All Jacked Up(9)
Keely gaped at him as he scaled the stairs. “Jesus, Jack, why don’t you scream that a little louder so AJ, India and Domini all come barreling up here?”
An oversized duffel and an enormous suit bag hit the landing at the top of the stairs. “But their feminine squealing about your good luck landing me as your mate might be a tad embarrassing for you, buttercup.”
“You are about four seconds from me knocking you off this landing, bucko.”
“No big, wet, sloppy kiss for your traveling man? Fine.” Jack adjusted the backpack straps and bent down to retrieve his other bags.
She elbowed him in the gut as soon as his hands were full. “There’s your kiss—Irish style, honey.”
“Dammit, Keely. That was uncalled for.”
“Probably. But it was fun.”
“Payback’s a bitch. Remember that.”
She had a feeling it was going to be a long night.
They decided to stick to basics about the engagement. Keely had contacted Jack for his expertise on her concerns about buying the building. They met in Denver and Cheyenne, talked, one thing led to another…blah blah blah. Instant love.
Too bad she’d had to suck down two slugs of whiskey before her “love” drove them out to her folks’
house.
Jack parked by the barn and faced her. “Ready?”
“No. We’re forgetting something.” She pinned him with a dubious look. “Crap. I don’t have an engagement ring. They won’t believe you can’t live without me if you—”
22
www.samhainpublishing.com
All Jacked Up
“I bought a damn ring, Keely.” He opened the glove compartment and pulled out a blue velvet jewelry box. “We should’ve done this earlier, so I hope it fits. May I have your hand?”
Keely closed her eyes as the cool metal slid up to her knuckle. This was not how she imagined the magic moment when the man of her dreams slipped a ring on her finger.
“You afraid to look?” he prompted.
“Uh-huh.”
Jack chuckled. “Come on, cowgirl, give me some credit. I didn’t dig it out of a Cracker Jack box.”
Her hand felt heavy. No wonder. When she peeked at the square cut diamond set in a platinum band, she realized the stone was the size of her fingernail. Keely met Jack’s gaze. “Is this for real?”
“What? The stone? Yes, it’s real.”
“Guess you took me seriously about the gigantic ring, huh?”
“I figured ten plus carats would get your attention.”
“And the attention of anyone within a mile.” Keely waggled her fingers, admiring the diamond’s flash of brilliance. “This is spectacular. I don’t know what to say.”
“That’s gotta be a first,” he said dryly. “Thank you, Jack, would be a start.”
Keely angled across the console and placed her hand on his smoothly shaven cheek. “Thank you, Jack.”
His eyes were soft, a luminous green, nearly hypnotic. The moment was so intimate she almost believed it was real.
Her dad knocked on the window and barked, “You comin’ in or what?” and brought a screaming halt to her momentary lapse in judgment.
Jack kissed the inside of her forearm and mouthed, “Show time.”
Nerves danced in her belly. Over the years she’d stretched or circumvented the truth with her parents, but never uttered such a bald-faced lie as, “Jack and I are getting married!”
Keely’s parents took the news like she’d expected: complete and utter disbelief.
Of course, her mother tried to be polite. Show some kind of enthusiasm and not accuse her only daughter of absolute insanity.
Her father wasn’t so tactful. He demanded to know if she was pregnant.
Keely deflected additional questions about their impending nuptials by discussing her purchase of the Brewster Building. In minute detail. She’d droned on so long she’d even managed to bore herself in the highly embellished retelling.
“How’d you keep something this big under wraps, girlie?” her father challenged.
“The usual. Threats. Bribes.” She fluttered her lashes at Jack. “Charm. When it all came together so suddenly, it seemed like…”
“Destiny,” Jack finished silkily.
www.samhainpublishing.com
23
Lorelei James
Oh gag.
“It’s too goddamn quick, if you ask me,” her dad groused.
“What? Me buying the building? Or me getting married?”
“Both. How do you know what you’re getting into?”
“I didn’t. That’s why I contacted Jack. He’s the expert.”
Her dad’s eyes darkened further. “Expert? Hell, how many times have you been married, boy?”