Bosom Buddies (12 page)

“Well, I guess I do sometimes. You know, if I was a liar and said I didn’t lie, it wouldn’t be out of character. Besides, what do you care? You just said you didn’t want to have an affair, so it doesn’t matter.”

He gave her a tug, pulling her closer. “Like hell it doesn’t. I don’t want an affair. I want to marry you.”

On a roll, Allie kept right on talking. “This probably wasn’t love anyway. It was probably just a case of raging hormones. You’re too like my brothers. You’re overbearing, by the book, a stick-in-the-mud, Harley-riding, wanna-be-a-bad-boy man.”

“Are you through?” he asked.

She shook her head. “No, I . . . wait. What did you say?”

“Are you through?” he repeated.

She shook her head. “Before that.”

Smiling now, he released her wrist. “I said, I don’t want an affair, I want to marry you. Do you have any idea how hard I’ve been trying to get you to see me as someone you could love, someone you could marry?”

“Ian, I said I love you.”

“Before that. We both said we were too different, but I didn’t care. I wanted you, not just sex, but wanted you to love. Allie, I’ve been really working at this. The bed, the satin sheets, it struck me as a romantic, an unexpected thing to do.”

“It was,” she assured him.

She smiled, and suddenly, for the first time, Ian thought it might be all right. “We ended up on the floor,” he reminded her.

“I like being on the floor with you.” That cold knot of fear that had tied Allie’s heart up began to dissolve.

He wanted to marry her.

Ian gripped her hand, as if he was afraid she’d still escape. “Then there was the Harley. That’s unexpected, maybe even a bit dangerous. I didn’t want you to see me as just a . . . what did you call me? A suit? I wanted you to see me as someone exciting. And you fell for a Harley rider before.”

“I didn’t fall for him, I dated him, not his Harley.” She smiled.

“And then there’re your brothers,” he said cryptically.

“My brothers?”

“I told them to act like they hated me. You never date guys they like, and I thought you’d never marry one. I thought if they didn’t like me, then it might give me an edge.”

“You like my brothers?” she asked. “And they like you?”

“Very much on my part, and Conner’s, at least,” he admitted sheepishly. “I know I’m not the type of man you envisioned yourself with. I know I’m not unpredictable or exciting. Actually, I’m rather boring and I’m certainly not the best of risks, not with my past . . .”

“Ian.” He didn’t want an affair, he wanted a marriage. Allie hadn’t thought she was ready to marry anyone, at least she hadn’t thought it until she’d met Ian. Now she felt like some fairy princess whose dreams were coming true.

“Let me finish,” he said. “I know that sometimes I feel the need to protect the people I love, and maybe I should have let you handle Neighbors in your own way, but I couldn’t stand to see you hurt.”

“Ian,” she tried again.

“But I still say that my taking care of Neighbors was no different than you stepping in and taking care of me, Ryane, and Anne. What I’m saying is, you might think this doesn’t have a chance of working, but I don’t think you know much more about relationships than I do. I’ve decided that I might not know much, I might not be the man of your dreams, and I might be a bad risk, but I’m willing to learn.”

“Oh,” she said. She wasn’t sure if he was done and waited a second to see.

“Is that an ‘Oh yes, Ian, I will marry you’ or an ‘Oh, Ian, I need to think about it’? Those are the only two answers I’ll accept.
No
is not allowed. You said you loved me, and I can understand that doesn’t necessarily mean—”

She put a finger to his lips. “That’s a ‘Shut up and kiss me, Ian’ oh.”

“Happy to oblige,” he said.

Allie broke off the kiss. “You said you want to marry me, but I want the words as well.” She was greedy and knew it. But with Ian she wanted it all.

“What words?” he asked innocently.

She slugged him.

“Hey,” he shouted, rubbing his arm.

“If I’m going to be your wife, I guess I should warn you I’m a traditional kind of woman at heart. I want a traditional proposal,” she warned.

He leaned over and pushed her onto the bed. “Allie, I love you. I want to marry you. I want to make some babies of our own,” he said. “I know I don’t deserve it, I know I’m not a good risk, but—”

“Shh,” she said, laying a finger over his lips. “Those first four words were all I needed.” She kissed him. “And I was never looking for a good risk, just someone I could love. Someone who understands give-and-take. Someone who loves me. As for being a bad risk, I like to live on the wild side, remember? I’ll take my chances.”

Ian’s hands were pulling her shirt over her head. “Well, let’s see if I can oblige.”

“You know the boys will hear. We could move to the bedroom,” she whispered.

“After everything you’ve been up to today, they’ll be confused enough not to be sure, and even if they aren’t, I don’t care, I can’t make it to the bedroom.”

“I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you too,” she whispered.

Wrapped in his love, Allie realized she was finally home. She forgot about squeaky beds and her brothers moving to town and Anne’s troubles. She simply lost herself in the wonder of Ian’s love. She’d take care of the rest of the world tomorrow.

Right now, she was just where she wanted to be. In Ian’s arms and in Ian’s heart.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Award-winning author Holly Jacobs has sold over two million books worldwide. The first novel in her Everything But . . . series,
Everything But a Groom
, was named one of 2008’s best romances by
Booklist
, and her books have been honored with countless other accolades.

Holly has a wide range of interests, from her love for writing to gardening and even basket weaving. She has delivered more than sixty author workshops and keynote speeches across the country. She lives in Erie, Pennsylvania, with her family and her dogs. She frequently sets stories in and around her hometown.