“Jackie,” he said slowly. “Is something going on?”
She hesitated a beat. “Um, yeah, it is. Was.”
Her eyebrows knitted together, then she shook her head. She wore her hair up, but a few strands framed her face, making her look even prettier than usual. How would she react if he reached out to touch those loose strands?
“What I mean is,” she said, pulling him back into the conversation, “I wanted to update you on my travel plans because I was running late.”
“You got here just in time.” He reached for her hand again, right as she moved to adjust her hair, which really did look different the more he stared at it. “Wait,” Brent said. “Did you cut it?”
“It?”
Brent laughed at her blank expression. “Your hair? You look different.”
“Do I?” She scrunched up her lips, evidently thinking. “Oh, right! Yeah, I did. In layers.”
She plucked a clip from the back of her head to demonstrate, and a dark, wavy mass tumbled to her shoulders.
His heart jolted in a weird way.
Maybe it was a jolt of surprise, but he didn’t think so.
Whoa. This is news.
“I got this new style for our wedding,” she added, doing a little swish of her bangs. They accentuated her dark brown eyes, making them look even bigger. “Do you like it?”
Brent’s pulse thrummed in his ears.
This reaction definitely isn’t normal.
She beamed up at him, and his neck warmed.
Neither was that.
“It’s…” Brent’s throat tightened. “Very nice.” He didn’t know what was happening here, but his fiancée was having an unusual effect on him. Not an unpleasant one, either. It couldn’t seriously be just the haircut. Or could it?
“Where are we going?” she asked as he led her down the flagstone path.
“To the carriage house,” he said, remembering that they’d discussed these arrangements.
“Ah,” she said, sounding like she knew, but the question in her eyes said she didn’t.
“It’s where you’re staying with Meredith, your mom, and your sister until the wedding, remember?” He studied her. “The main house is full up, but the carriage house is really nice. I’m pretty sure we talked about this?”
“Oh yeah. The carriage house,” she said on a breath. “Of course.”
Brent caught a whiff of her perfume, which reminded him of lilies of the valley. It was a pleasant scent but different from the one with more citrusy undertones that Jackie normally wore. “You smell nice,” he said as they reached the carriage house and he held open the door.
She stepped past him with a blush. “Thanks. You do, too.”
Jackie glanced around at the kitchenette and mini dining room that joined a cozy seating area with large sliding glass doors overlooking the bay. A woodstove stood between a rustic dining room hutch and the back of the sectional sofa, which was positioned to have a view of the water.
“The master bedroom’s in the back.” Brent pointed through the kitchen. “Full bath is down this hall.” He indicated the passageway that included a washer and dryer. Next, he motioned to a set of stairs off the living area. “A small den with a pullout couch is that way, and the bedroom with twin beds is on the other side of it.”
Jackie didn’t try to hide how impressed she was. “It’s fabulous.”
If she thought the carriage house was nice, he couldn’t wait to show her the rest of the place. He’d grown up exploring every part of the property with his siblings, and he knew he took the beauty of it for granted. Seeing it through new eyes would be fun.
Brent set down her bag. “You should all be comfortable here. The fridge is stocked with snacks and drinks, but meals will be up at the main house. When you’re ready, I can show you around?”
Her gaze landed on a wrapped loaf of banana bread that sat beside a covered plate of homemade cookies on the counter.
“Those are from Grandmother Margaret. I told her you wouldn’t eat them, since you’re so strict about your diet, but she wanted to have them here for the others anyway.”
“That’s really sweet of her.” Jackie blinked. “And unexpected.”
“She has her good side.” He shot her a wink, and she blushed—again.
He’d never known her to be much of a blusher before, yet here she was, his blushing bride. He repressed a grin at her unbearable cuteness. Though he and Jackie didn’t have what he’d call an ardent relationship, she was causing some odd “stirrings in his soul,” as Grandpa Chad would say. He ached to take her in his arms and kiss her like he meant it. In fact, he found that he’d unconsciously taken a step toward her.
Jackie backed away, breaking the spell, and glanced at the door. “I’ll meet you up at the house in a few minutes, okay?”
“Oh. Yeah, sure.” Great. Now he was crowding her. Had he completely forgotten what their arrangement was? Just because his brain was strangely scrambled in her presence, that didn’t mean she felt the same way. Her infrequent kisses were quick and cool. He was out of his mind to think they’d suddenly be passionate. “Take your time.”
He couldn’t explain his out-of-the-blue magnetic attraction to her. Jackie definitely wasn’t acting like herself, but neither was he. She was probably nervous about meeting the rest of his family, but what about him? Maybe he was getting stoked about their marriage after all? Yeah, that had to be it. It would be awesome if he and Jackie could really make this work.
Except she’d have to be into him, too.
And, at the moment, he wasn’t getting that vibe. The vibe he was getting was more like she was eager for him to go away.
He was probably overthinking it. Hopefully.
“I can’t wait to meet your mom,” he said, stepping outside. “And your sister, Hope.”
“Hope!” Jackie exclaimed, like he’d just shouted fire. “Right!”
Then she slammed the door, leaving Brent standing there stunned.
Chapter Three
Hope, a nervous wreck, called Jackie. She didn’t know how she’d let this happen, but she had, and it was too much.
“Jackie Webb, here. Thanks for calling. Please leave your number at the beep, and I’ll get back with you.”
Argh.
She was just about to send a panicked text when her phone rang.
“Sorry,” Jackie said. “My phone was in the bottom of my bag, and I couldn’t find it.” She paused a beat, then asked in a breezy way, “So. How’s Blue Hill?”