Sister of the Bride (Fool's Gold #2.5)(19)

"Are you listening to me?" Courtney demanded loudly. "Alex isn't sure he wants to marry me."

That got Katie's attention. She stared at her sister. "You said he loves you before. Which is it?"

"Does it matter? I'm miserable."

Katie did her best not to roll her eyes. "Why? You're marrying a really great guy who adores you. This is going to be a great day."

"You're just saying that because you're jealous of me."

Katie frowned. If she was jealous, wouldn't she be mean rather than nice? "What exactly is there to be jealous of?"

"I'm getting married, and all you have is a paid escort."

Jackson leaned against the door frame. "You're paying me?"

"You haven't heard?" Katie asked, sounding more amused than hurt. "Hundreds of dollars."

"Is there a bonus for good behavior?"

"I was thinking I might give you a little something extra."

"I can't wait."

Courtney turned on him. "Shut up and stay out of this. None of this has anything to do with you."

He straightened and moved toward her. "On the contrary. It has everything to do with me because it has to do with Katie. Whatever your problems are with your fiance, they have nothing to do with your sister. Katie has been supportive of you, which is more than it seems like you deserve."

Courtney's mouth dropped open. "You...you..."

"Your sister has no interest in Alex. If she did, he would be a very lucky man. But she has moved on. As has Alex. He's in love with you and wants to marry you. If you expect this marriage to work, you're going to have to grow up. You probably won't like acting like an adult, but it will be good for you."

Courtney glared at him. "I hate you."

"You're not my favorite person, either."

"You're not invited to my wedding. Don't even think about showing up," Courtney said as she ran out of the room.

He walked toward the bed.

"Should I go after her and apologize?" he asked.

Katie grinned. "No, but talk about great breakfast theater. That was amazing. And a long time coming."

"You shouldn't let her trash you."

"I know. Old habits and all that."

He was about to bend down and kiss her when the door opened again.

Janis hurried in, barely blinking when she saw him in Katie's room.

"Apparently the lovebirds have had a fight. I can't find Courtney, Alex is moping and it's not even nine in the morning. I knew they were going to make me wish we'd paid them to elope. They're both so immature, yet oddly right for each other."

"Courtney was just here," Katie said. "She's upset and emotional."

Janis touched her temple. "I can feel a headache coming on. I swear, there will be a wedding if I have to drug them and tie them up."

"At least that will make for interesting pictures," Katie offered.

"I'm ignoring that. How's your knee?"

"Much better."

"Thank God. That means you're out of excuses. Please get up and dressed. I'm going to need help today. And very possibly black-market drugs. I wonder if your father would write me a prescription." She drew in a breath and smiled absently at Jackson.

"Morning, Jackson."

"Janis."

"A word to the wise. Never have daughters."

The morning passed quickly. Katie was pleased to discover the swelling in her knee had almost completely disappeared. She wore low-heeled shoes, saving her moments on high heels for the walk down the aisle. There were a thousand details to see to and in an effort to take the pressure off her mother, she'd offered to take care of all of them. The cake was finished, the chairs set up. The florist was hard at work, stringing ribbons and setting out arrangements.

She left the room that would be used for the actual service, then made her way outside onto a side patio. The day was bright and sunny, promising to be warm. Perfect for pictures.

Courtney and Alex were nowhere to be seen, but she could only hope they were off somewhere having makeup sex. Anything to move the wedding forward.

"You're frowning," Jackson said as he came up behind her and put his arms around her waist.

"I'm thinking Courtney and Alex are crazy. Shouldn't they have worked out their issues before they decided to get married?"

"You'd think, but no." He took the clipboard from her hands. "How's the checklist?"

"I'm making great progress." She glanced at him, then away. "Ariel left."

He turned her until she faced him. "You have to let Ariel go. I did."

"But she's so..."

"Yes?"

It was impossible to think with him staring into her eyes like that. As if she was interesting and compelling and, well, wonderful.

"What were you like as a kid?" she asked.

"Reclusive." He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I liked computers more than people and kept to my room. My mother tried everything to get me to play with the kids in the neighborhood, but I wasn't interested. I didn't know how to fit in or what to say to make them like me."