Page 75 of For the Promise

Ispend the rest of dinner batting questions away from Jaxon. I had to open my big mouth and tell the people at the table he’s part owner of the distillery? I shouldn’t have, but they were looking down their noses at us and I couldn’t stand it.

Especially after Crispin said Alan expects to come into money. Come into money? Is that what we’re calling stealing these days?

Jaxon brushes the hair off my neck. “How are you doing?”

“Wondering how much jail time I’d get for beating up a wedding guest.”

He chuckles. “The jail cells in Smuggler’s Rest are quite nice.”

“How would you know?”

“Have you not met my brothers?”

I giggle. “You have a point.”

“I think Eli’s debating between donating money for a new jailhouse or hiring a matchmaker for my brothers.”

“I pity the women who fall in love with Kai, Zane, or Miles. They are not going to be easy to pin down.”

“I think Kai has already found a woman.”

“Really? I haven’t heard he’s dating anyone.” And, trust me, I would have heard. Gossiping is an island sport. A competitive sport.

“They’re not dating. She won’t give him the time of day.”

My jaw drops. “No way. A Raider brother was shot down?”

“As I recall, your best friend, Dakota, shot Rhett down plenty.”

I sniff. “He deserved it.”

He drops a kiss on my nose. “I believe you.”

He needs to stop with the little kisses and touches and caresses. If I didn’t know better, I’d think our relationship was real. But I do know better. Our relationship is fake. No matter how comfortable the diamond ring feels on my finger. We are not real.

“Do you want to hang around longer? Do some dancing?”

I raise an eyebrow. “I think you’ll break my toes with these shoes.”

I kick out my foot to show off my high-heeled sandal.

“I wouldn’t want to break your toe.” His voice is gruff and when I meet his gaze, his eyes are flaring with passion. Passion? I decide to test the theory and cross my legs. He groans before adjusting himself.

“No dancing then. Do you want to stay for the cutting of the cake and all the other silly wedding traditions?”

“Silly traditions? You don’t enjoy weddings?”

My nose wrinkles. “I enjoy them just fine when I don’t know the bride and groom aren’t spending money they expect to steal from me.”

He stands and offers me his hand. “Let’s go then. You can soak in the hot tub on the deck while the sun sets with a glass of wine.”

“Can we steal a bottle of wine from here?” I ask as he pulls me to my feet. My feet protest but I ignore the pain. I am not complaining about walking in heels when Jaxon thinks they’re sexy.

He chuckles. “I should have known.”

“It’s not actually stealing since we’re guests,” I claim.

He leads me to the bar with a hand on my lower back. I shiver at the feel of those big, capable hands touching my body. The material of my dress is thin, but not thin enough. I want his hands on my naked body.

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