“When will you be seeing him again?”
They rounded another corner of the track. Elizabeth knew better than to discuss her personal life with a client, or a potential client but she found herself opening up anyway. April had trusted her with a sensitive issue and seemed to want Elizabeth to do the same. “That’s just it. I don’t think there’s much of a future for us.”
“Every woman feels that way about her man a least a few times.” She glanced away and chuckled, “Even after she’s married him. Take it from me. Life is too short to sweat the small stuff.” She offered Elizabeth an encouraging smile. “You miss out on a lot of good stuff when you do.”
There had been a lot of good stuff between her and Jack. A connection that went beyond the physical. But not to know where they were headed…it was intolerable. And frightening.
“Maybe you’re right,” she said, although she didn’t believe it.
“I know I’m right.” They passed a set of bleachers, then reached Elizabeth’s car. “Take the time to sort things out, then call him. You never know what’s waiting around the next corner.”
Elizabeth dug her keys from her pocket. “About the embezzlement, I’ll get everything together this afternoon. Will tomorrow morning be soon enough to discuss the details?”
April tapped a nail on her chin, tipping her head thoughtfully. “If I agree, will you go call him?”
A smile pulled at Elizabeth’s mouth. “I’ll call him.”
“Good,” she waved her finger. “And I’ll want a full report.”
Elizabeth flushed.
April chuckled. “Not that complete, dear.”
After they said their goodbyes, Elizabeth headed back to her office.
Harrison would be thrilled, the Anderson account was just about a done deal. The fact that she’d been able to uncover embezzlement in the process…icing on the cake.
Elizabeth had a real shot at the partnership, something she’d been working toward for years. So why wasn’t she elated?
—
Hours later, after she’d finished every last item on her work to-do list she could think of, Elizabeth still hadn’t called Jack. Instead of dialing the numbers, she’d stared at the handset. Asking him if he’d go to a wedding as her date seemed straightforward enough but…
If he said yes, that might mean she meant more to him than “a good time”. No man would subject himself to a woman’s family without a sincere interest. Still, he’d made it clear he wasn’t into long-term relationships. And that had been what she was looking for. Right?
She’d achieved her goal with Jack. She’d gained experience and confidence. Wouldn’t it be best to move on, before she…before something went wrong?
She should just call him up. See what happens.
If he said no, that would be it.
No big deal.
So she’d be stuck with Hale for one night. Who knows, maybe there was a sexy, irresistible side to the guy. One he kept hidden from everyone twenty-four hours a day.
“Working late again tonight?”
Elizabeth smiled at Mandy and waved her into the office.
“I talked to Thomas,” she said, closing the door. “It took me a while to explain everything. I couldn’t just come right out with it. Know what I mean?”
Elizabeth considered her own dilemma. “I sure do.” She clicked off the last file she’d been working on and logged off her computer. “I saw Steve strutting through the hall a while ago. I take it Thomas didn’t rush down here and put his fist through that creep’s face.”
“He wanted to.”
“You told him about the attorney?”
“Yeah. Once he understood, he started to like the idea of making that jerk face up to what he’s been doing. The mediation is all set for next Monday morning. Just think, in a couple of short days, this’ll all be over.”
Elizabeth straightened. “It sounds like you’re feeling better about going through with it.”
“I am. With Thomas supporting me, I think I’ll be able to handle it.” She leaned back, twisting her mouth. “Thomas said he wants to go with me.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Mandy gazed around the office, then turned to Elizabeth. “At first I didn’t want him to listen to all that stuff but he talked me into it.”
The image of Steve squirming under oath flashed in Elizabeth’s mind.
“I’d be there if you needed me.”
“I know,” she replied, smiling faintly. Then, in typical fashion, she switched topics. “What’s going on with your guy? You taking him to the wedding?”
Elizabeth dropped her shoulders. “Really, Mandy. Won’t you ever let up?”
“Nope.”
She stared at the phone. “I was getting ready to call him.”
“And I interrupted?” Mandy scooted toward the door. “I’ll get out of here then.”
“I’m proud of you, you know.”
“Thanks. But you know what? I think it’s making me a better person. Stronger, more sure of myself.” Mandy pulled open the door, turned back with the widest smile Elizabeth had seen on her friend’s face in weeks, then pointed at the phone. “Good luck.”
Elizabeth waited for the door to close, then shifted her gaze back to the desk. She used to feel in control and sure of herself. Now she felt confused and frustrated.
She picked up the wedding invitation sitting on her desk and traced the delicate flowers and bells.
Hale or Jack. Jack or Hale.
Now or never.
She punched Jack’s office number. He picked up on the third ring. The rich rumble of his voice sent a tremor down her back. Heat settled between her legs.
“Hi, Jack. It’s me, Elizabeth.”
“Hi, honey.”
His easy, natural response sent a distracting wave of pleasure through her but she managed to keep focused. “I have something to ask, I…”
“Are you going to ask me out, Elizabeth Sewell?”
“Um, well…”
Ask.
“To make a long story short, um, yes.” She rushed on with a ridiculous string of words, scrambling for what to say. “I only need someone to go with, Jack. It’s a big family thing, a wedding—my cousin’s—and well, everyone will be asking me where… I mean, I hate everyone asking when I’ll get—” She squeezed her eyes shut and whispered the plain, sad truth. “I don’t want to go alone.”
Another unwelcome lag of silence hummed into her ear. Let me disappear now, please.
“You don’t want to go alone?”
“That’s right. It’ll be horrible. There’s this guy—Hale and—”
“I’ll go with you.”
“Don’t…you want to know when it is?”
Feeling more stupid by the second, Elizabeth rattled on, wishing with each syllable, she’d find the sense to shut up. “It isn’t like it means anything. You know, we’ll make it look like it does, to keep my family happy.”
“That’s all you want? For me to pretend to be your boyfriend?”
She cringed. Was that pain in his voice?
“I guess I do need to know the when and where,” he said.
She picked up the invitation, gave him the details.
I’ll go with you was not the same as I want to go.
Again he’d given her what she wanted, so why did she feel like she’d just made some irreversible mistake?
—
Jack’s truck rolled through the jam-packed church parking lot. Every space was already taken. Cars and trucks lined the outer edges of the lot, jutting out at weird angles. He didn’t care about the walk to the door, it was the thought of facing all those people that had his fingers drumming the steering wheel.
He stole a glance at Elizabeth. That pinched-up expression, the one she’d been wearing ever since he’d picked her up at her apartment, was still clinging to her face. That cool, calm, “don’t touch me” look. Matched up with that ice blue dress he was in for a long night.
“Your famil
y must be pretty big,” he said, hoping to get her talking.
Instead of turning to him, she continued to gaze out the window. “I guess you could say that. They put the wedding on Sunday night so most people could come.”
“You never mentioned it.”
She straightened, offering him a sassy grin that didn’t brighten her eyes the way it should’ve. “Hey, you know what? I have a pretty big family and there’s nothing they like better than a wedding.”
A rueful grin pulled on his mouth as he focused on his search for a parking spot. “Thanks for telling me in advance. Now I’ll have time to prepare.”
“You don’t have to prepare. All you have to do is smile and look acceptable.” She fixed her gaze on him, then looked pointedly down. “You look great. Perfect. You don’t need to worry.”
He didn’t miss the sarcastic edge in her voice and he was sure she wanted it that way. The rock-solid wall she’d put between them couldn’t be missed.
But he was the one who had the right to be annoyed. After all, she’d flat-out told him she only wanted him to pretend to be her boyfriend.
What if she had a couple of overprotective family members? Two or three burly cousins? He didn’t look forward to a night of explaining himself. “What have you told them about us?”
There was a slight pause before she answered. “Nothing. I just told my mother I was bringing a date.”
“You didn’t tell them how we met?”
She glared at him. “Of course not. You think I want everyone knowing I went to an escort service?” She sighed. “Please. Let’s not talk about it.”
Seems they’d found her source of tension.
Finally, he spotted a slice of space that his truck would fit into. Just barely. He crept into the spot and cut the engine. The air in the car, already warm from the unusually high temperature, quickly ballooned to smothering.
Jack pressed through it to touch Elizabeth’s leg. “It doesn’t sound desperate to me. It sounds sensible. You knew what you wanted, so you a made a plan. That’s the way you handle everything.”
She pressed her lips together, thoughtful but silent. Jack clasped the door handle. “Problem?”
She pointed one pink nail to the huge SUV inches away from her side of his truck. “I need to get out your side.”
“Sorry about that. Not much space around here.”
“No big deal,” she clutched her purse in her lap, “I’ll crawl over.” The hint of a smile flickered across her mouth. “Don’t watch.”
He held back his own grin, nodded, got out.
Resisting the temptation to watch her hike up her skirt and wiggle across the front seat proved his true gentlemanly nature.
Didn’t it?
Once she had one leg outside, he grabbed her waist, to steadying her as she pulled her left leg across the seat.
Still holding her, he closed the door. “There’s something I need to know.”
Her body stiffened. “What?”
“How long have we been going out?”
Her eyebrows pulled together. “I don’t know. What difference does that make?”
“I need to know just how close we are.” Her mouth rounded into an “o”. A frown followed. “Long enough so that they shouldn’t try to set me up with anyone for a long, long time.”
He didn’t like the sound of that. “Your family has been setting you up?”
After digging through her purse, she pulled out her lipstick and shrugged. “Mostly my mother.”
“Mostly?”
“That’s right. She and my sister. And Great-Aunt Alice.” With a slick movement, she reapplied the pale shade of pink. “A couple of my other aunts too. They all seem to think I should be married by now. I bet they get together to discuss my dire situation.”
“What’s the big deal? You’re hardly an old maid.”
She dropped the lipstick into the tiny purse hanging from her shoulder. “Try telling them that.”
The thought of busy-bodies matching Elizabeth up with any and every available man in the Houston area would have made him laugh, if he didn’t have that twinge of jealousy to contend with.
There weren’t many men who were up to the challenge of a woman like her. Those poor unsuspecting guys would be in way over their heads.
“Maybe I’ll tell them for you.”
“Don’t bother.” Her mouth pulled hard and she shook her head. “That really won’t be necessary.”
As he guided her away from the car, toward the church, an appealing idea popped into his head. “How about I show them instead?”
She scowled. “What do you mean?”
“Just leave it up to me.” He let his hand drop to the top swell of her hips. “I’m a pretty good actor. Or have you forgotten?”
“Oh no.” She scurried forward, evading the pressure from his hand. “I haven’t forgotten and trust me, I won’t.”
—
Out of the corner of her eye, Elizabeth spotted Uncle Chester and Aunt Rose strolling toward Great-Aunt Alice who loitered in front of the wide arched doors. Aunt Alice probably had a list of eligible—translation, hand-me-down—men in her floral handbag.
The same despair Elizabeth had woken up with settled around her. She did want to be married, to know where she was headed in life, to belong to one man.
The hot times with Jack were fun but they were going nowhere. She was not the type to have flings, she’d known that about herself.
All she had to do was get through this one night. Then, if she did a decent job convincing everyone she and Jack were an item, she’d have time to look for men on her own. Without the interference of well-meaning relatives.
When Jack caught up with her, she let him place his arm snugly around her waist. She leaned over to whisper, “If we appear to be particularly close, maybe the match-makers will cool it for a really long time. Maybe even a couple months.”
He leaned down, his hip brushed against her. “Did you have something in particular in mind?”
The soft heat of his breath caressing her ear gave life to the same heat she’d been trying to cool ever since that night on her balcony.
After trying unsuccessfully to banish the image of Jack’s muscular arms and chest, she replied to his question. “Just look like a loving boyfriend.”
He chuckled. “I can handle that.”
She took another look at him. Strong, clean jaw. Straight nose. Eyes a girl could lose herself in.
All of the guys her mother and aunts had tried to set her up with were average looking or worse. Mousy brown hair combed carefully to the side and a couch-potato slump.
In his dark gray suit and matching shirt and tie, he looked anything but ordinary. If she let herself, she’d admit he looked damn sexy. Virility seeped from his every pore. Even the layers of fabric couldn’t hide his wide shoulders and flat stomach.
As they approached the steps, Elizabeth took one last deep breath, willing herself to relax. The whole thing would be over in a couple hours and she’d never have to see Jack Harley ever again.
Thankfully, the doorway was vacant. If they hurried through, they’d be able to get seated with only a minimum of fuss. Unfortunately, just as she and Jack reached the top step, her cousin Rebecca tumbled out.
“Oh…um…Elizabeth,” she stammered.
Elizabeth didn’t miss the wide-eyed stare her cousin turned on Jack. Could she possibly have imagined the way the other woman’s mouth actually dropped open?
To his credit, Jack remained unaffected under the open scrutiny.
“Hi, Rebecca,” Elizabeth said loudly, snagging the other woman’s attention.
Rebecca peeled her gaze from Jack. “Oh, er…hi, Elizabeth.” She blinked. “You’re here for the wedding?”
Jack chuckled.
Elizabeth tilted her head, pasting on a smile that hopefully didn’t look as fake as it felt. “Is there something else going on?”
Rebecca’s bright blue eyes cleared and she had the decency to
look embarrassed. “It’s just that I haven’t seen you in so long.”
“If you don’t count the last three holidays?”
A shaky giggle bubbled out of Rebecca and she glanced back to Jack. “Right. Yep. Well. See you around.” Her high-heeled sandals clattered as she scampered down the steps.
Good riddance.
Once they got inside, Jack pulled Elizabeth into the small alcove off from the main door. “What was that all about?”
Elizabeth stepped away, pretending to admire a delicate spray of yellow flowers. She wished she couldn’t explain her cousin’s reaction but unfortunately she could.
“What’s up with that girl? She kept looking at me like I was some kind of circus clown.”
“Aren’t you?”
He pinned her with a curious gaze. “Seriously, Elizabeth.”
“Okay.” She rolled her eyes. “I guess you’re a bit different from what they expect.”
“You mean who they expect?”
She folded her arms across her chest. “Make whatever you want of it.” When his know-it-all smile came back, she added, “Just do your thing and act like a devoted boyfriend.”
He lifted one eyebrow, grinning wider.
A reluctant smile threatened to surface but she managed to keep it off her face. She held out her arm, “Let’s go sit down.”
He tucked her hand into the crook of his arm. “Yes, ma’am.”
Soon after one of her cousins seated them, the ceremony started. Kali floated down the aisle in a pile of white lace and satin. Even though a delicate veil trimmed with tiny, embroidered flowers covered her face, Elizabeth could see the love shining in her eyes.
All through the ceremony, instead of wishing the new couple happiness and prosperity, all she could think about was herself. Why couldn’t she manage to find a man? She chanced a glance at Jack. He stared straight ahead, listening to the pastor’s message of everlasting love. Maybe he was just pretending to listen.
For a crazy, destructive moment, she let herself consider what it would be like to be married to Jack. Waking up in his strong arms every morning, spending the day thinking about him and then at night… An unwelcome sense of longing shot straight to her soul. An equally unwelcome bolt of jealousy followed. One day, in the distant future, some other woman would be that lucky person.
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