Smart Girls Think Twice (14 page)

“I’ve got an interest in extreme golfing.”

“Extreme golfing? You’re kidding, right?”

“Not at all. I’m surprised a man like you isn’t more familiar with extreme golfing. Fearless golfers going to exotic locales to play the game.”

Jake just shrugged. “That’s not my thing.”

“Yes, well, extreme sports are your thing and word has it that you’re planning on building a resort of some kind in the area. I wanted to point out that Serenity Falls would be a much better location for such a venue than Rock Creek.”

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“Because we’re one of America’s Best Small Towns. I don’t know if you’re aware of that fact.

Thousands of towns vie for the highly coveted title. And they don’t make it. We did.” The guy puffed his chest out, reminding Jake of a penguin. “And that’s not all,” Walt continued.

“Maguire’s here in town is a nominee in
Central PA
magazine’s Readers’ Choice awards for best restaurant. Their sweet potato fries are the best in the world. Adele has a secret recipe. She’s a co-owner of the pub and married to our town sheriff. Not that you’d care about that, and I’m certainly not one to gossip. Anyway, I’m telling you the fries are not to be missed.”

“I’ll have to try them sometime.”

“I can take you over there right now,” Walt said eagerly.

“I’m kind of in the middle of something here,” Jake pointed out. “A wedding reception.”

“Yes, but it’s not like you’ve known the bride a long time, have you?”

“No, but—”

“Then I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if you left early.”

“I think my date would mind,” Jake said.

“Bring her along with you.”

“She’s part of the bridal party. The bride’s sister.”

“Leena?” Walt frowned. “I thought she was engaged to the veterinarian and getting married in two weeks.”

“No, I meant Emma.”

“Oh, the other sister. She’s supposed to be the smart one, isn’t she?”

“So I hear.”

“You don’t know? You don’t think she’s smart?”

“You don’t think I’m smart?” Emma said from behind him.

Jake turned to face her. “That’s not what I said.”

“I was trying to tell your friend here how great the sweet potato fries are over at Maguire’s.”

“They are wonderful,” Emma agreed.

“Walt wanted me to dump you and go with him right now to get some fries.”

“Well, I wouldn’t put it like that exactly,” Walt said, turning red.

“Walt, are you making trouble again?” The woman who just joined them made the mocking comment.

Emma introduced him. “Jake, this is Nancy Crumpler, the owner of Crumpler’s Auto Parts.”

Also known as possible birth mother—PBM—number three.

“Nice to meet you,” Jake said.

“So you’re the extreme sports guy.”

“Right. Are you a gearhead like your sister?”

Stupid, Slayter. Dumb question
. But he was surprisingly nervous.

“How did you know that about my sister?”

“She told me a few minutes ago when I met her.”

“Well, it’s true. I’m more of a gearhead than she is.”

“Is that why you got into the auto parts business?”

Nancy laughed. “No, that’s because my fourth husband left it to me when he died and went to that great racetrack in the sky.”

He knew Nancy had been married several times and had two kids by her second marriage.

They were in their twenties now and had moved out of state.

“So it was just a lucky break. Not that my husband died, but that I got the auto parts store,”

Nancy clarified. “Are you a NASCAR fan, Jake?”

“I’ve seen a few races on TV.” And he’d driven a Formula One race car around a track in Europe, but that didn’t make him an expert at NASCAR.

“I can fill you in. Just stop by the store sometime. Uh-oh, I’ve got to go. Come with me, Walt.”

Walt protested. “But I’m not done talking with Jake.”

“Yes, you are.” Nancy was adamant. “Leave him be. Can’t you see that he and Emma want some time alone?”

Walt looked around in confusion. “But this room is packed with people.”

“Don’t you remember what it’s like to be young?” Nancy took hold of Walt’s arm. “Come along now. Don’t make me get tough with you.”

Walt reluctantly went with her, calling back to Jake, “We’ll talk more later.”

Emma took a page out of Nancy’s book and took hold of Jake’s arm. “Okay, I can’t stand it another second.” She tugged him into the back corner of the ballroom. “I can’t wait any longer.”

His wicked grin should have warned her what was to come. “Just say the word and we’re outta here.”

Emma frowned. “Why do we have to go somewhere else?”

“Fine by me.” He lowered his head.

She put her hand on his chest. “Are you trying to kiss me?”

“You said you didn’t want to wait.”

“For your answer about participating in my research study. You said that if I invited you to the wedding, you’d agree.”

“I said I’d
think
about it.”

“That’s not good enough.” She snared a glass of champagne from a waiter’s tray as he walked by and downed half of it in one gulp. “I am wearing the most atrocious dress on the planet and I need to hear some good news. Right now. So no more jerking me around, buster.” She stabbed him in the chest with her French-manicured finger.

Jake raised an eyebrow. “Buster?”

“Just answer the question. Yes or no?”

“What’s your hurry?”

“I thought extreme sports guys were into speed.”

He traced his thumb along her lower lip. “Some things are better when you go slow.”

“It would only take fifteen minutes of your time.”

“What I have in mind would take much longer.”

“Get your mind out of the gutter and say yes.”

He laughed. “That’s got to be the strangest invitation I’ve had in a long time.”

“I am only inviting you to participate in my academic study regarding Rock Creek,” she said succinctly. “Yes or no?”

“Okay, fine.”

“Is that a yes?”

“Sure.”

“Great.” She hauled him out of the ballroom and down the hallway toward the main entrance.

“Are we going to celebrate now?” Jake asked hopefully.

“I stashed my bag in the coatroom . . .” Emma pulled him inside. Since it was in the high eighties outside, with matching humidity, the room was empty of coats, but there were a few tote bags.

She dug around in one with UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA printed on the side and yanked out several pages. “Here’s your questionnaire on a clipboard so it’s easy for you to fill out. And a pen. Look, there’s a chair right over there. I’ll leave you alone to complete the forms.”

“Why can’t you stay with me? What if I have questions?”

“I’ll be right outside. The sooner you get started, the sooner you’ll be done.”

“Why this sudden need for speed?”

“I’m not having a real good day. I don’t think I’m really cut out for this bridesmaid’s job.

But forget about that. Just concentrate on the questionnaire, please.”

“This isn’t your first time as a bridesmaid, is it?”

“What if it is?” She put her hands on her hips and glared at him.

“Sorry. Forget I asked.” He picked up the pen and focused his attention on her clipboard instead of her cleavage. That dress was a monstrosity, but it did show off her breasts in a way that made him want to see more.

Emma stood outside the cloakroom and tried to regain some semblance of calm. Several latecomers greeted her as they walked by. One said, “Do you realize that if your sister hyphenates her name, she’ll be Sue Ellen Riley-Smiley?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it,” Emma admitted. Did that make her a bad bridesmaid? A bad sister? Or both? No. No way. She was an exceptional sister and bridesmaid. She was wearing this awful dress and she’d helped Sue Ellen deal with a wedding dress that seemed bigger than a circus tent so that her sister could take a bathroom break. Several bathroom breaks. And the night was still young.

Emma hadn’t considered the fact that Jake would see her in this mockery of a dress. Well, it was too late to worry about that now. She needed to focus on the positive, which was that he was filling out her questionnaire. That was a big thing. A huge thing.

“What are you doing out here, Sweet Pea?” her dad asked as he joined her. “Waiting for someone?”

“Jake.”

“Is he late? It’s not polite to make a young woman wait.”

Hoping to distract him, Emma said, “You look great in your uniform.”

“Marines have the best uniforms on the planet. I’m proud to have been a jarhead.”

Are you proud to be a dad?
she wondered. Despite the glass of champagne she’d consumed, she didn’t have the nerve to actually voice the question. Instead she said, “Did you enjoy walking down the aisle with Sue Ellen?”

“It was okay. Having all those people staring at me was a little nerve-wracking. Your mom is the people person, not me.”

“Right.”

“Well, speaking of your mom, I better get back to the reception. They’re getting ready to serve the food. Donny certainly didn’t spare any expense in footing the bill for this shindig.

They’ve got steak and salmon. Good thing all those people at the church didn’t come to the reception or Donny would be broke.”

“Well, don’t let me keep you, Dad. You don’t want Mom to get upset.”

“Right. And you’d better get back to the head table with the other bridesmaids.”

“I’ll be there real soon,” Emma promised. Unless she made a break for it. The front door was only a few feet away and it was so tempting. Her dad was far enough away that he’d never see her leave . . .

“Thinking of making a run for it?” Jake asked.

“Of course not,” she lied. She never used to lie. And this wasn’t the first time she hadn’t told the truth around Jake. What was it about him that brought out the hidden liar in her?

That couldn’t be a good thing.

He sure looked good though. He wasn’t wearing a suit, but that didn’t matter. His wow factor seemed to increase each time she saw him. And now she couldn’t even sit with him because she had to be at the head table.

“I put your stuff back in your tote bag,” Jake said.

“You completed the questionnaire?”

“Yeah.” He tilted his head toward the front entrance. “So which is it going to be? Stay or leave?”

Emma sighed. “I have to stay. But if you want to leave . . .”

“I’m not going without you,” he said.

“It could be a long night,” she warned him.

“You’re worth waiting for.”

His husky words stayed with her throughout the evening, through the toasts, through the dancing, which she avoided. Finally the crowd started thinning out and Emma felt she could make her escape. She giggled as Jake hustled her out in a hurry. He led her to a black Jeep Grand Cherokee and helped her into the front seat. The champagne was making her world swim a little.

Or was Jake responsible for that?

As they left Serenity Falls, she pointed to a sign on the side of the road. “The waterfalls that this town is named after are up that road. I used to skinny-dip there when I was in high school. You should visit the falls sometime.”

Jake took the turnoff.

“What are you doing?”

“You said I should visit the falls. No time like the present.”

She’d had just enough champagne that she couldn’t find a logical argument to his comment.

Or maybe she just didn’t feel like voicing a protest. Twenty minutes later he stopped the Jeep inches from the chain barricading the entrance. Jake hopped out and undid the chain with the confidence of a man who’d done this before.

“The park is closed,” Emma said.

“Not anymore.”

He parked the Jeep in the space closest to the falls and the river it tumbled into.

“I haven’t been up here in years.” Emma knew she was breaking the rules. But what harm could be done by a quick midnight visit to one of her favorite old haunts? After all, skinny-dipping was hardly one of the approved uses for this area. So she already had a track record here. Her dyed-to-match pumps sank into the grass as she walked downriver to an area where a section of the water pooled off to the side creating a cool invitation on a hot night.

“I used to dive in right here. It’s deep enough with a sandy bottom.”

Emma looked over her shoulder, hard to do with the huge bulbous sleeves on her bridesmaid’s dress, to see if Jake had followed her. Not only had he done so, but he was also taking off his tie and then his shirt.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting ready to skinny-dip,” he said.

“Now?”

“Right now.” He kicked off his shoes and unbuttoned his pants.

She should have looked away. She really should have. A wiser woman would have.

But apparently Emma wasn’t as smart as she thought, because she didn’t turn away.

Of course it was dark and he was a few feet away. Not far enough, however, that she couldn’t see how incredibly well-built he was. She’d already seen him across the narrow alley, but this was much more intimate. She tried to keep her eyes on his face or the waterfall in the distance, but that took more willpower than she possessed because her wayward eyes kept wandering back to his muscular chest and narrow waist and . . .

Her gaze skittered way down. He had nice feet. His body wasn’t too hairy, which was a good thing. Okay, every inch of him was a good thing. Great, in fact. Awesome.

Worrisome. Troublesome.

Jake was deliberately trying to get to her and he was succeeding.

“Enjoying the show?” he asked as he had before on her fire escape. He had his fingers hooked in his black briefs, ready to peel them off.

Emma’s mouth went dry. Did she want him to stop or continue? While she was silently pondering that question, Jake went ahead and stripped before turning his back on her and diving into the water. She couldn’t help but appreciate his fine backside. Which was how she got soaked with the splash he made when he hit the water.

“Come on in, the water’s fine,” he said. “Come on, I dare you.”

She really shouldn’t have had that third glass of champagne. Or was it her fourth? Because it gave her just enough Dutch courage to take him up on his dare. She stood behind a large bush nearby, kicked off her shoes, rolled off her pantyhose, and removed the horrible dress.