Weekend Wedding Deception (Dangerous Millionaires Series)

by Debra Andrews

  Abby sighed. “No, thanks, Monica. Maybe later. I am going for a walk. I hear there is a nice view from the top of the hill.”

  “Of course, and we can be alone. I’ll go with you.” At Sam’s bright smile, Abby winced.

  “Be careful with her, Sam,” Jack said dryly. “Abby sometimes lands herself into trouble and drags others in with her.”

  Abby gritted her teeth. She’d had enough of Jack McAlister and his comments.

  “Jack, I don’t know what you’re referring to,” Abby snapped back. “And since we no longer know each other—and we haven’t seen each other in two years—why don’t you keep your opinions to yourself?”

  Abby stormed off through the brush and up the hill. She really wanted to be alone...with herself, not even Sam at this point.

  “Wait for me,” Sam called out.

  Jack yelled from behind her, “Abby! One of those trails can be...”

  Abby didn’t hear the rest and didn’t wait. She trudged on, wanting to get away from everyone. When she reached a fork in the path, she had to choose one. Abby decided on the most secluded trail, to get away from everyone. And she might as well walk to see the view. She chose one that looked to climb to higher terrain.

  Abby hiked farther. When she glanced over her shoulder, to her surprise, she found not Sam, but Jack striding behind her, which only made her pace faster. What was he doing, taking a walk without his precious Monica?

  I can’t believe I’m letting Jack get to me. Abby muttered something rude under her breath. How dare he say I drag others into trouble—

  A branch slapped her in the face. “Argghhhhhhh,” she cried out as barbed branches grabbed at her clothes. Once clear of them, she glanced over her shoulder again to see if Jack was laughing at her.

  “Abby, wait,” Jack shouted. “Watch out!”

  Her next step didn’t find solid ground. Abby let out a yelp. With heart pounding, she slid downward. She landed on her butt and went down the slick muddy path as if it were a slide. She hit the bottom, twisted her ankle, and landed flat on her back.

  Abby lay there, stunned, staring at the trees and the blue sky overhead.

  Jack was standing above her at the top of the thirty-foot hill. “Are you hurt?” he asked, alarmed. He made his way down a long winding path and, using a stick, beat his way through the bushes to reach her. Tall and handsome, he hovered over her, his black hair gleaming in the sun.

  “Abby, are you all right? Answer me!”

  Pain shot through her and she sat up. “Yeah.” Her ankle hurt, and her rear end and hip stung, but otherwise she seemed okay.

  “See, I told you you’d land yourself in some kind of trouble. I came after you because I was afraid you’d take this path and kill yourself. I tried to warn you some of the paths might be dangerous, but you didn’t wait to hear. You never were cautious... Never listened.”

  “Not cautious? And no wonder I don’t want to listen to you,” Abby blurted out. She shook a finger at him. “But you listen to me, Jack. No matter what you think of me, or how much you dislike me, don’t make comments about me in front of other people—or in front of me. We are no longer acquainted. I’ll wait here for Sam. He’ll come and help me.”

  Jack grinned slightly and ignored her rant. “I saw Sam heading off on one of the other paths,” he said more softly. “He probably wasn’t aware which path you took, so you’re going to have to accept my help. Lucky, or unlucky for you, I played here as a kid. I know the island well.” Jack extended his palm. “Are you sure you’re all right? But I’m not sure why I even care.” He muttered the last under his breath but she heard him.

  Tears blurred her eyes and she tried to keep her feelings about his painful comment to herself. “Jack, you don’t have to worry about me. I’m okay,” she said through tight lips. “Just go on. I’ll find my way back in a minute.”

  He stuck his hand out again. There was nothing else she could do…

  Though she hated that she needed his help, she took his hand. When she stood and put pressure on her foot, she winced. Yes, her ankle hurt, and her backside and hip stung, but nothing like the ache in her heart.

  When he tried to steady her, an electrical attraction zipped through her. Abby shook off his hand and shied away. “How do we get out of here?”

  “This way. The incline is more gradual. We can avoid the steep part of the hill.”

  “It’s nice of you to help me, but I don’t know why you are. It’s plain you never, ever, really cared and all it took was a few minor incidents to make you hate me!” She could have bitten her tongue, but it was too late to take the words back.

  “A few incidents? That’s not what I’d call what happened with us. But despite all that, I don’t want you to have any more accidents while you’re here for the wedding.”

  “Well if you can’t forgive me for my failings, can you at least be civil through this weekend? We’re no longer in each other’s lives. You got what you wanted. And I’m okay with it,” Abby stated, more firmly than she felt.

  “All right, Abby. I’m sorry for what I said to Sam. I shouldn’t have.”

  “Thanks,” she said begrudgingly. She frowned and hobbled on, but the terrain was uneven and when she put her foot down on some uneven ground, pain seared through her hip and backside. “Owwwww!” she cried out and tears stung her eyes. She groaned for the pain in her backside, but also for the ache Jack brought to her heart.

  “You are hurt! Damn it.”

  Almost in tears, she shrugged off his concern. “No. It’s probably just a bruise, I’m sure. I’ll be okay in a moment. I did twist my ankle, but it’s not bad. And at Carly’s wedding I have to be able to walk. But I think I’ll be good to go.”

  “We’ll get ice.” He placed his arm around her. To be so close was almost more than she could bear—and she realized she still wanted him.

  “Thanks, Jack,” she said more calmly than she felt.

  He gave her a sideways glance.

  Abby raised her chin. “Are you comparing me to Monica?”

  “Well, that’s not what I was thinking at all, but I can tell you Monica would never get herself into this kind of trouble, in the first place. She would have looked before she walked.”

  “No, you’re wrong, Jack. Monica wouldn’t have bothered to walk at all. She would have sat tanning herself safely on the beach, and been about as exciting as a box of rocks. Still, she’ll be fantastically pulled together, cool, and as always—perfect and elegant to look at. Monica’s not much of an outdoors girl, is she?”

  “No, not really, and she doesn’t like to go on ski trips like you and I used to take. She’s not into cold weather.”

  “I’ll bet when you take her to a ski resort, she probably likes to sit in front of the fireplace, while you ski.” Abby sighed and added wistfully, “I miss skiing.”

  A dark shadow passed over his face, but then he swooped Abby up in his arms, surprising her.

  “Jack—”

  “Your hobbling is getting to me.”

  “I’m sure I must be a mess.”

  He smiled down into her face and chuckled. “A bit.”

  “There’s dirt on my clothes. I hope it’s not rubbing off on you.”

  His brilliant green eyes, fringed with dark eyelashes, widened. For a second, warmth sizzled within. “Rubbing sounds a little suggestive?”

  She cringed. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

  His mouth turned downward. In a flash, he broke eye contact, though he continued to carry her.

  She hung onto his shirt, which meant putting her hand on his chest. She was aware of his muscles rippling beneath her palm and that his hand was an inch away from her breast. His other arm cradled her backside.

  An aching, need blossomed inside her. She could feel Jack’s heart beating and was aware of wherever their bodies touched. When heat shot through her lower belly and her nipples tightened, she bit her lip, conscious of how the tips of her breasts nearly brushed his chest. Could
he tell she was still attracted to him?

  She hadn’t been with anyone since Jack… Or before him. She wrinkled her brow in frustration. Her reaction to him perplexed her. None of the guys she’d dated affected her like he did, and she couldn’t understand the power he had to unsettle her.

  He carried her the rest of the way to the beach in silence.

  She was such a fool. To him, she was the girl who always landed herself into trouble, or caused him trouble—which was the truth. Likely, he couldn’t wait to get back to “safe Monica.” Frowning at her thoughts, Abby lowered her lashes to make sure she didn’t get eye contact with him.

  When they neared the boat, resting in the mud on the shore, Jack strode into the picnic area with Abby still in his arms.

  With a cool expression, Monica rose from her chair. She crossed her arms over her chest.

  Sam strode in at the same time they did.

  “Abby! I couldn’t find you. What happened?” He spread out a blanket on the grass. “Here, let me help you.”

  Jack lowered Abby to the blanket. “She had a fall,” he said in a flat tone.

  Abby winced. “Ouch.”

  Jack narrowed his gaze on her. “Should we go back to the house? Do you need a doctor?”

  Abby stretched out her leg, testing her sore foot. “No, I’ll be okay.”

  Jack snorted in disbelief and dropped on his knees at her feet. “Let me see your foot.”

  She didn’t want him touching her again or chance him noticing her attraction for him. Not that he would act on it, but Abby didn’t want to humiliate herself in his presence. Really…it was pathetic of her that she still had feelings for Jack.

  “No, Jack, I’d rather you didn’t,” Abby said.

  Jack ignored her request and removed her shoe and sock anyway. While Monica and Sam retrieved the picnic things from the boat, Jack reached in the cooler and made an icepack to drape around Abby’s foot.

  She watched as he gently held her foot in his hands for a moment. Big mistake. He looked up and met her intense gaze. Warmth sizzled through her.

  Jack lay her foot on the blanket. “I hope that’s better,” he said gruffly.

  Surprised by the terseness in his voice, she pointed to her backside. “If you must know, it hurts more here. I’m sure I’ll have a big bruise. Something you can’t help me with.”

  His lips turned into a half smile at her words, but he ignored her faux pas. Abby’s cheeks heated. She was making a fool of herself.

  Jack poured water from a bottle and wet a napkin. “Your face.” He pointed to his right cheek and the tip of his nose. She took the offered napkin. As if he didn’t want to be so close to her, he moved away on the blanket.

  Abby wiped her face, and then rolled her eyes. “I guess I can’t tell you to go to hell this time, Jack, especially since you’ve been so nice today. But I am glad you don’t live around here anymore. Are you headed back to Florida soon?” She took a deep breath, and then blurted, “I think distance between us is better for me.”

  She bit her lip and frowned, but why lie to him? He had hurt her in the past—she had loved him—and he had dumped her. But here he was now, having the same old effect, making her feel warm all over—and he was being nice… How was she to survive the weekend?

  “No, Abby, I’m actually not leaving after the wedding. I bought McAlister Construction. I’m bringing the company back into my family and I’ll be living close by.”

  “McAlister Construction! Are you kidding me? Well, then I guess I can’t tell you to go to hell. I work for the company—your new company. In the offices.” She gulped. “Did you know?”

  Jack shook his head.

  The blood rushed to her face. “I guess you’ll fire me now—and I have my condo mortgage to pay—jobs are scarce.”

  “Why would I do that, Abby?” he asked, penetrating her with his gaze. “Do you do a bad job?”

  “No! Of course not. I’m always diligent at work.”

  “Then why would I fire you?” He raised a dark eyebrow.

  “I thought perhaps you wouldn’t want me around, or you wouldn’t want to have me in your face, or you’re afraid I’ll do something else to wreck your life. To be honest, it will be hard for me to work there with you around. I don’t know if I can do it. I may have to find another job...” Tears rushed to her eyes. “Damn it,” she said, swiping the moisture away.

  They’d had the coldest breakup on record, so she wasn’t going to cry in front of him now. He had not even returned the several calls she’d made to him. Bitterness assailed her that he hadn’t thought she was important enough to even reply. Afterwards, she hadn’t lowered herself to call him again either. She had meant nothing.

  Jack’s brow furrowed, but he didn’t get the chance to say anything because Monica and Sam walked over.

  Monica nudged herself in between Abby and Jack on the blanket and began to chatter. “Jack, I told Sam that you bought McAlister Construction and he said Abby works for the company.” Her gaze roved over Abby. “What a small world?”

  Abby nodded. “Yeah, I guess so. Jack just told me he’s acquired the company and will be relocating back to Ohio.”

  Monica pursed her lips. “Now this should be interesting.”

  Abby shrugged and said nothing to Monica’s blunt statement because she had been shocked herself by this same turn of events.

  While they ate a delicious gourmet lunch of various sandwiches and salads that the staff had prepared, and shared a few bottles of German beer, Abby contemplated the long weekend in front of them. Not only did she have to put up with him all weekend, but Jack was going to become her new boss, and Monica was soon to be his wife. Terrible!

  Desolation sank into Abby’s soul as she thought of Jack and Monica, married.

  Wanting to hide how pathetic she was feeling about that, Abby tried to focus more on Sam during lunch and tried to be friendly. However, Sam misread her attempts to put him at ease and responded too eagerly, Abby cringed. Maybe being overly friendly with him wasn’t a good idea, until she was sure she wanted to date him.

  And seeing Jack had made her as unsure as hell.

  Could this weekend get any worse?

  * * *

  After lunch, Jack and Sam carried the cooler to the boat to pack up for the return trip.

  Jack lifted his end of the cooler onto the bow and didn’t have much to say to the man who might become Abby’s boyfriend. In fact, his stomach rolled at the thought, and he didn’t like the jealousy that ate at his gut. He’d met Sam years before through Abby’s brother.

  Sam narrowed his eyes on Jack, and then his gaze darted away. “I was surprised you bought the company, Jack. Since my stepfather owns Preston Construction, you’ll be his newest competitor.”

  Jack shrugged. “I suppose so, but there’s plenty of work to go around. So tell me, how is your stepfather?”

  Sam raised his chin. “Ralph is doing great.”

  “I am glad. I hope he’ll have no hard feelings about me taking over McAlister.”

  “If you’ve ever met my stepfather, you’d know he’s the kindest man in the world,” Sam said in a cool tone. “Ralph doesn’t get mad—or try to get even. You can ask him how he feels about your acquisition when he arrives for the wedding. He won’t mind your owning McAlister Construction as long as you run a clean business, without any shady tactics engineered to hurt his company.”

  Insulted at the dig, Jack clenched his hands. “Of course, I will run a clean operation.”

  Sam cocked his head. “I hope so as my stepfather’s already had some sketchy dealings with Burns Construction. One dirty company in this area is enough.”

  “I’ll remember that it is,” Jack said frowning, not sure how to take Sam. He had been anticipating a conversation about Abby, not the business. However, he would watch his back with Burns...and the Prestons.

  They retrieved more items to put on the boat. Then Jack went to help Monica pick up the rest of their picnic items. While
she was bent over, he glanced over the top of her head and watched Abby as she limped in the direction of the boat with Sam by her side. Jack still reeled from being near her… Now, there was the disturbing fact that the woman who had betrayed him would be working for him.

  “Perhaps Abby just didn’t want to help us clean up after the picnic. What do you think? Maybe it was easier to pretend she was hurt than to do her share,” Monica suggested.

  Jack jerked his attention back and helped Monica pack things away in the basket.

  “Monica—Abby did hurt herself.”

  “If you say so,” she said in a voice that hinted otherwise.

  Jack threw another glance toward Abby. He’d always been drawn to her like a magnet. Though she’d suggested he thought she was a mess in comparison to Monica, he had actually been thinking how adorable Abby looked with that dash of mud on her cheek and nose. For sure, she wasn’t always pulled together like Monica, and nor was she boring…

  Jack frowned as he watched Sam and Abby continue toward the boat. He was too far away to hear their conversation, but he noticed when Sam put his hand on Abby’s waist, just above her shapely butt.

  Jealousy ripped through Jack, and he didn’t like the feeling one bit. He scooped up the picnic blanket.

  Monica took two ends out of his hands and assisted him in folding it. “I’ve missed you so much, Jack, while you were away. I wish you’d let me visit.”

  “It was too dangerous for you, and too hot. You wouldn’t have liked sweating. Your hair—”

  “And with your decision to buy McAlister, we’ll have to move back to this cold climate now. You know how much I hate snow and freezing temperatures. And then to top it off, Abby will be working for you. She had to have set this up, Jack.”

  Jack shook his head in disbelief. “Monica, no. She says she’s been working for the company for a while. She wouldn’t have known anything about my struggle to acquire McAlister so this isn’t any kind of plot.”

  In reality, he had never asked Monica to move with him to Ohio—at least not yet. And they had never even lived together. She wanted more, but he thought she might change her mind because of the cold weather. He actually hoped she’d decide to end this—whatever she thought this was.