Do Date Your Handsome Rival (Jewel Family Romance Book 3) Read online

  Do Date Your Handsome Rival

  Cami Checketts

  Copyright

  Do Date Your Handsome Rival: Jewel Family Romance

  Copyright © 2020 by Cami Checketts

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

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  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Epilogue

  Do Marry Your Billionaire Boss

  Do Trust Your Special Ops Bodyguard

  Do Rely on Your Protector

  About the Author

  Also by Cami Checketts

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  Chapter One

  Marietta Valez adjusted the veil for her best friend, Cosette Peterson, and checked for makeup smudges. Cosette was a blonde beauty, a brilliant but spacey chemist, and the most genuine, innocent, and wonderful person Mar had ever known. Mar sighed. “Perfect. You are absolutely gorgeous.”

  “Thank you. I love you.”

  Mar hugged her loosely so as not to upset anything, wishing she could hold her friend tight for a long, long time. Cosette was the only person on this earth who truly loved her, and now, naturally, that focus would go to Cosette’s new husband, Isaac Jewel. It was right, lovely, and perfect, but Mar was secretly afraid of breaking. She hadn’t been alone since middle school, when she’d protected Cosette from a bully and the two had become instant best friends. Now she’d be alone again.

  She said a prayer for strength and forced herself to let Cosette go. “Love you too,” she managed to say without her voice cracking. She reluctantly handed Cosette off to her father and nodded to Eve Jewel, Cosette’s future sister-in-law. “Send Paisley.”

  “It’s your turn, love,” Eve said to her three-year-old daughter.

  Mar guessed that the sweetheart, Eve, had never said a cross word in her life. Eve seemed almost too sweet, to the point that Mar feared that if the blue-eyed, raven-haired beauty went out in the rain, she’d melt. Then again, she was raising a daughter on her own, ran her own fitness center, and worked as a fitness coach, so Mar couldn’t discount the lady’s mental or physical toughness.

  Isaac’s darling niece, Paisley, didn’t need to be told twice. She skipped down the aisle, throwing rose petals pell-mell. Everyone laughed and oohed over how cute she was. Eve walked sedately down the aisle. Her sister, Rachel, followed her with a definite bounce and swagger in her step that Eve didn’t share.

  It was Mar’s turn. Forcing a bravado that was normally instinctive, she smacked Cosette on the rear and muttered, “Watch me wow those Jewel boys.”

  “All but Isaac,” Cosette whispered back.

  Mar winked. “Don’t worry. He doesn’t know another woman is alive.”

  Cosette laughed as Mar strutted away. It was not easy to strut in five-inch heels, but Mar had mastered it. Being five foot nothing—well, under five feet, but she wasn’t inclined to be honest about that—she’d had no choice but to become an expert at walking in very high heels. She wouldn’t be trampled by the world.

  After she’d lost her adoptive parents at six, she’d flitted from home to home. Some of the foster parents were okay; some were mean and terrifying. She’d had a decent foster family as she’d graduated high school, and they had helped her get into college and learn how to be successful. Even more importantly, she had an innate desire to rise above the scum who’d brought a baby girl into the world and promptly deserted her on their way out of the hospital. Left their child to freeze in a snowstorm rather than go through the proper channels to place her for adoption. Mar thought they were classic losers.

  Pushing her past away, she focused on the present, strutting down the aisle before the bride, her best friend. It wasn’t truly a wedding aisle, just a stretch of sand on Destin Beach, Florida. Even though she was the master of five-inch heels, Mar had rarely tried to walk with them in sand while a wedding crowd watched her. It was murder. She sank all the way to her heel with each step and then had to yank said heel out and do it on the other side. She looked ahead of her. How had Eve and Rachel fared? They were already at the wedding arch, standing on the opposite side of their slew of handsome brothers, and their heels were probably only two-inchers. They were normal-sized girls who’d probably never felt the pressure to wear platform shoes to be taken seriously.

  One of the brothers, Luke, stood out to Mar. He was perfection in a tailored suit. Not quite as tall or thick as Isaac, this brother was lean and mighty fine. He had golden-brown hair, a trimmed beard that had flecks of red in it, and the most gorgeous blue eyes she’d ever seen on a man. Other people might claim that the entire Jewel family shared the same blue eyes, but they obviously hadn’t been caught in a staring war with this brother. Luke Jewel was … delectable. His eyes were framed with dark brown lashes and lit with intelligence, grit, and an appreciation for her.

  She almost tripped, but she recovered and kept plunging forward with a large smile enhancing her perfectly made-up face. Sweat was popping up on her brow, either from the way Luke’s eyes lingered on her, or from the workout of walking up this aisle. Nevertheless, she tilted her head imperiously and kept working her way through the blasted sand.

  If that look in Luke Jewel’s eyes was sincere, she might grant the fine-looking man the privilege of entertaining her for the day. That was all a man could be for her, anyway: entertainment. She definitely had no inclination to delve into those blue eyes any deeper than that. She couldn’t allow herself an involved manly distraction, not after failed relationship after failed relationship, most ending with the man explaining that she was too feisty and she ran when things got too hard. Well, duh! Look who’d brought her into this world: a mother and father who dumped their problems and ran.

  She shook it off. She was busy running a highly successful perfume company, Cosette Industries. Her best friend was the genius who created all of their fabulous scents, and Mar was the one who marketed and grew the company. It had been a lot of hard work, an insane amount of hard, but maybe for today she’d let her hair down.

  She finally made it to the front and sidled in next to Rachel and Eve. Turning with a large smile plastered on her face, she focused on her best friend walking down the aisle. She was ecstatic for Cosette and Isaac, and she would not succumb to her terror of being desperately alone like she’d been for years before meeting Cosette. She was Marietta Valez. No one and nothing would ever take her down.

  Luke Jewel watched the incredibly beautiful Marietta Valez push her way through the sandy aisle toward the rest of the wedding lineup. It didn’t look easy in those spike heels she wore, but she did it with style, stuttering once but quickly recovering. Her long, dark curls were arranged around her perfect face; her smooth, brown skin was showcased by the fitted pale blue dress she wore; and her pink lips were such a perfect pout that he fo
und his mind straying to even happier destinations than his next-oldest brother’s wedding.

  Her dark gaze stirred something in him that he hadn’t let himself feel since he’d been a hormone-driven eighteen-year-old. He’d made mistakes that only his sister Eve knew about or could relate to. Eve was the lucky one, though; at least she had Paisley. Luke had nothing but an empty hole in his heart.

  He’d spent the last ten years pushing away the pain—at first acute, and now dull but persistent—and filling his life with work and shallow dating, mostly work. His mind was overflowing with ideas to make money, start new businesses, and help struggling businesses succeed; sometimes it was hard to shut his mind down, even for sleep. The media painted him as a playboy who loved women and left them, but truthfully, he didn’t have time to even love them, and life was better that way. He went on dates with beautiful women. He’d meet them out and about in the different cities he traveled to, or sometimes they’d be employed by different companies he acquired, or—his least favorite—someone would set him up on a date. Sometimes it was a nice dinner conversation, and sometimes it was a fun distraction, but usually it was a waste of time.

  As Marietta drew closer and gave him a challenging lift of her chin, he knew she would not be a waste of his time. Yet was he prepared for someone who could capture him like Marietta was already doing with one look and a dangerous flutter of those long eyelashes? Her pretty dark eyes were fascinating, and her innate confidence called to him—as if she were meant to be his soul mate, challenge him, encourage him, lift him, and love him.

  His heart started to race and his palms began to sweat. He couldn’t let himself fall under a woman’s spell again. The last time had about cost him his own soul.

  He yanked himself free from her gaze and concentrated on the preacher’s animated speech about loving and cherishing. The grin on Isaac’s face was infectious. Isaac and Joshua, their oldest brother, had both found the love of their lives. Luke was thrilled for them, but he couldn’t let himself believe that as the third brother in the Jewel family, it was now his turn.

  Chapter Two

  Marietta fought the disappointment threatening to choke her since Luke Jewel had pulled his gaze from her and focused on the wedding vows, then succeeded in avoiding her even after the ceremony was over. What did she care? He was just another man. She had plenty of those to go around. Men fell at her high-heeled feet daily and begged her for dates and kisses. She was kind, she never stomped on their outstretched fingers with her spike heels, but she’d tried relationships, lots of them, and failed spectacularly at each and every one. Recently, she’d vowed to never let a man have more than a dinner date. Why should Luke Jewel get any special privileges? Just because his blue eyes had lit her up from the inside out …

  “Mar,” a little voice said from down below. Mar looked down, which was an odd thing for her, as she was almost always looking up at other people. Paisley stared up at her, her bright blue eyes reminding Mar of the little girl’s incredible uncle. Dang him.

  “Yes, sweetheart?” She bent down so she was on the little girl’s level. Nobody should have to crane their neck all the time, as she was sure this darling child did in a tall, stately family of mostly handsome uncles.

  “I think you’re the most beautiful lady in the whole wide world.”

  Mar put a hand to her heart. This little doll was surrounded by beautiful ladies from her aunt and mom to Jade Jardine, who was dating her uncle Joshua, to her new aunt Cosette, Mar’s bestest friend. “Oh, my goodness, you’re darling. I think you’re the most beautiful girl in the whole wide world.”

  Paisley extended her hand and gave her a dimpled grin. Her cheeks were the perfect roundness, all squishy and kissable. Mar had never spent time around children, but this one was highly adorable. Straightening, she took the hand Paisley offered and let her lead her toward the dessert table. Mar was definitely getting better at plowing through this sand in her heels, though she longed to take them off like she’d noticed other women doing. She kept up with Paisley, thinking that the impish child simply wanted another bit of chocolate, but the little girl bypassed the variety of delectable-looking treats and pulled her right up to her grandfather and her … uncle Luke.

  Marietta pulled in a quick breath as the two men cut off what looked like an intense conversation and turned to focus on them. Luke and his father both grinned widely at the little girl and opened their arms. She ran to Luke first and gave him a tight squeeze around the neck. Mar’s heart squeezed too. He was great with children.

  “Aunt Rach told me to bring her to you.” She smiled impishly back at Mar.

  Mar’s eyes widened and her stomach fluttered as Luke gave her a significant look. Mar wasn’t surprised that Rachel was matchmaking. She liked Luke’s feisty younger sister.

  “Oh, she did?” he asked Paisley.

  “Yes, sir.” Paisley then leaned out of her uncle’s arms, and her grandfather easily caught her and held her. “Papa,” she said, all innocent sweetness. “Mama said I could put my toes in the ocean, but only if you come with me.”

  “Well we’d better go put our toes in the ocean, then.” Peter Jewel, internationally acclaimed billionaire, looked like a much younger man as he set his granddaughter on the sand and took her hand. “Excuse us, please.” He nodded to Luke and Marietta, a knowing look in his eyes as he glanced between them.

  “Of course,” Marietta murmured, but she had no clue what she was going to do when left alone with the intriguing and too-handsome Luke.

  For a moment, they simply stared at each other. Marietta couldn’t pull her gaze from his blue eyes. He looked interested in her, but there was also a wariness behind his gaze that surprised her. His reputation was that of a playboy, but he didn’t give off that aura. He seemed as driven to be successful as she was and she didn’t imagine he wasted much time on meaningless relationships.

  When he still didn’t say anything, she murmured cordially, “Good to see you.” Then she turned and tried to stride through the blasted sand with her head and shoulders straight and proud. That was one thing foster care had taught her well: never show weakness.

  She heard him coming behind her and looked over her shoulder right as Luke wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her out of the sand. She looked up into his handsome face and asked, “What are you doing?”

  He grinned. The beauty of it stole the oxygen from her lungs. The skin around his eyes and mouth crinkled, and he looked irresistible but also approachable. Maybe he was only human, not descended directly from Mt. Olympus. “You looked like you were struggling,” he said.

  Mar sputtered for an answer. “Struggling … I’m not …”

  Luke simply grinned and easily carried her to the section of temporary flooring set up for the food tables and the dancing. They got a few interested glances, but everyone was busy with their own conversations and celebrations. “Why do you wear those things?” he asked, tilting his chin down toward her heels.

  Mar folded her arms across her small bosom and gave him an imperious glare. “Because they make my legs looks fabulous.” She dared him to contradict her, hoping it wasn’t obvious to the world why she wore them. Some of her ex-boyfriends claimed she had an inferiority complex. Whatever.

  Luke’s blue eyes swept her up and down. She twisted one leg and flexed her calf, just to illustrate her point. A smile played on his lips, and he nodded. “Yes, those legs are definitely fabulous, but I don’t know that the heels should get all the credit.”

  Wise man. Very wise. “My house has five flights of stairs, and we do have a lot of hills in San Francisco. They can take some credit too.”

  His smile grew. “Please tell me you don’t wear heels like that traversing the hills of San Francisco.”

  “Of course I do.” She gave him a sassy wink. “You should come watch sometime. It’s pretty impressive, if I do say so myself.”

  “I bet it is.” His gaze trailed over her again, and she felt a little hotter than the su
nny day could account for. “So the heels are only for fashion and to make your legs look even better?” He arched an imperious eyebrow.

  The heat he’d infused into her fled, replaced by an icy chill. Her height was a sensitive subject. End of story. “What else would I wear them for?” She gave him a pointed look and dared him to say it.

  But as she’d surmised earlier, Luke Jewel was a wise man. “I’m sure they’re extremely comfortable.”

  “Yes, sir, they are.”

  He smiled as if they were sharing a secret. “Do you want to sit?” he asked, gesturing to a nearby table and chairs that were empty. “Take some pressure off those feet?”

  Mar had been moving to sit, until he threw out his last line. “My feet feel great,” she lied. She’d become so used to and adept at the heels that she could wear them through an entire workday and then into the evening without any problems, but the sand had been murder to try to walk in.

  “Lucky you. My feet are killing me.”

  She looked down at his brown leather Gucci dress shoes and rolled her eyes. They were high-end shoes, and she could bet they were comfortable. The only fashion rule that ever dealt men discomfort was wearing suit coats when it was hot and humid out.

  He held out a chair for her. “Please.”

  “Fine.” She sank into the chair he offered and wasn’t quick enough to hide a sigh of relief. It was heaven to be off her feet.

  Luke angled a chair toward hers and sat as well. “Ah,” he said, letting out a fake sigh. “Blessed relief.”