All Jacked Up (Rough Riders #8)(66)
“Jack?”
He refocused on Keely, not his burst of self-doubt. “Yes, sweetheart?”
“It’s time to eat.”
“Good. I’m starving.”
The committee separated them. The men sat at one end of the table and the women at the other. Jack forced himself to concentrate on business and not how Keely was faring.
He snuck looks at her every so often. She was smiling, engaged in conversation, but she’d barely eaten two bites of her meal. Dessert was a gingerbread cake, dry as dust. Keely picked off the maple frosting and drank lots of water.
On a professional level, the meal was a success. Jack pointed out permit issues other companies under consideration might’ve missed. During their partnership, Baxter had left those details to Jack. And Jack had heard through the grapevine Baxter had been fined on other projects because of oversights. When he learned that BDM hadn’t made a formal pitch to the Milford Committee yet, Jack kicked himself for opening his big mouth, because he’d just given Baxter another advantage.
Once the table was cleared, several people left and others changed seats. Jack motioned to Keely to take the empty chair beside him.
They’d barely situated themselves when Henry addressed them. “So, Jack, since you kept us in the dark about your lovely Keely, we’re anxious to hear how you two ended up engaged.”
Murmurs of assent sounded from around the table.
Jack said, “It’s sort of complicated—”
Keely patted Jack’s hand on the table. “Jack, darlin’, no offense, but you’re a man and you don’t do this story justice. Why don’t you let me tell it?”
Soft laughter.
He bared his teeth at her in warning. “Go ahead, sweetheart. But I’ll jump in if you get something wrong.”
“I’m never wrong.”
“See what I’m up against?” he said innocently to the men.
They all nodded.
“If you would’ve told me a year ago I’d be engaged to Jack Donohue, I would’ve said you were plumb crazy,” Keely said. “See, Jack and I hated each other.”
A few gasps sounded.
Jack withheld a groan. Dammit. She’d better not f*ck this up.
“Maybe hate is too strong a word. We disliked each other intensely. I’ve known Jack since I was sixteen. He and my brother Carter became best friends in college and Carter dragged Jack home to the ranch one weekend. We detested each other on sight. He was rude and mean.”
“And she was a total spoiled brat,” Jack inserted.
Laughter.
“Needless to say, our paths have crossed many times over the years. We never moved past the ‘I can’t stand to look at you’ stage. In fact, it was worse the more time we spent around each other.”
“It was much worse when you started dating my little brother.”
“And his brother Justin…dumped me.”
Muted female murmurs of understanding.
“Did you swoop in and mend the pieces of her broken heart?” April Smith asked dreamily.
Keely leaned forward. “No, he did not. We ended up swapping insults at my brother Colt’s wedding reception.”
She took a drink of water; the tiny pause let the drama build.
“Fast forward to six months ago. I bought an old building in Moorcroft that needed serious renovation. It was also listed in the Wyoming Historic Register, and I don’t have to explain to you all what a nightmare that is.”
Laughter.
“The bottom line is, I didn’t like Jack personally, but professionally, I knew no one was better qualified to help me with historic renovation project than Jack Donohue. I swallowed my pride and called him. He swallowed his disbelief and met with me. And miracle of miracles, we didn’t exchange one insult at that first meeting. Once we hashed through the business end…well, two years of no contact gave us an entirely new appreciation for one another. We saw each other in a whole different light. Because our past history was so…volatile, we didn’t tell anyone we’d fallen in love. No one in our families would’ve believed it.”
More laughter.
“Keeping our feelings private allowed us time to understand and accept how deep those feelings really are.”
Hell, that sweet story choked Jack up and he knew it was a damn lie. He didn’t care if the committee disapproved of a PDA; he had to kiss her. He pressed his lips to hers, letting her warmth and sweetness flow through him.
“Oh my, that is about the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard,” April gushed.
When Keely stared into his eyes, for a second, Jack believed every word she’d uttered was the gospel truth. He murmured, “Keely—”
“Was his proposal as romantic?” April interrupted, breaking the moment.
“Not even close.”
Laughter.
“Hey, it wasn’t that bad,” Jack argued.
Keely lifted a brow. “Shall we let them decide?”
April clapped her hands. “Oh goodie, yes, tell us, tell us!”