In Your Dreams (Blue Heron #4)(45)

Colleen O’Rourke—well, Colleen Campbell now—was suddenly at their side. Jack hadn’t seen her yet—they’d been on different flights out here—but she was an old friend of the bride or something. “Holy Saint Patrick, were you two just kissing?” she asked.

“Leave them alone, Coll,” said her twin.

“Hey, Connor,” Jack said. “What are you doing here?”

“Penance.” He sighed and looked at his sister. “I’m her babysitter.”

“He’s my date,” Colleen said at the same time.

“Colleen and Connor,” boomed a voice. “Please report to the pool immediately.” Ah. The bride had a bullhorn. Nice touch.

“Good God,” Connor muttered.

“Lucas couldn’t come,” Colleen said. “Believe it or not, Con wasn’t my first choice. But Lucas’s niece had an appendectomy, so he had to go to Chicago yesterday, and he forced Connor to come with me, because I’m a delicate flower, Jack, as you may have heard, and also percolating a baby.” She paused for breath. “You guys playing chicken? Con and I are a team.”

“This is horrifying,” Connor said. “I can’t believe I have to do this. I don’t even like hugging you.”

“Oh, stop. It’s a piggyback ride. It won’t kill you.”

“It might, the way you’re eating these days.”

“Colleen and Connor, report to poolside immediately.”

“Can you believe her? I didn’t like her in college, and I don’t like her now.” Colleen looked up at Em. “Are you guys playing?”

Emmaline, who hadn’t said boo, cleared her throat. “We thought it was volleyball. By the way, Jack and I are pretend engaged.”

Connor gave him a look, and Jack shrugged. Colleen clapped her hands. “I told you—you should’ve just committed to that plan to start with. Come on, Connor. Naomi’s summoning me. God, I wish Lucas was here!”

“You’re not the only one,” Connor said.

“Well, believe me, I didn’t want to be here with my grumpy-ass brother—oh, and by the way, Connor, you should’ve said yes to coming to this with Emmaline, because then you wouldn’t be here with your sister as your date.”

“I’m not your date. I’m your keeper,” Connor said.

“Emily and Jack, report to poolside immediately,” boomed the bride. What was that term? Bridezilla? Yeah. That worked.

“Well, shit.” Colleen sighed. “Come on, Connor. Prepare to fight to the death. Your death, of course. You have to save me and my unborn child.”

“This is so wrong,” Connor said, but he obeyed, and off they went.

Jack looked at Emmaline, who was still not looking at him. “Sorry about the kiss.”

“No, no. It’s...whatever.”

“Thank you, by the way.”

She looked at him abruptly. “What for?”

Her eyes were blue. Dark blue.

“Talking me down,” he said. “Letting me kiss you.”

She blushed. Made a weird snorting noise. “It was a huge sacrifice, Jack. I mean, have you looked in the mirror? You’re hideous. Hey, did I tell you I’m going to be a crisis negotiator? Well, sort of. I mean, I’m taking a class when we get back home. You know. Hostage situations. Suicidal people. So it was good practice. Not that you’re taking any hostages, or, uh...never mind. It’s fine. We’re good.”

She was nervous. It was kind of cute.

“Ready to play chicken?”

“No.”

“Come on. It’ll be fun. Take that thing off and let’s get going.”

“I should never have come to this wedding,” she said.

“You’re a cop. Be brave.”

“Bite me.”

“That’s my girl.”

Her blush deepened. Then she scowled at him, grumbled a little more and yanked the burka over her head.

Hello.

Now why the hell would she be worried about wearing a bathing suit when she looked like that? She had long legs, a really nice ass and an amazing rack that was on fantastic display, and whoever made that suit should be given a Nobel prize in engineering, because wow.

Emmaline wasn’t lean by any stretch of the imagination, but Jack always kind of liked that. She looked like a woman, not a prepubescent girl. The kind of woman who’d feel soft and sturdy at the same time.

Let’s find out, his brain told him.

“What are you looking at?” she growled.

He looked away. “My grandmother has that same bathing suit,” he said. “Try a bikini next time.”

“Right. I’ll also try setting myself on fire, since it would be just as fun. Bad enough that I’m here in the Land of Plastic People.”

“Emily and Jack, get over here now!” boomed the bride.

“I’m getting you a bikini,” he said, standing up. “Now that we’re engaged.”

“Let’s just get this over with. I apologize in advance for any herniated discs.”

“Relax. Be happy. We’re engaged and possibly expecting a baby.” He took her hand and headed for the pool.

The thought of going into the water didn’t bother him. A pool wasn’t a lake. There was no chance of a car accident here. Everyone would be fine.