“I suppose,” he sighed. “But I’ll not wait much longer, Kathleen. How long do these damn things go on, anyway?”
She laughed, the same eager anticipation burning in her eyes. “Too long. After the bridal dance, there’s the cutting of the cake, tossing the bouquet, and the removal of the garter.”
This time he couldn’t totally withhold a soft growl, thinking about that particular tradition. Of running his hands beneath the full skirt of her gown, up her silk-sheathed calf, to remove the garter belt. “How high is it?” he whispered against the soft shell of her ear.
“Not high enough,” she said huskily, nearly sending him to his knees. Brian tapped his shoulder, and it took everything he had not to throw Kathleen over his shoulder and run out the door right then and there.
Chapter Eleven
“Easy, Jack,” Brian advised under his breath. Jack clenched his jaw even tighter, curling his hand around the beer bottle until it was in danger of shattering. His glare remained fixed on the dance floor, specifically on the blonde-haired, blue-eyed asshole dancing with his new bride. The bastard obviously had a death wish. He was holding her too goddamn close, and if his hand moved even one fraction of an inch lower, Jack was going to rip it off and choke him with it.
“Who is that guy?” Jack managed.
“Tristan Dumas. His father bought up a few hundred acres of local farmland for the new corporate headquarters of Dumas Industries.”
That gave Jack another reason to dislike the smarmy-looking bastard. “Who the hell invited him?”
Brian shrugged and looked around at the huge crowd. After nearly six hours of revelry, the celebration was still going strong. “I doubt there’s not a person in Pine Ridge or Birch Falls that isn’t here. Of course, not all of them drive a Mercedes and have a house in the Hamptons.”
Jack grunted and took another long pull from his beer. “Go ahead, laugh it up. Wait till you’re forced to sit here and watch him dance with your wife.”
“I haven’t even asked Adonia yet,” Brian confided.
“Why the hell not?”
Brian looked down at his hands. “I’m not convinced she’ll say yes.”
“Seriously? Adonia thinks the world revolves around you, man.”
“She’s from Greece, Jack,” he said miserably.
“So?”
“So? Hello. This is Pine Ridge, not the Mediterranean. Not to mention her father owns a huge shipping company and thinks his daughter can do a hell of a lot better than me.” He exhaled heavily. “Maybe he’s right.”
“Don’t be an idiot,” Jack told him point-blank.
“I’m serious, Jack. What could I possibly give her that she doesn’t already have?”
“You. Are you seriously telling me you think there’s another man out there who is going to love her better than you will?”
“Well, no, but she shouldn’t have to choose between her family and me.”
“No, she shouldn’t, but it’s not you forcing her to choose now, is it? Let the woman make up her own mind.”
“But -—”.
“No buts, Bri. The woman is your croie. Get your head out of your arse and do something about it.”
Brian’s lips quirked. “An expert in croies now, are you?”
“Damn right,” Jack nodded emphatically. “And I’m a smart enough man to grab mine with both hands and never let her go. As a matter of fact, I’m going to be getting on with that right now.”
“Atta boy, Jack,” Brian laughed. “Go grab your woman.”
Jack stalked across the floor, a man on a mission. He tapped Tristan Dumas (rather hard) on the shoulder. “Thanks for coming. Now get the hell away from my wife.”
Dumas scowled, then evened his features and addressed Kathleen. “Congratulations once again, Katie. And think about what I said.”
Jack pulled Kathleen close against him. The need to touch her had become an addiction.
“I don’t like him calling you that. And what the hell was he talking about?”
“Most people call me Katie, Jack,” she said reasonably. “And he offered me a job.”
“Over my dead body,” he growled. It was a sore subject with him. He’d grown up believing that a man should be able to provide for his wife and children. However, if Kathleen wanted to work until the kids came, that was fine by him. Doing some shifts at her father’s diner and keeping the books was one thing. There she was safe, surrounded by friends and family, and he didn’t have to worry as much. But working for a pampered idiot like Tristan Dumas? Not going to happen.
Yeah, he was a bit old-fashioned, but so was Kathleen. They’d both been raised with a strong set of traditional family values, and Kathleen had to know he wouldn’t be okay with this.
When Kathleen didn’t say anything, he stopped dancing and pulled back enough to look into her face. “You’re not actually considering it, are you?”
“It’s a good position, Jack,” Kathleen said quietly. “They have openings in the Accounting department.”
Shite. “No.”
“It’s a decent starting salary, and full benefits after six months.”