“Perfect.” Ace’s voice turned serious. “I’ll brief
you a bit ahead of time. All the Coltons are trustworthy—the siblings, the triplet cousins—but Selina Barnes Colton, my father’s ex-wife, is not to be trusted.” Here he gave a small, self-conscious chuckle. “I guess I should have said your father’s second wife. Selina is my ex-stepmother and is on the board of Colton Oil. She’s a witch. At least Dad had the sense to divorce her. Genevieve is much nicer. Whatever you do, don’t trust Selina. Just watch out for her, okay?”
“That I can do,” Jake said. “I’ve read a little about all of them. As for Selina, I have some experience with women like that. I was raised by one.”
“Ouch.” Ace went silent for a moment and then continued on. “Anyway, even though it’s going to be a huge family get-together, I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable. I can try to get them to scale it back some. Payne got really excited and went overboard, despite barely being out of the hospital. Genevieve loves big parties. Though she’s been invited, Selina is grinding her teeth.”
“You know, I’d rather just meet your immediate family right now, if that’s all right with you,” Jake admitted. “It’s already a lot to take in. Meeting the extended family right off the bat might be too much.” Overwhelming, actually. Still in shock, he’d prefer to take this in small doses, a few people at a time.
“Thank goodness.” Relief rang in Ace’s voice. “At least now I might stand a chance in hell of reasoning with Payne. Oh, and if you want to bring a date or a friend, that’s fine, too.”
Jake immediately thought of Fiona. Would she want to go, or was it too much, too soon? Though they’d made love, they barely knew each other. He guessed it would depend on whether or not a dinner with the Colton family fit into her mission. “I’ll let you know,” he said. “What time do you want me to be there?”
“How about seven?”
“Sounds good. I’ll text you if I decide to bring someone.”
“Ah, you’ve got to ask her first.”
“Exactly.” Smiling, Jake ended the call. He wouldn’t exactly blame Fiona if she begged off going. Still, it didn’t hurt to ask.
Chapter 7
As soon as she rose the next morning, Fiona showered and rushed through her makeup and getting dressed. At any minute, she expected either Leigh or Micheline to summon her and quiz her about her developing relationship with Jake. After all, the cult leader had walked in and found Fiona in Jake’s bed.
When nothing happened, it almost felt anticlimactic. She guessed Micheline had seen enough to feel confident Jake would stay.
Fiona thought of Jake. Of the way his hands had felt on her skin, how his body had filled hers, how they’d fit together so well. While she wasn’t usually prone to poetic, flowery thoughts about sexual mechanics, Jake had made her body sing.
Pleasantly sore, she wondered how he’d act around her now. Would things be strange? She hoped not. While Micheline’s dramatic entrance had made for an awkward ending to a wonderful night, she hoped Jake could get past all that. Privately, Fiona considered him the best part of this entire undercover assignment.
She pushed away her thoughts and made her way to the cafeteria for breakfast. Since only a small group of AAG members lived at the house full-time, the meals were set up buffet style. After grabbing a couple of spoonfuls of scrambled eggs, she took two slices of bacon and a muffin, filled her cup with coffee, and took a seat.
Jake appeared just as she took her first sip. He looked happy, she thought, watching as he went through the line and got his own breakfast. He made his way directly to her table.
“Mind if I join you?”
Her heart leaped at the sight of him, but she managed to keep her expression cool. “Have a seat.”
Jake mustn’t have been a morning person, either. She got it—most days she preferred not to have to speak to anyone until she’d downed a least one cup of coffee. They ate together in companionable silence, and it wasn’t until they both finished their meal, when he offered to get her a refill, that she felt cheerful enough to initiate friendly conversation. “That’d be great, thanks.”
“Cream and sugar?”
“No.” She made a mock face. “Just black.”
“Good choice.”
When he returned a moment later, he placed both their coffees down on the table. “Do you want to hear what Micheline had to say last night?”
Immediately, she glanced around them, giving her head a tiny shake. “Not here,” she mouthed.
“My bad,” he mouthed back. “I forgot.”
Curiosity won out. She pushed to her feet, taking another sip of her hot coffee. “Do you want to go for a walk? This is the best time of the day for that, as far as I’m concerned.”
Taking the hint, he got up, too. “Sure.”
Side by side, they took a leisurely stroll through the mostly empty lobby. Fiona made a show of gazing adoringly up at him.