“You’re right.” He is. I shouldn’t have pushed him today. “Let’s forget this for now and go back to Paris. Tomorrow, all our friends and family arrive and we can start the celebration of our favorite girl. No need to take this on right now,” I tell him.
“Yeah, okay,” he mumbles, then walks into the closet to get clothes.
When he walks out, he looks better. “I forgot to tell you, Declan, Nora, and their army of a family arrived earlier today. Declan took care of firing the wedding planner and is handling everything until we get back.”
I smirk. “You mean Nora fired her?”
“Yeah, probably.” He chuckles. “My fiery ginger that she is.”
“Brilliant, let’s move on for now. Everything’s already shaping up for tomorrow and the rest of the weekend.”
Or let’s hope…
12
Annabelle
“Canyou warn a girl before you step out here looking all hot and gorgeous?” I grin, taking in Jackson’s tailored suit-clad body.
His dark, slightly waved hair is styled to perfection, and his newly grown beard has been shaved down to nothing.
He puffs out his chest and brushes his shoulder off. “Not too bad, aye?”
“No… not at all, Jack. Not. At. All.”
He chuckles, leaning down to kiss me and lacing his hands through my hair to pull my mouth closer. Without fail, a zap of warmth shoots through my body from his touch.
I pout playfully when he pulls away too quickly. “Where are you going?” I call when he walks back into the hotel suite, but I get no answer.
It’s early morning and the city is still asleep, so when Jack woke up early to get ready, I came out to the terrace wrapped in my cozy robe to appreciate the quiet.
Unfortunately for me, though, I’ll be appreciating one of our last mornings here all alone.
Jack has clients flying in from Germany for a meeting that popped up and he can’t miss it. His clients were given an opportunity for a last-minute investment and must decide by noon today, otherwise the offer’s off the table.
So, what was going to be our last morning together before everyone arrives in a few hours is cut short, and I’m left alone to think.
Which is not good.
There isn’t even much to help with for the wedding. When we returned to Paris yesterday, Evelyn, Wills’s sister, had already arrived and taken charge, putting everyone in their place.
Jack steps back outside and sits down next to where I’m lying. “Here you go, sweetheart.” He hands me a latte, and I pause, confused. He typically orders me an espresso. “What is this?”
“A latte. What does it look like?”
I look down and…Oh.
This man is too perfect for his own good.
I take the sprig of lavender out and place it to the side. Just as I take a sip of my lavender honey latte, a gust of wind travels up the balcony and blows my hair in my face.
“Sit up, B.” Jack takes my coffee and places it on the table, then turns me on an angle so he can braid my hair.
I smile inwardly at the sweet gesture that he picked up so easily after all these years.
I love it.
“Thank you, Jack.” I grin when he’s finished. “What’s all this?” I nod toward the food.
