Page 23 of Sweet Temptation

“In the meantime,” Preston added, “take her out, show her off, and let the gossip start. It’ll take a little acting, but if Jackie is in agreement, I think Jillian’s idea is a good one.”

“Of course it’s a good one.” Jillian made a silly face at her brother before patting herself on the shoulder. “I’m brilliant.”

“Ha,” Rachel scoffed. “Don’t pat yourself on the back too hard, you might fall off that pedestal.”

Most of the room broke out in short chuckles or muffled laughter. But the important thing was they all agreed. And they had a plan.

His siblings filed out of the study, each giving him an encouraging nod or thumbs up as they passed. Garret stayed behind for a moment. His father’s presence seemed especially strong tonight, and Garret could almost hear his advice:Plans are good, son, but life rarely follows them.For the first time he could remember, he really hoped his father wasn’t right.

A rap on her door pulled Jackie away from the most boring book she’d ever picked up. “Come in.”

“I’m not disturbing you, am I?”

She shook her head. “No, I thought I’d relax a little before tackling the two applications.”

“Need some help?” Garret remained in the doorway, his feet planted firmly in the hall, his head peeking inside.

“Couldn’t hurt.” Closing the book and setting it on the nightstand, she reached for the papers beside her, and crossing her legs, patted the foot of the bed for Garret to take a seat.

The way he walked slowly toward her bed, anyone would think he was facing a firing squad, not an application for her employment.

“I think I’d like to apply for the school job first.”

His head bobbed as he slowly descended onto the edge of the bed. Any more on the edge and he’d be sitting on the floor. “Any reason in particular?”

“I’ve worked in a stressful industry; I can’t help but think working for the city could be equally stressful. A school, on the other hand, shouldn’t be high maintenance, and,” she sprouted a grin, “summer vacations!”

Chuckling, Garret looked at the application for the high school office position. “I can’t argue. Summers off is quite the perk.”

“Is that the voice of experience talking?” One of the many things she appreciated about spending time with Garret was the ease with which conversation came. For the most part, after only a few days, she felt like there wasn’t anything they couldn’t discuss, or share.

“I’ve had a nice vacation or two. On a teacher’s budget, of course.” His smile widened and he shifted a little further onto the bed.

She liked that he was becoming more comfortable around her. “Of course.”

Frowning, Garret carefully eyed the paper in his hand. “I’m surprised they’re not asking you to attach a resume.”

“They’re not?” She scooted forward, shifting to kneeling like a curious puppy looking at the paper in his master’s hand, hoping it was a snack.

“Look for yourself.” He handed her the paper and she sat back on her rear. “Well, that is odd.” Her gaze lifted, meeting his. “Do you think I should attach one anyway? If you have a printer here, I can access it from the cloud storage and then print it.”

“We do. And I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.”

Reaching for a pen, she began filling out the obvious, her name, birth date, and then paused. “Is it going to look weird if I use the address here?”

He shook his head. “Not after I start courting you.”

Pen in hand, her head snapped up. “Excuse me?”

“You say that a lot, don’t you?” He smiled.

“My grandmother would have my head if I saidwhat. That drove her nuts. Especially when she called my name. I learned to respond withcoming!”

“Got it. Anyhow, we decided to try a different approach this time. I’m going to ask Mom’s advice on courting you.”

“Courting?

He nodded.

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