Smart, Sexy and Secretive (43 page)

I remember what he said to me once,
about buying my wife a tiny diamond and living with her in a shitty
apartment. He shrugs. He remembers it, too.

“
Thank you, sir.” I feel
like someone has stolen all my wits. “I don’t know what to
say.”

“
I’m not implying that you
have to ask her anytime soon.”

“
I plan to ask her as soon
as possible,” I admit. I’ve been planning it since I woke up in the
hospital. I don’t want to be away from her for a single second.
Ever.

“
When you do, you have my
blessing, and her mother’s.” He points a finger at me in warning.
“I feel like you’re a good man. But if you do anything that will
ever break her heart, I’ll have to do terrible things to you.” He
glares down his nose at me. “I know people.” He smiles,
though.

I look down at my broken leg. “Losing
Emily would be punishment enough,” I say. I need to tell him
something. I take a deep breath. “I feel like I need to come clean
on something.”

His arches his eyebrows and sits
forward. “Please do.”

“
I didn’t try to push you
out of the way that night. Emily was coming up behind you, and I
wanted to get to her. So, I shoved you, hoping you would fall into
her like dominoes.” I shrug. “It worked.”

He laughs, his chest filling with
chuckles. “I know.”

“
You did?” How the hell did
he know that?

“
Yes, I saw the look on your
face. No one is that scared over a man who has treated him like a
piece of shit.” He sits back and regards me, his eyes narrowing.
“When you saw that car coming, you had this look that told me that
you were completely in love with my daughter and that you would
sacrifice yourself for her.” He nods toward the ring. “That’s why I
gave you my blessing. Not because you saved my life.”

“
Oh.” I probably sound like
an idiot, but I don’t know what to say.

“
Two more things before
Emily gets back.” He looks anxiously toward the door. “One—when
you’re ready, there’s an internship waiting for you at Madison
Avenue in the advertising department. You’re a talented artist,
Logan, and I could use someone like you.” He holds up a hand to
stay me when my mouth falls open. “Trip admitted to me that you
designed that advertising campaign. And you’re very talented.” He
smiles, and it actually reaches his eyes. Maybe I’ve had too many
pain meds. “You won’t start at the top just because you’re marrying
my daughter.”

I peer at him, wondering who this man
is who is sitting here giving me praise. “I wouldn’t expect any
special treatment.” Or accept any for that matter.

He looks toward the door again. “The
second thing,” he says. He licks his lips and then his eyes meet
mine. “Do you think you could design a tattoo for me? I want
something that represents my life. A tattoo that means something to
me.”

He wants a tat? “Did you have something
in mind?” I ask.

He shakes his head and claps me on my
good knee. “I know you’ll come up with something
perfect.”

The door opens, and Emily walks into
the room. I stuff the ring box down in the couch
cushions.

“
Give it some thought, and
let me know when you’re ready to do it,” he says. He holds a finger
in front of his mouth like he’s imparting a secret.

I nod.

He kisses Emily on the cheek and walks
out the door. She rushes over to my side. “What did he say to
you?”

I still can’t believe it. “He told me
he loves me.” I grin at her.

She rolls her eyes and slaps my
shoulder. “Be serious.”

“
I am,” I complain. “I’m
injured. Don’t beat on me.” I catch her hands and pull her toward
me.

She sits down next to me. “What did he
say, really?” she asks.

“
He said I can ask you to
marry me,” I say to her, pressing my forehead to hers. I kiss her
quickly.

She lays a hand on her chest and
inhales and exhales heavily. “What?”

I shrug. “I asked him before the
accident if I could have his permission to ask you to marry me. He
refused.” I look toward the door he just went through. “He changed
his mind.” I reach into the couch cushions and pull out the box. I
was going to wait for a special occasion, but I don’t want to wait.
I want to put a ring on her as soon as possible. I want her to be
mine. All mine.

Her eyes go wide when I show her the
box.

“
I can’t quite go down onto
one knee,” I say in apology.

Her eyes fill with tears, and I stuff
the box back down in the cushions.

“
We can do this another
time,” I say.

“
Are you kidding?” she asks.
She takes my shirt in her fists and jerks me toward her. “Ask me.
Ask me. Please ask me.” She’s in my face, and I’ve never been more
in love with her than I am right now. But she sits back, looks at
me sheepishly, and says, “If you want to ask me, that is. You don’t
have to ask me if you don’t want to.”

I wrap my arm around her head and give
her a noogie. “I don’t just want to. I have to.”

She looks up at me, her thoughts in as
much turmoil as her hair.

“
I can’t live without you,
dummy,” I try to explain.

She grins at the term of endearment.
There was a time that a word like that would have shredded her; now
it’s just a word. A funny one, too, because she’s the opposite of
dumb.

“
I love you,” she says. She
kisses me, her tongue sweeping into my mouth, the gentle touch of
it against mine making me go rock hard immediately.

“
Get the box back out,” she
says. I can feel her grin against my lips when she goes back to
kissing me.

“
What box?” I
ask.

“
The ring. Ask me. I promise
I’ll say yes.”

“
You’re so easy,” I
tease.

She wasn’t always easy. It was damn
hard loving her in the beginning, but I couldn’t avoid it. She’s
like a piece of me that was missing all my life. I can’t imagine a
day without her. I reach into the cushions and pick up the box. My
heart is thumping in my chest like a roofer’s hammer, even though
she just told me she was going to accept. I open the box, and it
creaks on its hinges.

“
Will you marry me?” I
ask.

She takes the box and sits back, an
open-mouth grin on her face. It’s a mixture of awe and happiness.
“I used to look at this when I was little. My dad said my rich
husband would get me a big, fat rock and we’d live happily ever
after. But all I ever wanted was this ring and a husband who loved
me.”

I tip her face up to mine with a
crooked finger under her chin. “I love you.” I scrunch my eyebrows
together. “Did you forget to say yes?”

“
I didn’t forget,” she
tosses back at me. She sets the box on the table and gets up. “I
just haven’t said yes, yet.” She points toward the kitchen. “Do you
want something to drink? I’m thirsty.” She gets up like she’s going
to walk away, but I grab her shirt in my fist and pull her back
down. I pick up the box, take the ring out of it, and hold it
up.

“
Marry me, Em,” I plead. “If
you say yes, we can have lots of crazy sex and live happily ever
after.” I want to laugh, but I can’t. It’s not really funny. “Marry
me, Em,” I repeat. “Please.”

She smacks me on the forehead with palm
of her hand, and I’m momentarily stunned. “Of course I’ll marry
you,” she says. She lets me slide the ring onto her finger. “I
couldn’t make it easy for you, dummy,” she says. She settles into
my side and nuzzles into that spot that’s all hers. There are no
secrets between us. Not anymore. And it feels so fucking
good.

I kiss her. “Can we go to bed now?” I
ask. It’s been weeks since I’ve been inside her, and granted, I was
unconscious for part of it, but I’m not now. And I need her more
than I need air.

She knocks on the hard cast that goes
all the way up to my thigh. “I have a feeling this is going to be a
little unwieldy.”

I shake my head. “You’ll just have to
get on top.” I draw her across my lap and lift her shirt, caressing
the smooth skin of her belly with my fingertips. She reaches to
pull her shirt over her head and looks toward the door. “What?” I
ask, my breath ragged.

“
Someone is at the door,”
she says. She slumps against me and breathes hard for a moment. I
pick up a pillow and jam it into my lap, cursing to
myself.

When she opens the door, her parents
fall into the room, followed by all my brothers.

“
Welcome home!” my brothers
shout.

Emily’s mother picks up Emily’s ringer
finger and holds it up. “Did you say yes?” she asks.

“
Of course I did,” Emily
says. My brothers come over to congratulate me, and her dad is even
glowing. What’s up with that?

Matt comes in with pizzas, and he
sweeps Emily into a hug. He dips his face into her hair, and I
imagine he’s sniffing her. “You smell good,” he says. She smacks
him, and he laughs.

“
She said yes, huh?” Paul
asks as he sits down beside me. He eyes the pillow in my lap and
chuckles.

You guys have terrible
timing
, I sign.

He tries to look
innocent.
It’s never a terrible time for a
you-just-got-engaged party.
He points to
the pillow and raises an eyebrow.
You got
the rest of your life to get laid
, he
signs. He heaves a sigh. I can see his chest fill with air.
I’ll run them all out in a little
while.

Promise?

He laughs.
I promise.
He smiles at
me though.
You got the rest of your life
to make love to that woman.

I look at her, and she smiles at me as
she pushes her hair behind her ear. I know. And I plan
to.

Sam made
cupcakes
, Paul signs.
You want one?
He pushes to his
feet.

I’ll eat just about anything
Sam makes.
Bring me two.

You going to get fat and
lazy now that you’re getting married?

What’s your
excuse
? I ask. He punches my shoulder. I
wince because I’m still sore. Paul looks into my eyes.
You did good picking that one
, he signs, nodding toward Emily.

Well, if you ever meet a
girl who punches you in the fucking nose when you meet her, marry
her
, I tell him. He laughs and goes to get
a cupcake. I rub the bridge of my nose and think back. I reach for
the napkin on the table and start to doodle the tattoo I’ll put on
her dad.

I’m thinking he needs a
street sign where Madison Avenue and Family converge. Family will
be at the top and much more prominent. Madison Avenue will be all
glitzed up with lights and baubles while Family will look
comfortable and pleasant. Maybe with some filigree and antique
markings. Madison Avenue, despite all its wealth, will look poor in
comparison. I don’t know how I’ll do it yet, but I’ll figure it
out. At the bottom, I’ll write the words he said to me when he
asked for the tattoo:
My family means the
world to me. Without them, I am nothing.

I might have those words put across my
ribs because they fit me, too.

Emily

I close the door behind the family.
Logan looks tired. It hasn’t been long since his accident, and he’s
still recovering. I actually let them stay way too long.

“
You need some pain meds?” I
ask.

He shakes his head and motions me
forward. “Not yet,” he says as he pulls me down to sit on his good
knee. He has the other propped on the coffee table. He winces as he
moves, though. He’s hurting. I can tell. He lifts the edge of my
shirt so he can slip his hand beneath it to lie against my skin.
His head falls back on the edge of the couch, and he looks at me
through half-closed blue eyes that simmer.

Goodness, he’s handsome. And he’s all
mine.

His hand tracks up under my shirt until
he hefts the weight of my breast in his hand. His thumb swipes
across my nipple, and it shoots straight to the center of
me.

“
Logan,” I protest mildly.
“You’re not well enough for fooling around.” I cover his hand with
mine and press down. But the heat of his hand seeps through my
shirt. I arch my back pressing closer to him. I can’t help it. He’s
Logan.

He leans me back so that I’m snuggled
in the crook of his arm, lying across his lap. He tugs my shirt up
above my breasts and looks down at me, licking his lips. He flicks
the front opening of my bra and bends his head to take my nipple
into his mouth.

I am swaddled in him as his tongue has
its wicked way with me. My breath catches, and I can’t keep from
squirming in his lap. He chuckles, and it’s a breathy sound. “Don’t
worry. I’ll take care of you,” he says.

With a flip of his wrist, he unbuttons
my jeans and lowers the zipper. He looks into my eyes as he slides
his hand in the front of my panties. He glides across my heat and
goes straight for my clit. His hand is hampered by the tightness of
my jeans, and he moves in small, tight circles. I need more than
that. “Let’s go to bed,” I say.