He stood up straight, heading for the buffet server. “I don’t have to move because I already have a home there. I plan to make it my permanent base because Greer is involved with her family’s business.”
“What about Serenity, Jason?” Ana asked her twin.
“Nothing’s going to change, Ana. I’ll still be involved. What I’m going to do is ask Diego to release Graham so he can assist you on the business end.”
Ana shook her head. “I don’t think he’s going to go for it. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve asked Diego if I could hire him.”
Jason filled his plate with eggs, sausage and potatoes. “Don’t worry about it, Ana. I’ll take care of Diego.”
“How are you taking care of me?”
All eyes focused on the tall, powerfully built man with cropped gray-flecked hair, deep-set dark eyes in a lean face the color of cured tobacco.
“Buenos días, primo,” Jason said, smiling. “How’s the head?”
Diego held his head with both hands. “Don’t ask.” He made his way on shaking legs to a chair. “Cee Cee, would you please bring your big brother a cup of black coffee?”
Celia pushed back her chair. “This is a first. The almighty powerful CEO of Cole-Diz humbling himself to beg for coffee.”
Diego glared at his sister. “I’m not begging. I merely asked you to bring me coffee.”
Jason sat down next to Greer, their shoulders touching. “Diego, once your vision clears, I’d like to introduce you to my fiancée, Greer Evans.”
Diego’s gaze shifted to the woman sitting next to Jason. “You’re engaged? When?”
“Last week. And do you know what I want for a wedding gift?”
“I’ll give you anything you want,” Diego said as he closed his eyes.
“I want you to release Graham now so he can work for Serenity.”
Diego opened his eyes and gingerly shook his head. “Come on, Jason. I’d give you anyone but Graham.”
Jason obviously decided to push his agenda. “Graham is the only one with a music and business background. Serenity needs him on the East Coast because I’m making Oregon my permanent home.”
* * *
Diego stared at Greer for the first time, seeing why his younger cousin was so smitten. Greer was youthfully beautiful. The natural reddish highlights in her hair reminded him of Jason’s mother’s. It was the same with her gold-flecked eyes. It was apparent Jason was marrying a woman who looked a lot like Serena Cole.
“Does Greer have anything to do with your decision to live in Oregon?”
“Diego!” Ana and Celia admonished at the same time.
Jason and Diego engaged in what had become a stare-down. “Yes, she does.”
Taking a sip of the strong black coffee Celia had placed in front of him, Diego slumped back in his chair. “Okay, Jason. You can have Graham.”
Ana jumped up and hugged Diego. “Thank you.”
He pushed her away. “Cee Cee, can you give me something for my headache?”
“It’s not a headache, brother love. It’s called a hangover.”
Diego stood, cursing under his breath in Spanish as he left the dining room.
* * *
Greer watched, taking everything in.
“I told him not to drink that stuff,” Peyton said, struggling not to laugh. “He told me it couldn’t be that bad because Ryan and Jeremy had downed a few shots.”
Jason swallowed a mouthful of eggs. “What did he drink?”
“It’s my cousin’s so-called specially blended bourbon. It’s stronger than the liniment I use on horses.”
Jason angled his head. “I think I want to sample this specially blended concoction.”
Greer clicked her tongue against her teeth. “If you get toasted, then don’t expect me to bring you coffee.” Everyone laughed as Ana, Greer and Celia exchanged high-five handshakes.
She hadn’t officially married Jason, yet she felt a connection with the Coles as if she’d known them for years.
When asked about her wedding, Peyton said, “I decided on a less-than-formal wedding because I know Nicholas and I have to do this again in December. By that time, I have to go through several fittings because of the baby.”
“Had you and Nicky planned this baby?” Celia asked.
“No. We had what I call an ‘oopsie’ moment. I didn’t find out I was pregnant until I was in the hospital after my crazy, druggy ex tried to gut me in front of more than a hundred people. The doctors ran several tests, and when they told me I was pregnant, I nearly fainted because, if Reggie hadn’t been shot midattack, he would’ve been responsible for taking not one but two lives.”
Greer closed her eyes for a moment. It looked as if she wasn’t the only one with a crazy ex-husband bent on murdering his wife. And if Peyton’s ex had succeeded, then Peyton wouldn’t be here preparing to marry a man that would join not only two families but also two horse farms.
Celia smiled. “That’s what you get for sleeping with a Cole man. All they have to do is look at you and you’ll find yourself swole up.”
“Word,” Ana drawled. “Look at Michael and Jolene. What is this? Their fourth or fifth?” She smiled at Greer. “I wouldn’t mind another niece or nephew, but if you’re relying on Jason to protect you, then you better think about taking a contraceptive.”
“I agree,” Celia concurred. “If you need a prescription for the pill I’ll write you one.”
Peyton doubled over in laughter. “Y’all ain’t right.”
Celia pointed a finger at her. “If we’re not right, then why are you swole?”
Peyton wrinkled her nose. “Is swole a real word?”
“Yes,” chorused Greer, Ana and Celia.
The women continued to trade jokes, laughing uncontrollably until Gavin Faulkner and Jacob Jones stumbled into the dining room, heading for the coffee urn. They looked worse than Diego, and if the situation wasn’t so pathetic, Greer would’ve laughed.
She could never understand why bachelor parties translated into excess when it wasn’t that way with bachelorette parties. She wondered how Jason would fare when it came time for his rite of passage from a single guy to a married man. Hopefully he would exercise more self-control and not overindulge.
She sobered inwardly when she thought about Ana and Celia warning her about an unplanned pregnancy because she didn’t want to experience an oops moment with Jason. So far she’d relied on him to protect her but that couldn’t continue indefinitely. Once they returned to Mission Grove, Greer planned to see an ob-gyn.
Chapter 18
Greer smiled when Jason gently squeezed her fingers as they sat together in the church at Blackstone Farms listening to Reverend Jimmy Merrill officiating the wedding between Peyton Blackstone and Nicholas Cole-Thomas. She knew Jason was thinking about the time when they would stand before their friends and family to exchange vows to love, cherish and protect each other.
Peyton, dressed in an off-white sweep-train sheath in four-ply silk and silk chiffon with a draped weave bodice, stared up at Nicholas as she repeated her vows. Her burnished hair was swept up in a twist and festooned with tiny red and white rosebuds. Her maid of honor wore red and her matrons of honor wore similar street-length dresses in black, the colors of the farm’s silks.
Those close enough to the couple witnessed the naked love in the eyes of Nicholas as he slipped an eternity band on his bride’s hand. He wore a black tailored suit with a spread collar white shirt and red silk tie. Peyton’s male cousins—Jeremy, whom Nicholas had selected as his best man, Ryan and family patriarch Sheldon were the groomsmen.
The weather had cooperated with above-average temperatures. Two tents were erected, one for dining and the other for dancing. Bales of hay, carved pumpkins and cornstalks tied with black and red r
ibbons served as decorations.
Even though the men had taken the occasion to dress down by not wearing ties, they did wear jackets with their suit trousers. The women, on the other hand, sported dresses and suits with sexy stilettos. Living and working on a horse farm didn’t lend itself to wearing four- and five-inch heels. The ceremony ended as Nicholas dipped his wife, kissing her passionately as flashbulbs flashed, capturing the scene for perpetuity. Greer, holding on to Jason’s hand, followed him out of the church, blinking against the brilliant autumn sunlight.
Coming to Virginia with Jason was what she had needed to relax completely. After the wedding they were invited to tour Blackstone Farms and then join in the reception dinner. Greer got a chance to see and touch the magnificent thoroughbreds. It’d been years since she had ridden a horse, and if she’d bought the appropriate footwear, she would’ve gone riding with some of the younger children who lived on the farm.
Jason splayed his hand over Greer’s back, leaned in close and pressed a kiss to her temple. He couldn’t believe how sexy she looked in the body-hugging dress and shoes. The double strand of pearls shimmered against her skin. Her heels put the top of her head at his ear, and whenever he looked into her eyes, he felt as if he were drowning in pools of polished amber.
“How did I get so lucky?” he whispered in her ear.
She flashed a demure smile. “Whatever do you mean?”
“You don’t know?”
Greer feigned innocence. “No.”
She knew precisely what he was talking about only because she felt the same about Jason. If she hadn’t been assigned to the town where she’d spent her childhood summers, chances are she never would’ve crossed paths with Jason Cole. And she’d expected him to be the quintessential self-centered celebrity with a trail of women worshipping at his feet, but he’d proved to be just the opposite. He was as private as he was solitary, shunning the spotlight when he’d chosen to build a home in a community where privacy had become an absolute rather than a privilege.
“If that’s the case, then I’ll have to show you when we get back to Mission Grove.”
Lowering her lashes, she stared up at Jason. “Will I like it?”
“It’s guaranteed to please.”
The sexy banter ended when they followed the crowd to the tent from which wafted the most mouthwatering aromas. The two farms’ cooks had gotten together to plan the buffet menu. Jackson Hubbard, or Jacks as he was referred to by those living at Cole-Thom, had prepared Latin-infused dishes, while the two cooks at Blackstone Farms had prepared a variety of regional dishes.
Jason led Greer to a table quickly filling up with teenagers. “Sit down and I’ll bring you a plate.”
She sat, placing her small purse next to her. “Hello,” she said when a gangly teenage boy gawked at her. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down several times before he was able to croak his greeting. Greer glanced away rather than add to his obvious embarrassment. The bartenders at the far corner of the tent were checking the IDs of those who didn’t look old enough to drink.
Watching Jason as he moved along the food line, she remembered what Nicholas had said to her the night he drove them from the airport: The women always say they rule while their men are there to serve them. Jason had just verified this when he had offered to bring her food. She’d noticed Nicholas, Gavin and Jacob doing the same at the buffet. Their women never got up to get anything because their men were there to serve them. It was a tradition she liked a lot.
She noticed many of the men had shed their jackets with the rising temperature, and a few of the younger children had taken off their shoes to run barefoot on the grass. Ana had revealed the weddings at the Cole family estate were informal in keeping with the celebratory atmosphere of New Year’s Eve. It was also a family tradition that any male claiming Cole blood wore white ties. It was another ritual that had begun when Samuel Cole married Marguerite-Joséfina Diaz.
Greer knew of a lot of asinine family rituals, yet the Coles’ made sense to her. A weeklong family reunion provided more time for family members to bond than one lasting a weekend. New Year’s Eve weddings were the perfect way to celebrate a new year, and also the date for anniversaries was indelibly branded in their husbands’ memories. Music blared from the neighboring tent and couples were up and dancing to the infectious R&B tune. Peyton had revealed her passion for R&B so the playlist covered old and new selections.
Jason returned with two plates, setting them down in front of Greer. “Thanks for saving me a seat. I’m going to get something to drink. What do you want?”
“Either sweet tea or lemonade.”
“Are you sure you don’t want anything stronger?”
She smiled. “Very sure.”
They were scheduled to fly back to Portland later that night and she’d learned over the years never to drink alcohol when flying. The pressurized cabin and the altitude usually made her light-headed. She would take a sip of champagne during the champagne toast, but no more than that.
Waiting for Jason to return, Greer spread a napkin over her lap and arranged their place settings. “What’s in your cup?” she asked when he sat down.
“Sweet tea.”
She gave him an incredulous look. “Sweet tea or Long Island Ice Tea?”
He handed her the cup. “Take a sip. See,” he crooned when she nodded. “Alcohol and jetlag don’t mix.”
“Alcohol and flying are a lethal combination for me,” Greer said. Picking up a fork, she stared at the contents of her plate. “What did you give me?”
Taking his fork, Jason pointed to the shredded meat. “That’s pernil or roast pork shoulder. The black rice is known as moro. And that little ring of goodness is mofongo. It’s mashed green plantains with pork, served with a garlic sauce.”
Greer pointed to slices of fried plantains topped with garlic in olive oil. “What’s the garlic sauce called?”
“Mojito. It’s not the Cuban cocktail, but a garlicky, oniony, citrusy sauce you can dip or brush on all kinds of things.” Jason kissed her hair. He’d watched her blow-dry her hair before flat ironing it for the wedding; then she had swept it up into a ponytail, tying it with a wide black velvet ribbon. “Bienvenido al Caribe.”
“That I understand,” Greer confirmed. “Should I assume you want me to learn to cook what’s on my plate?”
“No. I can make everything that’s on your plate.”
Her eyes opened wider. “Why haven’t you?”
“Because I didn’t know whether you’d like it. Eat up, baby, and let me know what you think.”
“Who taught you to cook?”
“My mother.”
Greer took a forkful of mofongo, chewing slowly. “Sweet mother of glory! This is so good. Who made this?”
“Nicholas’s cook. He used to own a restaurant in Florida. Miami’s loss is Cole-Thom Farms’ gain.”
“These are the type of dishes we should introduce to our customers at Stella’s.”
“There you go,” Jason said with a wide grin.
Greer didn’t want to believe she’d eaten everything on her plate and yet still wanted more. The spicy food had triggered an unusual thirst and she went to the bar for water. Rousing applause went up under the tent when the wedding party returned from taking photographs, and Nicholas quickly had someone bring Peyton a plate of food. Within minutes of taking a few bites, the natural color returned to her face as she rested her head on her husband’s shoulder.
Jason slipped Greer’s purse into the pocket of his suit jacket. Talking long strides, he took her hand. “Come and dance with me, babe.” He led her into the dance tent, pulling her close to his chest.
She smiled, recognizing the tune. “I love this song.” It was John Legend’s “Tonight.”
“Am I the best you ever had, Greer?”
A slight frown appeared between Greer’s eyes. “Are you talking about the song?”
“No. Am I?” Jason repeated.
Easing back, Greer looked at Jason as if he’d taken leave of his senses. “You have to ask?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Do you know what you’re asking?” she whispered angrily. “You’re asking me to compare you to the other men I slept with.” She tried extricating her hand only to have Jason tighten his hold on her fingers. “There were two others before you, Jason. A boy in college and Larry, and neither of them were half as good as you. Now, does that answer your question?”
“That wasn’t what I was asking,” Jason rasped in her ear. “I wanted to know if you felt I was worthy of you.”
Humiliation washed over Greer as if she’d been knocked down from a back draft. “Why ask me that now, Jason? You claim you’re committed to me. Well, it’s the same for me. I’m committed to you. Committed enough to spend the rest of my life with you.”
His eyes widened to where she could see the contrast of his pitch-black pupils in the center of liquid gold. “Prove it.”
A nervous laugh escaped her parted lips. “I’ve already proven it. I’m wearing your ring. Isn’t that enough?”
Jason shook his head. “No.”
Greer blinked. “What more do you want?”
“Marry me tomorrow.”
She stumbled, missing a step but Jason righted her. “You’re kidding.”
Jason stopped. “No, I’m not. We’re already in Virginia where there’s no waiting period, and we don’t have to be a resident of the Commonwealth. We can get married the same day we get the license.”
“What’s the rush, Jason? I’m not going anywhere.”
“I’m still conflicted about our living together.”
Jason’s explanation rendered Greer momentarily speechless. Her offer to live with him was akin to walking into a trap of her choosing. Greer cursed her ability of total recall when she remembered him telling her, Cole men are raised not to shack up with women unless they’re willing to commit. That was apparent when Nicholas married Peyton within two weeks of her disclosure she was carrying his child instead of them waiting until the end of the year.
Secret Vows (Hideaway (Kimani)) Page 24