“Not anymore.”
“Jackson…” She had a feeling she knew where this was going. And though a part of her was thinking yippee, another, more sensible part was warning her not to go down this route with him. If she got in any deeper with Jackson, then the eventual break would be just that much harder, wouldn’t it? But even as she thought it, she knew that she couldn’t get any deeper than love.
Then he started talking and Casey could feel herself getting caught up in his plans.
“I meant what I said earlier,” he told her, words rushing from him as if he were half convinced if he took too long, she’d end the conversation. “I do need new brochures and business cards and maybe a Web site—can you do Web sites?”
“Yes, but—”
He stepped in close, ran his hands up and down her arms and gave her a half smile she was sure he meant to be charming. God help her, it was.
“Think about it, Casey. Work for King Jets and be able to cut back everywhere else. Spend more time with Mia…”
“That’s cheating,” she pointed out.
His grin widened. “And, I’d like to point out that King Vineyards also has a Web site that needs a redesign—trust me, Travis can’t do it himself and Julie’s too busy opening her bakery to worry about stuff like that. Then there’s the vineyard brochures, tasting menus, event notices…” He stopped, then added, “Julie, too! The new bakery. She could probably use your help in getting notices out about the bakery.”
Her brain started racing. She couldn’t help herself. Being able to list working for the King family on her résumé meant she’d be able to grow her business substantially. And she’d make more money and wouldn’t have to take meetings with people like Mac Spencer anymore. Jackson had been so right about that guy, not that she was going to admit that.
Plus Jackson was right about something else. If she did this, she would have more time for Mia. Not to mention the fact that when their six months at his home were over, she’d have a better chance at supporting herself and her daughter.
Because, like it or not, the truth was, whatever was between her and Jackson wasn’t forever. It didn’t matter that she was almost getting used to his dictatorial ways. Didn’t matter that the chemistry between them was off-the-charts hot. Didn’t even matter that she loved him.
The only thing that did matter was keeping in mind that Jackson had arranged this as a temporary measure. To let him get to know his daughter.
Jackson was still talking, warming to his theme. “And then there’s Gina and her Gypsy horses. She’s got a Web site too and is always complaining about how hard it is to keep it updated when she’s dealing with Adam and Emma and the horses….”
It all sounded wonderful, Casey thought, but how much harder would all of this make the eventual ending between she and Jackson?
“I don’t really like the look in your eyes right now,” he said softly, his thumbs tracing smooth lines over her cheekbones. “For a second or two, you looked excited at the idea, then all of a sudden the light in your eyes went out.”
She dredged up a smile, hoped it was plenty bright and forced lightness into her tone. She wouldn’t give him a reason to regret their time together. She wouldn’t give him the opening to allow pity in his eyes because she’d tumbled into love where she shouldn’t have.
“I’m fine, Jackson,” she said, shaking her head at him.
“And though I really hate to admit this to you because you’re already pretty insufferable about being right all the time…”
“Yeah? Well, it’s good to be right.” That smile again. The one that sent shivers down her spine.
She blew out a breath. Really, how could she have helped falling in love with him? “You really are impossible, you know?”
“So they tell me.”
Casey sighed and for her own sanity, stepped out of his touch and held out her hand formally.
“What’s this?”
“A business deal,” she said, smiling at his confusion.
“You offered me a job, right?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“Well then, I accept. I’ll work for King Jets and for King Vineyards, and King Gypsies if Travis and Gina are interested—”
“They will be,” Jackson promised as he took her hand in his and folded his long, warm fingers around hers. Then slowly, inexorably, he pulled her toward him. “But as far as sealing the deal goes,” he murmured as he lowered his head to hers, “I prefer the term sealed with a kiss.”
“Dani, when he kissed me, I swear my hair curled and you know it’s too short to curl.”
“Tell me,” her friend demanded, her voice husky over the phone.
“We were standing there in the parking lot and he was all furious about that client making a move on me—”
“Sleaze bucket,” Dani put in.
“Absolutely,” Casey agreed. “Anyway, he—Jackson he, not the sleazeball he—grabbed me, pulled me up against him and kissed me so hard and so long and so deep, I’m pretty sure I felt his tongue on my tonsils.”
“Wow, did it just get hot in here?”
“It’s pretty damn hot here,” Casey told her.
“Did he hold on really tight and just mush you in really close?” Dani asked on a sigh.
“Oh yeah.”
“God, I love when Mike does that to me, but usually I have to get him really mad for that to happen.”
“Jackson was mad all right.”
“Worth it though, wasn’t it?”
“Big time,” Casey said and folded her legs up under her on the cushioned window seat in her bedroom. “But right about then is when I realized I’m in serious trouble.”
“You did it, didn’t you?” Dani sighed again. “You went and fell in love with him.”
Casey turned her head to stare out at the spring storm. Lightning flashed behind black clouds and rain slashed at the window glass. The world outside was a blurred confusion of color that suited Casey’s mood right down to the ground. And with Mia down for a nap and Jackson off at some meeting, she could indulge in the swamping emotions churning through her.
“Yeah,” she said, grateful she had someone she could admit it to. “I so did. I love him.”
“Oh, God.” Dani’s voice dropped in sympathy and Casey was reminded again of just how good it was to have a friend who understood everything. “Did you tell him?”
“What am I, crazy?”
A choked-off laugh shot from Dani’s throat. “How does he feel?”
“I don’t know.” Casey sighed, watching the rain run in tiny rivers down the glass until it looked like the house was crying. “And I can’t exactly ask, you know?”
“Absolutely not,” Dani agreed, then half covered the receiver with her hand and ordered, “Mikey, I said we’d give the dog a bath later. Please stop squirting him with dishwashing soap.”
Casey chuckled and it felt good. She’d needed this talk with Dani. In the time she’d been at Jackson’s house, she’d been so caught up in him and Mia and finding time for her own work, that she hadn’t called her friend as she should have. Dani might have kept her sane. Dani might have given her enough good advice to keep Casey from falling in love with the completely wrong man.
But even as she thought that, she knew that nothing could have changed the current situation. It was what it was. What had Jackson said when he first took her to bed? From that first night, we were destined for this? Well, maybe Casey had been destined to love him, too. That’s how it felt. As if she’d finally found what she’d been searching for all her life.
For all the good it did her.
“What’re you going to do?”
“What can I do?” she countered, smoothing one finger down the windowpane, following the trail of a single raindrop. “I agreed to six months. If I tried to leave early, he’d try to take Mia.”
Shock colored Dani’s voice. “You think he’d still do that?”
Probably not, she mused. But how could she be sure? �
��I guess I’m not really sure about it, but can I afford to risk it?”
“So what’s the plan then?”
“Good question. And there only seems to be one answer that I can come up with.”
“Which is?”
“Enjoy what I have while I have it,” she said firmly. “I may not have him forever, but I can relish this feeling, this time with him as long as I can, right?”
“Absolutely,” Dani said, earning the title of Best Friend one more time. “So. Do I get any sordid details?”
Casey laughed and felt a little of the ache in her heart lift. “Sure, how many do you want?”
“How many do you have?”
“Hundreds,” Casey admitted, her skin heating up, just remembering all the times she and Jackson had come together.
“Oh, honey. Spill.”
“You have a what?”
“A daughter,” Jackson said, watching Marian’s brown eyes narrow. He’d known this wasn’t going to be easy, but he’d had Anna set up this meeting with Marian because it had to be done. He’d already put off facing her with the truth for too long. “I have a daughter.”
As he explained what had recently happened in his life, telling Marian about how Casey and Mia had come to be living with him, she stood there looking at him as shocked as if he’d ridden a camel into the family home. Her brown hair swept to her shoulders in a smooth, turned-under style, and when she shook her head in disbelief, he saw that hair swing out, then settle back perfectly into place again.
He blew out a breath and turning, walked a few steps to the window overlooking a formal garden. Lines of hedges neatly trimmed, trees twisted into caricatures of what they should be and flowers so rigid they marched in line like an army battalion. Hell, even the rain seemed to be falling more neatly here than anywhere else.
Nothing relaxed or easygoing about the Cornice household. The interior was just as rigid and unforgiving as the gardens. Here, stately antiques reigned. Uncomfortable chairs, spindly tables and glass knickknacks that looked so fragile, it made a man uneasy just being in the room.
Jackson turned his head to look back at the woman he was supposed to marry and tried to remember why it had seemed like such a good idea at the time. But he couldn’t. Because looking at Marian with her designer clothes and her stick-figure body made him think about curvy, luscious Casey in her worn jeans and oversized T-shirts.
He must be losing his mind.
“Her name is Mia,” he said. Marian hadn’t been taking the news well, but then he hadn’t really expected her to. Why should she? “She’s ten months old, I have a picture if—”
Marian held up one perfectly manicured hand. “No. Thank you. I’m not interested in your illegitimate child.”
He bristled, fought down his temper and told himself she had every right to be pissed off. But if she took another dig at Mia, all bets were off.
He’d put off telling Marian about Mia for too long, he knew that. He should have been up front with her about the change in his life right from the beginning. But the truth was, he hadn’t been looking forward to this conversation for a couple of reasons. One being that he’d known how Marian would react—not that he could blame her, and secondly, he hadn’t wanted to admit even to himself that there was a part of his life that didn’t include Mia and Casey.
That was a dangerous path for a man like him. He’d never thought to get tied up in knots over anyone or anything. But there was no going back now.
“And you say the child and its mother—”
“Her mother—” Damned if Mia would be dismissed as an “it.”
“—are ensconced in your house?”
“They’re living there with me, yes.” He walked back to her and as he got closer, noticed the pinched tightness around her mouth. Was she just mad, or was she hurt? He’d rather not think about having hurt Marian. Hell, he’d never hurt any woman he’d been involved with. There was never a reason to go out of your way to bruise hearts. You went into a relationship, you had as much fun as you could together, then as two adults, you said goodbye. No hard feelings. No regrets.
Something slithered through his mind at that thought though and he wondered how parting from Casey was going to go. She was so deep into his blood, into his mind, she was the only woman he’d ever been with who refused to leave his thoughts. She haunted him day and night. At odd moments, her image would pop into his brain to tease him, taunt him, remind him just how badly he wanted her.
Like now, for instance.
He shut down that train of thought and told himself it wasn’t wise to deal with one woman while thinking about another one.
“I need some time with Mia—my daughter,” he said.
“I’ve missed too much already and I don’t want to miss any more. I have to have some time, to figure out how we fit into each other’s lives.”
“I see,” Marian said and walked slowly toward a sideboard where she poured herself a splash of brandy and then tossed it down her throat like medicine. “And the mother?”
“Well of course she moved in too, I couldn’t very well separate them, could I?” Frustrated now, because it seemed she was deliberately making this harder than it had to be, Jackson said, “It’s only for six months.”
“And you want us to wait to get married until they’re gone.”
Gone. Well, hell. He didn’t really want to think about that yet. How the hell could he live in that house, walk past Mia’s room and know she wasn’t in there? How would he be able to walk down that hall and not see Casey pinned up against the wall whimpering in ecstasy?
Damn, this was a mess. But, one problem at a time.
“Marian, I know we had an agreement—”
“Yes, we do,” she said, turning around to face him again, one long pale hand resting on the curved neck of the Baccarat crystal decanter. “One I have every intention of honoring. The question is, will you?”
That was the question, he supposed. He’d come here this afternoon fully intending to go through with the marriage merger—all he’d wanted to do was wait six months. Now, he wasn’t so sure. In fact, the longer he thought about it, the less inclined he was to honor the deal they’d made what now seemed like another lifetime ago. But he’d already thrown Marian a hardball this morning. Wasn’t one enough at the moment?
“We’ll talk about it again in six months,” he said smoothly, not exactly answering her.
She looked him dead in the eye and for a second there, Jackson was sure he was going to see her finally lose her temper. Finally see some real honest-to-God emotion coming from the woman. But true to form, she backed off, did a mental count to ten and smoothed herself out again.
“I’m not happy about this, Jackson.”
He nodded. “I can understand that. But there’s no way around the situation.” He pushed both hands into his slacks pockets and offered, “In fact, I’ll understand if you’d prefer to call the whole thing off.”
Something sparked in her eyes, but it was gone before he could identify it. “Of course not,” she said. “An agreement was reached and I’ll certainly do my part to honor it. As you said, we’ll discuss this again in six months.”
It would have been so much easier all the way around if she had simply ended their arrangement then and there. But maybe she wanted a little space to do it in her own way. And if that’s what she needed, Jackson would give it to her.
As for him, the relief that welled and rippled through his body at the thought of postponing a marriage to Marian Cornice was enough to tell him that when they had their next discussion, if she hadn’t ended their arrangement, he would.
Marriages of convenience didn’t always work, he told himself, despite how well things had turned out for his brothers. And thanks to the appearance of Mia and Casey in his life, he’d just managed to escape a marriage that he could see now would have been a misery.
There would be no merger with Cornice airfields after all and he was suddenly okay with that. King Jets had
been doing nicely up until now and would continue to do so.
“Fine then. Now, if you’ll excuse me…” Jackson turned to leave. He’d only taken a few steps when Marian’s voice stopped him.
“Are you sleeping with her?”
“Don’t do this,” he said, turning to look at her. “To either of us.”
“It’s just a question, Jackson.”
“One I’m not going to answer.” He wasn’t going to discuss this with Marian. Frankly, since they weren’t engaged, it was none of her business who was in his bed.
“You just did answer it,” she pointed out.
“Marian,” he said, thinking that maybe now was the time to end this after all. Why drag it on for another six months? Make it a clean break, he told himself. Walk away a free man.
But she cut him off before he could say anything more.
Her features went smooth as glass. “Never mind, Jackson. Forget I asked. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d prefer to be alone.”
He wanted to say something but what the hell was left? Hadn’t he done enough damage already? He let himself out the front door and quietly closed it behind him. Rain pelted him, but it felt damn good after being in that overheated and yet cold-as-hell house.
He paused on the front step, lifted his face to the sky to let the rain wash over his face and from inside the house, he could have sworn he heard the nearly musical tinkle of crystal shattering.
Nine
“She’s got good ideas,” Travis acknowledged a few days later, lifting a glass of King Vineyard Merlot. He sniffed the bouquet, smiled to himself and indulged in a sip.
Adam took a drink of his brandy and rolled his eyes at Travis’s wine connoisseur behavior. “Gina’s already cooing over the changes Casey suggested for her Gypsy Web site.” He shook his head. “Been following me around the ranch for two days, talking my ears off about nothing else.”
“That’s good,” Jackson said, pausing for a gulp of his favorite Irish whiskey. He felt a quick stab of pride in the fact that Casey had so easily come up with new, fresh ideas for the King family businesses. Plus, there was an extra added bonus to her working for the family. “It’ll keep her busy.”
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