“Of course. I can’t even imagine driving back to Darien tonight. It always feels like I’m riding on I-95 for hours even though it’s only thirty miles, and I’m too exhausted tonight. I wish your sister would have gotten married at the club at home, but no, she had to have a Saturday wedding in Manhattan.” His mother laughed. “Our portfolio will never recover.”
Ha ha. Jack felt like grimacing. He was suddenly so tired of it all. The money, the games, the ever present push and shove of grasping people onto this financial ladder, that social stool. Don’t ever turn your back, Jack-o.
He just wanted to rest.
So he gave her a kiss on the cheek. “It was a wonderful wedding, Mom.”
“It did turn out, didn’t it?” His mother sighed, a tired, satisfied smile on her face. “Now where are you going with that champagne? Are you into drinking alone these days?”
Jack didn’t dare say a word. He just waited. It didn’t take her long. His mother looked at him. At Jamie, who was studying the floor.
“Oooohhhh, well, I see. Sorry, it’s been a long day. I’m not usually so slow.” His mother shook her head, her short hair immovable. “Have a good night, Jamie.”
“Good night, Mrs. Davidson.” Jamie managed to lift her head long enough to give a shaky smile.
But his mother was already gone.
“I’m so embarrassed.” Jamie covered her face. “Your mother thinks I’m a hussy.”
“No one thinks you’re a hussy, Jamie Lynn.” He was tired, and he was aching, and he wanted nothing more in the world than to just lie down next to her. “But I’ll drive you home if that’s what you want.”
Her hands fell away. “What’s the matter, Jack?”
“Nothing. Nothing.” He brushed her cheek with a fingertip. “I’m just worn out.”
It was an out, if she wanted to take it. She could show concern for him, suggest they spend the night together another time. As much as he wanted her, he didn’t want to coax or suggest or seduce tonight after all.
He’d offered her his entire fortune, and she hadn’t said one word about it.
But she said, “I don’t want you to take me to my place. I want to go home with you. I want you to tear this dumb dress off me.”
Now that perked him right up. In more ways than one.
“Then let’s go upstairs.”
“Upstairs?”
“I got us a room about an hour ago.”
Her head tilted. “Confident, weren’t you?”
“Just hopeful.”
Jamie was hopeful, too, as she followed Jack into his hotel room. Something about hearing Beckwith say Jack wasn’t in the cards for her had shifted a huge burden off her shoulders.
Destiny was for her to determine.
She couldn’t live in fear of a man leaving her, like her father had. She couldn’t live anticipating that her future was there for her, set out on an unalterable course.
The future was whatever she wanted it to be.
Jack took off his tux jacket, tossed it on the back of a chair, and turned to her. “Do you think you could ever love me, Jamie? Even…just a little bit?”
Oh, there was an understatement.
His shirt was stark white against the dark paneling of the wall behind him, and in his fears, in his love for her, he was vulnerable, this strong, intelligent man with a smart mouth and a smarter mind.
“Oh, yes, I could.” Already did. “That’s why I told you I couldn’t see you anymore. I knew I would fall in love with you. Knew that I could the very first night I met you.”
She didn’t need Beckwith’s predictions to tell her what now seemed so obvious. She and Jack. It was meant to happen, just like this.
“Then when I saw what you did for your grandfather and for Austin…yes, I knew I could love you.”
“Will you? Love me?” Jack undid the buttons on his shirt, one at a time, eyes locked with hers in the dark room.
It came to her that this was one of the most momentous moments of her life. Jack was The One. And she was about to tell him.
Everything was sharp and hot, frozen yet hurtling forward, and her heart galloped wildly.
“Once I love someone, I can’t stop. It sticks.” He had to see that if she let it go, let it out of its confinement, it could never be stuffed back in.
Jack yanked off his shirt. “I don’t deserve you. But I want you. I’m burning with love for you, Jamie, and I want some back.”
Hovering in front of the closet, she felt moisture in her eyes and blinked hard. Throwing her clutch in the direction of the chair, she moistened her lips.
“You have it. I love you.”
Ho, boy, no turning back now.
He grinned. “What’s that? I’m not sure I heard you.”
“I love you, Jack.”
“I really like the sound of that.” He tossed his shirt toward the chair. “Would it embarrass you if I made like Tom Cruise and bounced on a chair and pumped my fists? Because I’m really tempted.”
That made her laugh. “I have a better idea.” Reaching behind her, Jamie unzipped the top of her dress. Pulled the pins out of her hair and shook it loose, massaging her sore scalp.
“I’m all…ears.” Jack unhooked his belt.
Jamie walked seductively—well, her attempt anyway—and sashayed right past Jack, dodging his reach. She darted into the bathroom with a giggle, hoping to solve her problem quickly so they could explore her idea.
“Where are you going, you cruel, cruel woman?” He followed her, crowding into the tiny bathroom right behind her.
Jamie flipped on the light and stared at her reflection in the mirror. The dress was definitely covering her chest adequately. The tape had done its job. Which was a problem. “I can’t get this dress off—the tape is stuck to my skin. I need the light to see how to torture myself.” She gave a few preliminary tugs and found it stuck tight. This was going to hurt.
“I’ll help.”
“No!” Jamie peeled the top half inch back and took a gander down her dress. Her skin was beet red at the edges of the tape. “I have very sensitive skin, and I’m probably going to look really weird and whimper when I pull it off.”
“Come on, I’ll hold your hand. Or better yet, you close your eyes and I’ll get it off.”
Jamie gave another tentative pull. Oww. Lily white, paper-thin skin did not appreciate double-sided tape on it. Not to mention that her nipples had never suffered such abuse. Gritting her teeth, she tried again and only succeeded in bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. “Ow, ow, ow, dang it. I’m trapped in this dress.”