Chapter Two
Jacey
“Hey, Jacey.” My sister-in-law Leah flopped down on the sofa behind me and nudged me with her foot. “Everything okay down here?”
“It sure is.” I leaned over, bending nearly in two as I buried my face in the soft rounded belly of my six-month old niece and blew raspberries there, making her squeal with infectious baby giggles. “Emma and I are having some quality bonding time. She’s telling me all about her evening with Nonna last night, having fun while we were at the wedding.”
“I’m so glad she behaved well for your mom. It was the first time we’ve left her for longer than a couple of hours, and I was a nervous wreck.”
“Of course, she was a good girl. She’s the smartest and the prettiest and the most advanced baby who ever was!” I scooped her up and nuzzled her neck before I glanced back at Leah. “Did you need me to do something?”
“Why, because entertaining my daughter so I could catch a nap isn’t enough?” Leah grinned. “Nah. Actually, I wanted to see if you were interested in going over to Samantha and Max’s house with me. They’re doing some kind of post-wedding gathering, eating leftovers and just hanging out while they open wedding gifts. Just close friends, Sam said. And she told me to bring the munchkin. I thought maybe you’d want to come with me.”
I considered before I answered, closing my eyes as I breathed deep of Emma’s scent. I’d avoided any questions the night before about where I’d vanished for over an hour during the wedding, mostly because my brother Kade and his lovely wife were so happy to be out for a rare night without the baby. They’d been too wrapped up in each other to notice that I’d gone AWOL. But going to a smaller get-together now could be awkward if Owen was going to be there, too.
I hadn’t had any real plan when I’d snagged that bottle of wine and followed the hot guy from the wedding party when he’d left the tent. The truth was that I’d been a little bored and restless; although I’d met the bride and groom—along with several other members of the wedding party and a couple of the guests—the weekend that my brother had married Leah, I didn’t know them well enough to be invested in their celebration. I’d enjoyed the dinner and all the traditions, but then, as everyone seemed to divide into couples when the dancing got underway, I’d felt suddenly alone in the crowded tent.
As my eyes had wandered over the party, they’d inevitably come to rest on the tall, dark-haired soldier who’d seemed particularly uncomfortable sitting at the head table. The closer the bridesmaid next to him had gotten, the more he’d shrunk away. And when the woman had stood up and moved away from the table—to visit the restroom, I assumed, from the direction she took—tall, dark and hunky hadn’t wasted any time in bolting in the opposite direction and leaving the tent.
I hadn’t even stopped to think. Leah and Kade were dancing, with eyes only for each other, and the only other people at my table were absorbed in conversation. They hadn’t even noticed when I’d escaped and taken the just-opened bottle of wine on the table with me.
As it had turned out, up close Owen Hughes was even more attractive than he’d been from a distance. And our chemistry had been incredible. I’d felt my pulse pick up and thrum the first time he touched my hand, accepting the bottle of wine I’d offered to share. When our playful conversation had taken a serious turn, I’d realized quickly that from what I could tell at that point, I really liked this guy. He was quirky and funny, easy to confide in and quick to reassure, not judge.
But it had been when he’d kissed me that I’d come completely unglued.Holy mama hot lips! It had been the best first kiss in the entire history of first kisses, I was positive. His hands on me, the words he’d murmured as he touched me and kissed me ... the whole package had made me more than eager to jump his bones right then and there, wedding guests nearby notwithstanding. The cap on his package as a total winner of a dude had come when he’d let me know that he was just as eager and hot, but that out of respect for me—and for the plans he had for us at a later date—he was willing to step back and cool it, at least until we could have the time and space we needed.
Still, I wasn’t naïve. I’d given him my phone number, but there had remained deep inside me a small voice, warning me not to expect anything. After all, it could have been the ambience of the wedding, the fact that I’d followed him and shared my wine, or any number of other reasons that explained why we’d clicked last night. When he awoke in the harsh light of morning, it was more than possible that he’d forget he had my number.
But he hadn’t. In fact, he’d texted me that night, just as Leah, Kade and I were walking in the door of their house. My brother and his wife were more interested in talking to my mom and finding out how Emma had done while they were gone than in what I was looking at on my phone, so I’d had a few moments to bask.
This is Owen ... the guy who you met tonight, the guy who can’t stop thinking about you.
If Kade and Leah had been paying attention to me, they might have been curious about the huge smile on my face or the deep sigh that I just couldn’t hold back. As it was, I was able to slip away to the guest bedroom I was currently sharing with my mother and enjoy a few minutes of giddiness before Mom came in to get ready for bed.
I’d responded to Owen’s text, and we’d gone back and forth a few times before I fell asleep. This morning, he’d sent me a message saying good morning and talking a little bit about how loud the barracks were in the morning. He hadn’t said anything about seeing me again, but maybe he didn’t want to push me too soon.
It was crazy how much I liked this guy already. I knew it didn’t make any sense, but we’d connected immediately on a level I’d never experienced before ... which made me feel more than a little guilty that I hadn’t been completely forthcoming about who I was. Or more accurately, to whom I was related. Not telling Owen that Kade was my brother hadn’t actually been intentional, but when I’d realized he didn’t know who I was, the temptation to keep him in the dark was huge. After all, it had been a long time since I’d met anyone who didn’t already know me as Kade Braggs’ baby sister. Even in our hometown in California, I often was introduced to new people as “the Braggs boy’s sister.”
But I knew I had to come clean sooner rather than later. I didn’t want Owen to find out from someone else. Besides, keeping that kind of secret sounded like the plot of a ridiculously cheesy romance novel.
If I could help it, though, I wasn’t going to tell him over text, where tone and intent could be misinterpreted. Which brought me back to Leah’s question.
“Uh, who all is going to be there?” I shifted the baby onto my shoulder. “Just their friends? I don’t want to intrude.”
“You wouldn’t be.” Leah shook her head. “It won’t be that many people. Some of the guys, probably, and Sam’s friend Harper, if she’s off work today.” Tilting her head, she gave me a sunny smile. “Please? The truth is, Kade can’t come because he got called in to deal with one of the men in his company. I really don’t want to go by myself. I mean, I know all these people, and they’ve been so wonderful to me, but I’ve never gone to any social thing around here without him. And I asked your mom, but she said that she just wanted to stay home and veg today.”
Grinning, I patted Leah’s leg. “Something tells me you could more than hold your own, but I get it. I’ll go with you. Just let me get changed.”
Leah leaned down to give me a quick hug and then stole the baby from my arms. “Gimme my kid so you can get ready. You’re the absolute best sister in the whole wide world, you know that?”
An unfamiliar glow of gladness enveloped me. Leah wasn’t a particularly demonstrative person. She’d grown up in the foster care system, and before she and my brother had linked up, she had been used to being on her own. When we’d met, days before their wedding, when she was already hugely pregnant with Emma, I’d recognized that prickly armor for what it was: insecurity and fear. And in my typical Jacey way, I’d barreled through it, hugging on her and talking non-stop, not giving her any chance to hold me at arm’s length.
But I’d never been certain whether or not she really liked me until recently. Having Emma—and being loved by Kade, who was clearly and unashamedly besotted with his wife—had softened Leah, making her more open and vulnerable. I was thrilled at how frequent her hugs and affection were nowadays.
“Yeah, you’re all right, too.” I winked at her. “I’ll be all set in about ten minutes.”
* * *
Samantha and Max lived in a townhouse a few miles away from my brother’s home. When Leah and I pulled up, there were already several cars parked in the driveway and along the curb. I wondered if one of them belonged to Owen.
