Once we were in the car, after I got another eye roll from her when I held the door open, she glanced my way as I started the engine. “How far away is this place?”
“Hour and a half, give or take.”
“I’ve heard it’s a nice resort,” she commented as I turned out of her driveway.
“I’ve heard the same. Can’t say because I’ve never been there.”
“Speaking of never being somewhere, where do you live on our road? You took me home that one time, but I’ve yet to see where your truck is parked.”
I pointed as we passed by the driveway in question. “It’s that house. Parking is in the back, so it wouldn’t be obvious,” I explained.
Quiet fell between us as I navigated from downtown Stolen Hearts Valley onto the highway that would take us north. Just when I was thinking perhaps quiet was best, if only because I could zone out and try to get my body’s response to Jade under control, she spoke up.
“Okay, we need to make use of this time,” she announced.
Sliding my eyes to hers, I arched a brow in question before facing forward to the highway again.
“You’re bringing me to a wedding. This can’t be just like a casual date. We have to know something about each other. When it comes to things like this, it’s best if we just know the truth,” she explained.
On the long list of things I hadn’t considered when I’d impulsively asked Jade to come with me to this wedding, I could now add being quizzed.
“Have you done this before?” I asked.
Jade’s husky laugh sounded too good and sent a sizzle down my spine. “Not specifically. When I was in college, I took every drama elective available just for fun, so I’m sure I can handle it.”
“All right then, you tell me what we need to know.”
“The basics. You know, from what we do to some details about our families. All I know about you is you work for Stolen Hearts Valley Emergency Response and at Stolen Hearts Lodge. You’re friends with my brother, and you can handle a bar fight with no trouble.”
“Well, that seems like plenty, don’t you think?” I tossed that out there.
“Oh, definitely not. I need to know where you’re from, and a little bit about your family so I can lie convincingly. Here, I’ll start. I’m from Stolen Hearts Valley, grew up with Lucas. We’ve got a pretty typical family, two parents and two kids. I suppose the atypical part is our parents are still together, and they’re actually still happy and in love. They also live in the same home where I grew up, which is only about five miles away from where I live. You know I bartend occasionally, but that’s not a full-time job. I’ve been filling in more lately since Delilah left. For the last five years or so, I did full-time daycare for Lucas’s daughter, Rylie. He and Valentina are a pretty new thing. Before Lucas met Valentina, he was a single dad. Rylie’s mom died when she was only one year old.”
My question rolled off my tongue because I was genuinely curious. “Before you started doing daycare full-time for Lucas, what were your plans?”
Jade let out a soft sigh. “I didn’t have any clear plan. I got my degree in horticulture because I always loved gardening. I suppose my plan was to eventually start my own landscaping business. Working for Lucas didn’t interfere because I needed to make some money. Our parents are great, but they aren’t wealthy enough to pay for college. I’d planned all along to take some time to pay off my student loans and save some money before I tried to start a business. That’s never cheap.”
“Definitely not,” I agreed. “I’m assuming I don’t need to worry about any boyfriends.” I slipped that one in, curious enough about her rumored no-dating stance to wonder what she was going to tell me.
Before she said a word, I could feel the tension suddenly hanging in the air. I flicked my eyes to the side, to see her jaw set in a tight line. She didn’t exactly seem angry, but she was definitely not appreciating my question. After a moment, she replied, “Of course not. I wouldn’t be here if I had a boyfriend. I don’t date, and I intend for it to stay that way.”
I filed that detail away, sliding it into one of the drawers in my brain that I might open again if I ever thought she’d tell me why. Because in all honesty, it was a damn shame for someone like Jade to swear off romance for her entire life. She was the kind of woman who didn’t come along often. She was steely and feisty with an earthy sensuality that called to me.
“While we’re on the subject, what about you? Here I am, apparently your fake date, but it’s not like you don’t have your pick of women,” she commented.
“The same could be said for you,” I countered.
“Events happened, and I don’t trust men. Unfortunately for me, I don’t bat for the other team, although sometimes I wish I did,” Jade replied.
I almost choked, letting out a surprised huff of a laugh. Jade winked and her lips curled in a slight smile. The temptation to hold her gaze was strong, and I had to force my eyes back to the road. We were going close to sixty miles per hour on a mountain highway, and it just wouldn’t do for me to get lost in Jade’s eyes.
“So, your turn,” she added.
Keeping my gaze studiously forward, I offered a quick summary. “I grew up about an hour away from Stolen Hearts Valley. I enrolled in the Air Force and completed college while I was in the military. While I was overseas, my girlfriend, really the only serious one I’ve had,
