Nick sighed. “I probably wouldn’t have the guts to say this without a couple of beers under my belt, but Josie’s the first woman who refuses to take your crap, and that makes her perfect for you. Don’t let her get away.”
“It’s too late, Nick. I already did.”
“Bullshit. It’s never too late until you’re six feet under.”
Chapter Fifteen
Josie had counted up the hours that she’d be forced into proximity with Jack so that she could mark them off in her head and be able to see an eventual end to her agony. The rehearsal Friday afternoon, on horseback, was over, and they were already into the rehearsal dinner at Spirits and Spurs, so she might only have another hour to deal with Jack tonight. The wedding and reception were hard to figure, but she was hoping for a maximum of five hours for that.
At least the reception would be at the ranch, and not here. She could escape once her maid of honor duties were over. She loved entertaining people, which was the reason she’d wanted this career in the first place, but Jack wasn’t just people. Jack was… the sexiest, most appealing man she’d ever met, and he was all wrong for her.
The tables in the bar had been arranged in a horseshoe pattern so that all members of the wedding party could see each other. At the top section sat Gabe and Morgan, along with their co-best men and co-maids of honor. Josie was on the end, with Jack to her right.
Morgan and Gabe occupied the two middle chairs, with Nick on the far end and Tyler, Morgan’s dark-haired sister, between Nick and Gabe. Josie had considered asking Morgan to change the way the best men and maids of honor matched up so that Josie was escorted by Nick and Tyler by Jack.
But asking for that would have alerted Morgan that all was not well. Josie didn’t want to do that, so she’d accepted Jack as her escort and pretended that being linked with him for the weekend was no big deal.
Of course it was driving her crazy, especially when she was close enough to feel his body heat, like now. Every available server had been called in for the private party and Tracy had the meal running smoothly. But Josie looked for any excuse to leave the table and check on things in the kitchen and behind the bar.
She couldn’t stay away long, however, or her absence would be noted. That meant spending long minutes within touching distance of Jack. During the course of the meal they’d accidentally brushed hands or bumped knees countless times. He was unfailingly polite and insisted on standing whenever she left and helping her into her chair when she returned.
Finally she’d had enough. She leaned toward him and spoke in a low voice. “You don’t have to do that.”
“Do what?” He glanced over at her. The men had left their hats on the rack near the door in deference to the occasion, so there was no hat brim shadowing the dark intensity of his eyes.
“Help me with my chair all the time. As the owner, I’ll be up and down a lot to keep tabs on the food and beverage service. It’s not your normal social situation.”
He held her gaze. “That’s true on many levels.”
Her stomach turned a few cartwheels. “I’m just saying that—”
“I know what you’re saying.” His voice wrapped around her, captivating her the way it always did. “You don’t want me to pay so much attention to you.”
Looking into his eyes she felt caressed, teased, aroused in ways she longed to suppress and couldn’t. “Yes. Exactly.”
“I wish to God I could help it, Josie.” With that he turned away and said something to Morgan, the bride-to-be, something that made her laugh.
Although she couldn’t make out what he was saying, the timbre of his words stroked every nerve in her body. Despite knowing, knowing! that he was bad for her, she wanted him more than ever. Taking a deep breath and a sip of water, she fought for composure.
She’d just made a trip to the kitchen, so she needed to stay put. The noise level was high and she tried to take satisfaction in that — lots of noise meant everyone was having a great time.
On the left side of the horseshoe, Sarah was deep in conversation with Bianca Spinelli, Morgan’s mother. Sarah’s silvery bob and western-cut pantsuit contrasted sharply with Bianca’s dark, untamed curls and her gaily colored peasant dress, but the two seemed to be getting along like old friends.
Bianca was a hundred percent Italian and proud of her generous curves. She’d kept Wednesday night’s bachelorette party humming with her “if you’ve got it, flaunt it” attitude. She’d taught everyone some sexy dance moves and expected her pupils to show off those moves at the reception on Saturday.
Morgan’s red-headed father, Seamus O’Connor, talked with the local minister, Ed Frye, who’d been asked to conduct the ceremony. Seamus was a hundred percent Irish and proud of his gift for blarney, or so his wife said. Neither Bianca nor Seamus had wanted to give up their treasured last names, and when the children came along, all seven of them, Bianca and Seamus had rejected hyphenation in favor of a hybrid for the kids — O’Connelli.
From talking with Morgan, Josie knew that growing up with these nonconformist parents hadn’t been easy. Vagabonds and counter-culture idealists, they’d traveled the country with their brood, never staying in one place for more than a few months. All the kids had names that could be male or female to avoid gender stereotyping, but it made for a lot of confusion as Josie tried to keep everybody straight.
Besides Tyler, two of Morgan’s siblings had made the trip to Wyoming — Tyler’s dark-haired twin brother Regan, and Cassidy, her fourteen-year-old carrot-top sister. They sat on the right side of the horseshoe with Alex, who was keeping them entertained, probably with stories about rock stars he’d met as a DJ.
“Your brother has acted pretty damned friendly toward me recently,” Jack said.
Josie turned to find him watching her. “He knows you’re not a threat to my happiness anymore.” If only she believed that. If only she’d held onto her heart when she’d told him goodbye.
His eyes glinted with an unreadable emotion. “I’m that dangerous?”
Yes. Still. She forced calmness into her voice. “Not anymore.”
He looked as if he might be about to say something, but a spoon tapping on a glass drew everyone’s attention.
Nick stood. “I want to thank everyone for being here tonight, and especially thank Bianca and Seamus for making the trip with Tyler, Regan and Cassidy. For never riding horses before, you did well at the rehearsal today.”
“Except when Tyler rode through the petunias,” said Cassidy.
Sarah waved a hand dismissively. “They’ll die with the first frost, anyway. Never mind about the flower bed, Tyler.”
“Mom’s right, Tyler,” Nick said. “You stayed on the horse. That’s all that’s important. So I just wanted to raise a glass and say, good job, everyone.”
Glasses clinked. Josie had only Jack to touch glasses with, and not doing so would look petty. She made the gesture, and their fingers brushed. Heat flashed through her.
“To you,” Jack said.
Not wanting to seem a coward, she met his gaze. “Thank you for teaching me to ride.”
“My pleasure.”