"One of the downsides of being the smartest guy in the room?"
"You held your own."
She laughed. "I was reduced to threatening physical violence. Not exactly the definition of holding my own."
"You did fine. Now I hear you're a famous sports writer."
If Katie had been drinking, she would have choked. "Not exactly. Is that what your mom told you?"
He nodded.
"I work for the local paper. The Fool's Gold Daily Republic. I write the sports page, the occasional op-ed and I've done an emergency feature story when they were desperate. No one's definition of fame."
"You like what you do. I can hear it in your voice."
"I do like it." She found herself staring into his green eyes and wishing she'd listened to her mother sooner. Howie...ah, Jackson...was all that and more. "I've heard you're some kind of impressive computer guy."
She winced, thinking maybe she should have done a little homework. "You created a program about, um, something business-y."
The slow, sexy smile returned. "Inventory control. Trust me, you don't want to know the details."
"Probably not, but it's good someone keeps track of all that inventory stuff. It's wily."
He raised his eyebrows. "Wily?"
"I studied sports communications, not business. Wily is the best I could come up with, under the circumstances. Give me a deadline and I can be much more impressive."
"Maybe I'm already impressed."
She wasn't sure if it was the words or the way he said them, but for the first time in a long time, she felt positively girly. If her hair had been a couple of inches longer, she would have been tempted to flip it. As it was, she was grateful her mother had made her wear a sundress instead of jeans and a T-shirt, and that she'd taken the time to brush on mascara and lip gloss.
"You're not what I was expecting," he continued.
"I know," she admitted, trying not to flutter her lashes, although the need was powerful. "When my mother suggested you as my emergency date, I wasn't exactly grateful. But I do appreciate you showing up and taking time to help with this."
"Not a problem."
"You say that now, but you have no idea what you're in for." She smiled. "Maybe I should confiscate your car keys before I say any more. So you can't run screaming into the night."
"That bad?"
"Let's just put it this way, my sister is only happy when there's drama surrounding her and I have an aunt who has a habit of seducing other women's boyfriends and husbands. As I'm sure your mother told you, the groom is my ex-boyfriend. And that's just for starters."
"Sounds like fun."
"You have no idea. Want to make a run for it?"
"I can handle it. Do you doubt me?"
Not when he looked at her as if she were something delicious to eat. Which he couldn't possibly be, so it had to be a trick of light. Maybe a problem with his glasses.
"We should, ah, check you into the hotel," she said. "Have you been to Fool's Gold much in the past few years?"
"Not since our last meeting."
"But you grew up in Sacramento," she said. "It's so close."
"I went the other way after college. Toward the coast." He glanced around at the lobby. "The resort has a reputation for good skiing in winter."
"You ski?"
"Some. I like it more than I'm good at it."
"Me, too," she said. "It's easier than snowboarding, at least for me. I love trying different sports, but so far I haven't found one I'm very good at."
She led the way toward the front desk. "There are several excellent runs here during the winter. This time of year, the draw is more hiking and camping. The hotel keeps busy with things like weddings and various theme weekends. They fly in five-star chefs or art experts. That sort of thing. Then people come in from all over to hear lectures or go to demonstrations."
"You work in travel in your spare time?"
Katie laughed. "I live in town. It's not hard to keep track of what's going on."
"You grew up here and never wanted to leave?"
She tilted her head, considering. "Not really. I went to Ashland College and while I loved it, I couldn't wait to get back. Fool's Gold is home for me."
Katie spoke with certainty, as if her belief was unshakeable. Jackson had been comfortable growing up in Sacramento, and later at MIT. He'd lived on the East Coast for a while, but when he'd been ready to start his software company, he'd gravitated west. There was something about California.
Now he lived in Los Angeles and while he liked the city, he couldn't say it was home with Katie's obvious passion.
She was nothing he'd expected. There was an energy about her, as if she enjoyed everything she did. Her blue eyes sparkled with intelligence and humor. She was curvy to the point of being a walking, breathing temptation just by standing in the room. There was something about the way she moved--purposeful, with a subtle sexiness that made parts of him grumble hungrily.
At thirteen, she'd terrified him. Fourteen years later, she tempted him, not that he would do anything about it. The daughter of his mother's best friend was completely off-limits. Not only would both mothers want to monitor any potential relationship, he could only imagine what his mother would say if she suspected he was about to break the heart of her best friend's daughter.
Too bad, he thought with more than a little regret.
"The family is in a block of rooms," Katie was saying as they approached the front desk. "However, I made sure you weren't close to them. We don't want Aunt Tully sneaking into your room at night." Her smile turned impish. "You're still young enough that the thrill of Aunt Tully might do lasting damage."
"I don't know if I'm looking forward to meeting her or ready to bolt."
"I'll protect you."
He checked in quickly and was handed an old-fashioned key.
"You're through here," Katie said, pointing to the elevators on the far wall. "Brace yourself because it all starts tonight. There's a party." She paused and gazed up at him.
"Parties are fine."
"A fifties-style theme party. A costume has already been delivered to your room."
A costume party? He could see his mother had left out more than a few details. "Sounds great," he lied.
She laughed and touched his arm. "Don't worry. It's only a short-sleeved white T-shirt for the guys. Jeans are fine and if you have loafers, all the better."
"With white socks?"
"That would complete the look."
Her fingers were warm against his skin. He liked that she was a toucher. It made him want to touch back--to take control of the situation.
His gaze dropped to her mouth and lingered there. Her lips were as curvy and full as the rest of her. Katie defined lushness.
"I'm stuck wearing a poodle skirt," she continued. "With a twinset, if you can believe it."
An interesting image, he thought, still looking at her mouth. He'd never been turned on by anything retro before, but he had a feeling Katie would make a believer out of him.
"We should probably get our stories straight," she said, her voice slightly strained.
Reluctantly he raised his gaze to her eyes. Her pupils were slightly dilated and she seemed to be a little breathless.
"About how we met," she added.
"We could stick with the truth. Our mothers set us up."
"Um, right. That's good." She cleared her throat. "Say six months ago?"
"Works for me. We've been together ever since." He grinned. "I was a little surprised when you offered to sleep with me on the first date, but being a gentleman, I didn't refuse the invitation."
Her eyes widened, then narrowed as she drew her brows together. "Excuse me? You're the one who was completely crazy about me within five minutes of us meeting. You practically stalked me. I only went out with you because I felt guilty about turning your life upside down."
He chuckled. "Or we could settle in the middle. Mutual attraction and a growing interest."
"Fine. But I really like the idea of you being desperate."
She had no idea how little it would take to get him to that state, he thought, wanting to touch her skin again to see if all of it was as soft as her hands had felt before.
They walked toward the elevators. Before they got there, an attractive fiftysomething woman hurried up to them. Jackson recognized his mother's best friend.
"Hello, Janis," he said. "Good to see you again."
"Howie," she said absently.
He did his best not to wince at the name. His mother had refused to call him anything else, so it made sense her best friend wouldn't know about the change to something less pathetic than "Howie."
"We have a crisis," Janis told her daughter.
"Only one? I was sure there would be more."
"Don't tempt fate. It's plenty early." Janis drew in a breath. "It's the cake. Actually it's the cake decorator. Apparently the decorations are made in advance and then there's a cake and they come together and it's beautiful. I'm not sure of the details."
"Okay. So what's the problem?"
"The decorator was in a car accident. She's going to be fine...in eight weeks after her broken arm heals. I don't mean to sound unsympathetic, but did that have to happen today? The cake was in the car. So we have decorations. They were delivered yesterday, but no cake."
Janis clutched Katie's arm. "I can't do this. Your sister is hysterical, your father is hiding because he sees the panic on my face. Your relatives are arriving and Aunt Tully has already made a pass at the bellboy. You have to help me."
"Why are they my relatives?" Katie asked. " My sister. My father. You're related to them, too."
"You're not helping," Janis said, her voice getting more shrill with each word.
"Sorry. We'll find another cake decorator."
"How? It's prime wedding season. They're all busy. This is a sign. This wedding is going to be a disaster, I can feel it."
"Mom, calm down."
"I can't."
Jackson pulled out his cell phone. "Maybe I can help. I have a friend who runs a catering business. She used to decorate cakes. I'm sure I could persuade her to help out."
Janis turned to him. "Don't play with my emotions, Howie. I'm right on the edge."
"I'll call her right now."
He scrolled through his list of contacts until he found Ariel's cell. Seconds later she answered.
He greeted her and explained the problem.
"This isn't your wedding, is it?" she asked warily.
"No. A friend's. I'm here for the weekend, then heading home."
She hesitated. "Normally I wouldn't have time, but I had an unexpected cancellation. I'll be there in the morning. I'll need access to the kitchen to get the cake made." She named a price that made him wince, but Janis simply nodded.
"Great," she said. "I'm looking forward to seeing you."
"Thanks. See you soon."
When he hung up, Janis hugged him. "You've saved us all."
"It's a cake, not a rescue from a burning building."
"Close enough." She put a hand on her chest. "I can breathe again, at least until the next crisis. Now go to your rooms and get ready for the party. I'm off to get drunk."
She walked toward the bar. He pressed the up button on the elevator, then glanced at Katie.
She raised her eyebrows. "So...Ariel's an ex."
"How did you know?"
"The average guy doesn't have a former cake decorator on speed dial."
"She's on my contact list. That's different."
"Close enough."
The doors opened and they stepped inside. Katie pushed the button for the fourth floor.
"Bad breakup?" she asked.
"Actually an easy one. She left me. I thought I'd be brokenhearted and I wasn't." He'd gotten over her fast enough to make him realize that they'd be better off as friends.
"I guess that beats pining for months."
He looked at her. "Are you the type to pine?"
"I've had a sulk or two in my life, but not an actual full-on pine."
The elevator stopped and they stepped out. Katie led the way to his room.
"I'm across the hall," she said.
He moved his gaze from the door to her. "Can I trust you?" he asked.
She smiled. "If you'd been this fun fourteen years ago, I wouldn't have threatened to beat you up."
"If I'd been like this fourteen years ago, I would have wanted you to try."
They stared at each other. Katie blinked first, then glanced at her watch.
"The craziness starts in an hour," she said. "Brace yourself."
"I don't scare that easily. Besides, I'll have you to protect me."
"Just pray Aunt Tully doesn't take a liking to you."
"I can handle Aunt Tully."
"You say that now," Katie called over her shoulder as she left.
Three
There was something oddly fun about wearing a poodle skirt, Katie thought as she looked at herself in the mirror. Sure, the poofy style did nothing to make her legs look longer--always a challenge for someone from a long-legged family--but the layers of petticoats also made her waist look tiny. She twirled a couple of times for effect, then smoothed her skirts.