Susan Mallery Fool's Gold Series Volume One: Chasing Perfect\Almost Perfect\Sister of the Bride\Finding Perfect (74 page)

“Seeing me with Alex.”

“I've had nearly a year to get used to it.”

“I know, but this is different. We're getting married. I know you thought
you'd
marry him.”

“Not anymore,” Katie assured her, silently begging the elevator to return and rescue her. “I'm fine.”

“Mom had to buy you a date.”

Katie sucked in a breath. “Jackson isn't an escort. No
one paid for him.” At least she didn't think so. “He's a friend of the family.” Sort of.

“Still.” Courtney looked both sympathetic and pitying. It wasn't a combination designed to make Katie feel better. “It's just so sad that more guys don't see beyond appearances. I couldn't stand it. You must be lonely.”

Kill me now,
Katie thought. Or maybe just Courtney. Before she could make a decision, the elevator arrived and she practically threw herself into it.

As the doors closed, Katie promised herself she was having wine with lunch.

Five

K
atie fluffed her curls and sprayed them for the third time since using the curling iron. As long as she avoided open flames, she would be fine.

Tonight's dinner was to officially welcome the rest of the family members who had arrived that day and to serve as a celebration for the happy couple. The event was somewhat formal, so she'd chosen a cocktail dress that fit her perfectly. She'd paid extra for tailoring, but it had been worth it, she thought as she put down the hair spray and turned so she could see herself from the back. In the right light, and wearing her three-inch heels, she could almost pass for tall. Given how her day had begun, she deserved a little sass in her evening.

Although to be honest, after a hideous start, her day had gone reasonably well. She'd spent the morning welcoming the rest of the family members as they'd arrived. Jackson had been a friendly and handsome escort for lunch. They'd been seated at a table that didn't
include Courtney and the willowy Ariel hadn't been seen. Katie was willing to call that a win.

She left the bathroom and walked toward her purse. As she reached it, someone knocked on the door.

Jackson, she thought, her heart beating a little faster than it should. Right on time.

Sure enough, her date for the weekend stood in the doorway, looking handsome and sexy in a dark suit, white shirt and gray tie.

“Is this formal enough?” he asked. “I brought a tux.”

“You look great,” she said honestly, thinking it didn't get much better than a good-looking man who was prompt
and
owned his own tux. “I'm going to have to provide a physical barrier between you and Aunt Tully.”

“I'd appreciate that. Although I noticed at lunch she seemed more interested in the groom's father.”

“Well, wouldn't that cause some fireworks.” Katie made a mental note to pass on the info to her mother. Not that she'd forgiven the other woman for the sexual outburst in the elevator. Knowing about parental sex was one thing, but having to hear about the details was just plain wrong.

“How are you holding up?” he asked.

She checked that her room key was in her small beaded evening bag, then pulled the door shut. “I'm fine. Counting down the days until it's all over. What about you?”

“It's not my family,” he pointed out. “Although I have decided that when I get married, I want a simple ceremony. And everything done in a day.”

“I agree. This is like a special kind of hell—it never ends.”

As the party had grown larger, their dinner was to take place in one section of the small ballroom. The ceremony would be held there on Saturday, with the reception to follow in the bigger ballroom.

As they got closer to the party, Katie heard the sound of laughter and the clink of ice in glasses. She mentally braced herself for a whole night with her extended family. When she would have entered the room, he drew her back into the hallway.

“I want you to know you look amazing,” he said, staring into her eyes.

She could see his thick lashes, the light of appreciation in his gaze. Even though she'd always wished to be taller, she had to admit there was something to be said for having a man tower over her. At least this man.

“Thank you,” she murmured. “You're nice.”

His dark brows pulled into a frown. “Excuse me?”

“You're really nice.”

The frowned deepened. “I tell you that you look great and you insult me?”

Although he looked fierce, she saw the slight tug at the corner of his mouth. As if he were trying not to smile.

“Who does that?” he asked sternly. “I'm leaving.”

She fought back the urge to giggle. “Jackson, wait. I'm sorry. You're not nice.”

The frown didn't budge.

“You're actually…” She hesitated, then lowered her voice. “Bad. Very bad. You're the guy my mom warned me about.”

“Better.” His tone was grudging. “Just remember that.”

He leaned in to kiss her. Her muscles tensed in anticipation of a really good time, her breath caught and
the nerve endings in her trembling lips did a fair imitation of yearning.

“There you are.” A shrill, quavering voice jerked Katie from anticipation all the way into nightmare. “Katie, darling. Come give me a kiss.”

Katie stepped back from Jackson and smiled at the tiny old lady teetering toward her. “Nana,” she said and moved toward the woman.

Sucking in a breath—for reasons no one could explain, Nana Marie always smelled like fish—Katie leaned in and kissed her papery cheek.

“There's a good girl. Let me look at you.”

Katie stood still, then turned when she was directed.

“Very good. I see you're keeping off the weight. We were all so worried you'd stay fat. But you've proved us wrong.” Nana Marie glanced at Jackson. “Who are you?”

“Jackson Kent.”

“Jackson, this is Nana Marie,” Katie told him. “She's…” Katie shook her head. “Nana, how are we related?”

“We're not. I was a friend of your grandmother's.” Nana smiled at Jackson. “Aren't you handsome? We're all so happy that Katie finally has a man in her life. That Alex—leading her on and then falling for Courtney. That girl is about as emotionally deep as a potato chip. Not like our Katie.”

Nana squeezed Katie's chin hard enough to make her eyes water. “You have a man now. That's what counts. Now I have to excuse myself and go make water.”

Katie watched her head toward the restrooms, then wondered if pounding her head against the wall was an option. Sure, it would leave a bruise, but at least that
would give people something to talk about that wasn't her weight or her love life.

“I'm sorry,” she said miserably. “This is so much worse than I ever imagined.”

Jackson moved close and lightly stroked her cheek. “Hey, I signed up for this. Besides, I like her.”

“Wait until she pinches your cheek.”

He chuckled, then grew serious. “Don't take this wrong, but your family really needs to stop judging you. You have a great job, you're beautiful and sexy. When you're ready, you'll get married. Any man would be lucky to have you. Alex is an idiot for picking Courtney over you.”

Katie blinked at him. There were so many wonderful places to start—she couldn't pick just one.

“Thanks,” she whispered.

“You're welcome.” He put his arm around her and led her toward the party. “We'll circle by Alex and Courtney and the poor guy can get a look at what he's missing.”

* * *

Nana Marie turned out to be one of the easier relatives to deal with, Jackson thought three hours later as he and Katie moved together during a slow dance. The McCormick family was large, loving and way too focused on their perception of Katie's flaws. If someone wasn't mentioning her weight—again—he or she was exclaiming over the fact that she had a date. As if that was a surprise.

He didn't get it. Granted, he was a guy and maybe not the most insightful male in the room, but what was the big deal? Katie was gorgeous. She had beautiful
eyes, great skin, shiny blond hair and those were just the average parts. Right now, holding her as they moved together to the music, he could feel her breasts nestling against his chest and rested his hand on the curve of her hip. There was nothing wrong with her shape. On the contrary, his body was telling him it was exactly right.

People were strange and families were the worst. At least he was here and could protect her.

A sweet, slightly floral fragrance drifted to him. The appealing scent made him think of dark bedrooms and tangled sheets. Without thinking, he guided her over to a large pillar at the edge of the dance floor. When they were out of view of everyone else, he bent down and kissed her.

Her mouth welcomed his with a soft pressure that made every part of him ache. Her lips parted and he moved his tongue against hers. She tasted of chocolate and wine and temptation. In a matter of seconds, he was hard.

Trying to be a gentleman, he kept some slight distance between them. At least he tried. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into him. When her belly came in contact with his erection, she made a sound that was part groan, part purr. He felt the vibration all the way down to his groin.

“We can't,” she murmured against his mouth, then nipped his lower lip. “It would be a seriously bad idea. Dangerous even.”

He dropped his head and kissed his way down her neck. As he licked that sensitive spot below her ear, he felt her shudder.

“Bad idea for who?” he asked.

“Me. Us. It's just a weekend, Jackson. I don't do one-night stands.”

He straightened and stared into her beautiful blue eyes. “Why does it have to stop at one night?”

She was flushed and looked thoroughly kissed. Through the thin fabric of her dress, he saw her nipples were hard. Angling around, so he was between her and anyone who might see them, he touched the tight tips with his fingers. Her breath caught.

Wanting burned in her eyes. “You are every kind of temptation.”

He kissed her again, this time sucking gently on her tongue. Need grew, pulsing inside him. There was something about Katie.

He sensed more than heard someone approaching and stepped back. Seconds later, her parents rounded the pillar.

“There you are,” her mother said. “Well, this went well. We're at the halfway point. Two evenings down, two to go. I wanted to tell you that you can leave anytime you want. Everyone is turning in. Tully went up an hour ago. Alone, thank goodness, although she was eyeing one of the waiters.”

“We're tired, too,” Katie said quickly, not meeting his eyes. “We'll come with you.”

They rode the elevator together. He and Katie got out on the same floor and walked toward her door.

“Jackson, I—” she began.

“It's okay,” he said, kissing her lightly.

“What's okay?”

“This isn't the time or place. There's too much of your family around for one thing. When the weekend is over, I'll call. We'll go out.” He smiled. “In a more normal setting.”

“You're not mad?”

“Katie, I'm not seventeen. I can wait.” He kissed her again. “You're worth that.”

He took the key she'd pulled out of her purse and opened her door. After handing it back to her, he pushed her inside. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay. Night.”

Katie floated into her room more than walked. This couldn't be happening, she thought, practically dizzy with delight. It wasn't possible that Jackson really was funny and smart and handsome and interested in her. Was it?

All the signs were there. Only, she'd been fooled by signs before. But there was a very big part of her—okay, all—that wanted to believe he really was one of the good guys.

She'd barely stepped out of her heels when someone tapped lightly on her door and spoke her name in a low, muffled tone.

Excitement and worry battled in her stomach. While she liked a good seduction as much as the next girl, she really wasn't sure she was comfortable climbing into bed with Jackson right now.

She pulled open the door, prepared to tell him that when she saw the man waiting for her wasn't her date. He was her ex-fiancé.

“Alex?”

“Katie, hi.”

Alex took a step into her room, tripping as he crossed the threshold.

“You're drunk.”

“Maybe.” He stood in front of her, his expression hopeful. Kind of like a puppy. “Maybe we only tell the truth when we're drunk.”

Uh-oh. She didn't like the sound of that. “Alex, whatever you have going on, you need to take it up with Courtney. You two are getting married in less than forty-eight hours.” She turned him and gave him a push toward the still-open door. “Out you go.”

He stood immovable as stone. “Katie, what if it's a mistake? What if I don't love Courtney?”

Alarms went off inside her head. “You're just nervous about getting married.” And a jerk for acting like this less than forty-eight hours before the wedding, but that was a conversation for later. “That's all this is.”

He reached for her. “Remember how it was with us? How great?”

“No. I don't.”

He gave her a lopsided, sloppy smile. “You miss me. You know you do.”

Hadn't she just been mature-girl, not two minutes ago with Jackson? Hadn't she done the right thing? And what? This was her reward? On what planet was that fair?

“Okay,” she said, giving him a smile. “I need to take care of a couple of things.” She pointed to the bathroom. “Just stay right there.”

“I could take my clothes off.”

She held in a shriek, but instead tried to look seductive. “Oh, Alex. Leave that for me.”

He plopped down on the bed. “Okay. I will.”

She ducked into the bathroom and pulled her cell phone out of her evening bag. Grateful her mother had given her Jackson's number and she'd put it in her phone, she dialed it and waited.