Chapter 3 #2
“Okay,” I said slowly, my gaze locked on her captivating golden-brown eyes as I tried to figure out why she looked so disapproving.
Women rarely looked so angry at me until after a few nights together, mostly when I didn’t call them.
But if I had slept with Jacqueline, I would have remembered.
The woman was captivating, even with anger flashing in her eyes.
Long before I’d even begun to figure it out, the uncomfortable silence that had suddenly fallen between us was lifted by Will calling my name. “Jesse! Where are you kids?”
I turned to see him and Eliza approaching across the lawn, looking a lot more relaxed and rested than when I’d arrived. Both were glancing curiously between me and the women I was with, polite smiles on their faces when they reached us.
“There you two are,” Will said, his gaze flicking once again to the women. “Making new friends, I see. I’m Will Westwood and this is my wife, Eliza.”
Eliza’s smile was bright. Little J squealed and launched himself at her, and she stepped forward, hoisting him into her arms.
I gestured at the Calhouns. “This is Jacqueline and Stacy Calhoun, formerly Westwood. They’re cousins. We met over at Sterling’s last weekend.”
Will grinned like I’d handed him a gift. “Oh, wow. It’s so cool to meet you guys. We really wanted to go to the wedding, but with this little guy, it’s just not the best time for us.”
Hands were shaken and smiles were exchanged, but Jacqueline still seemed pissed off. Stacy, however, looked a lot happier than her daughter, like she was legitimately happy to meet more of her extended family.
“Why don’t you come back to the castle with us?” Eliza offered. “We could give you a proper tour after some tea.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Stacy said, clearly delighted.
Jacqueline said nothing, just glancing at me briefly like she was taking my measure. We fell into step beside each other as the rest of the group moved ahead, Little J already demanding Will’s full attention.
I glanced at Jacqueline from the corner of my eye. “So, did you enjoy the wedding?”
The stony mask her features had set into didn’t change. “No.”
I chuckled. “Cool. It’s good to know I wasn’t the only one.”
She finally glanced at me, amusement flickering beneath the surface of those eyes. “You didn’t enjoy it?”
“It was painfully boring.”
Her eyebrows lifted just a tiny bit. “The whole thing dragged on. Self-indulgent, if you ask me.”
“I was over it before they even said their vows,” I admitted, smiling. “True love is for suckers.”
I expected her to disagree with me, but she chuckled humorlessly and nodded. “On that, we can agree.”
Interesting.
“I even almost learned how to play cricket,” I continued. “And I didn’t even know that was a sport until I got there.”
The faintest hint of a smile appeared on her lips. “You honestly didn’t know what it was?”
I shook my head as we moved into the house with the others, but somewhere between the entrance hall and whatever room Eliza had been leading us toward, we got separated from them.
When I realized we were on our own, I headed into the nearest sitting room, gestured at the chairs, and moved toward a small table set up with a tea service.
“After you,” I said. “I’m sure they’ll find us soon enough. Tea?”
“Please.” She sat in the chair closest to the door, watching me with that same unreadable expression as I poured her a cup.
I reached for the coffee pot for myself, fixed a cup, and then turned to hand her drink over. As soon as she reached for her tea, I noticed that she wasn’t wearing an engagement ring. I didn’t mention it, though. Even if Sterling had definitely said she was engaged.
I knew better than to just bring up something like that, easing into it instead. “So, are you from around here?”
“London,” she replied curtly, her eyes on mine, but she didn’t offer anything else or ask me a question in response.
I nodded slowly, realizing that she really did seem to have some kind of problem with me. “It must be cool, being able to get out of the city and explore the countryside on a weekend.”
She shrugged. “I do it for my mom. She enjoys it.”
“Right.” I finally picked up my cup and went to take a seat across from her. “I don’t know much about your side of the family, actually. Where are you from originally?”
“Scotland,” she said. “You’re from Chicago, right?”
“Yeah, but not originally. My dad moved out to the Midwest to start another division of Westwood and Sons after his dad passed the reins of the head office in California to Uncle Harlan, Sterling’s dad. Have you met him?”
“No.”
“Oh. I thought you might’ve, given Sterling’s interest in reconnecting the families. Hey, he actually mentioned you at the wedding. He said you were going to get married too? When’s the big day?”
Her lips pursed before her gaze swept away from mine. Her fingers curled slightly as she tucked them into a loose fist in her lap. “Plans have changed.”
Life taking a sudden detour? I can totally relate. “Yeah,” I said after a moment. “That happens.”
She looked at me like she didn’t believe that I could possibly understand, but before I could elaborate, voices filtered back in. The rest of the group reappeared and joined us in the sitting room without any regard for what they might’ve interrupted.
The problem with that was I now knew that Jacqueline wasn’t totally unattainable.
She was unattached and complicated, and I’d never been particularly good at staying away from complicated.
I dragged a hand over my jaw, forcing my attention back to the conversation happening around us, but something else had already taken root.
Jacqueline was a stunner, exactly my type. A woman I’d happily take home with me without a second thought. In bed, complicated things had a way of becoming quite simple.