Fiance by Fate (20 page)

Jack’s mouth twisted, misreading her silence. “Who cares what he’s doing today anyway? You don’t need him when you have me. Let him eat hospital cafeteria food. My sister is a fantastic cook, and I know my father would love to see you.”

She bit her lip and thought about her other prospects—which were exactly none. “I don’t know…”

“Okay, forget all those other reasons then. Come for me. This may not mean a whole lot to you, but I’d want you to spend Thanksgiving with me even if we didn’t have this deal between us.”

She tried, but failed, to keep the surprise out of her face. “You would?” She gazed up and into his eyes. There was no way she could misread the genuineness she saw in them.

He tilted his head, then traced a finger along her cheek. “Please come.”

Her resolve deflated like a leaky balloon. Jack was becoming harder and harder to resist—in more ways than one—and she nodded a yes.

“Besides…” His expression turned playful as he looked around. “Why am I still out in the hall?”

She blinked. Then, opening the door wider, she stepped back as he waltzed in and thrust the rose into her hand.

“Gee, Jack,” she said, biting down on a smile, “while you’re polishing your image, maybe you could polish your manners too.”

He took off his jacket and shrugged sheepishly. “Sorry. I took your advice and am going meatless for a little while—even today of all days, so help me. I’m a little on edge.”

“With your personality, I hardly noticed.”

Jack brushed off her comment with a deadpan look, but as she continued to stare at him, she noticed that he seemed troubled.

“Are you feeling all right?”

He ran a hand over the light stubble on his face and sighed. “Yeah. I had a doctor’s appointment last week and was told my cholesterol was a little high, which is another reason why I took your advice.”

She walked over and rested her hand on his shoulder. “It’s great you’re taking your health more seriously.” He gave her a stiff nod, so she judged he was having a tougher time than he was letting on.

“Have you tried Tofurkey?” she suggested.

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah. It tastes like crap. I don’t know how you survive eating this way.”

She stifled a laugh. “You get used to it when you start seeing how much energy you get. I’m excited just thinking how good your body’s going to feel.”

Something flashed behind his eyes and she saw them turn dark and sexy. “Oh, yeah?”

Realizing her slip of the tongue, she sprung her hand back as if his body had turned to fire. “I…I meant that”
—
she cleared her throat with a cough
—
“your body is getting healthier as we speak.”

A wicked grin appeared on his lips as he closed the distance between them. “I suppose that’s one way of putting it.”

Heat flooded her cheeks, and her brain became pudding as his finger toyed with the lapel of her pajamas. Oh, Lord, she had to be strong against this six foot vegetarian temptation of a man. Squeezing her eyes closed, she willed herself to step away. And to her surprise, she did. Like ripping off a Band-Aid, only the sting still lingered. But it was better to do it now, because if she let herself succumb to Jack’s charms, it would hurt much worse when he was done with her and she was alone again.

“I’ll go get ready,” she said, hoping to change the subject. “We should probably take two cars in case you want extra family time alone.” Jack didn’t say a word, but as she walked past him to get to the bedroom, she noticed the same broad grin still lingering on his face.

“Oh, Sabrina,” he drawled.

She stopped and warily looked back. “Yes?”

His mega grin grew and was now up to a million watts. “I’m excited just thinking about how good my body’s going to feel too.” Then he broke out into laughter.

With a groan, she ducked into her bedroom and slammed the door.

…

Jack’s sister, Laurie, lived about twenty minutes north in Marblehead. It was a small picturesque town on the coast that still maintained its colonial houses and tight winding streets that were there before the Revolutionary War.

Pulling up behind Jack’s SUV, Sabrina took in the large home with lots of graying cedar and pretty window boxes that reminded her of the ones she’d seen on Martha’s Vineyard. There wasn’t a lot of property, but she noticed that hadn’t stopped them from squeezing a good-sized swingset in the yard.

Jack walked over to her car and opened her door. “This is great. Wait ‘til you meet everybody.”

Everybody?
The chicken inside of her was beginning to peck its way out. “Uh, maybe this was a mistake. I’m going to stick out like a Yankees fan at a Red Sox game.”

“How many times do I have to tell you to relax?” He grinned, pulling her up to the porch. He knocked on the door, but not waiting for anyone to answer, turned the knob and ushered her in.

Sabrina heard children giggling as soon as she stepped in the house. That, and the aroma of pumpkin pie spices and turkey, warmed her heart, reminding her of what she always wanted her future home to be like on Thanksgiving. She felt a small ache at the reminder that she wasn’t any closer to having those things for real.

A tall, attractive woman in heeled boots appeared in the foyer entrance. Her eyes lit up when she saw Jack. “Bubba!” she cried.

Bubba?

Sabrina glanced over her shoulder for some other person in the room, but the woman jumped directly into Jack’s arms and hugged him tight.

“I’m so glad you’ve moved back,” the woman said, smiling into his eyes. “Why haven’t you visited before now?”

Sabrina had no doubts at all that this woman was Jack’s sister. Her dark hair, cut in a practical chin length bob, swung against her cheeks as she assessed the appearance of her brother. She was dressed in jeans and a maroon cardigan, yet somehow managed to maintain an air of sophistication.

“I’m sorry,” his sister said, turning smiling blue eyes in her direction. “Here I am rude as can be and having diarrhea of the mouth, all because I’m so excited to see Jack. You must be my almost-sister-in-law.”

Sabrina glanced at Jack, then smiled weakly. “Must be.”

“Well, I’m Laurie.” Without warning, the woman pulled her into a warm hug—something Sabrina was finding the family was big on. When she let her go, Laurie automatically turned to punch Jack in the arm. “Why did you wait so long to bring her home to meet the family?”

Jack hung an arm around Sabrina’s shoulders and brought her against his side. “I had to make sure she could handle your cooking.”

Laurie shot him a mock glare. “How do you stand him?” she asked Sabrina with a hint of a smile. “He’s been here exactly two minutes and I’ve already had my fill of him.”

Sabrina smiled politely and hoped Laurie really wasn’t expecting an answer.

“Dad here?” Jack asked.

“He’s in the family room with Jay and Gretchen.”

“Where’s Mike?”

“You know my husband’s MO. Called away on an emergency C-section. But he promised to be back before we cut the pie.”

Laurie turned and led them into the next room where Sabrina saw Jack’s dad reclining at the TV watching his grandchildren play video games. The family all looked up when they entered the room and the children squealed with delight at the sight of their uncle Jack.

Jack sweetly kissed the top of Gretchen’s head and playfully shoved Jay on his side in greeting, then walked over and shook hands with his father. Then before she knew it, Jack flopped down on the floor next to the kids and picked up a video controller.

Her boss greeted her with a hug of his own and sat back down. “I’m glad you could make it. Wouldn’t have been the same without you this year.”

Sabrina’s insides melted at his warm welcome. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt like this. She gazed around at Jack’s family with longing. Such a lovely illusion being a part of this. Being with
Jack
like this. She had spent the holidays with David’s family just last year, but it hadn’t registered until now how different things were with them, and the thought concerned her.

“What the hell is
this
, Laurie?”

His sister planted an angry fist on her hip. “Dad, will you tell Jack to watch the language in front of my children?”

“If Dad knew anything about video games, he’d understand the severity of the situation. Still
Super Nintendo
?” Jack said the word like he had cod liver on his tongue. “Come on, it’s prehistoric. They might as well be playing
Pong
.”

“For your information, I don’t want my kids to be a slave to video games. They do
not
need an upgrade.”

Jack glanced at his sister, then with a devilish grin, leaned in to the children. “Don’t worry,” he said in a staged whisper, “I’ll hook you guys up at Christmas.”

Laurie’s eyes narrowed to two fine slits at the children’s cheering. “I can’t wait until you have kids. No offense to you,” she said, turning to Sabrina, “but it’s only right that I get to submit your children to a quarter of the abuse my kids have to endure with Jack as their uncle.”

Our children?
Sabrina felt she must have turned twelve shades of pink and was probably now working on a very becoming hue of magenta.

“Come here, Brie,” Jack called to her, patting a space on the floor. “Let me show off for you one of my many talents.”

Shrugging helplessly at Laurie, she squatted down next to him.

“This is The Lost Levels,” he explained, “one of the more challenging of the Super Mario games. You have to go through the maze and fight a dragon at each level.”

“You’ve been hiding this studly manliness of yours.” She faked a sigh. “I had no idea how lucky I was.”

A slow smile curved his lips. “You ain’t seen nothing yet. I rescue the princess every time I play.”

“You look like a princess,” Gretchen told her in a small voice.

Sabrina turned her head and smiled. “Thank you.”

“Did Uncle Jack rescue you from a mean old dragon?” the little girl asked.

Sabrina glanced at Jack and caught his grin that spread from ear to ear. “Well, not exactly. In fact, some people even mistake your uncle for a dragon,” she stated with amused satisfaction.

The young girl’s eyes widened. “They do?”

“Ah jeez, Gretchen, she’s kidding,” Jay told his sister. “You know, a joke.”

Laurie hooted with laughter. “Your uncle Jack did look like a dragon, especially when he used to puff on those cigarettes of his. Thank God he gave those up.”

Jack shot his sister a deadly look. “It’s not the only thing I’ve given up. Sabrina is a vegetarian and has convinced me to cut back on my meat consumption because of Dad’s heart issues. For a little while, anyway,” he muttered.

“Yeah, right,” his sister mocked. “Even your precious beef jerky?”

Jack nodded. “I’m a man on a mission.”

Laurie’s laughter died and she exchanged surprised looks with her father. “Well, then. I’d say Sabrina deserves a medal of bravery for that feat,” she remarked, not hiding her admiration.

“Oh, no,” Sabrina protested. “I really didn’t have anything to do with it. All I did was tell him that if he cut meat out just one day a week, it would be good for his heart.”

Laurie snorted. “Yeah well, my husband’s a doctor and said the same exact thing. Jack never listened to
him
.”

“That’s because he’s not half as pretty as Sabrina is.” Jack grinned, taking Sabrina’s hand in his and raising it to his lips. “Besides, now that my future is looking brighter, I decided I might as well live a little longer to enjoy it.”

Sabrina frowned as she eyed Jack. Did he want to live longer for
her
? She was afraid she was reading into things that weren’t there. She couldn’t be sure. Their game was going further and further out of her league, and she didn’t know how to play anymore. Jack still had not let go of her hand, and the way he was gazing at her made her feel like he was talking about more than just a future within his father’s company. It was almost as though he was talking about a future with her. A concept that—if she were being honest—wasn’t so foreign from her own thoughts lately.

…

After dinner, everyone except the children decided to wait before having dessert and returned to the family room to watch college football.

Before they could get comfortable, Leonard Brenner turned to his son with a gleam in his eye. “Jack, I brought that little item we were talking about before. I thought maybe you’d want to show it to Sabrina now.”

Jack turned to her with a sly grin, then wiggled his eyebrows up and down. “Interested?”

Sabrina couldn’t help but chuckle. “Why not?”

Jack took her hand and led her upstairs to a guest bedroom. She looked around and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, unless she counted how unbelievably neat it was.

“What did you want to show me?” she asked, feeling a little nervous now that she and Jack were alone.

Jack picked up a black velvet box on the bureau and caressed it as he spoke. “Now, don’t get yourself all worked up about this,” he warned. “You worry about things too much. Just look at it and tell me what you think.”

When he proceeded to open the box, her brain locked in neutral. “Oh, Jack,” she finally whispered. Shaking her head, she wrapped her arms around herself to reign in the distress she felt.

“See?” His forehead wrinkled in a deep frown. “I knew your anxiety level would spike over this.”

She tore her eyes away from the two-karat diamond engagement ring in Jack’s hand and swallowed. “This is going too far. I cannot believe you bought me a ring.”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t.”

She was finally able to take a breath. “Thank goodness.”

“It’s my mom’s ring.”

“Your
mom’s
?” Her head felt like it was pumped up with helium and she needed to sit down.

Jack flopped down on the bed next to her. “What’s the matter? Don’t you like it?”

She still couldn’t get her bearings. Maybe she needed to lie down. “Like it? What’s not to like about it?”

He seemed pleased with her reaction and took the ring out of the box to shine it against his pants. “Well, you might not like this sort of thing if you’re a minimalist,” he said with a wink.