The last word was accompanied by wild sobbing.
Jackson hesitated, not sure if he wanted to go back inside and be supportive or run for the hills. As the mountains were mere feet away, the latter was tempting. Still, he sucked it up and went into Katie's room.
She'd sat up in bed, drawing the sheets up to her shoulders. Their eyes met and she smiled at him.
"Morning," she said, her voice low and sexy.
"Morning."
"Are you listening to me?" Courtney demanded loudly. "Alex isn't sure he wants to marry me."
That got Katie's attention. She stared at her sister. "You said he loves you before. Which is it?"
"Does it matter? I'm miserable."
Katie did her best not to roll her eyes. "Why? You're marrying a really great guy who adores you. This is going to be a great day."
"You're just saying that because you're jealous of me."
Katie frowned. If she was jealous, wouldn't she be mean rather than nice? "What exactly is there to be jealous of?"
"I'm getting married, and all you have is a paid escort."
Jackson leaned against the door frame. "You're paying me?"
"You haven't heard?" Katie asked, sounding more amused than hurt. "Hundreds of dollars."
"Is there a bonus for good behavior?"
"I was thinking I might give you a little something extra."
"I can't wait."
Courtney turned on him. "Shut up and stay out of this. None of this has anything to do with you."
He straightened and moved toward her. "On the contrary. It has everything to do with me because it has to do with Katie. Whatever your problems are with your fiance, they have nothing to do with your sister. Katie has been supportive of you, which is more than it seems like you deserve."
Courtney's mouth dropped open. "You...you..."
"Your sister has no interest in Alex. If she did, he would be a very lucky man. But she has moved on. As has Alex. He's in love with you and wants to marry you. If you expect this marriage to work, you're going to have to grow up. You probably won't like acting like an adult, but it will be good for you."
Courtney glared at him. "I hate you."
"You're not my favorite person, either."
"You're not invited to my wedding. Don't even think about showing up," Courtney said as she ran out of the room.
He walked toward the bed.
"Should I go after her and apologize?" he asked.
Katie grinned. "No, but talk about great breakfast theater. That was amazing. And a long time coming."
"You shouldn't let her trash you."
"I know. Old habits and all that."
He was about to bend down and kiss her when the door opened again.
Janis hurried in, barely blinking when she saw him in Katie's room.
"Apparently the lovebirds have had a fight. I can't find Courtney, Alex is moping and it's not even nine in the morning. I knew they were going to make me wish we'd paid them to elope. They're both so immature, yet oddly right for each other."
"Courtney was just here," Katie said. "She's upset and emotional."
Janis touched her temple. "I can feel a headache coming on. I swear, there will be a wedding if I have to drug them and tie them up."
"At least that will make for interesting pictures," Katie offered.
"I'm ignoring that. How's your knee?"
"Much better."
"Thank God. That means you're out of excuses. Please get up and dressed. I'm going to need help today. And very possibly black-market drugs. I wonder if your father would write me a prescription." She drew in a breath and smiled absently at Jackson.
"Morning, Jackson."
"Janis."
"A word to the wise. Never have daughters."
The morning passed quickly. Katie was pleased to discover the swelling in her knee had almost completely disappeared. She wore low-heeled shoes, saving her moments on high heels for the walk down the aisle. There were a thousand details to see to and in an effort to take the pressure off her mother, she'd offered to take care of all of them. The cake was finished, the chairs set up. The florist was hard at work, stringing ribbons and setting out arrangements.
She left the room that would be used for the actual service, then made her way outside onto a side patio. The day was bright and sunny, promising to be warm. Perfect for pictures.
Courtney and Alex were nowhere to be seen, but she could only hope they were off somewhere having makeup sex. Anything to move the wedding forward.
"You're frowning," Jackson said as he came up behind her and put his arms around her waist.
"I'm thinking Courtney and Alex are crazy. Shouldn't they have worked out their issues before they decided to get married?"
"You'd think, but no." He took the clipboard from her hands. "How's the checklist?"
"I'm making great progress." She glanced at him, then away. "Ariel left."
He turned her until she faced him. "You have to let Ariel go. I did."
"But she's so..."
"Yes?"
It was impossible to think with him staring into her eyes like that. As if she was interesting and compelling and, well, wonderful.
"What were you like as a kid?" she asked.
"Reclusive." He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I liked computers more than people and kept to my room. My mother tried everything to get me to play with the kids in the neighborhood, but I wasn't interested. I didn't know how to fit in or what to say to make them like me."
"Too many brains and not enough social skills?"
"Exactly. I was in college by the time I was sixteen."
"The summer we met," she teased. "When you were so charming."
"You bullied me."
"A moment of pride."
One corner of his mouth turned up. "If only I'd followed my heart back then."
She laughed. "Oh, please. You weren't interested in me."
"There was a spark."
"More like a laser beam of hatred."
"Maybe it would have been better if our mothers had waited to introduce us."
Katie nodded, then looked away. What would it have been like if she and Jackson had met when they were older? After she'd graduated from high school or during her first year of college. When she'd been thinner and prettier. More interested in boys.
"I would have been impressed," she admitted.
"Me, too."
He leaned in, as if to kiss her. She relaxed into his arms. But before she could give herself over to the moment, she heard a familiar laugh.
"Aunt Tully," she whispered against Jackson's mouth. "I'm supposed to find her and keep her away from Bruce."
Apparently the issues between the parents of the groom had not yet been resolved. Katie couldn't find out if there had been flirtation between Tully and Bruce or something more. To be honest, she didn't really want to know.
There were footsteps on the patio. Katie turned and saw an older couple in a passionate embrace. Even from several feet away it was easy to see their bodies straining, the deep kisses, the way the man's hands cupped Tully's butt oh-so possessively.
Katie's stomach flipped over. "Oh, God," she murmured. "That's not Alex's mother, is it?"
"Sorry, no. It's definitely Tully."
"What should we do?"
"They're adults."
Katie looked at him. "You're saying it's not our responsibility?"
"Something like that."
"So we should run."
"Quietly."
He took her hand and led her away.
Instead of returning to the hotel, they went around to the front, then across the driveway to the rose garden on the side. There was a gazebo, with a few chairs and benches. Jackson waited until she was seated on a bench before pulling a chair up across from her. He drew her feet onto his lap, pulled off her flats and began to rub her toes.
"How is your knee?" he asked, his long, strong fingers massaging her.
"Good. A little stiff, but I'm fine." She glanced over her shoulder, toward the hotel. "I don't know about leaving Tully and Bruce like that."
"You really want to get in the middle of that conversation?"
"No. But Alex's mom is going to be pissed." She shook her head. "No. Not pissed. Hurt."
"You're assuming this is the first time."
Katie looked at him. "Tully does this a lot. Takes advantage of men."
"Sorry, no. She doesn't take advantage of them. They're willing partners in whatever she's doing. Maybe she shows them something they didn't know was there. Maybe they use her as an excuse. But either way, they have to take responsibility for their actions."
Something Katie hadn't thought about. "Everyone always says Tully is a force of nature. That no one can resist her."
"I did."
"You're different."
"No. Just scared."
Katie laughed. "You're saying she's not your type?"
"She'd probably kill me. I doubt I could keep up."
He continued to massage her feet. Warmth spread through her, making her want to confess her true feelings. But saying she was falling in love with him wasn't an option. If anything, it would frighten him off and that was the last thing she wanted to do.
"I think you could take on Tully and win," she told him.
"I appreciate the confidence but I'm not interested in that particular competition. I'd rather take on you."
"Good answer."
Ten
After a few more minutes of massage, Jackson slipped Katie's shoes back on, then shifted so he was sitting next to her on the bench. He put his arm around her and she snuggled in close.
He felt warm, she thought. Safe.
"Tell me about where you live," she said.
"Outside of Los Angeles."
"Not Silicon Valley?"
"I avoided the cliche," he said. "There's plenty of talent in L.A. and when I was starting my business, I wanted good people."
"Have you lived there long?"
"Seven years. We're looking to move the company. We want something more low-key. Everyone's getting married and having kids. We used to talk about the latest game innovations. Now conversations are about parks and school districts."
Something fluttered in her chest. Hope, she thought, wondering if Fool's Gold could make the short list.
"Any contenders?" she asked.
"Not yet. We're just starting the process. What about you? You said you were a hometown girl. Is that permanent?"
"Yes. I went away to school, but I came back here. For a while I thought about moving to a bigger city--trying to get a job on a real paper. But this is my home."
He looked up at the mountains soaring behind the resort. "It's beautiful." He hesitated. "There hasn't been anyone to tempt you into moving?"
"A guy, you mean?" She glanced up at him. "Oh, please. You've met Alex. Not exactly my finest hour. I thought he was one of the good guys." She closed her eyes, remembering. "I'd always thought that he took one look at Courtney and was simply swept away. But now I'm not so sure. I don't think we were right for each other. Courtney was a catalyst, not a cause."
"And before him?"
"The usual suspects. A high school boyfriend who broke my heart. A guy in college who was intense and romantic and was ultimately too intense and boring."
He played with the ends of her hair. "So you're the girl who got away."
His voice was low and sexy and made her insides shiver. "Not exactly."
"That wasn't a question. You are."
If only, she thought, then cleared her throat. "What about you? Other near misses besides Ariel."
"A couple. I didn't have a girlfriend in high school. My first romantic encounter was in college."
"Let me guess. She was older, taught you everything you know."
He shifted to face her. "How did you know?"
"You went to college when you were what? Five?"
"Sixteen."
"Close enough. It would be difficult to find another college girl your age. Unless you waited until your senior year." She stared into his beautiful green eyes. "You might have been willing to stall, but I doubt they were."
One corner of his mouth turned up. "I was seventeen and she was nineteen. Spring break in Mexico. I hadn't wanted to go."
"She made you glad you did?"
"Oh, yeah."
"Good thing you were out of the country. In most states that relationship would have been illegal."
The smile expanded. "It was worth it."
She laughed. "Not you, Jackson. Her. You were a minor."
"Oh. You're right. Just as well, then."
"And between the cougar and Ariel?"
He chuckled and pulled her close. "I was waiting for you."
If only that were true, she thought with a sigh, surrendering to the moment and the man. Jackson was a temptation she couldn't seem to ignore. Everything inside her screamed that he was the one. An impossible reality, given how short a time they'd known each other. But everything felt right.
All her life she'd gone after what she wanted. Even though she'd been a disaster at sports, she'd found a way to translate her love of the games into a career. When Colleen, the curmudgeonly editor of the local paper, had refused to interview her for the sports writer job, she'd sent her an article a day for three weeks. Colleen had relented and she'd been hired.