Not Another Wedding

The sun was at its peak, throwing hot rays on everything in sight. Heat rose through her shoes as she hustled across the pool tiles after Jamie. He was really moving.

“Jamie,” she called, trying to hurry but not wanting to twist an ankle either. Her shoes weren’t made for hiking, unless it was along Robson Street.

He stopped and turned to face her. “Hey, Pop-Tart.”

She grinned at his use of her old nickname. Jamie stopped at the edge of the stones, before the copse of trees that created a barrier and provided privacy from neighbors and anyone at the lake.

“Finally,” she said when she reached him. She checked out the dirt path that led through the trees down to the lake and decided there was no point in keeping her shoes on. She’d only get a heel stuck and take a header. She slipped them off and hooked them on her fingers, linking her other arm through Jamie’s. “It seems like we’ve barely had a second to say hello.”

“Yeah. Emmy’s been keeping me busy with wedding stuff.”

Poppy tried to match his swoony smile, but she was pretty sure she failed. No matter. She wasn’t here to compare expressions.

“How are you holding up?” she asked as they made their way down the path. Jamie slowed his natural pace so she could watch where she placed her feet. Fortunately, the path was well maintained and clear of all branches and other debris. No beer cans in sight.

“Good, really good.”

“Good,” she said, though she didn’t think it was good at all. She glanced up at him, appreciating the sun that filtered through the trees and glinted on his hair. She used to tease him that he looked like an angel. An angel to Beck’s devil. She shook the thought out of her head. There was no room here for anything except Jamie. “You feeling okay about the wedding?”

He nodded. “I guess it’s true what they say about knowing it’s right when it’s the right person.”

Poppy didn’t believe that. And she wasn’t about to let Jamie believe it either. But she didn’t know how to bring up her concerns naturally.

The birds twittered around them and leaves rustled in the gentle wind as they made their way to the dock’s steps. Jamie climbed up first, then held his hand out to help her. She smiled as his warm fingers clasped hers, and she didn’t let go once they reached the top.

She needed to do this. Just jump in and ask.

“Jamie, I need to ask you—”

A loud crack stopped her short. She swiveled her head to look. What the...? And saw Beck crashing through the woods like a poorly trained elephant.

CHAPTER SIX

BECK GRINNED WHEN he saw Poppy glaring at him. She should be thanking him. The rest of the family was only seconds behind him. He heard them thundering down the path.

“Beck—” her voice was tight “—do you—”

“Emmy changed her mind about the dock,” Beck said to Jamie, though he only had eyes for Poppy. “The whole group is coming down.”

Understanding dawned on her face but didn’t stop her from stepping away from him when he tried to sling an arm around her shoulders. Since that only made him want to get closer, he backed her up to the edge of the dock so she had nowhere to go, and wrapped his arm around her side.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she whispered.

“Making it look good,” he reminded her. And if he copped a feel of her lean body at the same time, well, he was only human.

She attempted to shrug off his arm, but Beck wasn’t going anywhere. “They’re almost here,” he said to her. “So you might want to start looking a little appreciative.”

She stiffened. “I was on the verge of success.”

Beck doubted that. If she had been, she wouldn’t be standing here with him scowling as Jamie hurried off the dock to greet Emmy as though the two had been separated by miles and months instead of minutes.

“I was,” Poppy said when she caught sight of his skeptical stare. “We were about to share a moment and then you busted out of the trees and completely wrecked it.” She tried shrugging off his arm again. “You’re supposed to be helping me.”

“I just did,” he said, and settled his arm around her more firmly. “Or were you hoping to have your little talk with Jamie with an audience looking on?”

“You know I wasn’t.” She frowned at him as though this was all his fault.

In truth, he could have let the crowd descend on her while he stayed back at the house, but he hadn’t. He’d tried to be the good guy here, which wasn’t a role he played often.

“Couldn’t you keep them away? You promised to get me some alone time with Jamie.”

“And did you not get some?” By his estimate, they’d had at least five minutes to themselves.

“Well, yes, but—”

“No buts.” Beck shook his head. “If you couldn’t get the job done in the allotted time, that’s your fault.”

He saw her temper flare. “My fault?” She elbowed him in the ribs, smiled when he blanched. “If you hadn’t horned in where you weren’t wanted—”

“Oh, I think I was wanted.” He cocked his head to indicate Jamie. “Did you get a look at his face, Red? He could barely wait to leap into the arms of his one true love.”

“Do. Not. Call. Me. Red.”

“Fine, Auburn.” He noticed she didn’t say anything about Jamie, just looked in his direction with a pinched expression on her face.

“Is it really so bad?” he asked. “They seem happy.” Marriage might not be his thing, but it seemed to agree with Jamie. And Emmy was nice enough.

“Hello?” Poppy whispered. “She’s a gold digger.”

He frowned. “A what?”

It wasn’t that he hadn’t heard the term before. But Emmy? Emmy was the opposite of a gold digger. Her father owned the company that provided the Lefebvre Group with all their linens, from bedding to napkins. Neither Emmy nor Grace would have to work a day in their lives, but Beck didn’t say anything. If he told Poppy now, she would end their business arrangement.

“A gold digger.” She stared up at him with those bright eyes. “Don’t tell me the thought didn’t cross your mind. Didn’t you run a background check on her or something?”

“No.” But only because he hadn’t needed to. “Look, Emmy’s not a gold digger.”

“How would you know?” She put her hands on her hips and did her best to stare him down. “You didn’t even bother to look into her background.”

“I just do.”

“Well, I’m not so sure and I’m not about to let Jamie get tied down to someone who’s only interested in his money.”

“Maybe they really love each other?” Beck suggested.

“Right.” Poppy snorted. Beck thought she looked adorable. All fired up and ready to protect her friend. “She just magically met Jamie and fell in love with him as soon as she found out he owned a winery.”

“Not everyone who owns a winery is rich.” He thought it was sweet that she was concerned on Jamie’s behalf. He couldn’t fault her for that, even if she was wrong about Emmy.

Poppy stopped trying to shrug his arm away and shook her head. “We both know that’s not the case with Jamie.”

It was true. Jamie’s father had left behind the land where the winery now stood, and Jamie had turned the business into a profitable one in a few short years. But Emmy still had far more money to her name.

“Poppy, has she done anything to make you think she doesn’t care about Jamie?” Beck hadn’t observed anything, but he wasn’t close to Jamie anymore. He ignored the twinge of guilt in his gut. Emmy might not be a gold digger, but people had reasons other than money to jump into marriage. Most of them bad ones.

“No, but she wouldn’t be a successful gold digger if she did.” Poppy turned to look down the dock.

Beck looked, too. Emmy’s family had started back up the path. His own parents stood off to the side, talking quietly. While Beck watched, his father reached out and stroked his mother’s cheek. He turned away.

“I need to talk to Jamie about it. Just to make sure.” Poppy poked him in the side. “Everything would be fine if you hadn’t intruded.”

Her demand to get some private time with Jamie made sense now, but Beck shrugged off her complaint. If he hadn’t intruded, the rest of the family would have come upon them like a swarm of locusts.

“Seriously,” she continued, “you haven’t held up your end of the bargain at all. You did nothing to get me this alone time. You just sat there molesting that orange while I did all the work.”

“Liked that, did you?” He smirked.

She sniffed. “Not even a little.” But he felt the way her body leaned into his for a moment and the desire of that long-ago summer flooded him.

She’d been so open and generous. Her laugh, her family, her life. And Beck hadn’t been able to get enough of it. Enough of her. He should have called her from Seattle. Should have tried to explain what happened, but it had been easier to ignore. To pretend he was like every other student at university, starting fresh with no excess baggage.

If he’d stayed with Poppy, he would have ruined her.

He’d only needed to look to his parents’ broken marriages to know he didn’t have good genetics when it came to long-term relationships. Falling into the cycle of university life where some people encouraged a no-strings attitude had seemed simpler.

“I’ve been doing my part,” Poppy said, dragging him back to the present. “Now it’s your turn.”

“I wouldn’t say you’ve made it easy.” To prove his point, he tightened his hold on her and brought her around so she faced him. Their hips pressed close together. She tried to wriggle away.

“You didn’t say anything about mauling when I agreed to this.” She continued wriggling. “Quit it,” she whispered.

He moved his head just before she banged hers into his chin. “Quit what?” he teased.

“We’re not dating, remember?”

“I remember.” But he didn’t loosen his grip. She was slippery and would scoot away if given the slightest opportunity. He knew his mother had one eye on them. All he needed was for her to see Poppy publicly end things. He’d spend the rest of the week fending off his mother’s prying questions as to why things hadn’t worked out.

“Then stop crushing me. I can’t breathe.” He wasn’t sure if she was being truthful, but he eased up a little. She made a big show of inhaling, but didn’t dart away. He figured that was a win.

Emmy and Jamie stared out at the lake, when they weren’t staring into each other’s eyes, and eventually called out they were heading back to the house because Emmy was cold. His parents followed suit.

Beck watched Poppy watch them. When they moved out of sight, she tried to shake Beck off again. But he was an immovable object. He could manage her weak attempts with one hand.

“What is the matter with you?” she asked once it became clear she wasn’t getting away from him quite so easily.

“What do you mean?” He played dumb and turned her in his arms so they faced each other again. “All my parts are in exactly the right places.” He leaned toward her so she could check for herself.

“That is not what I meant.” She wedged her elbow between her body and his so he couldn’t press up against her. “Why are you trying to convince everyone we’re dating?”

“That was the agreement.”

“No, the agreement was that I would act as a buffer and you would help me get some time with Jamie. A point at which you failed miserably.”

Beck didn’t think he’d failed miserably. He’d been the one to suggest Jamie head down to the dock to take a look at the view, and then casually mentioned to Emmy it might be chilly with the wind blowing. He’d even tried to prevent them all from coming down, but once his mother had mentioned going and his father had agreed, there had been no way to stop the entire group from making the trek.

But he shrugged in the face of her complaint. “If you think you can manage to get the time with Jamie on your own, that’s fine.”

It was a power play. A subtle one, but a play nonetheless. If she thought she could manage this on her own, she would never have joined forces with him.

“Maybe I will.” She crossed her arms and shot him a challenging look.

He recognized her bluff. Beck had seen enough of them in boardrooms to recognize the signs. The way she held his gaze without even blinking was wholly unnatural and not something a confident person did. If they were to shake hands, she’d probably try to squeeze hard enough to rub his bones together. Plus, she had a pinched curve to her lips and held herself stiffly as though waiting for the anvil to drop on her head.

“Okay,” Beck acceded to her statement. “Then I guess this is it. Good luck.” He stepped back and removed his arms from her, pleased when panic flashed across her face before she replaced it with a tired, been-there-seen-it-all smirk.

“Are you forgetting that you need me to keep your mother from shoving you and Grace into a rushed engagement? You’re trying to fake me out,” she said, taking a step toward him, “but it isn’t going to work.”

“I’m not trying to fake anyone out. It’s only a week. I can put up with anything for a week.” True, but he didn’t want to. This was much more fun. He met her eyes long enough to convince her and took another step toward the house.

She faltered, but recovered with a quick shake of her head as she followed him. “I don’t believe you.”

“Believe what you want.” He moved down the steps, but instead of taking the path back to the house, stepped onto the small sandy beach.

“Okay, fine.” She charged after him, waving the shoes she still carried. “I still need your help.”

He stopped and faced her. “And what are you going to do for me?”

“I already said I would help with your mother, and I think I got off to a pretty good start today. By the way, what’s going on with your parents? I thought they were divorced.”

Beck stilled. “They are.”

“They don’t act like it.”

“I know.” The words tasted sour. They were acting like a couple of dopey teenagers.

“Are they getting back together?”

“I don’t know.” A lie. He did know. He grimaced. Not asking for outright confirmation didn’t change anything.

She put a hand on his arm. “Does it bother you?”

He didn’t want to think about it because thinking about it meant he had to face his own feelings. That he wasn’t happy about his parents reuniting. That he didn’t want to see them hurt each other again. “Yes,” he said quietly.

He wasn’t sure she heard him, until she slid her arm around his neck and hugged him. There was the sound of her shoes dropping on the sand and then the feel of her lean body wrapping around his. He liked that. Liked it a lot.

They stood that way for a minute. The wind tugged her hair loose so it draped across them. Her scent filled his head. Their bodies pressed together. Some of the ice inside him started to melt.

He pulled her closer. “It bothers me an awful lot.” And let his hands slide up her back to tangle in her glorious hair. “I’m practically devastated, but this helps. You know what else would help?”

“What?”

“A kiss.”

She shoved at his shoulders, but he wasn’t letting go. “Beck.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” He dipped his head into the curve of her neck and inhaled. A quiver racked her body and caused an answering one in his own.

“I’m serious.” She turned her head so she could see him, but all that did was bring their lips within touching distance. “I was being supportive.”

“I like supportive.” He ran a hand down her side. Her dress was silky smooth. He moved his lips closer to hers. If he stuck out his tongue, he could lick her.

“About your parents.”

“I don’t want to talk about them.” He had other things on his mind, like seeing if Poppy’s skin felt as soft as her dress and if she tasted as good as he remembered.

“Well, I do.”

“No.” Her evasive games didn’t work on him. “You don’t. So about this help you’re offering me...”

“I’m not offering anything, you forced me,” she reminded him, though she hadn’t made a move to leave his embrace.

He took advantage of that by hauling her closer to him. “You don’t seem to mind.”

“I’m being polite.”

He laughed. “You’re going to have to do more than that.”

“Oh?” Her eyes were wide. If he stared into them long enough he could lose himself.

“You’re going to have to pretend you like me.” He ran a thumb over her lips.

There was a small pause with only the sound of the waves lapping on the shore and the dock. And the occasional speedboat as someone zipped down the lake.

“I like you,” she finally said.

A knot he hadn’t known was in his belly began to unravel. “As I mentioned, my mother thinks we’re dating.” A notion he was increasingly glad he’d let her keep. He touched her lips again and Poppy’s eyes darkened. “You’ll have to play along.”

“Seems like quite a hardship.”

“Well, there’s something hard about it.”

“I’ve noticed.”

Beck laughed softly. “So you won’t have a problem acting like we’re dating?”

He watched the decision play out on her face. She wanted to say yes, that was obvious, but something held her back. He placed a finger on the spot below her ear and pressed gently. She sucked in a sharp breath and closed her eyes. He drew little circles over and over.

“Exactly what would dating include?”

“I’m open to suggestions.” He was open to pretty much anything at this point. He wanted to suck on that sensitive spot, but that was his money shot. And she hadn’t said yes yet.

She opened her eyes. His heart hitched. “And you’ll get me some time with Jamie?”

“Yes,” he agreed before she finished asking. “I’ll find some time for you to have a private conversation.” He didn’t know how, didn’t care. He needed her to say yes. It was vitally important to his health because he was pretty sure if she didn’t, he would be taking cold showers for the rest of his life. “In return, you’ll start showing just how much you really do like me.”

She nodded.

Good. He cupped her face, held her still. “I think we should seal it with a kiss.”

“We should what?” Her tongue flickered out to wet her lips.

“A kiss.” He ran a hand around the back of her neck. “That expression of interest that two people who are dating share.”

“You didn’t say anything about kissing.”

No, they’d just done everything leading up to it. The breeze kicked up again, blowing her hair around them and causing her skirt to twist around his legs.

“Part of the deal,” he told her. “But if you’re not into that...”

She wasn’t going to turn him down. She couldn’t. But she was thinking again. He knew from the small wrinkle between her eyes. “Just kissing?” she asked.

Beck flexed his fingers, massaging her neck, gratified when her eyelashes fluttered. She might not be ready to admit it, but she wanted the kissing as much as he did. “If that’s what you want.”

“Just kissing,” she repeated. This time it wasn’t a question. “And what if I don’t agree?”

He couldn’t believe she was bargaining. He struggled to keep his mind on the basics of their conversation and she hunted for loopholes. “I’m not going to force you,” he said. He couldn’t let her know she had all the power. But he did stroke that spot again.

She let her head lean to the side and Beck smiled. There it was. She was going to say yes. He started thinking of all the ways he planned to take full advantage of the just kissing portion of the agreement.

“So we have a deal?” She melted against him. He remembered how she used to do that. Let herself flow into him so their bodies touched everywhere.

And then she stepped back. He frowned. She smiled. Her eyes darted to the right and the path that led back to the house.

Beck rolled onto the balls of his feet. She was going to try to sidestep him. His frown morphed into a grin. So she wanted to play, did she? He was game for that. “Unless you think the kissing will be too much for you.” He nodded sagely. “Happens all the time. Women, they can’t resist me.”

She shook her head. “I’ll do my best to manage. But—” she pinned him with a look “—just kissing.” Then she smiled, catching him off guard long enough to make the dodge he’d been expecting.

Fortunately, he was tall, with a long reach, and he’d played football in college. His reflexes were still good. His hand snapped out and caught her by the wrist. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“No.” She put her free hand on her hip. He supposed she thought she appeared intimidating. He wondered if she had any clue how she really looked standing there in her bare feet, her dress blown by the wind, showing off all her curves. “You didn’t say I had to kiss you now.”

He pointed to her shoes lying in a heap on the sand. “I meant those—” he hadn’t “—but I’m up for the kissing, too.”

Her eyes flicked toward the shoes, then her feet, then the wrist he still held. Beck tugged, slowly reeling her in, not letting the fact she tried to dig in her heels have any effect. The sand was useless for bracing anyway and he continued to pull until she pressed right up against him.

“You seem to be thinking a lot about the kissing.” He brushed away a piece of hair that had fallen across her cheek.

“I have not.” But her voice was breathless.

He rubbed both her arms as if to ward off a chill, but mostly to touch her and keep her tight to him. “Maybe we should get it out of the way so you can stop thinking about me that way. I’m not a piece of meat.”

“Nice try.” Her eyes met his, their bright blue sheen putting the sky to shame.

“I don’t hear you declining my generous offer.” And before she tried, he lowered his head and covered her lips with his.

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