Fiance by Fate (21 page)

“I can’t wear it.”

Jack’s grin dissolved. “How do you know? You didn’t even try it on yet.”

“This is too much. Your mother’s ring should be saved for the woman you
really
want to marry. Not for the sake of keeping up appearances to your family and work-related acquaintances.”

He regarded her through heavy-lidded eyes. “This ring’s been sitting in this box for years. I guarantee it won’t be seeing any action other than your finger.”

“Jack, never say never.”

“No, I’m sure. I couldn’t think of a better person to wear it—even if it’s only temporary.” He lifted her left hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Go ahead and try it on.”

She hesitated, then slipped the ring on. She had never seen a more perfect piece of jewelry in her entire life. It was exactly what she would have picked for herself and so unlike the elaborate design David had surprised her with. The ring may have belonged to Jack’s mother but Sabrina felt as if it had been made for her instead. And it meant even more to her that Jack entrusted her to wear it. “It’s lovely.” Her breath caught.

His gaze on hers was so intense, she wanted to look away. “No,
you’re
lovely,” he said huskily.

“Jack—”

“No. Don’t—don’t think this time. Not now. Let’s just go and enjoy the journey. Wherever it leads.”

Journey?
She pulled back slightly. “What did you say?”

He shook his head. “My words aren’t important. What is your heart telling you?”

In those few seconds, she did listen to her heart.

And then she kissed him.

They clung to each other and fell back against the bed—not in the heated frenzy she had expected, but in a slow, fluid motion, as if every second counted and they needed to silently convey that to each other. She didn’t want to think about the make-believe as his lips pressed deeper onto hers. She was drowning in him and couldn’t stop herself. Maybe it was seeing how he acted with the children and his family, or just how much fun they’d had together this last month. She didn’t know. All she knew was nothing felt as right in her life. She wanted to forget about getting David back and about the superstitions. Could this be her fate, that everything was supposed to lead her to Jack, to this very moment?

“Whoops,” Laurie yelped from the doorway.

Jack lifted his head and let out a swift curse. Sabrina’s cheeks ignited as she re-tucked her blouse.

His sister laughed, but covered her mouth too late. “I know what you guys were doing was G-rated, for now…but I’d like to keep it that way with the kids around.”

Jack sat up and aimed sharp daggers at her with his eyes. “Can’t I have even one minute alone with Sabrina? She is my fiancée.”

“I don’t care if she were your wife. This is my house, you dunderhead. Besides, I need help in the kitchen.”

“I’m not helping you clean up,” he spat. “Not after this.”

“Good,” his sister snapped back. “Because I was going to ask Sabrina.”

Sabrina blinked. “Oh, of course.” She began to slide away from Jack, but his fingers snaked around her wrist.

“Hey, are we okay?” he asked, his gaze searching.

She hesitated, then kissed his cheek. “Yeah, we’re okay.” But that wasn’t entirely true. Things were different between her and Jack now. She wasn’t sure how deep her feelings ran, but she couldn’t run from them any longer—which was probably what Jack expected her to do, since his eyes were still trained on hers when she reached the door and looked back at him.

Her pulse whipped wildly. The pull to him was so strong, she wondered if there weren’t actual cords tethered between them. She sent him a reassuring smile.

His lips parted, but Jack didn’t smile back. Instead, he studied her as if weighing a deep decision. Before she knew it, he stood and was cradling her face in his hands and looked ready to kiss her again.

“There, there, lovebirds.” Laurie hooked an arm around Sabrina’s waist and drew her away from Jack. Laurie made a
tsk
ing sound. “Try to survive, big brother. I just need her for a little while. Besides,” she added with a grin, “it’s not like I interrupted anything out of the ordinary between you two.”

…

Laurie placed a pot in the sink and showed Sabrina where she kept the Tupperware containers. “So have you guys set a date?”

Sabrina almost choked. “Uh, no. We—we haven’t talked about that yet.” They still needed to discuss their actual feelings.

“I have to admit,” she confided to Sabrina, “I was absolutely stunned when Dad told me Jack was getting married.”

She could relate to the feeling. “Yeah, I know I’m not exactly Jack’s type.”

Laurie turned to her in surprise. “Oh no, you’re Jack’s type all right. Except you’re missing the ‘please insert brain here’ sign on your head.” She laughed and turned to squirt more soap on her sponge. “But that’s not what I was talking about. I just never thought Jack would ever get married. Gosh, the women he went through. For years, Dad’s been giving him the responsibility lectures. You know, settle down, grow up, it doesn’t look good for the company, yada yada. Then all of a sudden, Jack gets this full turnaround in attitude. It was too convenient. Naturally, I thought it’d be just like him to be putting us on.”

When Sabrina spoke, her voice wavered. “You thought he’d do something like that?”

“Oh yeah—not maliciously, of course. I guess it’s from being in sales,” she said with a little shrug. “He can put on a good act for the sake of the company and especially to get Dad off his back.” She turned to Sabrina and playfully elbowed her in the side. “But now I know I was being silly and not giving Jack enough credit. I’m so glad he met someone like you.”

Sabrina tried to smile, but her lips felt like they had five pound weights attached to the corners. Jack
could
put on a good act, apparently. He’d made her feel like she was becoming part of his family for real and not using her for the company’s sake. He’d made her believe that it was possible that he had started to have feelings for her that went beyond mere attraction. And she had come to care for him. But it would seem that Jack was too good of an actor and too good of a liar.

Or maybe she was just too much of a fool.

How could she let herself forget what Jack’s true priority was? After all, he’d been upfront about that from the beginning. Despair and loneliness rose within her. It swirled and expanded, making it difficult to breathe. She should be used to rejection, but she was actually trembling now. Their deal and his promotion be damned. She wouldn’t be a part of his lies anymore.

She glanced up at Laurie, a heavy feeling in her stomach, and summoned a quick smile. His family was so nice and trusting, she hoped they wouldn’t be hurt by her and Jack’s actions. But she needed to get away from him, before she was buried any further in deceit. Before he caused her any more pain than he already had.

…

“The key is to not stand for more than two seconds.”

His nephew nodded at his advice and tried to dodge around Jack to get to the net. Jay told him he wasn’t the tallest on his travel basketball team, but he was wiry and fast. All true. But not that fast.

Jack snatched the ball away from him and turned to shoot. When the ball bounced off the rim, Jay pumped his fist in the air and cheered.

“Okay, hot shot,” Jack said with a chuckle, “let’s work on your three-pointer now.”

The side door opened and Jack’s dad stepped out onto the back patio where they were playing. “Hey, Jay,” his father said, “your mother needs help in the kitchen cleaning up.”

Jay groaned but tossed the ball to Jack and ran inside. Jack tucked it under his arm and was about to follow, but his father raised a hand. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you in private. Here is as good as any place.”

Jack zipped up his jacket and sat down on the picnic bench next to him. “What’s the matter, Dad?”

His father smiled. “Nothing’s the matter. That’s what I want to talk to you about.”

“Okay, now I’m confused.”

“You’re one hell of a wholesaler, son. Your sales are fantastic and now with your recent engagement to Sabrina, the board is extremely pleased. I’m happy to tell you that you will be the new National Sales Manager. Congratulations.”

Jack blinked, slowly letting his father’s words seep into his brain. When it finally registered, his pulse kicked up and his breathing became labored. Jack had done it. He had finally gotten the promotion. What he’d wanted from the very beginning. It was almost too hard to believe.

He grinned at his dad. “I’m really getting the job?”

“Yes, the promotion
and
the girl, apparently. You’re a lucky man,” he said, slapping Jack on the back.

Yeah. He was a lucky man. Damn lucky. But only because after that incredible kiss they’d just shared, he knew there would be no way Sabrina would ever go back to David. She was almost Jack’s. But not quite. There was no doubt by the end of this evening, she would be, though. He stood, wanting to share his good news with her.

“Thank you, Dad,” he said, shaking his father’s hand. “This means a lot to me.”

“You’re welcome. Too bad you’ll have to tell Sabrina later.”

“Right, I—” Jack frowned. “Later?”

His father nodded. “Because Sabrina isn’t here, remember? You never told me she suffers from bad headaches. Poor thing did look pale when she left.”

“Uh, right. Headache. I—I forgot she left,” he lied.

Jack’s mind raced. There was no way Sabrina had a headache. In the span of thirty minutes? So why the hell would she just pick up and leave—and worse, without telling him? A feeling of dread began to unfurl in his stomach. Something must have happened. And he had to find out what.

He turned to head into the house. “Thanks again, Dad. I, uh, am going to go help Laurie too.”

“Jack,” his father called out as he reached the last step.

His anxiety level through the roof, he spun around to face his dad. “Yeah?” he huffed.

“Everything okay between you and Sabrina?”

Jack forced a smile. “Everything’s fine.”

He hoped.

Jack opened the door and scanned the street for Sabrina’s car, hoping she’d come back. “What did you say to drive her off like that?”

His sister’s mouth dropped open a full five inches. “
Me
? I didn’t say anything. I like her.”

“Then why did she leave without saying good-bye to me?”

She snorted. “Well, obviously you did something. It must have been a whopper, too. Stay here and give her time to cool off.” When he still looked skeptical, she added, “Trust me, I know women. I happen to be one.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” he mumbled. Jack sat down on the step and rubbed his forehead. He couldn’t make sense of her leaving. He tried calling her but she wouldn’t pick up. Finally, he sent her a text asking if she was at least okay. All he got back was: I
’M FINE.
W
ILL SEE YOU
M
ONDAY AT WORK.

Monday? He’d hoped to spend the weekend with her. He thought Sabrina understood that she was becoming important to him. They had fun together. She had accepted his mother’s ring and had kissed
him,
really kissed him. In fact, he was convinced she hadn’t even thought about old what’s-his-name today.

What went wrong?

“Wow, Jack.”

He pulled himself out of his misery and looked up at Laurie. “What ‘wow, Jack’?”

“You’ve got that melancholy woe-is-me look. I wouldn’t have expected you to become such a softy when you finally fell in love with a woman.”

He stared at his sister, trying to register her words.
Fell in love? Me?

Laurie chuckled. “You look surprised.”

Yeah, he was.

“It’s refreshing to see this side of you,” she commented. “But I guess love is a powerful emotion. Personally, I became a klutz around Michael. Oh, and the dinners I burned because I was so nervous cooking for him. You just never know how falling in love will affect you.”

Jack’s heart thudded. Twice.

He was in love with Sabrina.

It all made sense. How he felt when she was in his arms. The way he couldn’t get her or her bossy opinions out of his mind. The way he wanted to personally hospitalize her pansy of an ex-fiancé. He quit
meat
because of her.

“I’m in love.” Equal parts panic and wonder engulfed him.

“With the woman you’re engaged to be married to? I would hope so,” Laurie mocked.

Jack slowly nodded, realization sinking in deeper and deeper. Yes, he needed to spend the rest of his life with Sabrina. He actually wanted to marry her. For real. And he needed to tell her.

“Yeah,” he breathed. “I’m really in love.”

The corners of his sister’s mouth lifted with amusement. “Well,
duh
.”

Chapter Thirteen

Jack’s heart slammed against his ribcage as he approached Sabrina’s door. His nerves were getting the better of him, but he couldn’t waste another second. He had to let Sabrina know how he felt.

A glance at his watch told him it was almost noon. The same time as yesterday when he had shown up at her door to invite her to Thanksgiving dinner with his family. Before he realized how much he wanted to spend the rest of his life with this woman. Now all he had to do was knock and tell her. Instead he just stood there, his arms paralyzed at his sides. He studied the grain in the wood door, psyching himself up. A second glance at his watch told him he had wasted two minutes.

Okay, stop being a putz. This should be a piece of cake
. He’d faced many a surly stockbroker during his business travels and had always convinced them to use Brenner Capital investments. Obviously he’d have no trouble convincing the woman he loved to marry him for real.

He imagined she’d look at him with those incredibly beautiful blue eyes, her glossed full lips parting in surprise. She’d be thrilled to see him and give him one of those shy smiles that would always twist his gut—the way she’d looked at him yesterday when he’d shown up at her door.

He’d tell her he was sorry for what he had done to cause her to leave his sister’s house. Sabrina would forgive him—being the sweet, compassionate woman she was—and he’d pull her into his arms and kiss the breath right out of both of them.
I love you
would spring from his mouth, and she’d scrap whatever plans she had for the day—for the better half of the century—and spend it making love with him instead.