Too Wild

“In a big way. Where Kathryn was always Miss Perfect—at least to the outside world—I turned into the wild one. I started dating the bad boys she wouldn’t dream of being caught with, wearing clothes way too sexy for her taste and I dyed my hair whatever color suited my mood.”

“I have to admit, that sounds like an effective way of solving your problems with her.”

Jenna smiled nostalgically. “She never once stole one of my black lace see-through tops.”

“How long has it been since you’ve spoken to Kathryn?”

Jenna frowned, unable to immediately recall. “Maybe at a family Christmas get-together a few years ago. And even then, I doubt we said more than ‘pass the turkey.’”

“That’s too bad. I know Kathryn isn’t the deepest person in the world, but she seems to have matured in the time she’s been dating my brother. Maybe this wedding will give you a chance to reconcile with her.”

Reconciling with her sister sounded about as appealing as diving into a pit of snakes, but she kept silent as she mulled over the possibility. Maybe it was time to let go of her resentment, forgive Kathryn and move on. Or maybe it was just time to get a good laugh at her sister with her new jumbo lips and chipmunk cheeks. Part of Jenna did secretly hope they remained permanently inflated.

“What about you and your brother?” she asked, not ready to discuss something as heavy as forgiveness. “Your relationship with him can’t exactly be normal if you’re going through all this trouble to hold his wedding together, and I remember you saying he’s your father’s favorite.”

“Blake has never grown up. He’s still a little boy playing office at our family business, and our clients can tell.”

“So you have to cover for him?”

“In his business life only, up until now.”

“You don’t have to go around covering for my sister’s mistakes, too, you know.”

“If I want this wedding to go smoothly, I do.” His grip seemed to tighten on the steering wheel.

Jenna stared at his profile as he drove, trying to fathom exactly how much loosening up Travis needed. Definitely more than she’d first suspected.

“What about the rest of your family—do they know what a screwup your brother is?”

“Everyone else finds his boyishness charming. Father wants him at the forefront of the company because he says Blake has the personality to win clients and keep them. He thinks I’m too stiff and serious.”

“Hmm. Do you agree with him?”

“I’ve brought in most of our newer clients myself. When people look for someone to invest their money, they want to know they’re leaving their savings in stable hands.”

Stability. Why did that quality suddenly sound so sexy, when applied to Travis? Okay, so he could probably make doing a crossword puzzle look sexy, and maybe recent events were causing her to crave stability in her life, but still…

“Have you ever let things slide? Just relaxed and not worried about other people’s mistakes?”

“Not when it comes to business—no.”

Jenna studied his profile again. He seemed to be in deep thought, and she imagined him fantasizing about suddenly not being so responsible. Maybe she was helping him loosen up already. She settled back into her seat and stared out the window, content with the silence after such a harrowing afternoon.

They’d been driving for almost a half hour when Jenna came out of her trance and glanced over at Travis again. His gaze dropped to the dash as they passed a sign for a town in another mile.

“We’d better stop to find some dinner and a gas station. Are you hungry?”

“Starved. I know a place at the next exit that has great ribs.” She’d stopped there once with a friend on their way back to the city after a weekend hiking in the mountains.