Pulling up behind Jack’s SUV, Sabrina took in the large home with lots of graying cedar and pretty window boxes that reminded her of the ones she’d seen on Martha’s Vineyard. There wasn’t a lot of property, but she noticed that hadn’t stopped them from squeezing a good-sized swingset in the yard.
Jack walked over to her car and opened her door. “This is great. Wait ‘til you meet everybody.”
Everybody? The chicken inside of her was beginning to peck its way out. “Uh, maybe this was a mistake. I’m going to stick out like a Yankees fan at a Red Sox game.”
“How many times do I have to tell you to relax?” He grinned, pulling her up to the porch. He knocked on the door, but not waiting for anyone to answer, turned the knob and ushered her in.
Sabrina heard children giggling as soon as she stepped in the house. That, and the aroma of pumpkin pie spices and turkey, warmed her heart, reminding her of what she always wanted her future home to be like on Thanksgiving. She felt a small ache at the reminder that she wasn’t any closer to having those things for real.
A tall, attractive woman in heeled boots appeared in the foyer entrance. Her eyes lit up when she saw Jack. “Bubba!” she cried.
Bubba?
Sabrina glanced over her shoulder for some other person in the room, but the woman jumped directly into Jack’s arms and hugged him tight.
“I’m so glad you’ve moved back,” the woman said, smiling into his eyes. “Why haven’t you visited before now?”
Sabrina had no doubts at all that this woman was Jack’s sister. Her dark hair, cut in a practical chin length bob, swung against her cheeks as she assessed the appearance of her brother. She was dressed in jeans and a maroon cardigan, yet somehow managed to maintain an air of sophistication.
“I’m sorry,” his sister said, turning smiling blue eyes in her direction. “Here I am rude as can be and having diarrhea of the mouth, all because I’m so excited to see Jack. You must be my almost-sister-in-law.”
Sabrina glanced at Jack, then smiled weakly. “Must be.”
“Well, I’m Laurie.” Without warning, the woman pulled her into a warm hug—something Sabrina was finding the family was big on. When she let her go, Laurie automatically turned to punch Jack in the arm. “Why did you wait so long to bring her home to meet the family?”
Jack hung an arm around Sabrina’s shoulders and brought her against his side. “I had to make sure she could handle your cooking.”
Laurie shot him a mock glare. “How do you stand him?” she asked Sabrina with a hint of a smile. “He’s been here exactly two minutes and I’ve already had my fill of him.”
Sabrina smiled politely and hoped Laurie really wasn’t expecting an answer.
“Dad here?” Jack asked.
“He’s in the family room with Jay and Gretchen.”
“Where’s Mike?”
“You know my husband’s MO. Called away on an emergency C-section. But he promised to be back before we cut the pie.”
Laurie turned and led them into the next room where Sabrina saw Jack’s dad reclining at the TV watching his grandchildren play video games. The family all looked up when they entered the room and the children squealed with delight at the sight of their uncle Jack.
Jack sweetly kissed the top of Gretchen’s head and playfully shoved Jay on his side in greeting, then walked over and shook hands with his father. Then before she knew it, Jack flopped down on the floor next to the kids and picked up a video controller.
Her boss greeted her with a hug of his own and sat back down. “I’m glad you could make it. Wouldn’t have been the same without you this year.”
Sabrina’s insides melted at his warm welcome. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt like this. She gazed around at Jack’s family with longing. Such a lovely illusion being a part of this. Being with Jack like this. She had spent the holidays with David’s family just last year, but it hadn’t registered until now how different things were with them, and the thought concerned her.
“What the hell is this, Laurie?”
His sister planted an angry fist on her hip. “Dad, will you tell Jack to watch the language in front of my children?”
“If Dad knew anything about video games, he’d understand the severity of the situation. Still Super Nintendo?” Jack said the word like he had cod liver on his tongue. “Come on, it’s prehistoric. They might as well be playing Pong.”
“For your information, I don’t want my kids to be a slave to video games. They do not need an upgrade.”
Jack glanced at his sister, then with a devilish grin, leaned in to the children. “Don’t worry,” he said in a staged whisper, “I’ll hook you guys up at Christmas.”
Laurie’s eyes narrowed to two fine slits at the children’s cheering. “I can’t wait until you have kids. No offense to you,” she said, turning to Sabrina, “but it’s only right that I get to submit your children to a quarter of the abuse my kids have to endure with Jack as their uncle.”
Our children? Sabrina felt she must have turned twelve shades of pink and was probably now working on a very becoming hue of magenta.
“Come here, Brie,” Jack called to her, patting a space on the floor. “Let me show off for you one of my many talents.”
Shrugging helplessly at Laurie, she squatted down next to him.
“This is The Lost Levels,” he explained, “one of the more challenging of the Super Mario games. You have to go through the maze and fight a dragon at each level.”
“You’ve been hiding this studly manliness of yours.” She faked a sigh. “I had no idea how lucky I was.”
A slow smile curved his lips. “You ain’t seen nothing yet. I rescue the princess every time I play.”
“You look like a princess,” Gretchen told her in a small voice.
Sabrina turned her head and smiled. “Thank you.”
“Did Uncle Jack rescue you from a mean old dragon?” the little girl asked.
Sabrina glanced at Jack and caught his grin that spread from ear to ear. “Well, not exactly. In fact, some people even mistake your uncle for a dragon,” she stated with amused satisfaction.
The young girl’s eyes widened. “They do?”
“Ah jeez, Gretchen, she’s kidding,” Jay told his sister. “You know, a joke.”
Laurie hooted with laughter. “Your uncle Jack did look like a dragon, especially when he used to puff on those cigarettes of his. Thank God he gave those up.”
Jack shot his sister a deadly look. “It’s not the only thing I’ve given up. Sabrina is a vegetarian and has convinced me to cut back on my meat consumption because of Dad’s heart issues. For a little while, anyway,” he muttered.
“Yeah, right,” his sister mocked. “Even your precious beef jerky?”
Jack nodded. “I’m a man on a mission.”
Laurie’s laughter died and she exchanged surprised looks with her father. “Well, then. I’d say Sabrina deserves a medal of bravery for that feat,” she remarked, not hiding her admiration.
“Oh, no,” Sabrina protested. “I really didn’t have anything to do with it. All I did was tell him that if he cut meat out just one day a week, it would be good for his heart.”
Laurie snorted. “Yeah well, my husband’s a doctor and said the same exact thing. Jack never listened to him.”
“That’s because he’s not half as pretty as Sabrina is.” Jack grinned, taking Sabrina’s hand in his and raising it to his lips. “Besides, now that my future is looking brighter, I decided I might as well live a little longer to enjoy it.”
Sabrina frowned as she eyed Jack. Did he want to live longer for her? She was afraid she was reading into things that weren’t there. She couldn’t be sure. Their game was going further and further out of her league, and she didn’t know how to play anymore. Jack still had not let go of her hand, and the way he was gazing at her made her feel like he was talking about more than just a future within his father’s company. It was almost as though he was tal
king about a future with her. A concept that—if she were being honest—wasn’t so foreign from her own thoughts lately.
…
After dinner, everyone except the children decided to wait before having dessert and returned to the family room to watch college football.
Before they could get comfortable, Leonard Brenner turned to his son with a gleam in his eye. “Jack, I brought that little item we were talking about before. I thought maybe you’d want to show it to Sabrina now.”
Jack turned to her with a sly grin, then wiggled his eyebrows up and down. “Interested?”
Sabrina couldn’t help but chuckle. “Why not?”
Jack took her hand and led her upstairs to a guest bedroom. She looked around and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, unless she counted how unbelievably neat it was.
“What did you want to show me?” she asked, feeling a little nervous now that she and Jack were alone.
Jack picked up a black velvet box on the bureau and caressed it as he spoke. “Now, don’t get yourself all worked up about this,” he warned. “You worry about things too much. Just look at it and tell me what you think.”
When he proceeded to open the box, her brain locked in neutral. “Oh, Jack,” she finally whispered. Shaking her head, she wrapped her arms around herself to reign in the distress she felt.
“See?” His forehead wrinkled in a deep frown. “I knew your anxiety level would spike over this.”
She tore her eyes away from the two-karat diamond engagement ring in Jack’s hand and swallowed. “This is going too far. I cannot believe you bought me a ring.”
“Don’t worry, I didn’t.”
She was finally able to take a breath. “Thank goodness.”
“It’s my mom’s ring.”
“Your mom’s?” Her head felt like it was pumped up with helium and she needed to sit down.
Jack flopped down on the bed next to her. “What’s the matter? Don’t you like it?”
She still couldn’t get her bearings. Maybe she needed to lie down. “Like it? What’s not to like about it?”
He seemed pleased with her reaction and took the ring out of the box to shine it against his pants. “Well, you might not like this sort of thing if you’re a minimalist,” he said with a wink.
“I can’t wear it.”
Jack’s grin dissolved. “How do you know? You didn’t even try it on yet.”
“This is too much. Your mother’s ring should be saved for the woman you really want to marry. Not for the sake of keeping up appearances to your family and work-related acquaintances.”
He regarded her through heavy-lidded eyes. “This ring’s been sitting in this box for years. I guarantee it won’t be seeing any action other than your finger.”
“Jack, never say never.”
“No, I’m sure. I couldn’t think of a better person to wear it—even if it’s only temporary.” He lifted her left hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Go ahead and try it on.”
She hesitated, then slipped the ring on. She had never seen a more perfect piece of jewelry in her entire life. It was exactly what she would have picked for herself and so unlike the elaborate design David had surprised her with. The ring may have belonged to Jack’s mother but Sabrina felt as if it had been made for her instead. And it meant even more to her that Jack entrusted her to wear it. “It’s lovely.” Her breath caught.
His gaze on hers was so intense, she wanted to look away. “No, you’re lovely,” he said huskily.
“Jack—”
“No. Don’t—don’t think this time. Not now. Let’s just go and enjoy the journey. Wherever it leads.”
Journey? She pulled back slightly. “What did you say?”
He shook his head. “My words aren’t important. What is your heart telling you?”
In those few seconds, she did listen to her heart.
And then she kissed him.
They clung to each other and fell back against the bed—not in the heated frenzy she had expected, but in a slow, fluid motion, as if every second counted and they needed to silently convey that to each other. She didn’t want to think about the make-believe as his lips pressed deeper onto hers. She was drowning in him and couldn’t stop herself. Maybe it was seeing how he acted with the children and his family, or just how much fun they’d had together this last month. She didn’t know. All she knew was nothing felt as right in her life. She wanted to forget about getting David back and about the superstitions. Could this be her fate, that everything was supposed to lead her to Jack, to this very moment?
“Whoops,” Laurie yelped from the doorway.
Jack lifted his head and let out a swift curse. Sabrina’s cheeks ignited as she re-tucked her blouse.
His sister laughed, but covered her mouth too late. “I know what you guys were doing was G-rated, for now…but I’d like to keep it that way with the kids around.”
Jack sat up and aimed sharp daggers at her with his eyes. “Can’t I have even one minute alone with Sabrina? She is my fiancée.”
“I don’t care if she were your wife. This is my house, you dunderhead. Besides, I need help in the kitchen.”
“I’m not helping you clean up,” he spat. “Not after this.”
“Good,” his sister snapped back. “Because I was going to ask Sabrina.”
Sabrina blinked. “Oh, of course.” She began to slide away from Jack, but his fingers snaked around her wrist.
“Hey, are we okay?” he asked, his gaze searching.
She hesitated, then kissed his cheek. “Yeah, we’re okay.” But that wasn’t entirely true. Things were different between her and Jack now. She wasn’t sure how deep her feelings ran, but she couldn’t run from them any longer—which was probably what Jack expected her to do, since his eyes were still trained on hers when she reached the door and looked back at him.
Her pulse whipped wildly. The pull to him was so strong, she wondered if there weren’t actual cords tethered between them. She sent him a reassuring smile.
His lips parted, but Jack didn’t smile back. Instead, he studied her as if weighing a deep decision. Before she knew it, he stood and was cradling her face in his hands and looked ready to kiss her again.
“There, there, lovebirds.” Laurie hooked an arm around Sabrina’s waist and drew her away from Jack. Laurie made a tsking sound. “Try to survive, big brother. I just need her for a little while. Besides,” she added with a grin, “it’s not like I interrupted anything out of the ordinary between you two.”
…
Laurie placed a pot in the sink and showed Sabrina where she kept the Tupperware containers. “So have you guys set a date?”
Sabrina almost choked. “Uh, no. We—we haven’t talked about that yet.” They still needed to discuss their actual feelings.
“I have to admit,” she confided to Sabrina, “I was absolutely stunned when Dad told me Jack was getting married.”
She could relate to the feeling. “Yeah, I know I’m not exactly Jack’s type.”
Laurie turned to her in surprise. “Oh no, you’re Jack’s type all right. Except you’re missing the ‘please insert brain here’ sign on your head.” She laughed and turned to squirt more soap on her sponge. “But that’s not what I was talking about. I just never thought Jack would ever get married. Gosh, the women he went through. For years, Dad’s been giving him the responsibility lectures. You know, settle down, grow up, it doesn’t look good for the company, yada yada. Then all of a sudden, Jack gets this full turnaround in attitude. It was too convenient. Naturally, I thought it’d be just like him to be putting us on.”
When Sabrina spoke, her voice wavered. “You thought he’d do something like that?”
“Oh yeah—not maliciously, of course. I guess it’s from being in sales,” she said with a little shrug. “He can put on a good act for the sake of the company and especially to get Dad off his back.” She turned to Sabrina and playfully elbowed her in the side. “But now I know I was being sil
ly and not giving Jack enough credit. I’m so glad he met someone like you.”
Sabrina tried to smile, but her lips felt like they had five pound weights attached to the corners. Jack could put on a good act, apparently. He’d made her feel like she was becoming part of his family for real and not using her for the company’s sake. He’d made her believe that it was possible that he had started to have feelings for her that went beyond mere attraction. And she had come to care for him. But it would seem that Jack was too good of an actor and too good of a liar.
Or maybe she was just too much of a fool.
How could she let herself forget what Jack’s true priority was? After all, he’d been upfront about that from the beginning. Despair and loneliness rose within her. It swirled and expanded, making it difficult to breathe. She should be used to rejection, but she was actually trembling now. Their deal and his promotion be damned. She wouldn’t be a part of his lies anymore.
She glanced up at Laurie, a heavy feeling in her stomach, and summoned a quick smile. His family was so nice and trusting, she hoped they wouldn’t be hurt by her and Jack’s actions. But she needed to get away from him, before she was buried any further in deceit. Before he caused her any more pain than he already had.
…
“The key is to not stand for more than two seconds.”
His nephew nodded at his advice and tried to dodge around Jack to get to the net. Jay told him he wasn’t the tallest on his travel basketball team, but he was wiry and fast. All true. But not that fast.
Jack snatched the ball away from him and turned to shoot. When the ball bounced off the rim, Jay pumped his fist in the air and cheered.
“Okay, hot shot,” Jack said with a chuckle, “let’s work on your three-pointer now.”
The side door opened and Jack’s dad stepped out onto the back patio where they were playing. “Hey, Jay,” his father said, “your mother needs help in the kitchen cleaning up.”
Jay groaned but tossed the ball to Jack and ran inside. Jack tucked it under his arm and was about to follow, but his father raised a hand. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you in private. Here is as good as any place.”
Fiance by Fate Page 16