The Best Man (3 page)

“Hello,
girlfriend,” Fiona said, then kissed Christine’s cheeks one after the other.
Her perfume floated around Christine in a spicy cloud. “How do you look so
fabulous so early in the day, anyway?” Without waiting for an answer, Fiona
leaned across Christine and gave Mark a kiss on the cheek, too. “Fiona, always
a bridesmaid.” She laughed. “And you’re one of Ryan’s friends, right?”

“Right.”
He grinned again, his gaze falling to Fiona’s cleavage. Christine definitely
felt like she was in the way and was good with that. “Mark.” He kissed Fiona on
the other cheek. “Ryan never told me that Jess’s friends were so hot.”

“He
doesn’t know,” Fiona said breezily. “By the time we met him, he was off-limits.”
Her eyes widened with pleasure and Christine glanced up to find Jake returning,
his expression grim. “And here’s the most divine man I’ve ever known.” She got
to her feet and flung herself against Jake. He gave Christine a look of such
dismay over Fiona’s shoulder that she almost laughed out loud. “I see you’re
giving kisses this morning, darling. I’ll have mine now.”

“Sorry,
Fiona,” Christine said, coming to Jake’s rescue. She stepped to his side and
ran her hand up his arm, seeing the amusement in his expression at her
possessive gesture. “Jake’s all mine.” She stretched up and kissed him below
the ear, hearing how he inhaled sharply at her touch. His reaction made her
feel sexy and powerful—as well as making her think this could work. “Did
you get the seats changed?”

He
nodded and showed her the new boarding passes. They were for business class. “You
want the window or the aisle?”

Christine
met his gaze in surprise. She’d thought he would ask if they could sit
together, not upgrade her seat. “You didn’t have to do that.” How much had it
cost him?

“Can’t
blame a guy for wanting you all to himself,” he said, much to Fiona’s
displeasure.

Christine
felt herself blushing. “The window. I can go to sleep with my head on your
shoulder, then.” She saw Jake swallow.

“Deal,”
he whispered, touching his fingertip to her lips. She knew he was deliberately
excluding the other pair, but she still couldn’t keep herself from responding
to his touch. His warm fingertip slid beneath her bottom lip, his touch giving
her shivers. “I smeared your lipstick.”

Christine
smiled at him, enjoying the game. “Should I fix it or go without?”

Jake
ran his fingertips over her cheek, his gentle touch and the heat in his gaze
making her burn. “Maybe you should take a vacation from the lipstick. Go
native.”

Christine
leaned against him, getting a little of her own back. “Whatever you want,
Jake,” she murmured, keeping her voice low and provocative. The flash of heat
in his eyes surprised her, but Christine had no time to think about it.

Because
the bride and groom had arrived.

* * *

Jake
was glad that his sister finally turned up because the game with Christine was
heating up too fast. He knew she was playing along, trying to ditch Mark and Fiona,
but still—when her voice got all sultry and she touched him with such
familiarity, his urges got the upper hand. He couldn’t wait to hear her secret
fantasy, because he was going to make it come true. He was starting to wonder
how many times he’d need to make love to her before she agreed to be with him
forever when his sister and mom arrived.

Saved
by the bell.

Jake
reminded himself to take things slow. Romance was the key. Nice easy progress.
Funny how he could manage that in all other areas of his life, but not when
Christine landed a searing kiss on him.

In
fact, all he could think of was scoring another.

And
more after that.

His
sister Jess had her chestnut hair pulled back tightly in a ponytail and looked
like she hadn’t slept all week. Jake was pretty sure that Jess hadn’t. Instead
of enjoying her day in the sun, so to speak, his sister had become the bride
from hell.

Ryan
had the look of a man who was considering the merit of making a run for it.
Jake knew it had to just be nerves for both of them, because they were deeply
in love and well-matched. They just had to keep from killing each other until
Saturday and the ceremony itself. Then everything would be fine.

He
hoped.

Jake
and Jess’s mom, Arlene, was dressed in a vivid floral shirt and half out of
breath by the time she reached the lounge. Jake went to take her bag, knowing
she would have packed too much into her hand luggage because she always did.
Even anticipating that, he was still stunned by the weight of it.

“Bringing
your cannonball collection, Mom?” he teased and she poked him in the shoulder.

“Whereas
you look like a pirate,” she chided. “How could you not shave this morning?
Jake, I’m shocked.”

“I
was running late,” Jake said, knowing that wouldn’t be a good enough excuse for
his mom.

“He’s
pretending to be a bad boy today,” Christine interjected, her tone teasing.

“My
son? I don’t think so.”

“Got
to try it once, Mom.”

“You
tried it more than once when you were little and couldn’t sit down for three
days.” Arlene tried to give him a stern look, but her eyes twinkled too much
for that. “I hope Christine set you straight on what we expect from gentlemen.
Christine, didn’t you?”

“I
tried, Mom,” Christine said lightly, stepping closer to kiss Arlene. She had
called Arlene ‘Mom’ since her own parents passed away, and Jake knew that Arlene
loved it. Christine flicked a playful glance at Jake, one that made him hard
all over again, and lowered her voice to a confidential whisper. “But there’s
something sexy about bad boys, don’t you think? They’re so unpredictable.”

Jake
couldn’t even swallow when he heard that. Was that her fantasy?

Christine
smiled at him. “It looks like Jake’s determined to be as bad as possible on
this trip.”

“I
was sure my son wasn’t capable of being bad.” Arlene’s eyes narrowed and she
reached up to wipe something from Jake’s face. She eyed the lipstick now
smeared on her finger, then considered Christine. Jake tried to look innocent,
but Christine turned as red as her shirt. “Hmm. Maybe I’m making assumptions,”
Arlene murmured.

“No,
Mom, you’ve got it right,” Jake said. “I’m very, very good.”

Arlene
laughed and swatted him again. Jake chuckled, deliberately holding Christine’s
gaze. She flushed, which made him doubly glad she’d be sitting beside him on
the plane.

He
had four hours to make progress and he was going to make it count.

Arlene
clicked her tongue. “I’m surprised you don’t have a headache like Ryan this
morning. You boys must have been out late.”

“That’s
the point, Mom,” Ryan said, leaving the others in the lounge and giving his
mother-in-law-to-be a quick hug. “Last chance to party until dawn.”

“Before
you get locked onto the ball and chain,” Mark said, giving Ryan a high five.

Jess
obviously seethed as she watched this transaction and Jake wished Ryan could
have been a little less provocative.

He
was trying to think of how he might intervene, when Christine grabbed Jess’s
hand and tugged her toward the chairs. “You must be exhausted, now that we’re
on final countdown,” she said, her cheerful manner obviously making Jess relax
a bit. “Did you get any sleep this week? At least we got your gown into that
suitcase yesterday. Do you want a coffee? Sit down and I’ll get it for you. I
checked and the weather is going to be gorgeous on the island all week, so you
don’t have to worry about that.”

Jess
settled down a little bit in the custody of her best friend. “No sugar,” she
insisted. “I can’t gain an ounce before the big day or my dress won’t fit.”

“She’s
in a wretched mood,” Arlene whispered to Jake. “I’ve never seen her so jumpy.”

“It’s
a big step,” Jake said, trying to calm his mother’s concerns. “It’s only
natural for them both to be nervous.”

Arlene
looked at Jess, then at Ryan, and her lips tightened that the pair weren’t
sitting together. “Hmm. I hope you’re right.” Then she smiled up at him. “And
when are you going to give me grandchildren?”

“Working
on it, Mom.” Jake realized his gaze was following Christine and turned to his
mom, trying to not be too obvious. “I’m working on it.”

“You
always say you’re working on it,” she grumbled, taking refuge in a familiar
discussion between them. “I’d like to see more progress. I’m not getting any
younger, you know, and neither are you.” She dropped down into the seat beside
Jess and heaved a sigh. “My feet are already killing me and we haven’t even
left yet.”

“You
shouldn’t have worn the new sandals for the flight,” Jess said absently.

“I
know, dear, but they’re so pretty.” Arlene held up her feet and admired her
sandals.

Jess
shook her head and smiled at Jake, looking so much like her old self that he
took is as a sign that she was returning to the land of the sane. “The
wedding’s on the beach. You can come barefoot if your toes are still sore.”

“True,”
Arlene agreed. “But that suitcase better not crush my hat.”

Jake
glanced toward the coffee shop, noting that Christine was still in line. “You
want a coffee, Mom? I’m going to get one.”

“Thank
you, dear! That would be just the thing. Put lots of sugar in mine. God knows
I’m not nearly sweet enough already.”

Jake
nodded and headed for the line. He stopped behind Christine and took a deep
appreciative breath of her perfume. Subtle, sexy, just like Christine herself.
One breath and he was lost again.

She
turned to glance up at him and he watched as she bit her lip. He would have
liked to have bitten it himself. “What did you spend on those upgrades?” she
whispered with concern. “You shouldn’t have done it.”

“We
have a deal.”

“It’s
not supposed to cost you money.”

“Well,
you owe me a confession. I figured I could even it up a bit.”

She
blushed as she eyed him. “I suppose you’re planning to hear all about it on the
plane.”

“It’s
a four hour flight. You have lots of time to share all the details.”

“You
are wicked!” She turned her back on him, and Jake leaned down to whisper in her
ear.

“Unless
you really want to sit with the wolf, trapped between him and the window?” Christine
glanced up at him, her lips tantalizingly close, and pretended to be surprised.
“Sorry, I misunderstood. I can change it back.”

Her
eyes sparkled as she laughed. “Jake! No! I just don’t think you should have
spent the money.”

“It
wasn’t money; just points. What am I going to do with them anyway?” He smiled
down at her, liking that she was pleased. “Besides, I promised to save you.”

Their
gazes locked and held in a way that was electric—and very promising.

When
Christine dropped her gaze demurely and spoke, her voice had turned husky. Jake
couldn’t believe she could get any sexier, but she just had.

How
hot would her second kiss be? Once she got warmed up?

“Well,
thank you.” Christine smiled at him. He watched her catch her breath, saw her
lips part, then she turned her back on him. That curl tempted him, and Jake
couldn’t resist the opportunity to touch her.

Why
not reinforce their story?

He
caught Christine’s shoulders in his hands and pulled her back against him,
liking that he could almost tuck her under his chin. She was shorter than him,
feminine and delicate, but far from fragile.

To
his surprise, she reached up and entwined the fingers of one hand with his.

Playing
along.

Killing
him. She couldn’t have any idea what effect she had on him. Jake bent on
impulse, nudged aside that silky tendril of hair, and kissed the side of Christine’s
neck beneath her ear. Christine sighed, the sweetest sound he’d ever heard, and
it was only when he pulled her back against his chest that Jake realized she
would feel his erection.

He
froze, uncertain whether he had blown his cover.

But
Christine smiled up at him, her fingers toying with his. The stroke of her soft
fingertips over his hand was both distracting and exciting. It was easy to
imagine those fingertips sliding over the rest of his body, and that only made
his erection bigger.

Which
didn’t exactly save the situation.

To
his surprise, Christine didn’t move away. In fact it seemed as if she leaned a
little bit more against him, as if she liked the feel of him against her butt
as much as he did. Jake felt his grip tighten around her and he closed his eyes
when she brushed her lips across his knuckles. “Your mom would prefer a medium
blend, don’t you think?” she said in that sultry soft voice. “I’ll get the dark
for Jess.”

Jake
couldn’t think about coffee, much less about his mom. All he could think about
was the enticing woman who smiled up at him, a welcome in her eyes that gave
him more encouragement than he’d ever expected. He wasn’t sure what he said,
but Christine stepped forward to order her coffee, as composed as he was not.