Page 102 of Most Likely to Deny Love

We climbed the steps to the veranda, and Nan immediately patted the chair beside her. “Mia, come sit with me. I’ve beenhoping to have a proper chat without Victoria circling like a shark, waiting to tear you to pieces.”

“Oh, um, okay.”

I glanced at Jack helplessly as I took a seat next to Nan, but he just shrugged. What Nan wanted, Nan got.

“Are you hungry? I didn’t see you at breakfast.”

“I am a little, yeah.”

“Excellent. I’m due for my second coffee of the day.” She rang a small silver bell that sat on the table beside her. Not thirty seconds later, a woman appeared.

“Martha, would you be so kind as to bring Ms. Harris some breakfast? And I’d love some coffee, the French roast Jack brought me.”

“Certainly, Ma’am.”

“Thank you. And as for you, Jack. You can leave us for now.”

Before Jack could reply, a little girl with dark pigtails came bursting onto the veranda. She was maybe six years old and as soon as she saw Jack, her eyes lit up. “Jack! I’ve been looking for youeverywhere.”

Oh, well, wasn’t this just adorable?

“Uh, have you, Cindy?”

“Yes, because last time we were here, you helped me build a snow girl and can we do that again? Victor says I’m too bad at it and won’t help me. I want to build a whole family. I’ve got carrots and everything.” True to her word, Cindy pulled a bunch of carrots from inside her coat, holding them out proudly.

“That’s certainly a lot of carrots. Yeah, I can help you build a snow girl. If it’s alright with Mia?”

Nan didn’t give me a chance to answer. “Of course it’s alright with Mia!”

Jack looked at me, a silent question in his eyes. “Go. I’ll be fine with Nan.”

“Okay, but you let me know if she picks on you.”

I laughed. “I will.”

With one last glance at me, Jack let Cindy pull him over to where the other kids were playing in the snow. I couldn’t drag my eyes away as he got down on his knees and helped the little girl start her snow family. Holy fuck, this was so cute. Professional, brooding, Jack Sullivan was suddenly sweet and playful in a way I never would have expected.

“He’s always been good with children,” Nan remarked, following my gaze. “They don’t expect anything from him except to be present.”

I leaned back in the chair, grateful for the warmth radiating from a nearby outdoor heater. “He’s full of surprises.”

Nan chuckled, the sound rich and knowing. “That he is. Always was, even as a boy.” She adjusted her blanket, tucking it more securely around her legs. “Did he take you skating?”

“Sort of. I can’t skate, so he... carried me.”

“Did he now?” Her eyes twinkled with amusement. “How resourceful of him.”

I felt heat rise to my cheeks. “Yeah, he’s very, uh, capable.” Capable? What the fuck? Why did that sound sexual, when I said it like that.

Luckily, I was saved from more awkwardness by the arrival of breakfast. Martha returned with a tray overloaded with food. Fluffy eggs, crispy bacon, toast, and preserves in crystal dishes. She poured dark coffee into china cups, placed the jug carefully on the table and straightened. “Will there be anything else, Mrs. Sullivan?”

Nan gave her a warm smile, the kind that crinkled the corners of her eyes. “No, thank you. That will be all for now. You may go.”

Once Martha had gone and I’d had a few bites of toast and Nan some coffee, she started the conversation I knew she’d planned since the moment she invited me to sit down.

“You know, when he told me he was engaged, I nearly fell out of my chair. Not because I was surprised he’d found someone worthy of him, mind you, but because he’d actually allowed himself to have something he wanted.”

The casual way she said it, as if Jack’s feelings for me were real and not part of our arrangement, made my heart stutter. I remembered what Jack had said about fooling his family: ‘I don’t care what anyone else thinks... It’s Nan you have to convince.’

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