“I remember Tanner,” Astrid said, still busy with the scissors. “He was a jerk.”
“Yeah, but he was taller. That’s the only thing that mattered,” Jack replied.
“I’m so sorry,” Jennica said. “That must have been awful for you.”
“Eh.” Jack shrugged. “It’s life, right? You make stupid mistakes and you learn from them. But I have to admit, I kind of lost my taste for basketball after that.”
They sat in silence for a while, and finally he raised his eyebrows toward Jennica. “Okay, I told you my most embarrassing moment. Now you have to tell me yours.”
She gave a small laugh that came out with a bitter tinge. “Besides being dumped by the guy I thought was proposing and running out of the restaurant in tears and having to be rescued by you?”
“Wait … what?” Astrid gasped.
Jennica had almost forgotten her friend was there. During Jack’s story, Astrid had receded into a bit of a blur, a cloud of activity hovering on the edges of Jennica’s vision. She’d only had eyes for Jack.
“That’s not embarrassing,” Jack said. “That’s just a dumb guy who doesn’t know what he’s missing.”
Jennica caught her breath and the words stuck in the air between them, hanging as heavy as ripe fruit. Did he know what he’d said, or was it simply the routine response to try and make her feel better? Astrid would have said the same thing. But coming from Jack … her stomach flipped.
Her eyes skittered to his, caught, and held. But they’d set up a one-time date to fulfill a deal, not a lead-in to a relationship. Neither of them wanted a relationship. Right?
“So…” He cleared his throat. “Still waiting.”
Jennica pulled her focus back. “Mine isn’t nearly as exciting as yours. I’d been working at TR’s for about four months and was setting up one of the new tent displays. It was one of those big canvas tents, very heavy. I didn’t get the bars locked in, and the whole thing fell right on top of me and flattened me. It took Colton forever to dig me out because he wouldn’t stop laughing.”
Jack chuckled. “Trust Colton. Too busy laughing to come to the aid of a woman in need.”
Astrid giggled. “I can just see you.” She dropped the comb on the table and picked up a small mirror, handing it to Jack. “Well, what do you think?”
She’d taken about three inches off the beard, but left him with plenty of thick whiskers that showed off the square set of his jaw rather than covering it. It was a trendy young man’s beard instead of a grizzled mountain man’s. Jack looked ten years younger.
Astrid had also trimmed Jack’s mustache so it no longer fell over his mouth, revealing full lips that crooked in a smile. Jennica hadn’t realized how white and straight his teeth were. Her heart thumped as her gaze traveled over his neck, bare now instead of covered by hair. How would it feel to press her lips to the pulse she could see throbbing beneath his skin?
“It looks good,” Jack finally said as he examined his reflection. “Much better than if I’d tried to cut it myself.”
“Well, duh.” There was no false modesty from Astrid. She picked up a spray bottle. “How short on the hair?”
They both cast a look toward Jennica, who sat staring at Jack. His hair was slightly darker than the beard, and long, reaching almost to his shoulders. Josh had always kept his hair very short, and Jennica’s mind jumped to what her mother would say if she showed up to Collette’s wedding with a long-haired man.
Her eyes went to Jack’s. His eyebrows were up, asking the same question, and his eyes held laughter and … was that trust? Affection?
She had a sudden urge to run her hands up his back and into the thick hair, let it wash through her fingers as she pulled his head closer to …
Her mouth was suddenly dry. This was spiraling out of control.
“Jennica?” Astrid urged, waving the scissors.
“Just a trim,” Jennica stammered. “You don’t need to cut your hair.”
“I don’t mind.” Jack shrugged easily. He glanced at Astrid. “You’re the expert; do what you think is best.”
She pursed her lips. “It’s pretty scraggly on the ends. How about a few inches, nothing too crazy?”
“Fine by me,” Jack said. His eyes were still on Jennica. She could feel herself blushing under his steady gaze.
For a few moments, the only sounds were the misting of the water bottle and the whisper of the comb as Astrid drew it through Jack’s hair.
“Did you ever love Brynn?” Jennica asked suddenly.
Jack’s eyebrows swooped together. “No, why would I?”
“I dunno.” Jennica shrugged. “She was around in high school too, and you all used to hang out together.”
Jack shook his head. “Brynn is like family to me. All you TR Outfitters people are.”
Like family, like all you TR Outfitters people. The warmth in Jennica’s veins died as the reminder hit her with full force. This was a fake date; he was doing it to get a piece of machinery. She’d been making a fool out of herself by flirting with him.
Jack tipped his head, examining her after she’d been quiet too long. “You okay?”
“Hey, stay still,” Astrid broke in. She was around the back, pulling strands of hair on either side of his face to make sure both sides were the same length.
“I’m fine,” Jennica answered his question. “Just more stressed than I thought.”
“Pffft! You worry too much,” Astrid said. “It’ll be fine, and a week from now, no one will even remember your fake date.”
Yeah, maybe that was what Jennica was afraid of.
“Who knew Jack Hale was so handsome?” Astrid crowed later when they were in the car on the way home. “I didn’t see it with the grandpa beard, but now … yowza.”
Jennica flashed warm, then cold. The makeover had gone better than she’d ever expected, and Jack had emerged from all that hair to become a certified hottie.
“I hope your cousin doesn’t have any single friends,” Astrid said. She tipped her head to one side and began working her blue hair into a thick twist. “People get sentimental at weddings. Someone might try and steal him from you.”
Jennica bit her lip. “It’s only a fake date,” she said, forcing a note a casualness to her voice that she didn’t feel. “Besides, Jack is too much of a gentleman to ditch me for another girl.”
But then, she’d believed Josh was too much of a gentleman to dump her in the middle of a fancy restaurant. What did she know?
No. Her mind went back to the week she’d had with Jack. He’d given her his jacket and opened doors for her. There was genuine kindness in his eyes when he’d spoken to her grandmother. Plus, he’d spent all day trimming the trees even when he could have had the press merely for the cost of the fake date. Jack wouldn’t ditch her at the wedding.
She dropped Astrid off at home and took her time driving home to Grandma’s. Scenes from the night spun through her mind, like a movie on fast-forward. Jack’s eyes, boring into hers. His shop, so much a part of him. The way he’d put all his trust in Astrid and, by proxy, in her, letting her decide how far to take the makeover. She hadn’t expected him to be so compliant, so willing. Maybe he liked the attention. His house bore an air of loneliness, almost wistfulness, that had made her heart ache.
Or maybe she was reading too much into things and getting melodramatic, the way she always did. It was just a haircut, nothing life-changing.
Yet, as she pulled into the driveway and shut off the engine, Jennica couldn’t shake the feeling that something had shifted and their date for the wedding would be a “make it or break it” moment. Which did she want? She wasn’t sure.
Her mind flashed back to last year when she’d been in Paris. Even at three in the morning, Le Marais had been packed with people, with music, with life. And yet, as much as she enjoyed the adventure, she always loved coming home to the quiet peacefulness of Tamarack Ridge. A place where, like the TV show Cheers, everyone really did know your name�
��and not only that, they probably knew a whole lot more.
Paris was the City of Love, but she’d been there alone. It wasn’t the first time she’d traveled by herself, and usually it didn’t bother her. She took reasonable precautions and had found there was great fun in the solo exploration of a new city. She’d visited all the tourist locations—the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral. She’d window-shopped along the Champs-Élysées while eating a croissant and been creepily awed by the decaying splendor of the Père Lachaise Cemetery. She’d gone to the Pont des Arts Bridge and was disappointed to learn the famous love locks had been removed. She’d been daydreaming about a Paris honeymoon where she and her husband could hang their own padlock on the bridge—the ultimate romantic gesture in the ultimate romantic city.
Jennica sighed and rubbed her forehead. At the time of her Paris trip, she’d only been dating Josh a few weeks and he hadn’t been the husband in her daydream as she’d stood on the bridge. The fantasy man hadn’t had a face. In all her imaginings and daydreaming, he’d never had a face, until now. And it was Jack’s face, his squared jaw, his amber eyes dancing with laughter as he’d told her about shooting the winning basket for the wrong team.
But then he’d lumped her in with “all you TR Outfitters people.” They were like family. It hadn’t felt that way tonight when she was practically sitting on his lap, running her fingers through his hair. And there had been a few moments in the shop when she’d thought he might reach out to pull her closer. The urge to slide into the crook of his arm and rest her head against his chest was almost more than she could take. She’d come so close.
But then he’d slammed the door and she was family. Cousin Jennica. Maybe at the wedding tomorrow she should introduce him as a long-lost cousin from her dad’s side. Then they could spend the whole day calling each other silly nicknames like cuz or babycakes and she’d tell them all how he used to pick his nose, just to get back at him for getting her hopes up even though he clearly hadn’t meant to.
There was a meme going around the internet of a woman holding a delicious-looking chocolate-covered strawberry. It was perfect in every way: a deep, juicy red berry covered in thick, shiny chocolate. There were even tiny yellow seeds and a green stem visible above the chocolate coating. The title was Work Perks, and the picture was designed to make everyone salivate with longing.
Then, in the next frame, it was clear the woman had taken a bite. Only instead of showing the strawberry’s sweet center amid the crackling chocolate, it was only white. The caption said “Turns out it’s wax.”
It was funny, and Jennica had spent several minutes laughing alongside Brynn when the meme had popped up on her phone. But lately, it felt like life was treating her as an internet meme. Handing her a sumptuous, tempting treat in the form of a perfect, gorgeous man, and then cruelly revealing it was all pretend.
Chapter Ten
Finally, it was the day of the wedding. Grandma had stayed in Great Falls at Aunt Michelle’s house, so Jennica got ready in the bathroom by herself. She tried to tamp down the nerves as she put curls in her hair and applied her eyeliner. She leaned in to examine the skin around her eyes for wrinkles and was relieved to not find any. She was only twenty-six, but Collette was twenty-two. And after today, Jennica would be the only cousin not married. By her mother’s standards, she was well on her way to being a middle-aged spinster, so the gray hair and sagging chin may as well get started now.
She sighed as she brushed her teeth. This was no way to start out the day. It was supposed to be fun. But after last night, spending the day with Jack had turned from a saving grace to a potential minefield.
Did she have feelings for Jack, or was she rebounding from Josh? Either way, not good. She should definitely not be thinking about Jack, or hoping he liked her dress, or taking the extra time to be careful with her makeup. She was probably spending as much time getting ready as the bride when she’d be in the background the whole day, which was how it should be.
She pulled her dress from the closet. It was a navy, knee-length sheath, with cap sleeves and ruching along the bodice, more formfitting than anything she usually wore but adhering to the unspoken rule of a wedding guest … never upstage the bride. She’d planned to attend this wedding with Josh, had picked out this dress long before their breakup. Never once had the thought crossed her mind that she wanted to dress in order to draw Josh’s eye.
But she wanted to draw Jack’s.
A flurry of nerves hit her stomach and she hurried to distract herself, slipping into the dress, digging her T-strap pumps from the closet. It didn’t matter what Jack thought. This was a fake date, a way to get through this day, and that was it. Maybe she should have gone alone after all, or asked Astrid.
She was ready and waiting when Jack’s truck pulled into the driveway. She hurried out the door, stopping to pull it shut behind her, and turned at the sound of the slamming truck door.
“No, you don’t,” Jack called.
Jennica spun and let out a gasp. Jack was out of the truck and coming toward her. He’d shaved—completely. The neatly trimmed but full beard Astrid had left him was gone, revealing a chiseled jaw, sharply defined cheekbones, and a straight, Roman nose that didn’t seem a bit on the small side anymore. And his eyes looked deeper than their usual amber. More like well-oiled leather. His hair still reached his shoulders in Astrid’s cut, but without the beard, it seemed thicker, almost luxurious. His navy-blue suit showed off broad shoulders and tapered at the waist, and his dark brown shoes were shiny.
“Whoa.” The word burst from Jennica’s lips.
Jack stopped with one foot on the bottom step to the porch and looked her up and down. “Whoa, yourself. That’s some dress.” There was an appreciative grin on his face.
“What’d you do?” she stammered. “I thought you were keeping the beard.”
His hand went almost unconsciously to his jaw. “You don’t like it?”
“No, I do,” she said quickly. “I … you didn’t have to do that just for today.”
“I know.” His eyes twinkled. “But it’s been a long time since I was clean shaven, so I decided I may as well go for it. I hope Astrid’s not mad when she sees all her hard work went into my garbage can.”
“You look … you look really good,” Jennica said, making a fist to stop herself from reaching out to run her fingertips over his newly exposed jawline.
His eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled. “Thanks. So do you.”
She looked down at her dress, then back at his navy suit. They were almost the same shade. “I didn’t expect to match so well.”
“Got lucky, I guess,” Jack said. He tipped his head toward the truck, idling in the driveway. “Shall we?” He stepped back to let her pass by him on the sidewalk and then kept pace at her side, leaning to open her door.
“You don’t have to do that,” Jennica said after he’d gone around and climbed in the truck.
“Do what?”
“Open my door like that. I know this isn’t a real date.”
He threw the truck into reverse and looked over his shoulder as he backed out of the driveway. “Who said this isn’t a real date?”
“Just yesterday, when you said ‘all you TR’s people’—like I was some kind of sister or something—I thought …” Jennica broke off, aware she was making it worse.
Jack braked the truck and sat for a minute half in and half out of the driveway. He gave her a long, speculative look and then cleared his throat. “Jennica, I’m not interested in a relationship, with anyone, but I do like your company and I think we can have a good time today.”
His eyes caught the late morning sun and glowed like fire, sending a similar burn sparking in her stomach. For the first time since Collette’s wedding announcement had shown up in the mailbox, Jennica felt genuine excitement for this day.
She grinned at Jack. “Deal. Let’s have fun.”
Chapter Eleven
Collette’s wedding was e
xactly what Jennica didn’t want.
When, and if, she ever got married, she wanted it to be laid back and fun and—most of all—not stressful. After weathering four sibling and numerous cousin weddings, Jennica knew with total certainty she did not want a big blow-out. Maybe a simple ceremony in Grandma’s backyard with close friends and family and a barbecue to follow. She even wanted to wear Grandma’s wedding dress. It was a little yellowed, changing the once white lace to a softer ivory, but the years only added to the charm.
Something so simple would never do for her loud and giggly cousin though. The Peterborough mansion was three floors of ornate windows, wainscoting, bannisters, mirrors, fireplaces, and other picture-perfect locations. And in case the photographer couldn’t find the right spot inside, there were the gardens shaded with white oaks and graced with a gazebo, a tiled fountain, and about a million early springtime blossoms—or at least, it seemed like a million.
She sneezed.
“Bless you,” Jack said as they approached the front porch, ornate with painted gingerbread woodwork. When he’d offered her his arm at the truck, it had seemed like the most natural thing in the world to take it. Her fingers brushed lightly against the hardened muscles of his forearms beneath his suit coat.
The porch held more flowers in hanging baskets, and Jennica sneezed again.
“Are you allergic to flowers?” Jack leaned to survey the dozens of blooms lining the brick walkway, hanging in baskets under the eaves, and climbing the white pillars of the porch. “Because if you are, you’re totally screwed.”
“I’m not allergic to flowers,” Jennica said. “It’s the sunshine. Blue-eyed people are unusually sensitive to bright sunlight, did you know that?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t know that, but if excess sneezing is the price for eyes as beautiful as yours, I’d say it’s a fair trade.”
Their eyes met, his holding a spark of amusement, as the faint spring breeze brought the scent of a thousand early roses washing over them. Beneath her fingers, his arm was warm, strong. She wanted to step closer and press her cheek to his chest.
Taming the Mountain Man (Tamarack Ridge Romances Book 3) Page 8