The Summer Wedding: Groom Wanted / The Man You'll Marry. Debbie Macomber

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СКАЧАТЬ isn’t personal.” She tried to break free without being obvious about it, but Jordan held her firmly in his embrace.

      “Tell me what’s upsetting you so much.”

      “I can’t.” Looking into the distance, she focused on the smoky-blue outline of a mountain. Anything to avoid gazing at Jordan.

      “You’re involved with someone else, aren’t you?”

      It would be so easy to lie to him. To tell him about Ralph as though the friendship they shared was one of blazing passion, but she found she couldn’t do it.

      “No,” she wailed, “but I wish I was.”

      “Why?” he demanded gruffly.

      “What about you?” she countered. “Why did you seek out my company? Why’d you ask me to attend the dinner party with you? Surely there was someone else, someone more suitable.”

      “I’ll admit that kissing you is a … unique experience,” he confessed.

      “But I’ve been rude.”

      “Actually, more amusing than rude.”

      “But why?” she asked again. “What is it about me that interests you? We’re about as different as two people can get. We’re strangers—strangers with nothing in common.”

      Jordan was frowning, his eyes revealing his own lack of understanding. “I don’t know.”

      “See what I mean?” She spoke as if it were the jury’s final decree. “The whole thing is a farce. You kiss me and … and I feel a certain … feeling.”

      “So do I. And it’s something I can’t explain. But I’ve seen electrical storms that unleash less energy than we did when we kissed.”

      Suddenly Jill found it nearly impossible to breathe. Jordan couldn’t be affected by the wedding dress and its so-called magic—could he? Jill swore the minute she arrived in Seattle she was returning it to Shelly and Mark. She wasn’t taking any chances.

      “You remind me of my father,” Jill said, refusing to meet his eyes. Even talking about Adam Morrison was painful to her. “He was always in a hurry to get somewhere, to meet someone, to make a deal. We took a family vacation when I was ten. My dad, my mom and me. We saw California in one day, Disneyland in an hour. Do you get the picture?” She didn’t wait for a response. “He died of a heart attack when I was fifteen. We were wealthy by a lot of people’s standards, and after his death my mother didn’t have to work. We had no financial worries at all. And yet we would’ve been happier with far less money if it meant my father was still alive.”

      An awkward moment passed. When Jordan didn’t comment, Jill glanced at him. “You don’t have anything to say?”

      “Not really, other than to point out that I’m not your father.”

      “But you’re exactly like him! I recognized it the first minute I saw you.” She leaped to her feet, grabbed her towel and crammed it into her beach bag.

      Jordan reluctantly stood, and while she shook the sand off the blanket and folded it, he loaded their snorkeling gear into the trunk of the car.

      They were both quiet during the drive back to the airport, the silence strained and unnatural. A couple of times, Jill looked in Jordan’s direction. The hardness was back. The tightness in his jaw, the harsh, almost grim expression …

      Jill could well imagine what he’d be like in a board meeting. No wonder he didn’t seem too concerned about the threat of a takeover. He would withstand that, and a whole lot more, in the years to come. But at what price? Power demanded sacrifice; prestige didn’t come cheap. There was a cost, and Jill could only speculate what it would be for Jordan. His health? His happiness?

      She found it intolerable to think about. Words burned in her heart. Words of caution. Words of appeal, but he wouldn’t listen to her any more than her father had heeded her mother’s tearful pleas.

      As the airport came into view, Jill knew she couldn’t let their day end on such an unhappy note. “I did have a wonderful time. Thank you.”

      “Mmm,” he replied, his gaze focused on the road ahead.

      Jill stared at him. “That’s it?”

      “What else do you want me to say?” His voice was crisp and emotionless.

      “Like, I don’t know, that you enjoyed yourself, too.”

      “It was interesting.”

      “Interesting?” Jill repeated.

      They’d had a marvelous adventure! Not only that, he’d actually relaxed. The lines of fatigue around his eyes were gone. She’d bet a month’s wages that this was the first afternoon nap he’d had in years. Possibly decades. It was probably the longest stretch of time he’d been away from a telephone in his adult life.

      And all he’d say was that their day had been “interesting”?

      “What about the kissing?” she demanded. “Was that interesting?”

      “Very.”

      Jill seethed silently. “It was … interesting for me, too.”

      “So you said.”

      Jill tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear. “I was only being honest with you.”

      “I admit it was a fresh approach. Do you generally discuss marriage and children with a man on a first date?”

      Color exploded in her cheeks, and she looked uncomfortably away. “No, but you were different … and it wasn’t an approach.”

      “Excuse me, that’s right, you were being honest.” The cold sarcasm in his voice kept her from even trying to explain.

      They’d almost reached the airport when she spoke again. “Would you do me one small favor?” She nearly choked on the pride she had to swallow.

      “What?”

      “Would you … The next time you see Mr. Howard, would you tell him something for me? Would you tell him I’m sorry?” He’d be disappointed in her, but Jill couldn’t risk her own happiness because a dear man with a romantic heart believed she was Jordan Wilcox’s one chance at finding love.

      Jordan stopped the car abruptly and turned to glare at her. “You want me to apologize to Howard?”

      “Please.”

      “Sorry,” he said without a pause. “You’ll have to do that yourself.”

       Five

      Four days later, Jill stepped off the plane at Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle. Her skin glowed with a golden tan, accentuated СКАЧАТЬ