Brianne see she belongs with me. I realize you probably don’t believe I could love your daughter after knowing her for such a short period of time, but I do. I’m not going to lose her,” he said firmly. “You can fire me, blacklist me, whatever you think is necessary but I won’t give up until Brianne is mine.”
Phillip rubbed his chin. “Juliette, would you like to respond to this one?”
She spoke to Jake, but her eyes lingered on her husband. “You were right, I am a romantic. I would have to be when my own life has been somewhat of a fairytale. I knew the moment Phillip and I were introduced that we were destined to be together. I fell madly in love and married him in the span of one week. So you see, I do believe that you love Bri.”
“If you believe me then why are you even considering introducing her to this other man?”
Juliette smiled softly. “We’re not just considering it, we have already done it.”
Jake clenched his jaws. “It’s Andy Sutton, isn’t it?”
Phillip covered his wife’s hand with his own. “Juliette, have a heart and put the poor boy out of his misery.”
“Okay, okay,” she sighed then looked at Jake accusingly. “This is really all your fault. If you had been available for the project we did in Colorado last year we wouldn’t have had to rush to get this one going so that you and Bri could…”
Jake started laughing. “My God, you are truly gifted at this matchmaking thing, Mrs. Carrington! So tell me…just how long have you been plotting my demise as a confirmed bachelor?”
***
Brianne chose a simple black dress she purchased in town the night before . She wore her hair up, although the style was much more flattering than the sever bun she’d had it in during the meeting. Her encounter with Jake still preyed on her mind as she left her room to join the others for dinner. She’d made up her mind not to let temptation for him interfere with the decision to marry Chad but wasn’t completely confident she could pull it off. He was like a magnet; drawing Bri to him as if she had no will of her own. And if what happened this afternoon was any indication of Jake’s feelings for her, that magnetic effect worked both ways.
It was going to be impossible to keep any distance between them while they worked on the project since their jobs overlapped in so many areas, but she planned on avoiding him at all costs when they weren’t working together. If she wasn’t able to control herself when they were alone, then the obvious solution was to make sure that didn’t happen.
Tomorrow she would be moving into the rental house her father had procured for the month, which would alleviate the close proximity of their current living arrangements at the hotel. After the project was completed, she and Jake would go their separate ways. It was best thing for everyone involved. Well, everyone but her that is.
Her smile felt plastic as she made her way across the room, nodding and greeting people as if everything was simply wonderful, as if her heart wasn't breaking right in two. She took her place at the table beside Jake who looked so handsome in a black tailored suit she found herself constantly fighting the urge to turn in her chair and just stare at him.
It was disappointing to discover that he seemed to have no trouble at all keeping his eyes off of her. He barely acknowledge her when she sat down and immediately jumped back into a conversation with her father, occasionally asking her mother’s opinion while carefully avoiding directing any questions towards Bri.
She might have been invisible for all the attention he paid her and even the few attempts she made to converse with him were met with short, clipped responses. It hurt like hell but she couldn’t really blame him
Phillip rubbed his chin. “Juliette, would you like to respond to this one?”
She spoke to Jake, but her eyes lingered on her husband. “You were right, I am a romantic. I would have to be when my own life has been somewhat of a fairytale. I knew the moment Phillip and I were introduced that we were destined to be together. I fell madly in love and married him in the span of one week. So you see, I do believe that you love Bri.”
“If you believe me then why are you even considering introducing her to this other man?”
Juliette smiled softly. “We’re not just considering it, we have already done it.”
Jake clenched his jaws. “It’s Andy Sutton, isn’t it?”
Phillip covered his wife’s hand with his own. “Juliette, have a heart and put the poor boy out of his misery.”
“Okay, okay,” she sighed then looked at Jake accusingly. “This is really all your fault. If you had been available for the project we did in Colorado last year we wouldn’t have had to rush to get this one going so that you and Bri could…”
Jake started laughing. “My God, you are truly gifted at this matchmaking thing, Mrs. Carrington! So tell me…just how long have you been plotting my demise as a confirmed bachelor?”
***
Brianne chose a simple black dress she purchased in town the night before . She wore her hair up, although the style was much more flattering than the sever bun she’d had it in during the meeting. Her encounter with Jake still preyed on her mind as she left her room to join the others for dinner. She’d made up her mind not to let temptation for him interfere with the decision to marry Chad but wasn’t completely confident she could pull it off. He was like a magnet; drawing Bri to him as if she had no will of her own. And if what happened this afternoon was any indication of Jake’s feelings for her, that magnetic effect worked both ways.
It was going to be impossible to keep any distance between them while they worked on the project since their jobs overlapped in so many areas, but she planned on avoiding him at all costs when they weren’t working together. If she wasn’t able to control herself when they were alone, then the obvious solution was to make sure that didn’t happen.
Tomorrow she would be moving into the rental house her father had procured for the month, which would alleviate the close proximity of their current living arrangements at the hotel. After the project was completed, she and Jake would go their separate ways. It was best thing for everyone involved. Well, everyone but her that is.
Her smile felt plastic as she made her way across the room, nodding and greeting people as if everything was simply wonderful, as if her heart wasn't breaking right in two. She took her place at the table beside Jake who looked so handsome in a black tailored suit she found herself constantly fighting the urge to turn in her chair and just stare at him.
It was disappointing to discover that he seemed to have no trouble at all keeping his eyes off of her. He barely acknowledge her when she sat down and immediately jumped back into a conversation with her father, occasionally asking her mother’s opinion while carefully avoiding directing any questions towards Bri.
She might have been invisible for all the attention he paid her and even the few attempts she made to converse with him were met with short, clipped responses. It hurt like hell but she couldn’t really blame him
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