Susan Mallery Fool's Gold Series Volume One: Chasing Perfect\Almost Perfect\Sister of the Bride\Finding Perfect (78 page)

“You really want to get in the middle of that conversation?”

“No. But Alex's mom is going to be pissed.” She shook her head. “No. Not pissed. Hurt.”

“You're assuming this is the first time.”

Katie looked at him. “Tully does this a lot. Takes advantage of men.”

“Sorry, no. She doesn't take advantage of them. They're willing partners in whatever she's doing. Maybe she shows them something they didn't know was there. Maybe they use her as an excuse. But either way, they have to take responsibility for their actions.”

Something Katie hadn't thought about. “Everyone always says Tully is a force of nature. That no one can resist her.”

“I did.”

“You're different.”

“No. Just scared.”

Katie laughed. “You're saying she's not your type?”

“She'd probably kill me. I doubt I could keep up.”

He continued to massage her feet. Warmth spread through her, making her want to confess her true feelings. But saying she was falling in love with him wasn't an option. If anything, it would frighten him off and that was the last thing she wanted to do.

“I think you could take on Tully and win,” she told him.

“I appreciate the confidence but I'm not interested in that particular competition. I'd rather take on you.”

“Good answer.”

Ten

A
fter a few more minutes of massage, Jackson slipped Katie's shoes back on, then shifted so he was sitting next to her on the bench. He put his arm around her and she snuggled in close.

He felt warm, she thought. Safe.

“Tell me about where you live,” she said.

“Outside of Los Angeles.”

“Not Silicon Valley?”

“I avoided the cliché,” he said. “There's plenty of talent in L.A. and when I was starting my business, I wanted good people.”

“Have you lived there long?”

“Seven years. We're looking to move the company. We want something more low-key. Everyone's getting married and having kids. We used to talk about the latest game innovations. Now conversations are about parks and school districts.”

Something fluttered in her chest. Hope, she thought, wondering if Fool's Gold could make the short list.

“Any contenders?” she asked.

“Not yet. We're just starting the process. What about you? You said you were a hometown girl. Is that permanent?”

“Yes. I went away to school, but I came back here. For a while I thought about moving to a bigger city—trying to get a job on a real paper. But this is my home.”

He looked up at the mountains soaring behind the resort. “It's beautiful.” He hesitated. “There hasn't been anyone to tempt you into moving?”

“A guy, you mean?” She glanced up at him. “Oh, please. You've met Alex. Not exactly my finest hour. I thought he was one of the good guys.” She closed her eyes, remembering. “I'd always thought that he took one look at Courtney and was simply swept away. But now I'm not so sure. I don't think we were right for each other. Courtney was a catalyst, not a cause.”

“And before him?”

“The usual suspects. A high school boyfriend who broke my heart. A guy in college who was intense and romantic and was ultimately too intense and boring.”

He played with the ends of her hair. “So you're the girl who got away.”

His voice was low and sexy and made her insides shiver. “Not exactly.”

“That wasn't a question. You are.”

If only,
she thought, then cleared her throat. “What about you? Other near misses besides Ariel.”

“A couple. I didn't have a girlfriend in high school. My first romantic encounter was in college.”

“Let me guess. She was older, taught you everything you know.”

He shifted to face her. “How did you know?”

“You went to college when you were what? Five?”

“Sixteen.”

“Close enough. It would be difficult to find another college girl your age. Unless you waited until your senior year.” She stared into his beautiful green eyes. “You might have been willing to stall, but I doubt they were.”

One corner of his mouth turned up. “I was seventeen and she was nineteen. Spring break in Mexico. I hadn't wanted to go.”

“She made you glad you did?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Good thing you were out of the country. In most states that relationship would have been illegal.”

The smile expanded. “It was worth it.”

She laughed. “Not you, Jackson. Her. You were a minor.”

“Oh. You're right. Just as well, then.”

“And between the cougar and Ariel?”

He chuckled and pulled her close. “I was waiting for you.”

If only that were true,
she thought with a sigh, surrendering to the moment and the man. Jackson was a temptation she couldn't seem to ignore. Everything inside her screamed that he was the one. An impossible reality, given how short a time they'd known each other. But everything felt right.

All her life she'd gone after what she wanted. Even though she'd been a disaster at sports, she'd found a way to translate her love of the games into a career. When Colleen, the curmudgeonly editor of the local paper, had refused to interview her for the sports writer job, she'd
sent her an article a day for three weeks. Colleen had relented and she'd been hired.

She'd tackled tough interviews, developed a network of friends and been happy. Except romantically. There she'd always been cautious, mostly because she was afraid of being hurt. But pain or not, she was falling for Jackson. Maybe it was time to do something about it.

She shifted on the bench so she was facing him. “You head home in the morning.”

“That's the plan. Unless you want me to stick around.”

She stared at him. “As in…”

“You could show me the town. Invite me to a sleep-over.” He cupped her face in his strong hands. “This has been great, Katie. I owe my mom, big-time. You're amazing. I don't want to lose you.”

“I don't want to be lost,” she admitted. “I'd love to show you around. I've enjoyed our time together. I never thought I could get involved with someone this quickly.”

“Me, either.”

She took one of his hands. “I've really enjoyed all our time together. You're exactly who—”

“
There
you are!” Katie's mom hurried across the grass toward the gazebo. “I've been looking for you everywhere. It's a madhouse. I say that because
disaster
is so negative, but trust me, it's not going well. Morning, Jackson.”

“Janis.”

Reluctantly Katie rose. “What's going on?” She checked her watch. “It's not time for us to be getting ready.”

“No, you have a few hours before the stylist Court
ney had flown in from San Francisco clucks over all of us. The big news is about Rachel and Bruce.”

Katie winced, trying not to picture the older man in a passionate embrace with Tully.

“They're getting a divorce,” Janis announced.

“What?”

“Apparently they've been separated for months, but Rachel didn't want anyone to know.” Katie's mother lowered her voice. “It was Rachel's idea and she left Bruce for another woman.”

Katie didn't know what to say.

Jackson moved next to her and whispered in her ear. “Are all your family events like this? I've got to tell you, it's better than dinner theater.”

“Have you ever been to dinner theater?”

“You mentioned it this morning. It sounded fun.”

Katie turned back to her mom. “Seriously? So it's okay that Bruce and Tully are involved?”

“I don't know if it's okay. Bruce isn't a young man. Tully will probably kill him, but he'll die happy. I saw them sucking face on the porch on my way to find you.”

Katie winced. “Mom, do me a favor. Please don't say
sucking face.
”

“Isn't that the right term? You young people today, always changing the language. It's hard to keep up.”

Katie linked arms with her mom. “I know. We do it on purpose. Now is there anything else I should know? Are Alex and Courtney speaking?”

“That is a question for the ages.”

* * *

Jackson had to surrender Katie to the stylist at about one-thirty. He spent the next few hours exploring the
Fool's Gold city Web site and checking out real estate. From what he could see, the town was great and he could understand Katie's reluctance to move.

Shortly after four, he dressed in the dark suit he'd brought along, then went down to the lobby to wait for his mother. His father had gotten out of having to attend by a carefully scheduled business trip to Hong Kong.

He spotted his mom as soon as she walked in.

“You look great,” he said, kissing her cheek.

“So do you.” She put her hands on his upper arms and kissed his cheek. “Very handsome. And yet you're not the one getting married. Have I mentioned my need for grandchildren?”

“Sometimes you go a whole hour without mentioning it.”

“Hmm, I must be slipping. How are things here?”

“Frantic,” he admitted. “Trouble in paradise. Courtney and Alex are at odds. I have no idea where they stand now.”

His mother winced. “No wonder Janis left me a voice mail telling me it would help if I drank before the wedding. I hope everything goes all right.”

He agreed, although he wasn't sure what would define
all right.
At this point he would think the odds of Alex and Courtney figuring out how to be happy together were fairly slim, yet he agreed with Janis. The couple was oddly right together.

He glanced around to make sure they wouldn't be overheard. “Alex showed up at Katie's door, drunk, a couple of nights ago.”

“What did he want?”

“Guess.”

His mother shook her head. “Talk about a mess. What happened?”

“She called me, and I got him out of there.” He wasn't going to mention how he'd then spent the night. Some details were best left undiscussed.

“So you've enjoyed your time with Katie,” his mother said.

He led them to the bar and ordered them each a drink. While they waited, he faced her.

“Yes, Mom. You were right.”

She sighed happily. “Hearing that never gets old. So you like her?”

“Katie's great. Funny and charming. Sweet, pretty, smart. We've had a great time. I'm sorry I waited so long to let you get us together.”

His mother's gaze turned speculative. “Interesting. That's a little more enthusiasm than I was expecting. Are you planning to see her again?”

“Yes. She's going to show me around Fool's Gold tomorrow.”

The pleasure bled from his mother's face. “Why would you do that? You don't have any interest in the town.”

“I want to see where she lives.”

“Is that all? Because I know you're thinking about moving your company. You can't move it here, Howie.”

He did his best to keep from wincing as she spoke his name. “Why not? There's an educated workforce, great school and inexpensive housing.”

“If you move the company here, Katie's going to think you're moving because of her. She's the daughter of my best friend. You can't do that if you're not one
hundred percent sure of this relationship. I don't want you to hurt her.”

“I don't want to hurt her, either.”

“You never want to hurt them. But you do. You get involved to a certain degree and then you back off. I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm sure none of the young women you've dumped have been ‘the one.' But Katie is different. If or until you know how serious you are about her, don't lead her on.”

The bartender served their drinks. Jackson automatically handed the guy a twenty and waved off change.

He wanted to say his mother was mistaken. That he didn't have a pattern. Except looking over his past, he could see where she was right. He did get involved—to a point. But when it came to getting serious, when it came to getting married, he'd always backed away. He'd never been able to see himself spending the rest of his life with someone.

Until now.

Because while the thought of growing old with Ariel or any of the others would have sent him running for the impressive mountains behind the hotel, the thought of sixty or eighty years with Katie was appealing.

She would grow more beautiful with passing time. Her quirky humor and curious mind would challenge him. He found himself wanting to take care of her, make her feel safe. God knew he wanted to protect her from the few vicious elements in her family.

“Please don't take this wrong,” his mother said earnestly. “I do love you, Howie, and I would love to see you and Katie together. But I don't want Katie to be
hurt. You're amazing and the odds of her falling for you are huge. What woman wouldn't want you?”

“Spoken like a true mother,” he murmured. “I get it.”

“Are you sure?”

“I would do anything to avoid hurting Katie.”

“Good. As long as you remember that.”

Eleven

D
espite the drama, the crying, the sulking, Courtney was ready to walk down the aisle right on time. Katie had already checked out the groom and he was waiting in place, up by the minister. Both main players were excited, happy and telling whoever would listen how much they loved each other.

The nearly three hundred guests were in place—a number that made Katie's stomach flip over. At least she wasn't the one who had to deal with the crowd.

Or pay for it, she thought, wondering how much the wedding had cost her parents. She returned to the bride's room.

“I look perfect,” Courtney said, turning in front of the mirror and checking out her reflection.

Katie did her best to shake off her irritation at Courtney's vanity. After all, it was her wedding day, and it was only a few hours, she reminded herself. She would get through this because Courtney was her sister.
But then it would be over and she could escape back to her regularly scheduled life.