More than once in the two weeks after he first tore her panties off, Jed carried her upstairs during writing hours. She got lucky each time and Deirdre didn’t spot them. Elise knew it was cowardly of her, to want to keep the personal side of their relationship strictly between them. But so what? She just wasn’t ready for anyone else to know.
And sex during working hours? With Jed, it was every bit as amazing as sex any other time. Just a little more urgent, somehow. They would make love hard and fast and then they would talk. About the story, about whatever element wasn’t quite working. He said she was a great sounding board. He liked to bounce ideas off her, find out what she thought of them, get her take on how he might resolve any problems that cropped up.
She really liked hashing out story points. She could do that forever—unlike the typing, which she couldn’t be finished with soon enough. When Jed completed this book, she would miss a lot about being involved in his writing process. But typing? If she never typed another sentence, it would be much too soon.
Nell and crew showed up the last Tuesday in July to begin construction on the catio. Elise took special care when her sister was there not to give Jed any smoldering looks, not to stand too close to him and definitely never to touch him. She did not want her sister to know that there was anything more than work going on between her and her boss. If Elise and Jed were still together when the book was through and she returned to her own life, that would be the time to let her family know that they were an item.
Bravo Construction did good work and they did it quickly. A week later, Mr. Wiggles had his own personal backyard. He loved it. He climbed the cat runs and hid in the hidey-holes, basked in the August sun and stalked the birds that flitted beyond the wire fencing.
Besides the fire pit and the Adirondack chairs, Jed had decided to add a comfy outdoor living room to the patio. He’d also had Nell install a fancy grill and a sink and counter space—essentially an outdoor kitchen. That way, after work, they could join Wigs outside.
The first Friday in August, Jed grilled chicken out there and Elise baked potatoes and whipped up a salad. They sat down to eat at the cast-iron table not far from the fire pit.
Elise was spooning sour cream onto her potato when he asked, “So what’s on your mind?”
She plunked the spoon back in the tub of sour cream. “What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “Just now you were biting your lip. And you keep shooting me glances when you think I’m not looking. You’re building up to hitting me with something and you’re not sure how to go about it.”
How did he do it? He read her like a billboard. Sometimes that made her feel special and important to him. Sometimes, like now, she had to tamp down annoyance that he found her so transparent. “My half brother Carter is getting married a week from Saturday.”
“I know. You and Nell talked about the wedding that night she came for dinner.”
“I need the afternoon off so that I can be there—and yes, when you hired me I agreed to work all day, every day, six days a week. I should have asked for my brother’s wedding day then, but I had a lot on my mind and I just didn’t think of it. Then, later, I kept putting off asking because I was afraid you’d say no and, given our agreement, you would be perfectly within your rights to say no and then I would have to decide whether or not to make some sort of stand about it. And then we made love and now I’m sleeping with you and I feel like I would be taking advantage of our intimate relationship to ask you—”
“Enough.” He waved a chicken leg at her. “It’s not a problem. We’re ahead on the book. Take the whole day off.”
She picked up her fork and set it down without using it. “Seriously? I’ve got the whole day? Just like that?”
He nodded. She was about to leap up, run around the table and grab him in a grateful hug when he added, “Will I need to wear a tux, or what?” She sank back into her chair. Being Jed, he only had to look at her face to know what she was thinking. “So. You weren’t planning on taking me.”
“Well, Jed, it’s only that I...” Ugh. Whatever she said next, it wouldn’t sound good.
“I’m waiting, Elise. That sentence is never going to finish itself.”
She let out a hard breath, sucked in another one and tried again. “If you go with me, my family will know that we’re seeing each other—I mean, you know, dating, or whatever. That I’m not just your assistant, you know?”
“Yes, Elise. I do know. And you’re not just my assistant. You’re...” He let the word trail off as he drank from his water glass and set it back down with care. “What shall we call you? I don’t especially like the word girlfriend. It’s weak. Lover sounds vaguely reprehensible. And this isn’t just an added-benefits situation, either. It’s more.”
“Well, yes, what we have is really good and I love it, Jed. I love being with you, I truly do, but—”
“What you are, Elise, is mine. My woman. And my woman does not go to her half brother’s wedding—or anyone’s wedding, for that matter—without me.”
Her panties were suddenly wet. He went all caveman on her and she loved it. But still. She didn’t want her family to know that she spent her nights in his arms. Not yet, anyway. It was much too soon to be anybody’s business but hers and Jed’s. “If my family knows that I’m more than just your assistant, they’re going to worry about me. You know I’ve made bad choices. They know it, too. I just don’t want to deal with that.”
“Deal with what, exactly?”
“Oh, come on. Most of the time you read my mind, but now I have to draw you a picture?”
“Just say it, Elise.”
“Fine. I can’t deal with knowing that they know I’m sleeping with the boss.”
“But you are sleeping with the boss. It’s a fact. And you just said that it’s damn good between us. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
She couldn’t hold back a pained cry. “You don’t know them. They’re so protective—especially of me since I screwed up my life. At least one of my brothers is going to get you aside and tell you that you’d better treat me right, or else.”
“Well, I do treat you right and I’m happy to tell your brothers that I do. No problem.”
“And Nell. God, who knows what Nellie will do? I love her and I’m grateful for all the ways she’s got my back. But she thinks she’s big mama grizzly or something. She’ll be threatening to kick your ass if you break my heart.”
He waved a hand. “It’s not a big deal. Nell has already threatened to kick my ass in regards to you. Twice.”
She wanted to scream. “Excuse me? I didn’t know that. Why don’t I know that? You never said a word about it.”
“I knew it would only freak you out and I was happy to reassure your sister. End of story.”
“When?” she demanded.
“‘When’ what?”
“When did my sister threaten to kick your ass?”
“The first time was when I called her and asked her to make this cat patio.”
“What? No, she didn’t. We weren’t even sleeping together then.”
“Yes, she did. And no, we weren’t. That time she only meant I’d better treat you right on the job.”
“Oh, great. Fabulous.”
“The second time was a week ago, after she and her crew had been working on the patio for three days. She called me outside under the pretense of approving some tweak she’d made to the outdoor kitchen layout. I joined her by the grill, at which point she grabbed my arm, dragged me into the trees and said she wasn’t an idiot and it was crystal clear to her that you were doing more for me than typing my book.”
Elise facepalmed. “Just shoot me now.”
Jed went right on. “She threatened to make a eunuch of me if I ever made you cry. I reminded her that you were a hell of a woman and thus bound to cry now
and then. I told her I planned always to be there to dry your tears.”
Elise lifted her face from her hands. “You did? You do?” Now she definitely felt like crying.
“Yeah.”
“How can you say such wonderful things?”
“One, I mean them. Two, I have a certain facility with words.”
She blinked away the tears and sat up straighter. “It’s beautiful, what you just said. But I really think I need to remind you that it’s much too early to be saying such things to other people, even my sister, about you and me.”
His sexy mouth twitched at the corner. “I didn’t know there was a schedule I was supposed to be following.”
“It’s only been two and a half weeks since that first time. We shouldn’t rush into anything.”
“I’m not rushing anywhere. I’m right where I want to be.”
“And I’m glad.” Her throat clutched with emotion. “I’m where I want to be, too.” Her food was getting cold. She picked up a chicken thigh and had a bite, then she ate some of her potato.
“Elise.” His voice had that tone. Absolute and unwavering. “You’re not going to that wedding without me.”
She wanted to cry again. “If Nell knows, Jody knows. And Clara, too, probably. And maybe my cousin Rory. And possibly Chloe, my half brother Quinn’s wife. All my brothers probably know too, by now.”
“So it’s a done deal. Move on.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not the family screwup.”
“You’re no screwup. Your family loves you and that makes them protective of you. And you’re far too proud for your own good.” He said it softly. Tenderly. And that made her want to go jump in his lap, wrap her arms good and tight around his neck and beg him to take her to bed right this minute. But then he added, “And you can look at it this way. If I don’t go with you, they’re all going to think you mean so little to me that I didn’t even bother to take you to Carter’s wedding. Your brothers will beat the crap out of me and Nell will cut off my—”
“Stop it. All right. I give.”
He sent a glance heavenward. “Finally.”
“You won’t need a tux. A suit or a sport coat and slacks will be fine. It’s outdoors. One of those scenic wedding venues not far out of town.”
He gave her a look that smoldered and teased at the same time. “You haven’t even asked me yet.”
“Right. A minute ago I wasn’t allowed to go without you. Now, suddenly, you need an invitation.”
Those eyes of his swept over her, heating all her secret places. “I want you to ask me. Do it.”
“You realize I have no privacy in my life. Somehow, my family always knows whatever’s going on with me whether I want them to know or not. And you can read my mind.”
He put his napkin by his plate and stood. She gazed across at him looming over her. Beneath her irritation that he couldn’t just accept her defeat on this without rubbing it in, she felt that special shiver. It was glorious, that shiver.
Even if what he’d said a minute ago about always being there to dry her tears were only pretty words, she knew he wanted her more than any man had ever wanted her before. More than she’d ever dared to hope any guy ever would.
It meant so much, the beautiful, intense, complete way he wanted her. It meant everything. She’d thought she was falling for him the day he told her he would enclose this patio for Wigs. But she hadn’t known what falling was. Every day she fell deeper. There seemed no end to how far she could go. And with Jed, she wasn’t afraid of her feelings. With Jed, she gloried in the fall.
Wigs, sitting near his feet, looked up at him expectantly. “Mrow?”
He glanced down at the cat. “It’s only right that she asks me.”
Wigs tipped his head to the side and replied thoughtfully, “Mrow.”
And then Jed’s eyes were on her again. “Well?”
She surrendered a lot more willingly than she would ever let him know. “Jed, will you please take me to my brother’s wedding a week from Saturday?”
He wrapped those muscled arms across his wide chest and studied her for a moment that went on forever. “Come here.”
Her heart did the happy dance inside her chest. “Will you or won’t you?”
“Come here first. And when you get here, I want you to kiss me nice and slow.”
Like there was any way she could resist an order like that. She rose and circled the table. Taking his face between her hands, she went on tiptoe to claim his lips, so soft and warm. His beard scruff scratched a little. It felt absolutely delicious.
He kept his arms across his chest. But slowly, he opened to her, let his tongue spar with hers. She did love the taste of him: smoky sweet from the barbecue sauce, with the added promise of any number of intimate delights to come.
When she dropped to her heels again, she asked, “Please?”
He uncrossed his arms at last and put a finger under her chin. “So we’re understood about this, then? We are together and we’re proud to be together and we don’t give a good damn who knows it or what they think about it.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You never care what anyone else thinks.”
“And neither should you. Are we understood?”
She gave in. Because he was right and because she adored the big lug. “Yes. We’re understood. Will you go to the wedding with me?”
“Yes, Elise. I will.” And then he whipped out an arm, hauled her good and close and kissed her until her knees gave way.
* * *
Carter Bravo and Paige Kettleman were married at six in the evening on the terrace at Belle Montagne Chateau ten miles outside of Justice Creek.
After the ceremony, they all moved inside for the reception, including a sit-down dinner for eighty. Paige and Carter had originally planned to use Bravo Catering for their reception. But then the business burned down. Elise had helped them find another caterer.
She’d assumed she would feel low on entering the banquet area and seeing the beautifully set tables, the floral centerpieces that Jody had designed. She’d just known that it would break her heart a little to watch the staff, in black slacks and vests and crisp white shirts, serving another caterer’s menu.
But she didn’t feel bad in the least. The dinner was beautifully done and Elise knew now that, thanks to Jed, she would have Bravo Catering up and running again, maybe even before the year was out.
So it wasn’t a sad time at all. As it turned out, she was having a ball. Carter and Paige looked so happy and Quinn’s speech as best man brought several big laughs and also a tear or two.
Jed was amazing. He looked so good in a gray silk suit that hugged his wide shoulders perfectly and fit just right over his lean hips and muscular legs. He actually visited with people. He was friendly and seemed genuinely interested in what the older lady seated on his other side had to say.
Elise realized she’d never seen him in a social gathering before. She supposed she should have known he’d be capable of holding up his end at a party, should have realized it wasn’t that he couldn’t say all the right things and put people at ease. It was only that most of the time he just didn’t bother. He was Jed Walsh and he made his own rules.
But tonight, he was charming. He joked around with Nell and went off to smoke a cigar with two of her brothers—and returned to the table looking completely relaxed.
She leaned close to him when he folded his big frame back into the chair beside her. “Did they threaten you in any way?”
“Get over it, Elise,” he replied. “Your brothers are good guys. There were no threats. Not a one—and who’s that blond guy over there, the one who keeps staring at you?”
The guy in question gave her a wincing sort of smile and a limp wave. “He’s an old friend, that’s all.”
&
nbsp; “Does your old friend have a name?”
Jed was so protective of her, she hesitated to tell him. But if he wanted to know, he would find out one way or another. Like Jack McCannon, Jed was always on the case. “His name is Biff.”
“The dirtbag who borrowed money from you and then declared bankruptcy so he ‘couldn’t’ pay you back?”
“He’s been my friend since we were children.”
“Some friend.”
“Jed, he had a very tough time of it.”
“Lots of people have a tough time of it.”
“He’s not a dirtbag.”
“He is from where I’m sitting.”
She whispered, “Keep your opinions to yourself, please. At least until we’re alone—and I can’t believe you remember who Biff is. I only mentioned him to you that one time.”
“I remember everything you tell me.” Across the room, Biff had started moving. “And the dirtbag is coming this way.”
Oh, dear God. Jed was right, Biff was coming over. Did he have no instinct for self-preservation? “You let me handle this, Jed.” Jed made a low snorting sound much too reminiscent of a bull about to charge. “I mean it,” she warned. “If you can’t say something nice, you’d better not say anything at all.” She turned to Biff as he kept coming—which meant she couldn’t see Jed. But she could sure feel his seething silence behind her.
“Elise.” Biff, blond hair tousled, blue eyes full of regrets, stopped beside her chair. “It’s so good to see you.”
“Biff.” She got up and gave him a quick hug and an air kiss, though she knew it wouldn’t go over well with the snorting beast behind her. “How’ve you been?”
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