“Well, mine is that he says no, things are super awkward between us, I lose the only friendly face here, and have to deal with my family by myself all week.”
“You hear yourself, right?”
I blink back tears. “Yeah, I know.”
“Fern, girl, either make a move on Mr. Hottie and have yourself a killer vacation or come home. I can’t stand to hear you so miserable.”
“I made a promise.”
“Yeah? And how many promises have your family members made to you that they didn’t bother to keep over the years?”
Too many to count,I think, but I don’t say that. I don’t say anything.
“Have a fling, Fern! Or tell your family there’s an emergency and get the hell out of there.”
I mull her words and decide to go for it. The worst that can happen is he says he’s not interested or he’s seeing someone. Then I’ll make up an excuse and return to Wolf Valley.
But if he says yes…
Then maybe something good will come out of this freaking wedding.
“Yeah, you’re right,” I say.
Jem snorts. “I always am.”
I grin and ask her about things back in our small town as I brush out my hair and tuck myself into bed.
Jem laughs as I yawn loudly. “I’ll let you get some sleep. Call me later, okay?”
“I will,” I promise.
We hang up, and I turn off the lights, letting my eyes drift shut. I’m so tired that sleep claims me almost instantly, but as I drift off, all I can think about is whether Jackson might be single and interested in me too.
FOUR
Jackson
I barely slept last night.I was up for half the night coming up with game plans, then too paranoid that she might leave her room before I got up in the morning to get any decent sleep.
Now, I’m standing with my eye to the peephole of my room at seven in the morning, straining to see Fern’s door. I have a feeling she’ll be up bright and early to tackle her to-do list.
My hunch is right. Her door opens a few minutes later, and I reach for my door handle as she takes off at a brisk pace toward the elevator.
“Hey, morning,” I call as my door closes behind me. “You’re up early.”
She spins around, her eyes surprised as she stops for me to catch up to her. “Morning. You’re on security already?” she asks as we walk toward the elevator.
“No, I’m getting a lay of the land today. The other guys will be monitoring the bride and groom. What are you up to?”
She has her notepad and pen in her hand already, and I scan the list of vendors and tasks on her list.
“I have a long list of things to do today. Right now, I need to set up breakfast for everyone. Then I need to check in with all the vendors, go to the airport to pick up the missing bridesmaid dress, and triple-check that all the details here are perfect. I’ll be running around all day.”
She almost sounds happy about it, and I wonder if it’s because she’ll be away from her family for most of the day.
I know I should stick around here today. I’m supposed to be doing a job, helping out Cal, but I just can’t. I can’t ignore Fern, and I can’t pass up an opportunity to spend some one-on-one time with her.
Besides, today I have a mission. I need to find out if Fern is single or if there’s someone I need to deal with before I make her mine.
