In Love with John Doe. Cindy Kirk

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ hands out to the warmth.

      “It’s a deck of cards with questions that each player answers.” Lexi paused, trying to think of the best way to explain the process. “The questions are designed to delve into a person’s inner psyche and reveal their beliefs. I’ve played it with girlfriends several times and it’s amazing what you learn about each other. And yourself.”

      “Sounds interesting,” he said. “I can wait here while you get the cards.”

      “Oh-oh.”

      “Problem?”

      “The cards are in my cabin.”

      “I guess we can scratch that plan.” He took a step closer. “Do you have a Plan B?”

      He stood so near that Lexi realized if she turned even the tiniest little bit she’d be in his arms.

       We could spend the time in bed.

      A light flared in his eyes and for a second Lexi feared she’d spoken aloud.

      “You’ve thought of something,” he said, his voice deep and low. “I can see it in your eyes.”

      Her heart skipped a beat and she swallowed past the sudden lump in her throat. What was it he saw on her face? Desire? Guilt? A combination of the two?

      He could be married, she reminded herself, more firmly this time. Even if he hadn’t walked down the aisle, he could be engaged. At the very least—handsome as he was—he had to be dating someone.

      “Well,” he prompted. “What is it?”

      Her mind searched for something that didn’t involve getting naked. She kept coming up empty until it hit her that she had plans for the evening that preceded Jack Snow and the unexpected blizzard. “Would you like to help me pick out wedding invitations?”

      Jack stilled, hoping his shock didn’t show on his face. He’d sworn Lexi had told him she wasn’t engaged or even dating anyone. Or had he just imagined that conversation? “When’s the happy day?”

      “Oh, these aren’t for me,” Lexi said with a dismissive wave. “They’re for my friend Mimi.”

      Jack pulled his brows together. The conversation was getting stranger by the minute. “Don’t the bride and groom usually pick out their own invitations?”

      “You know your weddings.” Lexi waved to two older women enjoying a cup of tea at the dining room table before shifting her attention back to Jack. “But in this case Mimi and Hank have come to an impasse. Since the invitations need to go out in two weeks, they decided that I should choose.”

      “You’re serious.”

      Her gaze narrowed. “You don’t approve.”

      “It doesn’t matter if I approve or not.” He stepped aside to let another couple pass. “It just seems to me that if two people supposedly in love can’t compromise on invitations they have no business getting married.”

      Lexi’s jaw jutted out. “Selecting invitations isn’t an easy process.”

      Let it go, he told himself. He didn’t know these people. Who cared if they let a friend—or even a stranger—choose their invitations? But for some reason it did matter.

      “You and I just met,” he said in what he hoped was a reasonable tone. “But I bet we could settle on an invitation we both liked.”

      Lexi rolled her eyes. “Of course we could. This isn’t our wedding. We’re not emotionally invested in the outcome.”

      “Cop-out.”

      Lexi’s brows slammed together. “What did you say?”

      Oops. Obviously he’d been a bit too direct.

      “We’ll pretend it’s real. Enter into a good, honest discussion and see what happens,” he said in a conciliatory tone. “Unless you’re afraid to try.”

      Jack expected an outright refusal or at least a strong rebuttal. He didn’t expect her to turn on her heel and head back down the hall.

      “Hey,” he called out. “Where are you going?”

      “To get Coraline’s laptop.” She tossed the words over her shoulder. “Then you and I are picking out wedding invitations.”

      Jack narrowed his gaze. “That one is curvy and way too girly.”

      Lexi opened her mouth then shut it and counted to ten. If she’d thought he was going to simply go along with her preferences, she’d been mistaken.

      When she’d placed the laptop on the coffee table in the Great Room and pulled up one of the largest sites for online wedding invitations, Lexi had made a conscious decision. She wouldn’t even think about Mimi and Hank’s preferences. Instead she’d do as the bride-to-be had suggested and choose the invitations as if they were for her own wedding.

      Unfortunately, now there was a male’s opposing opinion thrown into the mix. The style had been their first argument, er, disagreement. She wanted fancy. He wanted casual. After much back-and-forth discussion, she’d reconsidered. This would be an afternoon wedding. In a wildflower garden. A less formal invitation only made sense. Thankfully there were some very cool casual invitations.

      Unfortunately, there were also a gazillion of them. They finally settled on one with a celery-colored flower and brown lettering that they’d both liked.

      Then it had taken her almost a half hour to get Jack to see that there was no need to purchase RSVP response cards for the reception. He’d been adamant that they were essential … until she’d given him the statistics from a prominent wedding site on how few people responded even when a stamped envelope was included.

      She’d hoped the font discussion would go more quickly, but so far that hadn’t happened.

      “The font you’re proposing just doesn’t fit the casual style of our invitations,” Jack said in a reasonable tone that set her teeth on edge.

      Lexi traced the curves and swirls of the beautiful font on the sheet of paper she’d printed out. Years ago, back when she’d been waiting for Drew to pop the question, she’d done a little invitation shopping and had fallen in love with this particular font. But Drew had never asked and now the font—which she’d thought might have a second chance—was in danger of being cast aside. Much like she’d been all those years ago.

      Unexpected tears stung the back of her lids, but Lexi blinked them back. She cleared her throat. “It’s just that way back when I dreamed of a big wedding, I always pictured my invitations with this font.”

      Without warning, Jack’s hand closed over hers. “Then you must have it.”

      His generosity brought a lump to her throat. But as much as she wanted to take the offer and run with it, this was a joint effort. “No.”

      “No?”

      “You’re right. The font is too formal for the invitations СКАЧАТЬ