He looked over at Sawyer, noting that the spicy redhead looked as if she wanted to give him a piece of her mind, and probably would in a moment. He remembered the first time he’d ever laid eyes on her. Galen and he had played backup to Dante when he went over to see Storm Cash, and Sawyer had opened the door instead of her uncle, catching all of them off guard. Jace had seen a big smile, a slender, athletic body, cute freckles across a tiny nose, big blue eyes twinkling at him, and felt himself fall into deep, fiery lust—lust so strong that every time he saw her, he wanted her.
Of course, he’d known better. There were some lines one could cross, but sleeping with the enemy was a mistake only a man with his mind anywhere but on his job would make. But then she’d been hired on at Rancho Diablo by his brother Sloan and Sloan’s wife, Kendall—and suddenly the red-hot neighbor sex-bomb was in Jace’s sights like a tornado he couldn’t avoid.
It hadn’t taken him long to respond to the magnet pulling him toward Sawyer—only to discover that she seemed to feel the same desire. They’d made love as often as possible, as discreetly as possible, keeping their affair completely locked away. Sawyer didn’t want to jeopardize her job, knowing that she still had to earn Callahan trust—and Jace hadn’t wanted his family harping on his lack of loyalty.
His family was in for a big shock, but right now, he had to make certain his little firecracker mama got to the altar.
One thing about the Callahans: they were deadly serious about their ladies once they found them. But rare was the Callahan bride who’d made her way to the altar quietly.
He intended to avoid that unnecessary heartburn.
“I did not,” Sawyer said with annoyance, “want you to withdraw from Fiona’s event. You’d been advertised on barn roofs and billboards for months as Diablo’s prize of the century. It wouldn’t have been right to tell you at Christmas that you were going to be a father, and make you withdraw. That would have devastated Fiona, taken all the fun out of the Christmas ball and denied the charities that she funds much needed revenue, which comes from the purses of women who are hoping to win the dream man lottery.”
Jace perked up at the idea that Sawyer might think he was a dream man, suddenly hopeful that shoehorning her into marrying him would be simpler than it had first seemed. She didn’t appear all that anxious to say I do.
Unaware of his hopeful state, Sawyer took a deep breath and stated, “I took care of the obvious problem of my children’s father hanging out with another woman simply by winning you. It wasn’t that big of a deal, Jace.”
“You cute little thing.” He smiled at her, impressed by the starch in her attitude. “I’m not going to lie and say that I’m not thrilled to find out you’re my mystery girl. I’ll be happy to put a ring on your finger tonight, Sawyer.” And then, if good fortune smiled on him, maybe after the I dos were said, he’d finally get his little darling into a real bed, in a room with a closed door that locked, so he could enjoy her for hours on end.
“It’s going to feel great not to rush things anymore,” he said, not really aware he was speaking out loud, and Sawyer said, “I feel pretty certain we’re rushing marriage. Marriage is the one thing in life that shouldn’t be rushed at all.”
“Well, that cow is long out of the barn, so we won’t worry about that. Let’s move on to big decision number two.”
“I’m not even sure I want to be a Callahan,” Sawyer said. “I think I’ll keep my maiden name.”
He nearly stomped on the brakes. “That’s not going to happen, sweet cheeks. You and I are going to be Mr. and Mrs. Callahan, just like all my brothers and their wives. We share the children, we share the last name.”
She sent him a frown. “I’m not persuaded.”
“You will be. That’s my gift, persuasion.” He hoped she bought that corny line, and plowed on, “The second most important decision we make in life is where to live. I think the babies should be at the ranch, but everything’s hot around there right now, as you know.” They’d hired Sawyer in the first place because they’d needed bodyguards for the Callahan children. But later, they’d brought in more personnel to help keep Fiona and any other weaker links safe.
Of course, his redoubtable aunt would bean him a good one if she ever heard him refer to her as a weak link. But whether she liked it or not, she and Burke were getting up there in years.
“I can take care of myself. And the babies,” Sawyer said. “It won’t be much different from when I took care of Kendall’s twins.”
“I don’t like it,” Jace murmured, thinking out loud.
“No one asked you to like it.”
“The problem is, bodyguards are supposed to be unemotional about their assignment. You can’t be unemotional about your own children. No, I’ll have to look into hiring someone for you and the babies.”
“No, you won’t,” Sawyer said, and it sounded as if she spoke through tightly clenched teeth. “I don’t want a bodyguard. I’m not planning on living with you.”
He checked her expression. Yep, she had that serious look on her face, and he recognized yet another hurdle in his relationship with the saucy redhead.
She didn’t want him in her bed. That’s what this was all about.
His wooing would have to be played very smoothly, because he absolutely would be in a real bed with Sawyer, undressing her, with a ceiling overhead and not the sky. He wanted to hold her in his arms and make her cry his name, without having to quietly rush through each and every encounter.
Sooner rather than later he intended to have his way with the beautiful bodyguard, sharing lovemaking that would be record-breaking in length and very, very satisfying. That was the plan for tonight—if he could figure out the key to the tight lock she was trying to keep on her heart.
Lucky for him, he was really good at picking locks.
* * *
THEY WERE HALFWAY across Arizona, halfway to Las Vegas and the Little Wedding Chapel, when Sawyer hit him with a bombshell.
“Several members of your family are on the way to witness our wedding.”
To say his jaw dropped nearly to his lap would be putting it mildly. “My family?”
“Yes, and my uncle Storm, and his wife, Lulu Feinstrom.” Sawyer beamed at Jace. “I know how your family loves a wedding, so I texted them. They’ll be on the family plane soon and on their way, ready for wedding cake. At least that’s what your sister said. Ash also mentioned she ordered us a whopper of a cake, because everyone in your family has had a sweet tooth since they were born. Her comment, not mine.” Sawyer smiled, delighted that she’d outplayed him.
He’d seen her busily working on her phone, but he’d assumed she was looking up places to wed. Her decisive strategy meant Aunt Fiona and maybe even Uncle Burke were on their way. Jace knew he’d never get Sawyer into a bed for hours tonight, not with his partying family there. They’d want to kick up their heels and spend the evening giving him grief about how he’d surprised them with this sudden dash to the altar, blah, blah, blah, and they’d talk him to death, when he should be concentrating on undressing the redhead next to him.
It
