Jake had spent months trying to figure out how to suggest to Christine that they be more than friends. This trip south for the wedding seemed like the perfect opportunity to move their relationship in a new direction, but he hadn’t been able to think of a way to present his case that didn’t sound crass. In the end, she’d made the suggestion.

Could their thoughts be running in the same direction?

Jake couldn’t believe that. She was just afraid of Ryan’s jerk friends, and understandably so. Fiona’s timing was impeccable, as well. But Christine’s hot kiss, her soft sweet mouth and her teasing tongue, was making him forget where they were.

Did Christine always kiss like this? Jake wanted to toss her over his shoulder and find some privacy, then work out later whether it was impulse or kismet.

But they were sitting in an airport, with family and friends closing fast.

He broke their kiss with an effort, unable to keep his hands from lingering in the silk of Christine’s hair. He’d made a mess of it, encouraging it to fall in loose tendrils from the way she’d knotted it up, but Christine didn’t seem to mind. She looked up at him, her lips swollen and her eyes sparkling, and he wished she’d look at him like that every minute of every day.

Then she smiled, pulled free of his embrace and reached to fix her hair. “So, now they think we’re a couple. I get it. Good idea.”

Her light tone made him feel like an idiot. He’d been fantasizing too long about Christine and he had to keep his reaction under control. Otherwise, he’d spook her and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

For years, he’d worried about asking her out. They’d grown up together and she could have been his other sister. But she wasn’t: she was Christine. She was the adorable little girl who had reached out at the age of four and stolen not just his Popsicle but his sucker heart.

She’d had it ever since.

But Jake was sure she had no idea—and he wasn’t sure she’d care if she did find out.

He liked being friends with Christine. He liked being able to call her and hear her voice whenever he wanted, and he liked being able to give her a hug in public without anyone thinking it was inappropriate. But as much as he didn’t want to risk that friendship, Jake was ready to make a commitment. He was ready to get on with the next part of his life, the marriage and house and family part, so long as the right woman was at his side.

Christine was the only woman who would do. It was time to find out whether she would have him or not. She certainly kissed as if she thought of him as more than a brother—but maybe that was an act for Ryan’s friends.

The idea of her having a secret fantasy was not helping him keep control.

Jake steadied his breathing with an effort and tried to keep the tone light. “Sorry I messed up your hair,” he said, taking the chance to tuck back a loose tendril. Christine’s hair was honey-gold, long and thick. He could never decide whether it was sexier loose around her shoulders, or twisted up to leave her sleek neck bare. He knew that when there was a single tendril of loose hair against her neck, the sight of it drove him wild.

Just his luck—that’s how it was right now. He wanted to ease aside that tendril with his fingertip, bend down and kiss her nape. Then go on from there. Christine caught her breath and eyed him warily, a sure sign that she was figuring out that he wasn’t just playing a game.

Jake sat back and looked away, just as Ryan’s jerk friend Mark leaned over the back of the seat on Christine’s other side. “Hey, gorgeous, if you’re giving out welcome kisses to the wedding, I’ll have mine next.”

“Sorry, fresh out,” Christine said, easing toward Jake. He put his arm over her shoulders and gave Mark a look that should have warned him to back off.

He didn’t.

“You’re Jess’s brother, right?’ Mark said. “And the maid of honor, Christine.” He sat down beside Christine and grinned at her. “Maybe you’ll settle a little bet for us.”

“Maybe not,” Christine breathed. Jake cupped his hand over her shoulder, and let his thumb move in a lazy caress there. Christine caught her breath, then eased a little closer, making him catch his own breath. Her perfume teased his nostrils, making him want to close his eyes and find the exact spots where she’d touched it to her skin.

Mark waved his boarding pass. “Tell me I scored and you’ll be sitting near me on the plane, not these other losers. I got 19B, Steve’s got 23D, and Kade has 22C.”

Christine stiffened and Jake knew she must be seated beside one of them.

Time to keep their deal.

“Hey, there’s the reservations agent,” Jake said, as if they’d been planning this all along. “Let me check with her about our upgrade.”

Christine flashed him a grateful smile that made him sizzle to his toes. She gave him her boarding pass, keeping her thumb over the seat assignment.

Which was 19A.

Jake really was saving the damsel in distress. Good thing he had a ridiculous amount of points, courtesy of that three month cross country commute he’d done on a big contract. This was the perfect use for them. Jake winked at Christine and went to the desk, joining the line that was already forming there.

Then he looked back.

Jake told himself that he was just keeping an eye on Mark, but the truth was that he couldn’t look enough at Christine. She was always so elegant and pulled together. Maybe she had a natural flair. Maybe she considered appearances. Maybe that was why she’d become an interior designer. There was no doubt that she had a gift for it. She was trim and pretty, curvy in all the right places and had perfect manners. She was a lady.

He was crazy for that.

And he was astounded that she kissed the way she did. Her kiss was so hot and hungry that he only wanted more. A secret fantasy? Could the cool and composed Christine be a passionate lover, too?

It was more than Jake could ever have hoped for.

This morning, Christine wore a slim khaki skirt and a red blouse, managing to look both casual and businesslike at the same time. She wore little make-up, except the lipstick that he saw now he’d smeared. Jake ran a hand over his own mouth and the telltale trace on his hand made his heart thump. Christine’s sandals and bag were caramel leather, vintage in style, and he’d guess that she had brought those sunglasses with the tortoiseshell frames, the ones that made her look like a movie star.

If she’d packed the black bikini that she’d worn at the cottage the previous summer, the one that barely existed, he was a dead man.

“Can I help you, sir?”

Jake reluctantly turned his attention to the attendant and summoned his best smile, determined to ensure that Christine was alone with him for the next four hours.

No matter what the price.