Susan Mallery Fool's Gold Series Volume One: Chasing Perfect\Almost Perfect\Sister of the Bride\Finding Perfect (72 page)

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

T
here 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.

She'd pulled her shoulder-length hair back into a ponytail, tied it with a chiffon scarf, fluffed her bangs and added a string of fake pearls to complete the costume.

A knock on the door sent her hurrying across the hotel room.

She pulled it open and nearly swooned at the sight of Jackson in a very fitted white T-shirt and jeans. He'd slicked back his hair and rolled up the sleeves of the T-shirt. He looked both sexy and dangerous—a very tempting combination.

“
West Side Story
is one of my mom's favorite movies,” she said with a laugh. “You're the perfect Jet.”

He looked her over slowly enough for her toes to curl in her thrift-store oxfords. “Very nice. Like the skirt.”

She twirled. “I've never worn a petticoat before.”

“You look…”

“Wholesome?” she offered. “Virginal?”

“Like the kind of girl you give a class ring to.”

His words gave her a little jolt in her belly. She did her best to hide her reaction. “That's me.”

She slipped her lip gloss and her room key into her pocket and motioned for him to lead the way out.

As they waited for the elevator, he leaned against the wall and watched her.

“Touching?” he asked. “No touching? How do we show the world, or at least your family, that we're a couple?”

Sex, she thought unexpectedly. They could have sex. That would certainly do it for her. “Um, some touching. Courtney and Alex are all over each other, but at some point that just gets tacky.”

“Agreed.”

There was something about the way he was looking at her. As if trying to figure something out. His steady gaze made her nervous. She glanced at the floor, then forced herself to look at him. Was it just her or did it seem like the elevator was taking forever?

The seconds ticked past. Jackson straightened, moved toward her, cupped her face in his hands, then leaned in and brushed his mouth against hers.

The brief contact was soft, hungry and unexpected. Heat exploded inside her, making her strain toward him. He stepped back long before she was ready for him to,
but kept his large hands on her skin, his thumbs caressing her cheeks.

“For practice,” he said, his eyes bright with amusement and something she could only pray was interest. “So we get it right, if anyone asks.”

She didn't think there would be a required kissing demonstration, but it
was
good to be prepared.

Just as she was about to suggest another practice session, the elevator doors opened. Unfortunately, Aunt Tully was the only occupant.

“Katie!” the older woman exclaimed happily and threw herself out of the elevator. “I've been looking all over for you.” Tully shifted her attention to Jackson and raised her eyebrows. “Hello, gorgeous. Katie is very fond of me and likes to share.”

Jackson immediately dropped his hands to his sides and took a step back. If the situation hadn't been potentially hazardous in more ways than Katie could count, she would have found it funny. Sort of.

Tully was her father's sister. A round, short, blond dynamo who dressed like she was twenty…or maybe sixteen. Except for the jewelry. It was all flash and proof that she'd married well. Several times. Tully was currently looking for husband number six.

Married or not, Tully loved men. All men—even those who were married or involved with other women. She was the life of the party, a charming drunk and completely lacking in boundaries. Katie both loved and feared her.

Jackson seemed to recover. He held out his hand. “You must be Aunt Tully. Nice to meet you.”

“Come now,” Tully said, holding out her arms. “We're family. We need to do more than shake hands.”

He moved in warily and leaned toward her, as if to give her a nonromantic A-frame hug. It was like one of those twisted reality shows on TV. As much as Katie wanted to look away, she couldn't.

Tully waited until Jackson was close and slightly off balance, then grabbed him and pulled hard. He crashed into her ample chest, tried to right himself, and found the natural place his hands needed for leverage was her breasts. Obviously determined not to touch them, he flailed for a few seconds before managing to step away. But not before Tully planted a kiss on his mouth.

Tully smiled with satisfaction. “Any good?” she asked Katie.

Katie moved toward the slightly stunned Jackson and slipped her arm through his. “He's mine. You can't have him.”

Tully pouted, her blue eyes thoughtful. “Are you sure? I'll buy you a car. The new Lexus hybrid.”

“Thanks, but no.”

“Cash?”

Jackson cleared his throat. “Ms. McCormick, while I'm flattered by—”

Tully dismissed him with a wave. “You don't get to negotiate. Katie?”

“Sorry. No.”

“Fine. I'll have to see who else is available. Does the groom have a brother?”

“No,” Katie said, proud of herself for not suggesting Alex instead. While there would be karmic justice in having the man Courtney had stolen taken from her, it would create too much trouble for everyone else.
Besides, there was a slight possibility that Courtney really did love Alex.

The elevator returned to their floor. Tully got on it.

“We'll take the next one,” Katie said, thinking Jackson would need a moment.

“See you at the party.”

The door closed.

Jackson leaned against the wall. “That was Aunt Tully.”

“I tried to warn you.”

“She wanted to buy me.”

“I know.”

“For cash.”

“She likes men.”

“She's old enough to be my mother.”

“Technically she might be old enough to be your very young grandmother, but try not to think about it.”

He shook his head and straightened. “Now I know why you needed a date for the wedding.”

“My family isn't all bad. My parents are great. Courtney is very pretty.” Katie wanted to add that it would be nice if Jackson didn't fall for her sister, but what was the point? He either would or wouldn't.

“Tully's the worst of it, right?” he asked.

Katie laughed. “Yes. I promise. The rest of my family will only ask pointed questions. Things like how long have we been going out and what are your intentions.”

“They want you married, huh?”

“It's an ongoing goal. You'd think having a great career and lots of friends would be enough, but it's not. You, being a man, don't get the same kind of pressure.”

“My mother makes not-so-subtle statements about wanting grandchildren, but I ignore her.”

If only she could do the same, she thought. She tried, but every now and then, the volume got to her.

She pushed the down button to call the elevator. “Which begs the question—why aren't you married? Or are you one of those men who doesn't want to be tied down?”

“I like the idea of a wife and family,” he said, moving next to her. “When I was younger, I couldn't get the girl.”

She glanced at his broad shoulders, the sexy green eyes and the shape of his mouth. “At the risk of feeding your ego, I don't think that's a problem anymore.”