Page 56 of Black Jack (Advantage Play 5)

The sun is starting to set, playing peekaboo with the horizon while painting Jack’s face in a warm glow as he weighs his options. Then he delivers a smirk that makes me almost swallow my own tongue.

“Fine,” he tells me. “You might’ve refused the whole big wedding thing, but that doesn’t mean it has to be boring. You did agree to marry me today, remember?”

Shit.

I was right. Stupid agreements. Stupid butterflies. Stupid hopes and dreams and plans that feel like they’re floating around in a toilet that’s going to be flushed the moment I acknowledge that I have feelings for this guy. That I actually like him. That the idea of saying yes…it’s consumed me. More than my need for revenge. More than my need for a fresh start. More than my need to disappear and leave my past––and my brother––behind me.

The idea alone has swallowed me whole, but I’ve been fighting it with denial. With the lie that he’d forgotten his promise. That he’d been joking about marrying me at all.

“What are you thinking?” he asks, shaking me from my impending anxiety attack.

I toy with the fabric of my sundress while simultaneously refusing to look up at him.

“Tell me,” he prods.

“Honestly, I kind of thought you’d forgotten.”

“Forgotten? Come on, babe, give me a little more credit. And you’re wearing a white dress,” he adds with a quirked brow. “You can’t tell me that’s a coincidence.”

“I mean…I’m not an idiot,” I argue. “On the off chance that you did remember, I wouldn’t be caught dead in a pair of jeans or something on my wedding day.”

“Do you even own jeans?”

I shove him in the shoulder. “Shut up, smartass. You’ve seen me in jeans, remember? Besides, there’s nothing wrong with caring about your appearance, Jacky Boy. And if by some miracle you did remember, I was going to come prepared. It’s a sundress, by the way.” I smooth out the fabric then wave my hand through the air. “It’s not like it wouldn’t be appropriate for a night on the town or whatever it is you have planned.”

“Whatever I have planned,” he repeats with a shit-eating grin. “This is really killing you, isn’t it?”

My gaze narrows, but I ignore his observation and continue my investigation. “So, this little surprise has something to do with our wedding, I presume?”

“You presume correctly.”

“And it’s out in the middle of nowhere?”

“Not nowhere,” he clarifies before giving me the side-eye. “Honestly, I’m kind of surprised it doesn’t look familiar to you.”

“Why would it look familiar?”

“I dunno.” He shrugs. “Just figured you might’ve been here before.”

Confused, I scan the foreign area again and wrack my brain for any possible clues that I might be missing. He pulls off the main road and up a long winding driveway lined with lush green trees and speckled with wildflowers, but the scenery doesn’t spark any memories.

A minute later, the road bends a final time and reveals an old, yet gorgeous, estate with emerald vines climbing up the gray siding. Twinkling lights are strung up on the front lawn where a man in a dark suit is waiting for us, along with a woman who’s sitting on a white folding chair a few feet away from him. Other than the strangers’ presence, the entire place looks like it was taken straight out of a fairy tale. Just for me.

My teeth dig into my lower lip as I release a shaky breath, then gain the courage to face the man beside me as he parks the car a few seconds later.

“Do you like it?” he asks. There’s a hint of vulnerability that seems to find the final chink in my armor.

“I’ve never been here before, but…yes, it’s beautiful.”

“So, you like it?” he repeats.

“Yeah, Jacky Boy. I like it. How did you come up with this place?”

Looking sheepish, he replies, “Kingston knows a guy.”

“Ah, I should’ve guessed. Who does he know?”

“Matteo Moretti.”

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