buzzed.
Just buzzed enough to forget about her oath to not fall in love and throw caution to the wind.
“What’s the look, Jack?” Lathan asked.
She leaned in and smiled. “I’m not giving you a look.”
“Oh, you most certainly are. You’re giving me the kind of look that might just get you tossed over my shoulder and hauled off caveman-style to my bedroom.”
“You talk a good game, handsome, but you don’t have the balls to haul me off anywhere.”
“Oh, really…” Before she could turn and saunter away like she had intended, he tucked his shoulder into her middle and hoisted her over his shoulder.
“Hey, put me down!”
Lathan swatted one curved cheek and braced himself when she reared up.
“You did not just spank me.”
“That’s for being selfish in the bedroom last night.”
“I was not selfish! You got to lay back and I did everything.”
Kicking open the door to his room, he marched in and tossed her on the bed. “You restricted me and then you snuck out on me.”
The caveman routine was hot, but there was no way in hell she was going let him know that. “Oh, poor Lathan didn’t get to call the shots lasts night and now he wants payback. I don’t think so!”
“Jack, don’t you dare move off that bed.”
She leaned back on her hands. “Or what, tough guy?”
“Or I’ll spank you for real. The way your father should have.”
“Hey, I was a good kid.”
“And now you’re a selfish adult.”
That stung. He couldn’t know that he just poked at a sore spot with her. She had given up her choices just to uphold her end of the family business. She worried day and night about how to provide the best for her father. She was marrying a man she didn’t know and didn’t love, just to make sure her father had everything he deserved, and Lathan had the nerve to call her selfish.
“What did you just say?”
“You’re selfish.”
“I’m out of here,” she said as she levered herself off the bed.
“Did I lie?”
She stopped with her hand on the door handle, but didn’t turn around.
“Be honest, Jack. You were selfish. You called all the shots and you held back.” He took careful steps, one after the next, getting closer, not knowing if she would lash out.
“So what? You got what you wanted,” she tossed back to him.
He hooked a finger around the hair hanging over her shoulder and pulled it around to expose her slim neck. Such a delicate neck for someone with such a hard job. Would she be willing to give up her business to move to Brentwood? Would she expect him to move to Placerville?
They had a lot to figure out, but at the moment the only thing they needed to deal with was why Jack felt he need to shut him out before they even got a chance to get to know each other. “I expected to get to know my future wife better.”
She sighed and turned to face him. “So, what do you want from me now?”
“I want you to spend the night in my bed.”
“Just sleeping?”
He gave her a grin, hoping to lighten the mood. “Just sleeping. I’m playing hard to get; you have to prove to me you deserve all of this,” he said as he swept his arm from his head to waist.
The shoulders that had been locked tight just moments before relaxed as Jack smiled. “Fine, I’ll sleep with you. Just let me get something to sleep in.”
“Oh, no. I want what you deprived me of last night. I want naked.”
She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. “No poking at me in the middle of the night.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Then you don’t mind shaking on it?” She held her hand out and waited for him.
Since she only stipulated the middle of the night, he had no problems agreeing to her terms. “I will not poke at you in the middle of the night.” When he released her hand he laughed.
“Oh, no….no, no, no. You don’t get to poke at me any other time either.”
“Too late. We already shook on it.”
“A gentleman would let me amend our agreement.”
“Yeah, well, you might as well know now: I’m no gentleman,” he said with a wink as he pulled his shirt over his head. Next went his pants. He paused with his thumbs hooked in his boxer briefs. He looked her up and down and nodded. “Jack, you’re overdressed.”
She raised her chin in the air and pulled off her top. With a flick of her fingers to the center clasp, the white lace bra fell away from her skin, and all of a sudden Lathan forgot what the hell he was doing.
“What’s the matter, Lathan?”
He cleared his throat and met her eyes, “Nothing. All good here.”
“Really? Did you forget how to take off your underwear?”
“Nope, I’ve got it.” He dragged them down over his legs and pulled them off his ankles. When he looked up, she had her pants down and a scrap of lace barely covering her. Already at half-mast, there was nothing he could do but stand up straight and pretend that he wasn’t pointing at her with another part of his anatomy.
She looked down at him and laughed. Not what a guy wanted to hear. As she sauntered to the bed, she shocked the shit out of him by sliding the lace thong over her curves and crawling up onto the bed, putting everything on display, before sliding under his bedspread and turning away from him.
“Good night, Lathan.”
He climbed in beside her, throbbing and uncomfortable. “Good night, Jack.” Shit, was that really his voice? Her snicker told him it was. Jack had just turned the tables and taken control, and she damn well knew it.
7
“What are you doing for the next few days?” Lathan asked.
Jack hummed low in her throat. Lathan ran his fingers back and forth over her skin, making her loose and happy all over. “I’m sleeping. And eating. I’m going to do lots of eating. Plus, I need to visit my dad. My next shift isn’t until Wednesday.”
He kissed the warm skin along the back of her neck. “You want company?”
She rolled over to face him. His hair stood up straight on one side, making her smile. She smoothed her fingers through the wayward strands. “I guess you should come, and at the very least meet my dad. He probably won’t understand what’s going on, but it’s the respectful thing to do.”
He bumped his forehead against hers. “I would be honored.”
“What about work? Don’t you have a big company to run?”
“I do; the first order of business, fire my CFO.”
“What?” She shot up and the blankets fell away.
He rubbed his forehead with his thumb and forefinger. “Listen, don’t judge me, but here…” he handed her his pillow, “put this over your lap.”
She laughed, but did as he asked. “All covered. Happy?”
“Ecstatic.”
“So, your CFO…what’s happening with that?”
He scratched his chest. “He sold off an investment my brother made… probably assuming I wouldn’t notice it. Our profits started to dip upwards of ten percent per quarter.”
Jack whistled. If anyone in her company crossed her, heaven help them. “He’s lucky he’s only getting fired.”
“Yes, he is. If he goes quietly, I won’t pursue fraud charges.”
She leaned over and glanced at the clock over his shoulder. “So you have to go into the office?”
“I do. Want to come with me?”
“Mmm, I don’t know about that.”
“You can hang out with my receptionist while I’m in my meeting. She wasn’t able to come to the party and I know she would love to meet you. You’d be doing me a favor; once she hears people talk about you, she’s going to grill me until I get you in there.”
“So, you’re saying you would owe me?” Jack asked.
“Well, within reason.”
“Oh, no. You owe me a favor. Anything I want. Anytime I want to collect.” She stuck out her hand just as she had the night before, only this time the sky was the limit, and she had him.
“Deal.” Lathan grinned. She felt the grin split her face. When he pulled her hand to his mouth and gently kissed her palm, her heart tumbled, and her smile slid away. She had to be super careful from here on out, because Lathan was finding little ways to weaken her resolve.
They both got ready for the day, separately. When they met in the kitchen, Jack had to laugh at the picture they made. She in her skinny jeans, tank top, and leather jacket. Lathan in his sharp black suit and crisp, pin-striped shirt.
Hot.
She’d never had a thing for suits. Women always referred to them as men’s lingerie, but she never got it. Well, she did now. She wanted to peel the suit away, piece by piece, with agonizing care, just to make him squirm. Heat wasn’t an issue. They had that in spades, apparently.
Thankfully, her cell interrupted her heated thoughts before she could act on them and give Lathan something else to be smug about.
After speaking to her brother, Jack drove him to his office in Sacramento. Jeremy had managed to get the parts sooner than he figured possible, and it looked like Lathan’s car would be ready by Wednesday. So, they would go to his corporate office in Sacramento, and he would fire his CFO while she charmed the receptionist. Totally normal. People did this kind of thing all the time.
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