The Last Single Maverick

by Christine Rimmer

  He held her gaze, refused to waver. “That’s it. That’s the plan.”

  “You would stick by me always.” Tears welled in those fine eyes again.

  He knew she was thinking of that bastard Kenny, of how he’d messed around on her. “I would. I swear it. Say yes.”

  She dashed the tears away. “Oh, Jace…we’ve known each other only a week. Two weeks ago, I was supposed to be marrying someone else.”

  “We’ve been through all that.”

  “Yes, but—”

  “Stop right there.”

  She blinked. “What?”

  “You just said yes. That’s the word. Say it again, minus the ‘but.’”

  “Oh, God, my mother is going to freak.”

  “Joss, I mean it. Yes or…”

  With a little cry, she put her cool, smooth fingers to his lips. “Shh. Wait.”

  He made a low sound, but he kept quiet. He waited.

  And then, at last, she swallowed. Hard. And she nodded. “Yes,” she said. “This is so crazy and I can’t believe what I’m about to say. But yes, Jace. Yes, yes, yes!”

  Chapter Eleven

  The moment she finished saying yes, Jace scooped her up and carried her back to the bedroom again.

  “You need rest,” he insisted.

  She laughed at that. She knew that look in his eyes.

  And then he started kissing her. She kissed him back, of course. Making love with Jace was a lot more fun than sleeping anyway.

  They stayed in bed until eleven or so, which was checkout time. She called the front desk and asked about extending her stay. The clerk said the suite was hers until Thursday. After that, she would have to change rooms.

  She hung up the phone and asked, “What now?”

  He was still in bed, braced up on an elbow, looking sleepy and sexy and wonderfully manly. “We need to try and reserve a room for the wedding.”

  So they showered and dressed and went down to the front desk, where the weekend manager was happy to help them out.

  As it turned out, the smaller of the resort’s two ballrooms was available. They booked it. The manager told them it would be a simple matter to set up the ballroom for the ceremony first, and then bring staff in again to add tables and reset the room for the reception afterward.

  That seemed a little complicated to Joss. Would they have to ask everyone to leave and come back later? Jace said they could talk to DJ, maybe see about having the reception at the Rib Shack, if she wouldn’t mind the casual atmosphere.

  She grinned. “Our first date was at the Rib Shack—sort of, more or less. Remember?”

  He laughed. “How could I forget? It was just last week.”

  “I love that,” she said.

  “You mean that our first date was only a week ago?”

  “No, that our first date was at the Rib Shack, which means it’s the perfect place for our reception because it has special meaning for us.”

  He faked a scared expression. “It makes me nervous when women start talking about special meanings.”

  She poked him with her elbow. “Get over it—and okay. Speaking more…practically.”

  He made a big show of looking relieved. “I’m all for ‘practically.’”

  “Got that, loud and clear. Where was I? Oh, yeah. We can dress up the ballroom really pretty for the ceremony, and then everyone can just go on over to the Rib Shack for the party after.”

  He agreed. “I’ll get with DJ and see what we can do.”

  They also wanted to arrange for a consultation with Shane Roarke, the Gallatin Room’s new chef, to plan a special menu for the reception after the ceremony. Jace said that since the Rib Shack was right there in the resort, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem for the Rib Shack and Shane Roarke to work together.

  Joss clued him in that top chefs didn’t, as a rule, work all that well with others. However, she was willing to go with it, talk to Grant Clifton about the idea. If Grant said it wouldn’t be an issue for the resort, then they could approach Roarke about the idea.

  They went to the Rib Shack for lunch. And then they made a trip to Bozeman to drop off her rental car at the airport.

  Jace insisted on stopping at a jewelry store next. They picked out a ring. It wasn’t a hard choice. One look at the one-and-a-half carat marquise-cut solitaire on a platinum band and she gasped. The price brought a second gasp.

  Of course, Jace made her try it on, and then decided it was perfect for her. He handed over his credit card and laid claim to the velvet case. The case still held the matching platinum wedding band, which was channel-set with diamonds.

  Back in Thunder Canyon, they drove out to Jackson and Laila’s house to share the news of their engagement with his twin. As it happened, DJ and his wife Allaire were there. They’d brought their little boy, Alex. Ethan and Lizzie were there too. So was another of Jace’s brothers, Corey, and his wife, Erin.

  And Laila’s single sisters had come. She had three of them—Jasmine, Annabel and Jordyn Leigh. Laila’s other sister Abby, who was married to a local carpenter, couldn’t make it that day. Neither could her baby brother, Brody.

  Everyone was wonderful, Joss thought. They congratulated Jace and really seemed to mean it. They all told Joss that they were so happy to welcome her to the family. The women made a big deal over Joss’s ring. She showed it off proudly.

  She also spent some time chatting with Laila’s sister Annabel, a librarian who owned a therapy dog named Smiley. Annabel and Smiley spent a lot of time at Thunder Canyon General Hospital, working dog therapy magic on emotionally needy patients. Annabel said how great it was to see the last of the Texas Traubs and headed for the altar.

  Yeah, okay. Joss felt a little guilty when Annabel said that. Everybody seemed to think that she and Jace had found true love.

  But really, what did it matter what everyone else thought? She and Jace had a great thing going. They would have a good life together. A full, rich life, a life they both wanted.

  DJ said he’d be honored to host their reception at the Rib Shack. And if Shane Roarke was up for creating a special menu, DJ would see that his staff assisted the chef with whatever he might need from them.

  Lizzie insisted that she would bake their wedding cake personally and they agreed to visit her bakery the next day to put in their order. And then Erin launched into a story of how Lizzie had saved the day for Erin and Corey the year before. Ethan’s wife had created a fabulous emergency wedding cake at the last minute when the bad-tempered French baker who was supposed to provide the cake skipped town.

  Dinnertime approached. Laila insisted they all stay to eat. She had two Sunday roasts slow-cooking outside on the barbecue. There was plenty for everyone.

  After dinner, they lingered over coffee and Lizzie’s strawberry-rhubarb pie. Joss enjoyed every moment. It was still a little unreal to her that she and Jace were actually getting married at the end of the month. But she could get used to hanging around with Jace’s brothers and cousin and their wives. They treated her like one of the family already.

  Before they left, Jace went upstairs and packed up his things. From now on, he would be staying with Joss.

  He thanked his brother and Laila for their hospitality. Jackson grabbed him in a hug and said again how happy he was for them. She and Jace drove back to the resort in a happy fog of good family feelings.

  * * *

  Kenny called that night.

  It was late. Joss and Jace had just finished making slow, delicious love. She’d cuddled up close to him with his warm, hard chest for her pillow and she was fading slowly, contentedly toward sleep.

  The phone by the bed rang.

  The sound startled her.

  Jace wrapped his big arm around her and whispered into her hair. “Don’t answer that…”

  She kissed his strong, tanned throat. “I have to.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  “I do. It’s ingrained. The phone rings, I answer it.”

 
He chuckled. With some reluctance, he let her go. She reached for it, cutting it off in mid-ring. “Hello?”

  “I called your cell twice,” Kenny accused. “Aren’t you checking your messages?”

  She sat up. “Leave me alone, Kenny.”

  Jace sat up, too. He wasn’t smiling. “Can’t that jerk take a hint?”

  “Who’s that?” Kenny demanded. “It sounds like a man’s voice.”

  Jace instructed flatly, “Tell him to get lost.” She reached out and silenced him with two fingers against his lips.

  He kissed those fingers. “Tell him.”

  “It is. My God.” Kenny was outraged. “There’s a guy with you—in your room? Jocelyn, what’s happened to you?” He fired more questions at her. “Why is there a man in your room? Why aren’t you home? You missed your flight, didn’t you?” He heaved an outraged sigh. “This is ridiculous. I’ve had enough. I thought if I…indulged you a little, you would come to your senses. But this is beyond it. I’m calling my credit card and denying any charges you might incur.”

  “Go ahead. The bill’s already paid.”

  Kenny sucked wind. “What do you mean paid? I refuse, do you hear me? I’m not paying for you to have some strange man in your room. I’ll call my credit card company and tell them—”

  “I didn’t use your credit card.”

  “What? But—”

  “I decided I couldn’t stand the idea of taking your money after all.”

  Kenny made a sputtering sound. Meanwhile, Jace had captured her wrist. He sucked her index finger into his mouth and then ran his tongue around it.

  She giggled, mouthed, “Stop that.”

  He shook his head and sucked some more, using his tongue in a lovely, wet caress. Amazing, really, the things he could do with his mouth. With that tongue…

  Kenny demanded, “What is going on with you, Joss? Are you having some kind of breakdown? I don’t get it.”

  She pulled her finger free of Jace’s grip—not because it didn’t feel really good. It did. But because he made her breathless and she needed all her wits about her to make things perfectly clear to Kenny. “What is going on with me, Kenny, is that I’ve met someone.”

  Jace grinned. It was an extraordinarily sexy grin.

  “What?” Kenny practically shouted.

  “I said, I’ve met someone. He’s fabulous. He’s asked me to marry him and that is exactly what I’m going to do.”

  “Joss, you can’t. That’s completely insane.”

  Was it? Maybe so. She told herself she didn’t care. “Your opinion means exactly nothing to me now, Kenny. I’m getting married the twenty-eighth of this month at five in the afternoon, right here at the Thunder Canyon Resort. As a matter of fact, I’m going to be living here in this beautiful little town with my new husband. We’re buying a bar and grill and running it together.”

  “Wait. No. You’re making this up. Just come home. We’ll talk. We’ll—”

  “You’re not listening, Kenny. The past couple of years, you never listened. I am home. This is my home now. I’m never coming back to California, except to get my stuff out of storage and, on occasion, to visit my mother.”

  “Joss, please—”

  “Uh-uh. Forget it. Enough said. Leave me alone. Do not call me again. Goodbye.”

  “Joss, wait. Don’t—”

  She hung up the phone. And then she put her hands over her face and let out a groan.

  Jace touched her shoulder. “Hey.”

  She made a vee between her middle and fourth fingers and peeked at him, groaning again. “That was awful. Don’t you dare try to cheer me up.”

  He reached out and pulled her close and settled her head against his shoulder. His beautiful, big body felt so warm and good cradling hers. He even stroked her hair.

  She let her hands drop away from her face and allowed herself to lean on him. All of a sudden, she felt totally exhausted. “Ugh. And that reminds me, I should call my mother.”

  “In the morning.”

  She let out a short burst of laughter that felt a lot like a sob. “Or maybe never…”

  “You just need some sleep,” he said. “A little rest and in the morning, you’ll feel better about everything.”

  “What is it with you and all this optimism?”

  He chuckled, the sound warm and deep. “It’s all going to work out. You’ll see.”

  Was it? Oh, she did hope so. Because seriously, married in twenty days? To this amazing man whom she’d met barely a week ago? Maybe Kenny was right. She’d gone off the deep end—not that she had any intention of backing out of her most recent engagement. No way. If she was crazy, so be it. She wanted to marry Jace.

  She sighed. “It’s just that we have so much to do.”

  He captured a swatch of her hair and began slowly wrapping it around his big hand. “Later for all that.”

  Her mind just kept racing. “And you know, I was thinking that I really need somewhere to stay—we both do, until we find the house want.”

  “We can stay right here.” His voice had gone husky. She knew that dark, hot look in his eyes.

  And in spite of her anxious thoughts, a little spark of excitement bloomed low in her midsection. She tipped her head back, kissed his manly square jaw, and insisted, “No way can we stay here.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it’s ridiculously expensive. Plus, the suite is booked starting next Thursday, remember?”

  He unwrapped her hair from around his hand only to raise the strands to his face and rub his cheek against them. “So we’ll get another suite.”

  “Jace.” She pulled away enough to catch his dear face between her palms. “It’s almost three more weeks till the wedding. And it could be months before we find our place. Months at these rates? Forget about it.”

  He kissed the tip of her nose. “You’re worth it.”

  She lifted up to lightly bite his ear and whisper, “I like the way you say that, but come on, there has to be another option.”

  He made a low, growly sort of sound. “I’ll see what I can do, okay? But now, you should kiss me.”

  She caught his earlobe between her teeth again and teased it with her tongue. “I know what you’re planning….”

  “Kiss me.”

  She blew in his ear. “I thought you said I needed to get some sleep.”

  “A kiss,” he said gruffly. “Then you can sleep.”

  So she kissed him.

  And that, of course, led to more kisses.

  Which led to another thoroughly satisfying hour of lovemaking.

  It was after three when they finally went to sleep, and six in the morning when the phone rang again.

  “Don’t answer that,” Jace grumbled in her ear.

  More asleep than awake, ignoring her hot new fiancé’s wise advice and not stopping to think that the call would probably be someone she didn’t really want to talk to without advance preparation, Joss groped for the phone.

  “’Lo?” she answered groggily.

  “Kenny just called me,” her mother said tightly. “He is devastated. He tried not to drag me into this, but what could the poor man do? He spent a sleepless night after he talked to you. And in the end, well, he just couldn’t help himself. Jocelyn Marie, you have broken a good man’s heart. How could you? I ask you, sincerely, what is the matter with you? Have you lost your mind?”

  Joss had dragged herself up against the pillows by then. She must have had a stricken look on her face because Jace was fully awake and watching her, a frown of concern between his brows.

  She put her hand over the mouthpiece and whispered, “My mother.”

  He must have been holding his breath because he let it out slowly. “You want me to talk to her?”

  “Oh, no. Uh-uh. I don’t think so…”

  “Jocelyn, hello?” Her mother’s voice grated in her ear. “Are you there? Can you hear me?”

  She took her hand away from the mouthpiece. “I’m here.”


  Her mother huffed. “I asked you several questions. You didn’t answer a single one of them.”

  “Yes, well, Mom, I didn’t know where to start.”

  “Start by reassuring me that this all just a terrible misunderstanding. Tell me you’re not marrying some stranger you just met.”

  Joss swallowed, sucked in a slow breath and counted to five. Jace held out his hand. Gratefully, she took it and wove her fingers with his.

  “Jocelyn, will you please answer me?”

  “All right, Mom. No, I am not marrying a stranger. I’m marrying a wonderful man named Jason Traub. Jace and I are buying a business together and staying here in Montana to make a new life for ourselves.”

  Her mother made a tight, outraged little sound. “So it’s all true then, what poor Kenny said? You have gone over the edge, lost your mind completely. This is pure craziness. Now, you listen to me….”

  “Mom, I—”

  “Jocelyn, I’m begging you. I want you to pack up your things and get a flight home. Now. Today. This instant. Call me as soon as you have your flight number and I will meet you at the airport on your arrival. We can—”

  “No!” Joss pretty much shouted the word. By then, she was clutching Jace’s hand for dear life.

  “What did you say?” her mother demanded.

  “I said no, Mom. No. I am getting married right here, in Thunder Canyon, Montana, on the twenty-eighth of July. That’s all there is to it. I hope you’ll come for the wedding. But if you don’t, well, that’s your choice.”

  Her mother scoffed outright. “But this is ridiculous. Impossible. It’s just all wrong.”

  “I’m sorry you feel that way, Mom. I’m sorry that lately we seem to be unable to communicate in any constructive way. The wedding will take place here at the Thunder Canyon Resort at five in the afternoon, with a reception in the Rib Shack restaurant, also here at the resort, afterward. I love you and I hope you’ll come. Goodbye.”

  As usual, her mom was still talking frantically as she gently set the phone back in its cradle. “Oh, my Lord….”

  “Come here, come on.” Jace pulled her close.

  She wrapped her arms around him good and tight. “Why couldn’t I have a normal mother—say, one like yours? That would be so refreshing.”