And still Pete sat in the Hitching Post’s banquet hall with Jed and his family.
He, along with the rest of the men in the room, had undone his tie and the top button of his tuxedo shirt. Jed had given up on the cummerbund altogether and draped it over the back of his chair.
Andi and Jane had joined Andi’s father and Jane’s parents at their table. He and Jed and Paz were at the one adjacent to it.
“What do you say, Paz?” Jed asked. “Did we do right by the bride and groom, or did we not?”
“We did.” She gave him a smile so broad, her full cheeks nudged her eyes into a squint.
“You outdid yourself with the dinner,” Pete told her.
She patted his arm. “Thank you, but it was nothing. Tina and Cole wanted a buffet menu, and that was easy. The same as I make for the dining room, except increasing the recipes for the number of guests.”
“And Sugar did the cake and all the trimmings. Hey, Jane,” Jed called over to her, “what did you think about the desserts? Not bad, huh?”
She sat only a few feet from Pete, her chair angled slightly away from him. “You need to put Sugar on the banquet hall’s vendor list,” she said. “Her desserts were delicious.”
She was delicious, and he needed to get his arms around her again. He hadn’t managed to get her alone since their turn on the dance floor.
Jed looked around the banquet hall and gave an approving nod. “We’ll be ready to start taking reservations for this room soon,” he announced to the group. “And I don’t know about you boys—” he turned to look at his sons “—but I think it’s high time we have another wedding in the family. Jane, you’re the oldest. What do you think?”
“We haven’t quite wrapped up this wedding yet,” she said. “And if you mean you’re looking for me to be next in the lineup, I’m afraid you’re out of luck. Once I leave here next week, it’s back to work, and my schedule’s full for at least the next three years.”
“Yeah, we need to talk about that schedule. C’mon on over here for a minute, will you?”
“Sure.”
Andi and the others at the table went back to their conversation. Jane came to sit on the far side of the table from Pete. While he would have liked her by his side, he didn’t mind the current seating arrangements, either. He could look directly across the table at her and watch every move she made.
“This schedule of yours,” Jed said, frowning. “You’ll be back again here soon, won’t you? We’ll want you to start work on the website.”
“There’s no need for me to be here for that, Grandpa. I’ll have all the photos taken by the time I go, and from then on, I can do everything on the computer.”
So, she didn’t plan to stick around, not even to help Jed and her cousins with the rest of the hotel renovations. Here today, gone as soon as possible. An all-too-familiar story.
Like his ex, she was all about what she wanted, about what was best for her. Maybe she wasn’t abandoning her family the way Marina had, but not pitching in to help was a parallel, one much too close for him to ignore. For her, the career came first.
“The website is the kind of job I can do when I’m flying between assignments,” she told Jed. “Believe me, I have plenty of downtime waiting at airports. And most of my assignments involve long international flights.”
Yeah. France. Argentina. South Africa.
In conversation, she mentioned travel to different countries the way his father dropped the names of well-known organizations. The way Marina used to talk about the ritzy locations of her fashion shows.
Jane would never give up her globe-trotting to settle down.
“What about the videos?” Jed asked.
She nodded. “Summertime’s perfect for scenic backgrounds here, so I’ll get those done this week, too. I thought I’d start shooting on Monday, since Mom and Dad will be gone.”
Gone? There went his hope of having her parents around for a while to keep her occupied—and him off the hook about playing her assistant. To keep him from trailing after her like some lovesick teenager.
“Good.” Jed smiled. “Pete can drive you around to some likely places.”
And the trip could drive him crazy.
He tugged at the tie hanging open at his neck. Bad idea, since his movement attracted Jed’s eye. But hell, if what Cole had said about the boss’s matchmaking was true, Jed would hunt him down to help Jane anyway. And then would draw and quarter him if he didn’t comply.
* * *
JANE SLIPPED AWAY from the banquet hall, leaving her family involved in their post-wedding conversation.
Pete had left just moments ago and, though she never would admit it to him, she couldn’t wait another minute to find out what he had wanted to tell her at the reception.
She ran the risk of his sharing something she didn’t want to hear. But despite this, and the night air still warm from the New Mexico summer heat, she couldn’t fight off a small shiver of anticipation.
Outside, she saw him walking across the yard to his own house. She called his name softly. He turned back, hesitated, then met her near the steps. “We never did finish our talk,” she reminded him.
“No, we didn’t.” He reached up to run his hand through his hair, golden in the glow of the porch light. His tuxedo jacket flapped open, revealing the starched and pleated white shirt straining against his chest and the blue cummerbund securely wrapped around his waist.
Things would soon change between them, she knew, when he found out what she had done. After her conversation with Tina, she had contacted Marina and was waiting for a return email.
But for now, she was here, he was hers, and that was all she could think about.
That man could be yours. If you’re willing to go get him.
She was willing.
She trailed her fingertips down the front of his shirt. He reached up, trapping her hand against his chest. She could feel his heat. She could feel his heartbeat. She could feel something inside her that had gone all soft and warm.
“You really do clean up nice,” she whispered, her voice shaking.
“For a cowboy, you mean?”
“No. For any man.”
“You pretty up well yourself. For any man who might look, including this one. But I didn’t expect...” He paused.
“Didn’t expect what?”
“This wasn’t...”
“Wasn’t what?”
“Aw, hell, Jane. I don’t know.” He gave a low laugh and shook his head. “But for sure I don’t want a game of Twenty Questions. Not this minute.”
“What do you want?”
“You.”
He took his hands on a slow ride up the length of her arms. She shivered again. He curled his fingers around her shoulders and gave another gentle tug. She accepted the unspoken invitation, letting him hold her close. Closer than he had on the dance floor. Close enough to feel his heat. He moved his hands to her shoulders once again, holding her steady as he bent his head for a long, sweet, satisfying kiss.
When they broke away, she felt ashamed of needing a deep breath—until the moonlight showed her the answering rise and fall of his pleated white shirt.
“I didn’t mean to do that,” he said hoarsely.
“Of course not,” she murmured. “Just like when I told my father I didn’t mean to drop the cookie jar on the kitchen floor. It was an accident.”
“And he believed you.”
“Absolutely. He knew I never lied to him. But I did have quite a time explaining how the kitchen chair had overturned and why the door of the cabinet where my mother hid the cookie jar was hanging wide open.” She laughed softly.
He ran his hand along her arm again. “And I thought I had a time of it with Rachel and her antics.”
“Wait till Eric gets old
er. I hear little boys are worse.”
“So Cole and Tina tell me.”
“Well. Now that we’ve done—” she waved her hand between them “—this, have you figured out what you wanted?”
“I told you that already. I want you. But the hotel’s full of your family, and Sharon’s home now with the kids.” He laughed and shook his head. “And I can hardly take you to the barn in this dress.” He ran both hands down her sides and over her hips, pulling her against him, leaving her with no doubt about how much he wanted her.
This time, his kiss was longer, deeper, hotter, but didn’t leave her satisfied at all.
“The cabin’s still open,” she whispered.
He smiled. “And I can’t let you walk there through the grass in those shoes.”
In one swift motion, he swept her up in his arms.
She shivered yet again, this time at the irony of the night. Her one and only time with him would be in a honeymoon haven.
* * *
INSIDE THE CABIN, Jane closed the door behind them. Before she could turn around, Pete had slipped his arms around her and placed a kiss on the back of her neck. That first touch became a series that trailed along her spine to the top of her gown.
She turned in his arms to find him staring down at her, his hazel-green eyes looking dazed. Without a word, he lifted her chin to take her mouth as if their last kiss had never ended. As if he didn’t plan to finish it anytime soon.
Finally, he pulled back to stare into her eyes again. She gulped a ragged breath and said, “That wasn’t bad at all.”
He laughed roughly. “I could go for something better.”
“If you must.”
How he could kiss her any more thoroughly, she didn’t know. But she was ready and willing to give him a chance. When he lowered his head, she parted her lips. Instead of meeting them with his own, he pressed a kiss against the pulse point at the side of her neck.
She gave a low, surprised gasp.
He gave a low, satisfied chuckle. Again, he pulled back to meet her gaze. “So, what’s going on here?” he asked.
“We’re making out.”
He laughed. “I don’t mean here—” he stroked her lips with his thumb “—I mean here.” He gestured toward the bed.
“You ought to know the signs by now.” She swallowed another surprised gasp at her own words.
She should have recognized the signs. Her signs. Her struggle to stay away from Pete. Her inability to tell him she no longer needed his help. Her caring. Her concern. Her worry. The conflicting emotions she hadn’t yet acknowledged. The soft warmth that filled her heart.
And, above all, the truth she didn’t want to face.
Her hand trembling, she copied his gesture toward the bed. “I was staging a seduction scene.”
“I’ve got a better idea.”
“Such as?”
“Forget the staging. Let’s go for some live action.”
No shivers now. A sizable tremor ran through her. Praying he hadn’t noticed, she quickly forced a laugh. “That’s a bit abrupt, isn’t it?”
“All right, then. Let’s start with the chocolates I see on those pillows.”
He unwrapped one and fed it to her, the way he had the strawberry. She took a bite. He took the rest. They ate another. And another.
“You do like sweets, don’t you?” he said.
“I know something sweeter,” she whispered.
He groaned, then swept her into his arms again and carried her to the bed.
His lips now tasted like chocolate. Could there be anything better? When he pressed his mouth against the hollow of her throat, she knew there could.
As he’d done by the door, he left a trail of kisses down her body. Only this time, it led all the way to the bottom of the plunging neckline.
And this time, when he reached her gown, he kept going.
Chapter Fourteen
“It was a beautiful wedding, Jed.” Still dressed in her finery, a teary-eyed Paz stood near the kitchen sink.
“It was indeed. And a productive one, as far as we’re concerned. Tina and Cole married, and Jane and Pete tearing up the dance floor. Can’t ask for more than that. Yet.” His smile faded. “But just where the heck has that girl gotten to now?”
He and Paz had come to get a refill for the ice bucket and some additional drinks. Most of his family still sat around the tables in the banquet hall. All but the bride and groom and their son. And Jane.
“When I walked into the kitchen earlier,” Paz said, “I saw her on the porch.”
“Doing what?”
“Just standing and looking out to the yard.”
“How much earlier was that?”
“Just after she left from the hall.” She smiled. “Which was just after Pete had gone, too.”
He laughed. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking about why they both disappeared?”
“I hope so.”
“Good.” He rattled the ice bucket. “Now the wedding’s over, we don’t have much time. Jane will be looking to go back to her job soon, and we’ve got to find a way to stop her.”
“Maybe Pete will do that tonight while they’re out walking in the moonlight.”
“I reckon they might be up to more than that. But regardless, we’ve got to pick up the pace.”
“How?”
“I don’t know right now. But don’t you worry—I’ll think of something.”
* * *
WITH COLE GONE away for a few days with his bride and their son, Pete had planned to work one man short. Since Jed hadn’t booked any reservations for the upcoming week, either, except for family and a few of the wedding guests, that wouldn’t pose a problem.
But to his surprise, bright and early on Sunday morning, Cole’s best man, Tyler, showed up in the barn. And he wanted to work.
“Are you pulling my leg?” Pete asked, though he knew Tyler had the background and experience to do anything on the ranch. He set down the reins he’d been checking over and leaned his back against the workbench. “Cole said you were planning to hang around for a couple of days, taking a vacation. You’re welcome to saddle up any of the mounts here. With it being a quiet week, the exercise will do them good.”
“Yeah, well, I was thinking about a deal.”
“Such as?”
“I want to go into town later today, but I haven’t got wheels. Thought I’d put in a few hours working with you, and then maybe you and your kids might want to take a ride. I’ll spring for dessert.”
Pete laughed. “Dessert, huh? I’m thinking you don’t mean the kind we had last night, from SugarPie’s.”
“No.”
“And I’m thinking you’re looking more for a good excuse to stop in at the Big Dipper.”
The other man grinned. “You got it.”
Pete nodded. He’d seen the man hitting on Shay the night of the bachelor party, then dancing with her at the reception. In fact, he wouldn’t have been surprised if that had led to Tyler’s decision to stick around the ranch.
“Why not?” he told Tyler. “And don’t worry about working off the ride. My kids are due for a trip for some ice cream.”
Overdue, if he told the truth.
He gave the man a tour of the stalls and his pick of a horse.
When Tyler had saddled up and left, Pete turned back to his work. He liked hanging around the barn on early Sunday mornings after the chores were done. He spent time on things he couldn’t normally fit into his schedule. Paperwork, which he despised. Cleaning tack, which relaxed him. Inventory, which had to be done whether he liked it or not. But mostly, whatever the chore, he liked the quiet, broken only by the sound of a neighing horse or a barking dog. Or the arrival of the occasional human visitor, s
uch as Tyler.
Or the woman standing in the doorway now.
“Thought you’d still be sleeping in,” he said to Jane. Her blush, a reminder of her flushed face and rapid breaths the night before, made him hard. Recalling what they had done made him want her even more.
Also thanks to what they had done, he had never brought up the subject he’d intended to discuss with her at the reception. But now, maybe confessing more than he wanted to share wouldn’t be necessary.
“I had breakfast with my mother and father,” she said. “They have an early flight out, so they’re going to the airport with Tina and Cole.”
“That works.” He waited, wondering what she was doing here.
As if she’d read his mind, she said, “I’ll be shooting those videos Grandpa mentioned away from the house for a day or two. He recommended we use the ranch truck, when you have it available.”
For a second, he thought of offering up Tyler as her assistant, but the burst of possessiveness that hit almost left him reeling. He fought to ignore the sensation. “You need me to help move a cactus or two?”
“Ha-ha. I don’t drive, remember?”
“Oh, yeah. Will late afternoon tomorrow suit you?”
“Yes, that’ll be fine.”
He thought of his plans for the rest of the day. Tried not to think about what Jane might be doing.
Tried not to recall what she had said to him the night of the rehearsal—the thing that seemed to bother her just as much as the kids not seeing Marina. Her words had come back to him more than once since that night.
Socializing only with everyone here on the ranch isn’t doing you any good. More important, it’s keeping your kids from making friends.
Who said he didn’t socialize? Going for ice cream was a social occasion, wasn’t it? “I’m taking the kids into town to the Big Dipper later this afternoon. Tyler’s coming along. Want to join us?”
She hesitated, and for a moment he hoped she would say no. All too easily, he’d let his pride and his desire for her make him forget his own caution to stay away.
“Do you mind if I invite Andi and the kids, too?”
“Sure. The more the merrier. Rachel will like having her friends along.” He almost emphasized his final words. That was all he would need now, to be getting as bad as his father with his pointed remarks.
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