“None taken,” I replied automatically, then moved to Jasmine and wrapped my arm around her. “But, she’s finally seen the light, mate. We are married.”
Dillon sobered at that, his head swinging from Jazzy to me and back again.
“You’re fucking with me.”
“Dillon, language,” his mother scolded half-heartedly.
Her dad came around the counter and stood in front of us, his arms crossed over his chest.
“Explain.”
Jasmine shifted next to me.
Shit, we probably should have worked out a script or something before coming here.
“Sir, I love your daughter. I was interested in her the first time I saw her a decade ago, and I never forgot about her. I’ve been pursuing her since I moved to Cherry Springs. It took a couple years, but she finally agreed that we belong together.”
I felt Jazzy stiffen slightly at the word love.
“So, great, then date each other,” Dillon said, exasperated. “Don’t just up and get married. I mean, hell, you can’t go from avoiding a guy one day, to saying I do the next. It doesn’t make sense.”
“We may have gotten a little caught up in the moment, and we’re both really sorry we got married without any of your family in attendance,” I explained.
“Where did you get married? When?” Michelle asked.
I opened my mouth to reply, but her dad raised a hand to stop me and asked, “Jazzy? You’ve been uncharacteristically quiet.”
“We got married in Vegas,” she replied, her voice soft. “We didn’t plan it, it just sort of happened.”
That was the lie we’d agreed on, since her family wouldn’t believe that she’d planned to go off to Vegas and get married without telling anyone. At least, not a real wedding. We thought if they believed we were caught up in the moment, they’d be able to accept it a little better.
“Vegas? How did you end up there?” Dillon asked, and I realized how unprepared we were to answer all of these questions.
Dillon’s phone rang, giving us a little time to gather our thoughts.
“Hey, babe, sorry, I’m still at my folks,” Dillon was saying, so I knew he was talking to Laurel. “Yeah, I’m bringing them home now. I’ll see you in a few.”
He hung up and said, “I came here to get some stuff for Laurel, her back’s hurting, so I have to go. We’ll pick this up tomorrow.”
“I put the creams and oil by the door. Take them all and see what works,” Michelle said.
“Thanks,” Dillon replied leaning in to kiss his mom’s cheek, before giving his dad and sister quick hugs. “Later, man,” he added, his hand coming to my shoulder and giving it a squeeze.
He gave me a look I couldn’t decipher and walked out of the room.
Jazzy and I both let out deep breaths and turned to each other. I could tell she was as relieved as I was to be off the hook, at least for another day.
But, before the relief could set in, her father said, “You two are staying for dinner. There’s a lot more to discuss.”
Jasmine
My heart was pounding so hard I was sure everyone could hear it.
Why did I think this would be easy?
I never lied to my family.
Sure, Dillon’s appearance had been unexpected, but really, with or without him there, it was painfully obvious that Shane and I were woefully unprepared to answer the questions my family had.
We’d need to do a lot of talking tonight, if we had any hope of convincing everyone at camp over the next week.
But first, we had to get through this impromptu dinner with my parents.
“This is delicious, Michelle,” Shane was saying as he heaped his third helping of potatoes onto his plate.
I guess he was hoping to win his way into my mother’s good graces by eating and loving on her food.
My mother beamed at him and asked, “Would you like more roast?”
I stopped myself from rolling my eyes.
Looks like it’s working.
My dad, on the other hand, was unconvinced.
“So, Shane, tell me about your parents. Are they okay with the fact that you’re planning to stay in America indefinitely?” he asked, then his head swung to me. “You are planning to stay here, right?”
“Yes, of course, right, Shane?”
Shane put down his fork and wiped his mouth with his napkin before giving my father his full attention.
“Actually, sir, my mum passed when I was eleven. My father,” he said father derisively, “who was never around much to begin with, went off the rails after she died and I never saw him again. So, yeah, we’re planning to stay here. There’s nothing left for me in Australia.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry for your loss,” my mother said, her eyes welling.
My mom was a total empath. If someone was upset or crying in her presence, she took on that emotion.
“It’s okay, it’s been a long time,” Shane replied, but I noticed he placed his napkin on the table and didn’t pick his fork back up.
He looked upset, but like he was trying his best to mask it.
“Sorry, son,” my dad said softly, and I could tell by his expression that he felt guilty.
Whether it was for bringing up Shane’s parents, or his reaction to our announcement, I wasn’t sure. Probably a bit a both.
Guilt slammed into me.
What are we doing?
Shane’s hand found mine underneath the table and squeezed it gently.
I looked up to see him watching me, his eyes conveying his understanding, while he showed me that he was right there with me.
“Well, we’d better get going. We still have a lot of packing to do for camp.”
“Oh, you two are going?”
I nodded in response at my mom.
“Good,” she replied. “It’ll be good for get away with everyone, give them time to adjust and give you all a chance to see how this new dynamic works.”
“I’ll help you clean up,” I said, rising from my seat.
She waved me off.
“There’s no need, your father and I have it, you two go do what you need to do.”
We all got up from the table, and I moved to give my parents hugs.
My dad held on a little longer than usual and said, “You know I love you, pumpkin, I just want you to be happy.”
“I am, Daddy,” I assured him.
“It was good to meet you, sir,” Shane said, holding out his hand.
“Call me Jake,” my father said, accepting it with a firm shake.
“Good night, Jake.”
“Night, Shane. You be good to my girl. She deserves the best.”
Shane nodded, then turned to my mother who pulled him in for a hug.
“Welcome to the family, Shane.”
“Thank you,” he said, his voice gruff with emotion.
We didn’t say anything until we were halfway to his apartment.
“I know we need to pack, but I think we need to spend some time tonight talking … making notes.”
“Notes?” Shane said with a grin, the first one I’d seen since before dinner. I realized how unusual that was, that Shane seemed to always have a smile on his face. “You mean, like a list.”
“Laugh it up,” I replied, biting back my own smile. “You’ll be happy you have them when you need to remember how I like my eggs.”
“Over easy,” he said, and I looked at him with surprise. “See, I know more about you than you think.”
“Hmmm,” I muttered. “Still, we’re talking about a week with the people who know me, and you, best. They aren’t going to be so easy to fool. We need to be on the same page when it comes to our decision to see each other, then, boom, get married. Let’s grab your stuff then go to my place. You can stay there so we can get our stories straight, then we’ll head out together tomorrow. Sound good?”
“Yeah, I think it’s a good idea to get our stories straight. We were kind of a mess back there,” he agreed.
<
br /> I parked on Main Street and we were headed toward Shane’s apartment, when a shadow fell over us.
I spun around, not really worried, since we were in Cherry Springs, not New York, but curious to see who was approaching.
“Reardon,” I called, happy to see my cousin.
“Hey, mate,” Shane said in greeting.
Reardon stopped in front of us, his normally happy face marred with a frown.
“Everything okay?” I asked, taking a step toward him.
He looked between us and said, “You two need to explain what the fuck is going on.”
Shane
“Have a seat,” I said once we were all up in my loft. “Can I get you anything?”
“No,” Reardon said, his tone curt, which was something I’d never heard from my normally good-humored friend. “Dillon called me on his way home.”
“Rear,” Jazzy began, but he stopped her from continuing.
“Let me talk first, Jaz, then you can go.”
She nodded, her face full of worry.
“You’ve both come to me with legal issues, so for the sake of argument, I am talking to you now as your lawyer and nothing else…”
He looked pointedly at both of us, waiting for us to indicate we understood. “Without going into detail, I want to start by asking if you are legally married.”
“Yes, we got married in Vegas,” I replied.
Reardon closed his eyes.
“And what are you planning to tell everyone? Are you both coming to camp?”
“Yes,” Jasmine said, standing and moving to her cousin. “We’re going to tell them that we’re in love. We started seeing each other and snuck off to Vegas to get some alone time and while we were there we got married.”
He opened his eyes and looked at her.
“Good. That’s all they ever need to know. So, you’ll have to keep that story going for the next five to seven years at least. Never give them cause to doubt and put them in the position where they may have to lie to the authorities.”
“We wouldn’t,” Jasmine assured him.
I nodded in agreement.
“They’re going to be surprised, and a few, probably Dillon and Rena, will be skeptical, so you’re going to have to sell it.”
“We understand.”
“Good,” Reardon said, running his hand through his short blond hair. “I hope you both know what you’re doing. Benny’s teething, so I need to get home, but I’ll see you tomorrow. I just wanted to get over here and make sure we understood each other before camp. We’ll talk more once we get there.”
I walked him to the door, hoping this wasn’t going to ruin the friendship we had.
“I just want you to know, I’d never do anything to hurt her,” I told him before he walked out.
“I know, man, and I know how you feel about her. This was a messed-up way to go about getting closer to her, but maybe it will work in your favor. Just make sure you’re guarding your heart as well. I don’t want to see either of you get hurt.”
“Thanks, brother, and sorry if we’ve put you in a rough spot.”
“Don’t worry about me, you two have enough on your plate,” he said, clapping his hand on my shoulder and walking out the door.
I closed the door behind him, then turned and leaned against it.
“Shit,” Jasmine muttered.
I lifted my gaze from the floor and saw her still standing in the same spot.
“This is going to be harder than I thought,” she said, chewing on her lower lip. “Were we complete idiots? Is this a mistake?”
I crossed the room until I was standing in front of her.
“It’s not too late,” I told her, my voice soft but firm. “If you’ve changed your mind we could get an annulment. The ink’s barely dry, so there’d be no problem. We could call it off now, and you could go to camp tomorrow and tell everyone it was a drunken, foolish mistake. They’d buy it.”
Even as I said the words, giving her an out, I prayed she wouldn’t take me up on it.
“But, then I wouldn’t get the house and you’d have to move back to Australia,” she said, still worrying her lip. “And, I’m sorry about your parents. I didn’t know that … what you said at dinner, that there’s nothing left for you there. I don’t want you to have to leave.”
Hope filled my heart as I asked, “So, we’re gonna stay married?”
Jasmine thought about it for a moment. “I’m still in if you are.”
I couldn’t stop from grinning when I replied, “All in.”
She gave me a small smile and said, “That’s it then. Let’s grab your stuff and head to my place."
I walked over to my bed, grabbed my duffel bag, and said, “I’m ready.”
“That’s all you’re taking?”
“Well, yeah, we’re just going to camp for the week, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then, yup, got all I need right here.” I lifted my bag as evidence and Jasmine shook her head, so I asked, “Why, how much are you taking?”
Jasmine laughed and said, “You’re about to get a behind-the-scenes look at women, even more so once we move in together. Are you ready for it?”
“Hell yeah!” I cried, wondering what mystical things I’d learn.
Jazzy shook her head.
“I don’t think it’ll be like what you’re thinking. There will be no pillow fights, lounging around in sexy lingerie while eating a banana, or a magical skin care routine.”
As I followed her out the door, I asked, “Can I put in a request for the lingerie banana thing?”
“I’ll show you where you can put your banana,” she retorted, looking at me over her shoulder, grinning like a shot fox.
“Crikey!” I exclaimed, thickening my accent, then followed her laughter down the stairs.
So far, married life suited me just fine.
Jasmine
I took a deep breath and let serenity set in.
I loved coming to camp. I always had.
When we were younger, our parents sent us to camp together every summer. I’d always looked forward to it all year, and can’t think of even one bad trip.
Being outdoors, hanging out with my brother and my cousins, and living every day to the fullest. It was a kid’s dream.
When we were all grown up and Gabe retired from the NFL, he’d told us about his idea to open Camp Gabriel Lewis, and we’d all agreed it was a great idea. But, we had a stipulation … not that he needed to heed it … that every year we’d all take a week off and go to camp.
Just like we had as kids.
Gabe had agreed and we’d started the tradition.
The past couple of years, work, new babies, and weddings had gotten in the way, and as I stood at the entrance, taking in the lush green trees, the sun sparkling off the lake, and the view of the cabins I knew so well, I realized how much I missed it.
“I’m never missing another year,” I whispered, making a promise to myself.
“It’s even nicer than I’d imagined,” Shane said, coming to stand next to me, his duffel hanging from his hand.
I looked up to see him gazing out over the camp. When he took a deep breath, I grinned.
“There’s nothing like it,” I told him. “Come on, let’s go see who’s here and I’ll show you around.”
I’d sent Gabe a text last night to tell him I was bringing Shane along. I didn’t want to get into it over the phone, but I didn’t want to show up without letting him know either. I’d said we’d explain everything once we got here, but that we’d be sharing a cabin.
To be honest, sharing a cabin with Shane made me a little nervous.
I mean, the guy was hot. Like, Charlie Hunnam hot. Young Brad Pitt hot. Hemsworth hot.
We would be playing the part of a married couple for the foreseeable future, and this was a little like throwing ourselves straight into the flame.
There would be no separate bedrooms, or even separate beds. As a couple who supposedly went t
o Vegas for a weekend and were so in love got married on a whim, everyone would expect us to be affectionate. Handsy even. Like, disgustingly so.
Just like they had all been when they’d found each other.
I’d been unable to sleep all night after I’d texted Gabe and all of those realizations had started hitting me.
Shane had no such problem. He’d slept like a baby. Either the level of PDA we’d be displaying didn’t bother him, or he hadn’t thought much about it. Whatever the case, we were here and the show was about to begin.
“Are you ready?” I asked him as we walked up the path.
“You bet,” he replied, taking my hand in his.
The first cabin was Gabe’s, which was where everyone usually hung out. He had a nice big table in the backyard, which was where we always gathered for meals. Since it was lunchtime, I assumed that’s where we’d find everyone now.
As we moved along the side of the cabin toward the back, I no longer saw the trees or smelled the flowers blooming; all I could focus on was my hand in Shane’s.
His was larger than mine, but didn’t feel overpowering. It felt nice, like we were connected, a team, and although I’d never thought of hand holding as foreplay, I couldn’t deny that my pulse had quickened and I was aware of his heat and strength.
I liked it.
As we rounded the corner, we heard, “Hey!”
“There they are…”
“The couple of the hour.”
“Were your ears burning?”
“This I gotta hear…”
Gabe, Zoey, Rear, Chloe, Jed, and Rena were all sitting at the table. It was set up family style, with all the fixings for burgers, potato salad, baked beans, garden salad, and condiments running down the center of the table.
Everyone was looking at us, and Reardon was the only person who remained silent.
“Afternoon, everyone,” Shane said with his signature grin. Then, he put his arm around my shoulder and tucked me into his side. “I believe you’ve met my wife…”
A couple of them cheered and both Gabe and Jed got up and crossed to us.
“This is crazy,” Gabe said, giving me a kiss on the cheek before turning to Shane. “Congratulations, brother, welcome to the family.”
Too Dangerous: The Lewis Cousins, Book 5 Page 5
