Page 45 of Then Came Love
A tall, thin brunette with pin-straight hair cut severely below her chin walked in through an arched opening. “You must be Jordan and Todd.”
Jordan recognized her Chanel suit, and boy did she wear it well. “Oh, no—”
“That’s right.” Jax slid his arm around her waist, holding tight as he offered his hand to the woman. “And you are?”
Jordan shot a questioning look at him, but he just held her tighter.
“Felicia Withers. I’ll be showing you around. If you’ll follow me, we’ll take a tour of the mansion and then walk the grounds.”
As they followed her, Jordan whispered, “What are you doing?”
“Saving you from having to make an awkward explanation. Just go with it.”
She didn’t know whether to thank him or straighten him out. But as they followed Felicia around the estate, Jax was his charming self and asked all the questions Jordan didn’t have the presence of mind to think of. How could she when he held her hand the whole time, calling her honey and sweetheart and asking for her opinion? She was just as charmed by him as Felicia was.
“You can let go now,” she whispered as they followed Felicia toward a door that led outside.
He pulled her closer, speaking into her ear. “I’m supposed to be Todd, and I don’t think he would let go.”
You couldn’t be more wrong.She kept that to herself, soaking in this glorious man’s attention as they went outside.
Lush, expertly manicured lawns spilled out before them, with two rows of stone planters leading to a dome-topped stone gazebo. On the other side of the gazebo was a large reflecting pool and fountain, and just beyond the fountain was an elaborate stone colonnade.
Felicia motioned to the grassy aisle between the planters. “You’re such a radiant couple, it’s easy to picture you walking down the aisle.”
“Thank you.” Jax took Jordan’s hand, gazing deeply into her eyes. “Jordan makes us look good.”
He pressed a kiss to the back of her hand, stealing her breath. He made affection look effortless, like they’d been together forever, and oh how she wanted to feel like that every minute of every day.
“Most couples say their vows in the gazebo,” Felicia said, pulling Jordan’s mind back to the conversation. “But if you prefer, you can hold the ceremony in the colonnade.”
Jax drew Jordan against his side. “What do you think, sweetheart?”
I think my heart is racing over the wrong man.“I don’t know. But we can talk about it later. We don’t need to take up any more of Felicia’s time.”
After wrapping up their conversation with Felicia, they headed back to the parking lot, and Jax said, “How did you like it?”
“It’s immaculate, but it’s more Todd’s style than mine. I wouldn’t be comfortable getting married there.”
“Okay. One down, two to go. Now for the real question. How did I do channeling my inner Todd?”
I’m such an idiot. You were role-playing, and I bought into every second of it.“You did great, but you were nothing like Todd.”
“I’m sorry if I missed the mark. What’s he like?”
“He’s nice, but in those situations, he can be a little more pretentious and less”—attentive—“chatty.”
Jax’s brows knitted. “I can up my pretentiousness, but I make no promises about what comes out of my mouth.”
Role-playing, she reminded herself. He’s just role-playing.
