"Looks like you're safe from Aunt Tully," Katie told him. "She's replaced you."
"So it seems. Do you really think she's sleeping with the father of the groom?"
"With her, it's not hard to believe anything."
He winced. "There are going to be some wild fireworks."
"There always are."
He grabbed her hand. "Want some help looking for Alex? Divide and conquer?"
"That would be great. I'll take the kitchen and the lower floors."
He nodded. "I'll change into jeans and check the grounds."
"Watch out for bears. You're pretty enough that they'll want you."
"No guy wants to be pretty."
She smiled. "It looks good on you."
"You look good on me."
He kissed her, then left. Katie stood there, wearing nothing but a robe, thinking this was probably the best wedding ever.
Seven
Divide and conquer might make sense, Katie thought a half hour later, when she'd dressed and made her way to the kitchens. But there was a flaw in the plan. A tall, red-headed flaw with long legs, a perfect pouty mouth and an ability to only think about one thing.
"You're with the wedding, right?" Ariel asked as Katie entered the kitchen.
Jackson's ex stood by a counter, carefully assembling a four-tiered wedding cake. Smooth, white fondant covered all the layers. Stacked trays contained already-made flowers in pale pink and yellow. Silver dots lined paper sheets.
"Yes. My sister is getting married."
"Good, so what do you know about Jackson? I saw you with him. You guys are friends?"
Katie thought about Jackson's intimate kiss that morning, in the shower. The way he'd pressed his open mouth on the most sensitive part of her. There wasn't an inch of skin he hadn't touched or tasted. He'd made her come in ways that were borderline illegal.
"We're friends," she said, hoping she sounded calm and slightly disinterested. Her instinct was to rip off Ariel's face, something the other woman might resist. And there was the cake to consider.
"Is he..." Ariel sucked in a breath. "Is he with anyone? We used to go out. I left him because I was stupid. Now I see we were great together. He's amazing, and I totally blew it. I made a mistake. I want him back."
Tears filled her perfect, almond-shaped eyes. No red nose and blotchy skin for Ariel when she cried, Katie thought bitterly.
What Katie wanted to say was that she and Jackson were together. Practically in love. Because they--
The world stood still. She'd heard the phrase, read the phrase, but this was the first time in her life she'd felt it. Everything stopped moving. There was total silence. Even her heart was quiet.
Practically in love? She couldn't be in love. She barely knew Jackson. Okay, yes, he was everything she'd ever wanted and nice and funny and kind. The man had agreed to be her date for the weekend because his mother had asked him. How many guys did that without being scarily attached to the mother in question?
If he was everything she'd been looking for and they had amazing chemistry in bed and he made her feel like a goddess, was it unreasonable to assume that there was the tiniest possibility that she was falling in love with him? Crazy, maybe, but possible?
The world lurched into place again.
"Are you okay?" Ariel asked.
"Fine," Katie murmured, feeling more than a little dazed. "I, uh, don't know anything about his love life." She was speaking the truth. Well, excluding his relationship with her.
While she was sure he wasn't seeing anyone seriously--his mother wouldn't have asked him to do the wedding weekend if he was--she didn't know about casual relationships. For all she knew he had a string of women lined up, waiting for their turn. If last night was only a sampling of his talents, then it made sense there would be plenty of takers.
Ariel sighed. "I want to talk to him. Explain. I want him back. I can't believe how stupid I was. A guy like Jackson doesn't come along very often."
"No, he doesn't," Katie said, backing toward the door. "You haven't seen the groom, have you?"
"No. Only your mom. She's really nice."
"We all think so. Thanks."
"Wish me luck with Jackson."
Katie waved instead, and left the kitchen. Dazed, she walked into the lobby, then out into the bright morning light.
She was falling in love with the man her mother had tried to set her up with a thousand times. Talk about ironic. Even more confusing was the fact that she couldn't begin to have any idea about how Jackson felt. Asking him was out of the question. She refused to be one of those scary, needy girls who wanted to talk marriage on a second date. She was used to hiding her feelings from the world. Why should this time be any different?
She glanced toward the hotel. Maybe because Jackson was different, she thought. Or maybe he wasn't. Maybe she was making too big a deal out of a great smile and even better sex.
Jackson didn't have to go very far to find the missing groom. He was passed out on a bench in an outbuilding probably used to store skis in the winter.