Catching Heat

by Alison Packard

  “But is it the right thing for the two of you? From what you’ve said, you’re basically strangers. What do you really know about this woman?”

  What did he know about her? Not much, except she was beautiful. And that he was almost positive she’d had nothing on under that wisp of a robe she’d been wearing when he’d found her in the kitchen the other night. Between those sexy corkscrew curls of hers and the imprint of her nipples against the silky fabric, it was all he could do to get out of the kitchen before his damn cock betrayed him with proof of his arousal. And then, when she’d slipped on the stairs and he caught her in his arms, her soft floral scent and the feel of her body against his had almost sent him over the edge. Despite the primal instincts bombarding his senses, he’d relinquished his hold on her and walked away. After that, sleep had been hard to come by.

  “I know enough.” J.T. recapped his bottle and stood. “I’m gonna hit the showers. If you’re off early tonight, why don’t you stop by and meet Angie?” He grinned. “That way you’ll recognize her at the altar.”

  * * *

  Angie had just pulled her car into her side of the garage when she saw J.T.’s truck in her rearview mirror. As he eased the truck into the garage beside her, she turned off the engine and got out of the car. One of the nice things about living in the suburbs of Sacramento was being able to park her car in a garage. Although she loved San Francisco, parking had been the bane of her existence. She didn’t miss driving around North Beach looking for an open spot.

  “How was your workout?” she asked as J.T. slid out of his truck and closed the door. Moving to the trunk, she pressed a button on her key remote and the lid popped open.

  “Grueling. My brother is trying to kill me,” J.T. grumbled as he moved between their vehicles and came to a halt beside her. “Before lifting, he made me do wind sprints on the treadmill. It was brutal.”

  Angie inhaled his clean scent, noting that his hair was still damp under the baseball cap he had turned backward on his head. He looked more like an overgrown kid rather than the highly paid athlete he was. “You don’t look the worse for it,” she said, letting her gaze roam over him freely.

  “Tell that to my aching muscles.” J.T. grimaced as he reached into her trunk and lifted the two grocery bags from inside. “Hey, I thought you were going dress shopping with my mom.”

  “I did.” Angie closed the trunk. “She dropped me off about an hour ago.” He stepped back to let her precede him toward the house. “The shopping trip was successful. We found a dress and a pair of shoes to match,” she said as she unlocked the door to the large laundry room that led to the kitchen. “After I got home I decided to try one of Grandma Sophia’s recipes but your fridge is pretty bare so I got in the car and went in search of a grocery store.”

  Angie passed through the laundry room, opened the door to the kitchen and with J.T. following, she set her purse and keys on the center island. J.T. deposited the bags on the smooth surface and turned to look at her. “We need to talk about money.”

  “What about it?” Angie tensed, his words reminded her of exactly why she was here.

  “When we get back from Tahoe, I’ll go to the bank and open a joint account. You can use that for whatever you need.”

  “Fine.” Angie nodded and wondered why she wasn’t jumping for joy. After all, money was the reason why she agreed to marry him. “I’ll keep track of what I spend and give you all the receipts.”

  “You don’t have to do that. Just let me know if you need to make a large purchase so I can transfer money into the account to cover it.”

  “What kind of large purchase would I make?”

  “I don’t know.” J.T. shrugged. “Maybe some stuff for the nursery.”

  “Nursery?” Angie echoed. “You have a nursery?”

  J.T. chuckled. “Not yet. But there are two bedrooms between yours and mine. One of them I’ve been using as an office but the other one could be the baby’s room.”

  Angie lowered her hands and rested one on her stomach. A nursery. Just one more thing that made the baby real. “We have time,” she said, not wanting to face that reality just yet. “Maybe we could start with doing something with the living room.”

  “It’s sad, isn’t it?”

  Angie couldn’t help but smile at his woeful expression. “Let’s just say it’s got potential.”

  “You don’t have to spare my feelings. I know it’s as impersonal as a hotel room. Feel free to do whatever you want. Anything would be an improvement.” A wry grin quirked his lips. “My only request is that we don’t get rid of the flat screen.” Before she could reply he looked at the grocery bags. “What recipe are you trying out?”

  “Beef stroganoff.”

  “Will there be enough for three?” He returned his gaze to hers. “My brother Jake is dropping by after work. He wants to meet you.”

  “There’ll be plenty,” she assured him even as her stomach churned. Great. Another Sawyer to contend with. Would Jake be as accepting of her as J.T.’s parents had been? “Does he know about our…our situation?”

  “Yes,” J.T. said. “And he’s not going to say anything. To anyone.”

  Chapter Ten

  If J.T. had a superstitious bone in his body, he might be tempted to believe that the first drops of rain that dotted the windshield of his truck were an omen of things to come. Unlike many of his teammates though, he didn’t believe that eating the same food before each game secured a win, or taking the exact number of swings each time he was at the plate guaranteed a hit. So instead of worrying that the threat of rain on his wedding day was bad luck, he turned the wipers on low and eased up on the gas. He might not be superstitious, but he was smart enough not to push it by speeding on wet asphalt.

  Next to him, Angie was silent. And had been for the past ten miles. He’d hoped that after five days of living together they’d be more at ease with each other, but it just wasn’t happening. Angie wasn’t talkative. At least not with him. But with Jake it was another story. The night Jake had dropped by for dinner, he and Angie hit it off immediately, and when Angie expressed an interest in finding some sort of exercise she could do as her pregnancy advanced, Jake offered to sign her up at the gym and get her started on the fitness program he’d specifically designed for expectant mothers.

  Seeing Angie’s animated face and ready smile for his brother annoyed the shit out of him. It seemed that she’d warmed up to every Sawyer except him. Even Josh, who’d stopped by the house before heading back to school, had managed to break through Angie’s quiet reserve when he promised to attend the wedding even if he had to cut class and incur the wrath of his professor.

  J.T. supposed Angie’s reticence was to be expected considering the circumstances. They were strangers living in the same house, tiptoeing around each other as they got ready to make the biggest commitment two people could make. One day soon that wall of politeness between them would crack, or at least he hoped it would. Maybe then they could get to the business of building a real relationship. And by real relationship, he meant one that included sex.

  Living with a woman as beautiful and sexy as Angie and not being able to make love to her was even more difficult than he’d imagined. Every room in the house—except his bedroom—was filled with her soft feminine scent and did things to him that made it hard to get to sleep at night. Despite his best efforts to forget, J.T. hadn’t been able to erase the memory of that one hot night when Angie had lowered her guard and then proceeded to rock his world. Most men might have been relieved to find her gone the next day. But not him. Ever since he could remember he’d had women throwing themselves at him left and right, yet the only women he wanted was the one who barely noticed he was alive.

  “Do you need a pit stop?” he asked, noting the green mileage sign that indicated they were approaching the town of Placerville.

  “No.” Angie brushed back a mass of dark curls and met his sidelong glance. “I’m good. Thanks.”

  “I’m so
rry your mom and sister aren’t coming to the wedding,” he said, still irritated that no one from Angie’s family planned to attend. Despite her denial that it didn’t matter, J.T. wasn’t buying it. Granted, it was short notice, but would it kill Angie’s mother to support her daughter? It wasn’t like she was marrying an ax murderer, or worse, a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

  “It’s for the best. My mother still hasn’t gotten over the fact that I’m not marrying Scott.”

  J.T. tightened his grip on the steering wheel. This was Angie’s first mention of her former fiancé since she’d accepted his marriage proposal. But that didn’t mean she hadn’t been thinking about the guy. “Have you talked to him?”

  “No.” He felt her eyes on him. “Would it bother you if I had?”

  Hell yes, it would bother me. “No,” he said, keeping his attention on the road. The thought of any other man touching Angie made him see red and—as illogical as it was—had from the moment he’d met her. When she’d told him that she and Scott had never slept together it was all he could do not to pump his fist in the air and cheer.

  “Will I be meeting Justin at the wedding?”

  Her question made him forget the former fiancé and think about someone much more important. “No. We still haven’t heard from him.”

  “You’re worried, aren’t you?”

  “Yes. He’s never gone this long without contacting us in some way.”

  “My grandmother always used to say that no news is good news.” She shifted in her seat and cast him a reassuring smile. “If something bad had happened your parents would have received a call.”

  “You’re probably right.” J.T. signaled and eased the truck into the slower lane to let the car behind him pass. The drizzle had turned into steady rain that made a forceful drumming sound as it pelted the truck. “So I know about your mom, your sister and your grandmother. How come you never mention your father?”

  “He died several years ago,” she said after several long seconds.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” Her voice turned hard. “I’m not.”

  Never let it be said he didn’t know when to change the subject. “Did you make an appointment with the ob-gyn your doctor in San Francisco referred you to?”

  “Not yet,” she replied in a much softer tone. “I thought I’d do that on Monday. Why?”

  “I just want to make sure I don’t schedule anything so I can go with you.”

  “You want to go to my pre-natal appointments with me?”

  “Yes.” J.T. turned his head and met her gaze. Why did she look so surprised? “I want to be a part of the whole process,” he said and saw her blink away the sudden moisture that glistened in her eyes. Without a word, she averted her head to stare out the side window. It had to be hormones, right? Or could it be something else? Maybe she was wishing it was Scott she was marrying instead of him.

  He looked back to the road and hoped the surprise he had planned for her this afternoon would cheer her up. Angie thought she could get married without her friends or family, but he thought differently. In a few hours she would find out she wasn’t as alone as she might think.

  * * *

  The view from the bridal retreat at the Montblanc Resort was breathtaking. Despite her nerves, Angie couldn’t tear her gaze from the white-capped Sierra Nevada peaks in the distance or the majestic pines close to the resort whose branches hung heavy from the weight of freshly fallen snow. The phrase winter wonderland was one used often this time of year and as corny as it was, it was the only thing she could think of to describe the grandeur before her.

  Due to the snowfall that had begun about ten miles outside of Placerville, they’d been slowed by heavy traffic on Highway 50 and had arrived at the resort with only thirty minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to begin. In lieu of checking in, both she and J.T. had been directed to separate bride and groom retreats adjacent to the chapel where they could change into their wedding attire.

  With Sharon’s help, her make-up had been retouched and her mass of hair was now held back with two stunning diamond clips and fell in soft waves down her back. The dress was still as gorgeous as Angie remembered and with its empire waist, it was impossible to tell she was pregnant. In less than thirty minutes she’d been transformed into a bride.

  Turning from the large picture window, Angie put a hand to her churning stomach. It wasn’t morning sickness—thankfully, that had tapered off, and when she did have a bout of it, it wasn’t as severe as in the beginning. No, the queasiness that threatened to overtake her was a by-product of the deception she and J.T. were perpetrating on his family. If the Sawyers were a cold, loathsome family it would be so much easier to pretend the marriage was real. But no, the Sawyers were the most genuine people she’d ever met.

  Then there was J.T. He was so not like she’d imagined him to be. Instead of an egotistical jock who only thought of his own wants and needs, he was the exact opposite. Any time he left the house, he offered to pick up anything she needed on the way back, and on the night his brother Jake had stopped by for dinner and she’d mentioned she’d been craving maraschino cherries (of all things) he’d driven to the grocery store and bought her a jar. And now he wanted to go her pre-natal appointments with her.

  Lifting a hand to her neck, Angie fingered the aquamarine necklace Sharon had insisted she borrow. She’d said it took care of something old, because it was given to her on her own wedding day almost forty years ago, something new because it was new to Angie, something borrowed, and something blue. It was a generous gesture from a woman she’d barely known a week—a woman who had welcomed Angie into her family with no reservations whatsoever.

  There’s still time to stop the wedding. She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall opposite the window. Calm down, woman. It’s only two years. Two years of being married to the sexiest man alive. Damn it. Why couldn’t J.T. be like her father? Marrying him would be so much easier if he was a cruel and self-absorbed womanizing lout.

  The double knock on the door startled her and her heart began to thud so loudly it reverberated in her eardrums. It could only be Sharon, who’d promised to return after a quick check on J.T.

  “Come in,” she called out, trying to stop the trembling of her legs. Jeez. One would think she was headed for the guillotine instead of the altar. Taking a deep breath, she moved toward the vanity table in the corner of the room to retrieve the small bouquet of pink roses that Sharon had picked out for her.

  “Surprise.”

  With a gasp of recognition, Angie whirled around. “Oh my God. What are you doing here?”

  “I couldn’t let my best friend get married without me,” Kelly Maxwell said as she closed the door behind her and flashed a wide grin. Kelly put her hands on her hips and gave Angie a quick once-over. “You absolutely look stunning. But then, you always do.”

  Angie lifted her hand to her mouth, relief washing over her like a gentle summer breeze. As much as she liked J.T.’s family, they couldn’t replace her own, and Kelly was as much of a sister to her as Livvie was. Until this moment she hadn’t been able to admit how much she needed someone she loved here with her on her wedding day.

  Angie lowered her hand as Kelly moved toward her and wrapped her in a quick hug. When she pulled back, her amber eyes were filled with concern. “Why didn’t you call me?”

  “The last time we talked you were busy getting ready for your sister’s wedding. I didn’t want to distract you from that.”

  “Distract me?” Kelly stepped back, a frown knitting her dark brows. “Kayla’s wedding isn’t until New Year’s Eve. That’s a month away and everything is going like clockwork. I have time to be here, Angie. And what’s more important is I want to be here. Especially when I found out your mom and sister are pulling a no-show.”

  “My mom is…” Angie began and then held her hand up. “Wait. Never mind that, how did you know the wedding was today and here in Lake Tahoe?”

  “J.T.
called me.” Kelly adjusted the collar of the garnet wrap dress that hugged her statuesque body. “And it’s a good thing he did.” Kelly pinned her with an accusatory gaze. “Or else I wouldn’t have known a damn thing about it.”

  A pang of remorse shot through Angie. She’d been so wrapped up in her problems she’d forgotten about her best friend. “I’m sorry. It’s just that this has all happened so fast. J.T. and I originally planned to get married at the courthouse in Sacramento and then his parents offered us a wedding here and…and I didn’t have the heart to disappoint them.”

  Kelly wasn’t so easily mollified. “You still could have called me. I can only imagine how hard this is for you.”

  Angie grimaced. “If only you knew.”

  “What does that mean? Are you getting cold feet?”

  “Nothing is like I thought it would be. Nothing.” Angie sighed and smoothed a palm over the silky fabric of her dress. “J.T.’s family is wonderful, and J.T. has been nothing but kind.” So kind he’d called Kelly so she’d have someone she cared about by her side today. Everything she’d assumed about him was proving to be just that…an assumption.

  “And that’s a problem?”

  It was a big problem, but she couldn’t admit that to Kelly. Aside from J.T. and Jake, the only person privy to the exact nature of their marriage arrangement was her mother. As far as the rest of the world was concerned she was doing the right thing for the baby. Which she was, but in the end she doubted anyone else would see it that way.

  A knock on the door spared Angie from answering. Sharon opened the door and peeked inside. “It’s time,” she said with her usual warm smile. “And it looks like you’ve got a maid of honor.”

  “Damn straight she does.” Kelly looked from Sharon to Angie and grinned. “Let’s get this party started.”

  * * *

  The wedding chapel wasn’t exactly what J.T. had been expecting. The word chapel had slightly religious overtones so he’d imagined rows of wooden pews, stained glass windows and an elaborate altar. Instead, the room looked like any other hotel banquet room except for the spectacular view of the Sierra Nevada Mountains that surrounded the Lake Tahoe basin.