Sorry for the wait – here's a very long chapter to hopefully make up for it. :-D

Chapter Seven

She closed the door and turned to face them – Millie had made herself comfortable on one of the sofas, and was fiddling with her bag. Jake was hovering by the sofa nearest the door, one hand on the back of it and staring at her with his big hazel Becker eyes. When she looked at him he gave her another shy smile, and she smiled back, gesturing for him to follow her to sit down by his sister.

"So what did you draw for Uncle Hil?" Jess asked her. "Can I see?"

"Okay!" Millie exclaimed. She held up the paper she held and Jess took it carefully. It was a picture of a man, one step up from stick figure, and what looked like a big dog. There was a tree as well.

"It's lovely, I bet Uncle Hil will love it," Jess said with a smile. "He put the drawing you gave him yesterday on the table over there, see?"

Millie looked over where Jess was pointing and grinned hugely at the sight of her drawing on display on the table by the door. "Do you want to see another one?" She said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a drawing pad. She flipped it open and showed Jess a half-coloured-in picture on the first page. It was of a ship, and a wavy blue line at the bottom of the page denoted the sea. There was a man on the deck of the ship, wearing a very big hat.

"Ooh, a pirate ship?" Jess guessed.

"Yep!" Millie said. She pointed to the man on the deck. "That's Uncle Hil."

Jess grinned. "Is he a pirate?" It wasn't an entirely repulsive image…

"Yeah – 'coz he's a Captain," Millie said matter-of-factly.

Jess had to fight back the urge to burst out laughing. Then she felt a small hand on her knee and looked to see that Jake had sidled up next to her. He gave her another shy smile, and Jess smiled back. She patted the seat next to her, and he climbed up and settled in against her.

Jess looked back at Millie. "I bet he'll love that too," she told her, "but you know, Uncle Hil is in the army, so he doesn't get to go on ships."

Millie frowned. "He doesn't? But he's a Captain!"

"I know – it's different," Jess said. "A Captain is a special name for someone who's in charge of something. People who are in charge of a ship are called Captains, but Uncle Hil doesn't have a ship."

"What's he in charge of, then?"

"He's in charge of lots of soldiers," Jess told her. "And he's in charge of keeping everyone safe where we work. If someone gets in trouble, your Uncle Hil helps them."

Millie smiled proudly. "Mummy says Uncle Hil is a hero," she said.

Jess smiled too, and wondered if Tabby had ever told Becker that herself. She guessed not. "That's right, he is," she said.

"Should I draw a picture of him with lots of other soldiers?" Millie asked, turning to a new page in her pad and rummaging in her bag for a pencil.

Jess grinned. "You know what, why don't you draw him with a dinosaur?" She suggested. "You Uncle Hil loves dinosaurs."

"I love dinosaurs!" Jake suddenly piped up. Jess looked down at him, and saw his eyes were shining with excitement.

"What's your favourite kind of dinosaur?" Jess asked him.

"I like raptors," Jake said at once. "They're really cool."

Jess begged to differ, but she refrained from telling Jake so. "They are pretty cool," she said instead. "But I like the nicer ones – have you ever heard of a diictodon?"

Jake nodded. "They dig tunnels!" He announced.

Jess nodded back, surprised by his knowledge. "That's right," she said. "Well, I like them."

"I like T-Rexes as well," Jake said. "They're really cool too, like raptors, but really big."

Jess grinned, remembering Becker explaining to her the night before that the T-Rex is clearly the best character in Jurassic Park because it fights the raptors at the end and helps the humans escape the island. Like uncle like nephew.

"Do you like dinosaurs, Millie?" Jess asked the little girl.

"No," she said promptly, her head bent over her pad. "But I'll draw one for Uncle Hil."

There was a knock on the door. "It's open!" Jess called, and a moment later Tabby poked her head round the door.

"Everything okay in here?" She asked, walking into the room.

"Fine," Jess told her with a smile. "Millie was showing me her pictures and I was talking to Jake about dinosaurs."

Tabby rolled her eyes fondly. "Don't get him started," she said with a smile.

"Mummy, Jess says Uncle Hil doesn't have a ship," Millie said.

Tabby frowned. "Of course he doesn't, why would he have a ship?"

"He's a Captain!"

Tabby grinned. "Yeah, but only in the army, you need to be in the navy to have a ship," she said. "And Uncle Hil isn't nearly cool enough to have his own ship…"

Jess frowned, a little surprised that Tabby would say something like that, but a moment later Becker walked through the open door of the hotel room – clearly she'd seen he was about to enter, and was just trying to wind him up.

He was rolling his eyes already. "Well… good morning," he said drily. "To what do I owe this displeasure?"

Tabby grinned. "Just collecting my offspring," she said.

Becker looked over at Jess for the first time and raised an eyebrow at the sight of her with his niece and nephew either side of her. He was shining with sweat and his t-shirt was clinging to his torso – in short, he looked delicious.

Jess grinned at him. "Hi," she said. "Good run?"

"Yeah, I – "

Millie jumped off the sofa and ran over to him. "Uncle Hil! Look, I drew you this! Look!" She waved her paper at him until he took it from her.

"Thanks sweetheart," he said, smiling. "Is that me?"

"Uh-huh. And that's a bear!"

Becker raised an eyebrow again. "Why a bear?"

"I like bears!"

Becker nodded solemnly. "Well, it's a very good bear," he said. He carefully put the picture down next to the other one, earning himself a big smile from his niece. Jess watched the entire exchange with a smile.

He looked over at her when he was done with the picture and gave her a teasing look. "Finally awake I see," he said airily.

Jess' smile widened. When he'd walked in to find Tabby and the kids in the room, she'd had a moment of worry that he would be back to the awkward, uncomfortable Becker of last night's dinner… but he seemed to be perfectly at ease – or he was acting that way at least, which was good enough.

"Finally indeed," she retorted. "Normal people don't rise with the sun."

Becker grinned and glanced at Tabby before starting to walk towards her. Jess wasn't sure what he planned to do – she didn't know if he was planning on hugging her, or kissing her on the cheek, or even if he was just going to sit down. What she knew for sure was that even if he was acting at ease, a sudden display of affection after last night was just going to look forced. So she held up both hands to stop his advance.

"Don't even think about coming near me before you have a shower," she said sternly. Becker stopped suddenly a few feet away from her, and gave her a puzzled look. He had his back to Tabby by now, so luckily she didn't see it.

She did, however, give Jess a sly look. "What? Don't you like him sweaty?" She asked her.

Becker looked a bit panicked, but Jess just smiled sweetly. "Hil, I think your sister wants a hug," she said to him.

Becker grinned and started towards Tabby with his arms wide open. Tabby fled for the door. "Don't you dare!" She shrieked as she ran. Jess started laughing, and Becker stopped by the other sofa, laughing as well. Tabby gave him a disgruntled look before gesturing to the kids. "Come on you two, let's go get breakfast."

Millie skipped over to the sofa to collect her drawing things. "Are you coming, Uncle Hil?" She asked Becker once she had her bag on her shoulder.

Becker shook his head with a smile. "Not yet – you heard Jess, I need to have a shower first," he told her.

Millie's face fell a little bit, but she nodded. "Oh, okay," she said, before heading across the room to join her Mum.

Jake slid off the sofa and turned to Jess expectantly. "Are you coming to breakfast?" He asked her.

She smiled. "In a minute," she told him. "I need to change my clothes – I can't eat breakfast in my pyjamas."

"I eat breakfast in my pyjamas," Jake said innocently.

Jess grinned. "Only at home, though, right?"

Jake thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. "Yeah," he conceded.

Jake hurried over to join his Mum, and she shepherded him and his sister out of the room. She called a 'see you later' out and then closed the door behind her, leaving Becker and Jess alone.

They looked at each other silently for a moment, before Becker shifted awkwardly and broke the silence. "Everything okay?" He asked her.

Jess nodded. "Yeah – sorry about that, I just think we need to be careful around Tabby," she said.

Becker frowned. "But you said I need to be more affectionate…"

Jess chose to ignore the way her cheeks started to flush. "You do, but Tabby is definitely suspicious after last night, and I think if you start being too affectionate she's going to get even more suspicious…" Jess bit her lip. "This is getting pretty complicated, isn't it?"

Becker gave a hollow laugh. "Yeah… maybe you should just be in charge of levels of affection," he said. "I'll follow your lead."

Jess raised her eyebrow. "Now there's an offer," she said, before she could stop herself.

Becker's eyebrows shot up, and Jess ducked her head to hide her blush. There was another moment's silence.

"Sorry about waking you up this morning," Becker said eventually.

"It's alright," Jess said, grateful for the change of subject. "Did you have a good run?"

Becker nodded. "Yeah – I lapped round the grounds a couple of times," he told her. "They have this wooded area I'd forgotten about, it's quite a nice drive... we could go out there for a drive after breakfast, if you want."

Jess smirked. "This is just an excuse to drive faster than seventy isn't it?" She teased.

Becker shrugged. "That, and escape my sisters," he said, his eyes twinkling.

"Sure, sounds nice," Jess said. Then she gave him a stern look. "But first you really do need to shower."

XXX

Jess was completely right about the drive being an excuse for Becker to drive fast. The track that Becker was talking about was practically a racing track – when pressed he actually admitted that they used to use it for dirt car races. It wound through the trees in a lap about two miles long.

He drove round at a sensible speed the first couple of times; he might like driving fast but he wasn't an idiot, and Jess knew he wanted to make sure he knew where he was going before pushing the speed up. They spoke about his family as they drove.

"Millie and Jake are so sweet," Jess said. "And Millie adores you."

"Yeah," Becker chuckled. "Though she'll forget all about me this afternoon – Olivia's arriving, and Livy is Millie's favourite person in the whole world."

"Olivia is your oldest niece, right? Ronnie's daughter?"

"Yep – she's ten, almost eleven," Becker said. "Millie worships her, and Olivia dotes on Millie – she's the little sister she never had."

Jess grinned. "Aw, that's so sweet," she said. "I was kind of like that with my cousins when I was little."

"You used to spoil them?"

"No, I was the youngest, so I was the one being spoiled."

"Of course." Becker smirked at Jess before turning back to the road. "I think you've got an admirer in Jake."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah – he told me he thinks you're pretty," Becker said.

Jess laughed. "Did he? When?"

"Last night, when I was introducing you," Becker told her. "I said 'this is Jess' and he whispered to me that he thinks you're really pretty." Becker gave Jess a teasing smile. "I can't believe I have to compete with my own nephew."

Jess laughed again. "Well you're losing so far – he's much cuter than you are," she told him.

Becker laughed, and Jess looked away, out of the window. She thought back to the night before when she'd met Jake. She remembered the moment Becker was talking about: when he'd told Jake her name, Jake had whispered something to Becker. And Jess remembered Becker's reaction, too – he'd grinned, and said 'yes, she is'.

Yes, she is.

Jess bit her lip to stop herself grinning like a schoolgirl.

They'd gone the track a couple of times by now, and Becker was starting to speed up. Jess gave him a sardonic look which he clearly took as a challenge – up went his eyebrow and down went his foot.

Becker drove his posh car like a bat out of hell, but Jess never felt unsafe – he was such a good driver. In fact, the speed was thrilling. They went round twice, the second lap beating the first by almost ten seconds, and Becker swerved to a halt near a break in the trees that gave them a beautiful view of the back of the hotel.

They looked at each other and laughed, and Becker shook his head. "I want a race track," he said.

Jess grinned. "And a tank, and a grenade launcher and a – what was the latest one? Oh yes – a spy plane."

"That would be really useful and you know it," Becker said – Jess knew he was only half-joking, and she laughed again.

Becker reached for the ignition again, and Jess leant forward. "Can I have a go?"

He looked round at her, obviously confused. "Excuse me?"

"Can I do a lap?"

Becker actually laughed at her. "Oh god... no," he said immediately.

Jess couldn't help but feel defensive at his reaction. "I'm a good driver you know," she said hotly.

Becker shook his head. "Don't care," he said dismissively. "No one drives this car but me. Especially on a track like this."

Jess rolled her eyes. "I won't race the car round... not everyone feels your need to drive at at least ninety-five miles an hour," she said. Becker just gave her an unimpressed look, and Jess sighed. "I'll just drive it back up to the main avenue and back to the hotel," she said by way of a compromise. "Slowly."

"No," Becker said tersely.

Jess pursed her lips. "You realise I could make your life hell here, right?" She said.

"Jess," Becker said, looking and sounding incredibly patronising. "The worst you could do is tell my sisters the truth, and I know you. You wouldn't do that."

"You're right, I wouldn't," Jess agreed. "But that's not the worst thing I could do."

Becker folded his arms. "Oh really?"

Jess smirked. "Let's see... I could come up with a nickname for you," she said. "Something really embarrassing, like..."

"Hilly-Billy-Cuddle-Bub?"

Jess blinked. "What?"

Becker raised an eyebrow. "That was my sisters' nickname for me during my teens," he said matter-of-factly. "Next threat. Or should I say empty threat?" He was starting to smirk a bit now, and Jess needed to wipe it off his face.

"I could start talking about our sex life," she said. "You know, and the... er... problems."

Becker's smirk faltered slightly, but he didn't react otherwise – perhaps he knew that Jess would be far too embarrassed to have a conversation like that with his sisters.

So Jess smirked instead as it came to her. "And then of course, tomorrow I could catch the bouquet," she said with an air of triumph.

As she'd known he would, Becker immediately gave her a look of wide-eyed panic. "You wouldn't," he said quietly.

Jess smiled and leant forward, closer to him. "I totally would."

Becker shook his head. "No, you don't understand," he said wildly. "My sisters take that stuff really seriously. Ronnie caught the bouquet at her friend Hannah's wedding, and she and Dave got engaged a week later!"

Jess mentally thanked Mindy for sharing that little anecdote with her the night before, and gave Becker a sweet smile. "How romantic," she said. She had him, and she knew it. He knew that if she wanted to catch the bouquet, she would – and that if Carrie was anything like her sisters she would probably throw it right at her anyway. And if she caught it… well, he'd never hear the end of it.

Becker gave her a pleading look. "Jessica."

Jess raised an eyebrow at him. "Hilary."

There was a moment of silent warfare before Becker turned away. "Urgh!" He exclaimed as he threw open his door. Jess grinned and jumped out of the car as well, hurrying round to the other side. She met Becker in front of the car, and he glared down at her.

"If you so much as scratch this car, I will lock you in the menagerie," he told her menacingly.

Jess was far from menaced. "Talk about empty threats..." She said. Becker kept glaring, and Jess rolled her eyes and stepped past him. "I won't hurt your car!" She said, darting for the front seat. Becker hurried round to the passenger side and slid in just as Jess reached down to adjust her seat.

Becker honest-to-god moaned at the sight of her sliding the seat forward a few inches. Jess gave him a sardonic look. "It goes back as well, you know."

Becker didn't say anything, but Jess saw him grit his teeth as she went to turn the key in the ignition. She rolled her eyes – he was taking all the fun out of this for her. Well, not all... once she got the car moving, most of the fun came back. It really was a beautiful car to drive – Jess had driven her Dad's cars before, and they were lovely drives too, but because this was a newer car it had the power and control that those cars didn't have. Jess wondered what Becker would do if she lowered the roof – she glanced at him and saw his jaw was clenched and he was gripping the top of the dashboard. She decided not to push her luck.

Instead she drove the car as carefully as she could (and a lot slower than she usually would) up the track and then onto the road leading back to the hotel car park.

Tabby stepped out of the front door of the hotel onto the sweeping stone steps as Jess manoeuvred the car into a wide parking bay. She waved to them and started towards them as Jess cut the engine and gave Becker a smug look.

"There, see, no harm done," she said cheerfully.

Becker just glared at her and reached for his door handle. Jess rolled her eyes and followed suit.

Tabby was getting closer by the second and started calling out to them as they got out of the car. "There you are – we've been looking for you – Ronnie's here, and Carrie's up and wants to see you..."

Tabby's voice trailed off and her face went blank as she properly zeroed in on Jess and Becker as they stepped out of the car. She was gaping at Jess as she shut the door behind her. "Wait... you were driving," she said, sounding shocked.

Jess had to work hard to hide her grin – she managed to just smile sweetly. "Uh-huh," she said.

Becker came round the front of the car to stand next to Jess, and she handed him his car keys, which she knew was why he'd come straight to her side. Tabby shook her head.

"What dirt do you have on Hil that made him let you behind the wheel of his baby?" She demanded of Jess.

Jess felt her wicked side rear up and she stepped closer to Becker, sliding her arm around his back. Becker froze for a moment, but quickly did what he'd promised earlier and followed her lead. He relaxed next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. Jess smiled up at him and he smiled back – though he looked a little suspicious.

Clever boy.

Jess turned her smile on Tabby. "No dirt," she said. "Just trust. I drive the car all the time."

Becker's arm tightened around Jess' shoulders and he pulled her up against him. To Tabby it would look like he was hugging her, but in fact he was pulling her close enough to whisper in her ear.

"I am going to kill you," he said, before kissing her on the temple and loosening his grip on her. Jess grinned.

Tabby looked unsure, but she nodded. "Right... well, anyway, you coming in?" She said.

Becker and Jess nodded together, and Tabby gave them one last suspicious look before turning on her heel and walking back across the car park.

Becker immediately turned to Jess. He didn't glare at her, but Jess was pretty sure that was only because Tabby might look back at them. His smile was the most forced Jess had ever seen. "I don't care how many bouquets you catch, you're never driving my car again," he said.

Jess just smiled. "We'll see," she said simply. "Come on, let's go meet the bride."

She reached down and took Becker's hand, and the two of them started to follow Tabby across the car park.

TBC

Next up – Jess meets the rest of Becker's family