Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
There was full, and then according to A.J., there was “Alabama home-cooked meal” full. Ana set a hand to her abdomen, wondering if the buttons on the dress Ella had insisted she wear were in danger of popping off. She did a discreet check. Nope, she was good.
After their tour of the ranch, Ella had promptly led Ana to her old bedroom to wash up for dinner and refused to take no for an answer when she gifted Ana with a cute dress she’d designed.
In the small en suite, Ana had tried to wrangle her windblown hair after taking a quick shower but gave up, deciding it looked pretty good with her sun-kissed skin and her new outfit.
The sleeveless V-neck dress fell to mid-thigh and was made of soft denim with turquoise buttons down the front and a butterfly on the back fashioned out of turquoise stones. It was actually quite impressive.
Wait until after dinner to wear the hat.
A.J. will lose his mind, Ella had said, while she held a tan women’s cowboy hat in hand and took in the sight of Ana in the ensemble.
Ella had also insisted Ana wear her hair down.
Apparently, every Hawkins felt Ana was in need of relaxing, and “hair down” was pivotal to that happening.
And after the hours spent touring the ranch, during which A.J. stole private moments to tease her as payback for earlier—stealing kisses, nuzzling his face in her neck, whispering sexy words in her ear—Ana felt as though she’d had a two-hour massage. So, she was, in fact, relaxed.
She and A.J. hadn’t talked to his team since that morning, but A.J. continually reassured her that his people had everything covered whenever signs of worry crossed her face.
We’re used to missions like these, he’d said. Walk in the park, he’d added before sweeping his tongue between her lips and cupping her ass with that strong, rough hand of his—just as his niece, McKenna, caught them and clapped with excitement, which drew a blush from Ana and a “skedaddle” from A.J.
“The meal and dessert were incredible.” Ana smiled at A.J.
’s mom, who was sitting next to A.J. across from Ana at the outdoor dining table on the deck overlooking the stunning property.
Varied shades of gold, pink, and blue spread across the sky and were a reminder of her sunset kiss with A.J.
in the pond yesterday. It’d been a picture-perfect moment last night, and spending time with his family today had also been amazing.
“Thank you,” she said to both his mom and Ella for cooking.
A.J.’s other two brothers, Beckett and Shep, hadn’t been able to make it for dinner.
Beckett, the sheriff of their small town, was dealing with an urgent matter, and Shep was on call at the firehouse.
Basically, if Ana were stuck inside a Hallmark movie about a small town, this would be it.
And she was loving Alabama more and more with every passing moment.
“You’re very welcome, dear,” A.J.’s mom answered, and Ella responded with a smile and a nod, but her gaze was focused on their friend Jesse at the table.
“We’re more than happy to have you here,” A.J.’s dad, Rick, commented.
“Thank you.” Ana watched with wide eyes as A.J.’s mom slid another huge slice of pecan pie onto her son’s plate. When he let out a mournful groan, she simply said, “You need to eat up, Son.”
He grumbled and cursed, then snatched his fork and dug in, his eyes lifting to meet Ana’s.
She hid a laugh at the comical expression on his face, then panicked at the sight of another piece of pie heading her way.
“Oh, I honestly think I may not be able to walk if I eat more.” Between the Bushwacker, which was basically a creamy chocolate pina colada, the pie, and the three servings of homemade cornbread served with the duck, she didn’t have room.
“But thank you.” A.J.’s mom tilted her head and squinted, obviously suspicious of anyone who turned down her pie, so Ana reluctantly gave in. “Um, okay. Maybe a sliver.”
Now it was A.J. chuckling as he patted crumbs from his mouth with his red-and-white linen napkin. She jumped in her chair when the tip of A.J.’s cowboy boot tapped hers. Footsy?
Buuut, she was wearing the cutest short boots with side fringe Ella claimed needed to be paired with the dress. Lucky they were both a size 8. They were another design of Ella’s. On her tour, A.J.’s father had said he’d created a studio on the ranch for Ella’s sewing and leatherworking hobby.
A.J. also looked sexier than ever in a black tee that highlighted his amazing arms, broad shoulders, and chest. His shirt was matched with a pair of classic stonewashed jeans that showed off another amazing “asset” of his.
Brown leather boots and a hat to finish off the sexy cowboy look.
The beige hat had a hand distressed finish with a cattleman crease.
Well, that’s what Ella explained while Ana stood in a daze, mentally undressing A.J.
as he’d strolled onto the patio just before dinner was served.
She’d never known cowboys were her weakness until meeting him. And Ella was trying to turn her into a cowgirl.
“I hope you two are planning on staying a bit longer,” A.J.’s dad said. “I do know your secret, so—”
“And what is that?” A.J. used his playful tone, the one Ana knew well and loved, and positioned his attention on his father, but Ana’s heartbeat suddenly took a wild ride.
His dad waved a hand in the air like he was swatting a fly.
Heck, maybe there’d been one. After all, they were in the South where the flies were big enough to ride like a horse, according to McKenna.
Plus, the smell of the roasted glazed duck wafting through the air, coupled with the pecan pie, had to be an insect attractor.
“That Ana let you win during that little shooting competition down at the range before y’all showered and got cleaned up for dinner. ”
A.J.’s focus whirled to Ana, who let out a breath of relief upon hearing that was the secret he knew. A.J. flashed her a sneaky grin. “Or maybe I let her think that she let me win, but really—”
“Sure, Son,” his dad interrupted. “You keep telling yourself that.” Oh, and his dad was a jokester, too.
But also, his dad was right. “I may have taken it easy on him.” Since the cat was out of the bag about her being FBI, she hadn’t felt it necessary to hide her shooting skills, but she was in A.J.’s home, and it would have been impolite to let A.J. lose, right?
“You should come to the wedding,” Ella blurted out before A.J.
had a chance to offer a comeback to Ana’s teasing words.
“What do you say?” The question had Ana dropping her fork when she realized Ella was speaking to her.
“I mean, we have plenty of room.” Ella’s gaze tore across the table to A.J.
, and the stiff way she held her shoulders back left no doubt she was angry about something.
“In fact, A.J., you ought to invite all your friends for the nuptials.” Her accent was thicker than A.J.
’s, same with the rest of his family members.
“You know, bring back those Teamguys that were here this past weekend. The ones who worked so hard to try and scare my fiancé out of marrying me.”
Ohhhh. Yeah, she was pissed at A.J. Ana could practically see the steam rising from Ella’s ears like a kettle about to blow. And everyone at the table must have felt it.
A.J. set his fork alongside his plate and lowered his gaze to the remaining bites of pie. He’d taken off his hat before dinner, which Ana assumed was a sign of respect down South. “And where is Brian right now? With the wedding so close, why ain’t he here?”
Jesse abruptly stood from the table as if he’d rather be anywhere but there at the moment.
“I think I hear an alarm or something beeping inside. I best go check that out.” He positioned his eyes on Ella from where he stood on the other side of A.J.
for several heartbeats, and it was then that Ana knew why he wanted out of there.
Jesse had a thing for Ella.
Once he was gone, Ella set her napkin on her plate, and her eyes remained cast down. “Brian will be back the Friday before the wedding.”
“Oh, Ana, it’s gonna be beautiful.” A.J.’s mom waved a dramatic hand toward the backyard. “Church wedding, then the reception will be right here. Fireworks at night while everyone dances. Magical.” She was clearly doing her best to keep the peace between her kids.
“Yeah, maybe it’ll rain.” Caleb reached for the neck of his beer, eyes on his sister, but Ella didn’t look his way. And from the looks of it, Caleb wasn’t a fan of this Brian guy, either.
“Rain on the wedding day is supposed to be good luck for marriage,” McKenna said with a big, innocent smile.
“Then I highly doubt—”
“It’ll be the Fourth of July weekend,” A.J.’s dad spoke up, cutting off whatever A.J. was about to say, which was probably a good thing. “I bet your teammates could use another weekend off.”
“Wow, the Fourth is coming up soon,” Ana chimed in, hoping to help dispel some of the tension.
Though it seemed like an issue between siblings, and therefore none of her business, Ana felt compelled to do what little she could to protect A.J.
from Ella’s silent fury. But knowing A.J.
, if he’d done something to try and scare off Ella’s fiancé, he had a good reason. Ana trusted his judgment.
“The Fourth of July down here in Alabama is like Christmas,” A.J.’s mom commented with pride. “You were planning on staying with Grant for the wedding weekend, right?” She fidgeted with her silverware, straightening them beside her plate.
“I’ll offer the invite to the team,” A.J. answered, his tone turning glib. “Wyatt and Natasha are getting married toward the end of July, so I’m not sure they can fit two joyful occasions in one month.” The way he’d said “joyful” had the hairs on Ana’s arms standing.
“Alexander,” Ella hissed in warning.