The Proposal (3 page)

At the sound of a
chuckle, she turned and saw Tyler in the open doorway. He looked
handsome and tall in his jeans and a sweater. Of course, everyone
looked tall to her. His brown hair had a bit of wave to it and looked
shiny. Did he take a shower before leaving his place? After cleaning
the barn, she felt grubby, so a shower was next on her agenda. She
smiled. “Didn’t I just see you today?”

“Was that just
today?”

“I know I don’t
look glamorous here but did you have to laugh when you saw me?”

He walked to the stall, grinning. “You always look beautiful but
you’re so small next to Gypsy that it made me laugh. He’s such a
big horse. It always amazes me when I see you ride Gypsy.”

“I wish you’d buy a
horse so we can go riding together.”

He nodded. “I’d
like to go riding with you. I just haven’t had time to fit shopping
for a horse in my schedule. Hey, is that why you asked Gypsy about
sharing the barn?”

“I was just thinking
how I’ll need to board Gypsy in Chicago if Brad doesn’t want to
move here after we’re married.” She put a strand of hair that had
escaped her ponytail behind her ear.

Tyler caught her hand,
holding it tightly while he looked into her eyes. “Brad’s a lucky
man.”

“Why’s that?” She
knew he was probably going to say how wonderful she was, but it’d
still be nice to hear compliments coming out of Tyler’s mouth.

“You’re beautiful—”

“Remember you just
said that. You have to do better than that. As my mom always said, ‘a
good heart is better than superficial beauty’ so why else is Brad
lucky?”

“You definitely have
a caring heart and I love your loyalty to Alex. And you’re sexy.”
Swiftly he pulled her palm to his mouth and kissed it.

She felt the passion in
him, but didn’t understand why it was there. They’d been best
friends for years. Their mothers had met at the library when both
women had taken their three-year-olds to story time. He couldn’t
want her. Could he? And why did she want him to kiss her on the lips?
She loved Brad.

Maybe she better say
something so Tyler wouldn’t be embarrassed that he kissed her hand.
She pulled her hand out of his. “Wow, you’re taking this role of
man of honor seriously.”

“Jacqueline, I wasn’t
kidding earlier. I think you should marry me.” He kissed her cheek.
“I don’t want to be your man of honor but your groom.”

She didn’t like that
his simple kiss gave her a shiver of delight. A jumble of puzzled
thoughts and feelings overwhelmed her. “Oh Tyler, you’re
confusing me. When I wanted to be more than friends, you rejected me.
I know you said that your feelings have changed, but it’s hard for
me to believe. You never mentioned that you wanted to marry me until
I talked about marrying Brad.”

“Geez, you still
talking about marrying Brad,” Alex said as he entered the barn. “Is
it okay if I order a pizza? Sam and I are hungry.”

She raised her eyebrows
at Alex. “How could you be hungry? You ate three big servings of
lasagna.”

“Is there any left?”
Tyler asked eagerly. “I love your lasagna. I forgot to mention that
you’re a good cook. Another reason you’ll make a good wife.”

For a second she wanted
to lie and say the lasagna was gone. She wasn’t feeling sociable
toward Tyler. Even less when she saw the pleased look in Tyler’s
incredible eyes. His eye color reminded her of the blue ocean she
loved. Each summer she’d gone with her parents and Alex to Myrtle
Beach. Right now, she wished her mother was here, so she could
explain Tyler’s change of heart. Her mother had been a wonderful
judge of character.

Then a momentous
thought hit her. Tyler never said he loved her but just that he
wanted to marry her. She still remembered the day Brad had told her
for the first time how much he loved her. She was thrilled because
she felt the same way.

What was Tyler
really up to?

Maybe kissing
Jacqueline on her hand and cheek had been stupid, Tyler thought as he
savored the last bite of lasagna. She’d definitely looked
surprised. What should he try next? He had to up his romancing here
because Brad could be giving Jacqueline a ring for her birthday. All
of Brad’s previous and few romances had been brief, so he could be
serious this time. But they were not engaged yet so he had to make
another move now.

Celebrating
Thanksgiving at his parents’ house might be miserable. If Brad
proposed, Jacqueline would be ecstatic. But he’d have a hard time
pretending to be thrilled with their news.
I want Jacqueline to be
happy…but not with Brad.
She’d loved him enough once to pour
her heart out to him. That love had to still exist somewhere for him.
If buried deep in her heart, he needed to get her past love for him
to surface again.

Jacqueline walked into
the kitchen and asked, “How about ice cream for dessert?”

He patted his stomach.
“I guess I have room for a small dish of ice cream. Don’t tell my
mom but your lasagna’s even better than hers.”

“That’s quite a
compliment because everything your mother makes is delicious.” She
smiled at him. “I just had a thought. Would you like to come here
for lasagna on Christmas Eve, and go to Mass with us? We can go to
the five o’clock service and eat here afterwards.”

“I like that.
Midnight Mass is too crowded. When’s Brad coming for Christmas?”

“He’s not sure
yet.” She opened the dishwasher and pulled a tray out. She sighed.
“The dishes are clean in here. Alex never emptied it. He can
remember to ask me fifty times a day if he can drive, but he can’t
remember to do his chores.”

He carried his plate to
the counter, then watched Jacqueline lean against the refrigerator.
She wore a black sweater with her tight fitting jeans. At the gleam
in her brown eyes, he tugged her into his arms. Her breathing became
uneven but she only squirmed slightly. He felt relief that she didn’t
break his embrace. His pulse quickened with her warm body against
him. She looked too adorable not to kiss. His lips pressed against
hers, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She returned his kiss
with sweet passion. She wasn’t kissing him like his best friend but
a lover.

Suddenly her body
stiffened and she looked up at him. “Tyler, what’s going on?”

“I had to kiss you.
It’s not my fault you look so sexy in that black sweater.” He saw
her frown so continued, “Hey, you waited to get the ice cream. Then
you gave me a look like you wanted me to kiss you.”

“I did no such thing.
I was just waiting for you to say what kind of ice cream you wanted.”

He chuckled. What a
liar she was. She wanted him to kiss her, but he wasn’t about to
mention that fact again to her. “How could I tell you that when I
don’t know what you have?”

She grinned. “Okay,
smart guy. I have pumpkin ice cream, Dutch chocolate almond, and
butter pecan.”

“Pumpkin sounds good.
I hope you’re still making those pumpkin bars I like for
Thanksgiving.”

“I’ll be sure to
make the bars.” She turned to open the freezer door and removed a
carton. “I appreciate your mom inviting us for the holiday. And
Grandma and Brad too. It’s going to be hard the first holiday
without Mom and Dad.”

That could be another
reason Jacqueline talked about getting engaged to Brad. It was a
diversion for her to focus on something positive in her life instead
of dwelling on what she lost when her parents had died. “I’m
sorry. I miss your parents too. The first year they’re gone will be
especially difficult. Mom misses her best friend a lot.”

She sniffled while
scooping out ice cream. “Our mothers were so close. And your mom
has always been like a second mother to me.”

“She loves you like a
daughter.” He didn’t add that his mom would be tickled if
Jacqueline became her daughter-in-law.

“It seems a bit too
warm in the kitchen. Let’s go in the living room.” She handed him
his bowl of ice cream.

He gave her a wicked
grin. “Or you could remove your sweater so we can stay in here.”

She rolled her eyes at
him. “I don’t have anything on underneath.”

His heart jumped at the
thought of her being naked under the sweater. Well, that couldn’t
be right. She had to be wearing a bra since she was busty on top.
Following Jacqueline to the other room, he made sure that he sat on
the couch with her.

“I want to be able to
sleep tonight so I have to know why did you kiss me?” She waved her
spoon at him. “And I don’t want to hear the crap about me looking
so sexy that you had to.”

He was definitely
getting to her if she was worried about losing sleep over their kiss.
“Isn’t it natural I’d kiss the woman I want to marry?”

She wrinkled her cute
nose at him. “See, I don’t get this at all because you never
mentioned wanting us to be a couple until I talked about marrying
Brad. If you are serious about wanting me, why did it take you so
long to realize it?”

“When I returned to
Huntington to work, I fell in love with you. But I saw how happy you
were with Brad. I thought your romance with him would run its course
and you’d be free again. In the past, Brad’s never been serious
about anyone.”

She looked thoughtful
as she ate her ice cream. Was that a good sign she was thinking about
what he’d said? Maybe he was getting through to her. He knew she’d
enjoyed their kiss.
Okay, I’ll stick my neck out farther and
mention an important fact to her.
“How well do you know Brad?
You’ve always had a long-distance relationship with him. During
months of being away constantly, he only fits in a few short visits
to see you. He’s always traveling.”

She smiled while
placing her empty bowl on the coffee table. “Of course, I don’t
know Brad as well as I do you, but maybe that’s a blessing.”

“What does that mean?
I’m a wonderful guy.”

“You have your
moments.” She exhaled a deep breath “You do have a point about
not seeing enough of Brad. I think he’s getting tired of living in
so many cities and flying here to see me on weekends when he doesn’t
go home. But in spite of the long separations, our love has survived.
And Brad has said he loves me and I have no reason to doubt his
love.”

He was going to need
his hands for what he planned on doing next, so he got rid of his
bowl. “I still don’t know Brad’s plans. We don’t talk often
these days. But if he proposes to you, I’m giving you something to
think about that’ll make you hesitate in saying yes to him.”

He crushed her to him.
His tongue traced the soft fullness of her lips. Jacqueline’s heart
pounded against his chest, then settled back to its natural rhythm.
She didn’t resist his tongue inside her mouth. She clutched him
tightly to her and moaned slightly. When she kissed him with sweet
abandonment, he felt like he’d gone to heaven.

When she pulled away
from him, he noticed her pink cheeks. He grinned. “Are you still
too warm? You look flushed.” Gently his hand lifted the bottom of
her sweater a little, wishing he could see her breasts.

“The sweater stays
on. You proved that I’m attracted to you, but it doesn’t mean I’m
going to break up with Brad.”

“Hey, sis,” Alex
said from the doorway, “I won’t tell Brad what I just saw.”

She shrugged. “Alex,
there’s nothing to tell.”

“Only that I saw you
kissing Tyler. It looks like I was right about Brad having
competition.” Alex gave a broad smile. “I’ll keep my mouth shut
if you let me get my driving permit on my birthday.”

Jacqueline pointed her
finger at Alex. “I’m not giving in to any bribery deals. And
anyhow Tyler was kissing me. There’s a difference.” She stood.
“Tyler’s just leaving.”

Why was she denying
responding to his kisses to Alex? “You kissed me back in the barn
and just now. I’m not leaving until you admit you liked it both
times.”

She looked flustered
while pushing up the sweater sleeves to her elbows. “Okay, I
enjoyed it a little.” She picked up the bowls and said, “I need
to empty the dishwasher and clean the kitchen.”

“I’ll help,”
Tyler said, as she scurried out of the living room.
I’ll talk to
Alex for a few minutes before following her. Knowing Jacqueline, she
probably needs to sort out what just happened.

* * *

Even though his appeal
was devastating, she’d tried to ignore the strange aching in her
limbs when they kissed. But Tyler knew she was attracted to him. How
embarrassing she’d shared how much she wanted to marry Brad, but
behaved like she had the hots for Tyler. She lost all common sense
when she gave Tyler passionate kisses. Shoot—her body heated up
just thinking about their kissing.
I shouldn’t have feelings for
Tyler when Brad’s the guy I want to marry.
It was all Brad’s
fault for never being around. As she put the clean plates in the
cupboard, she realized Tyler could be lonely, and she was just
convenient. She’d been surprised he hadn’t dated anyone since
moving back. Oh that’s right…apparently after years of knowing
her, he now realized that he loved her. Should she believe him? Or
was he just messing with her?

“I better get going,”
Tyler said from the doorway. “Thanks for the lasagna and ice
cream.”

“Before you go, I
need to say something. I’m sorry I sent the wrong message by
kissing you back. I love Brad and it won’t happen again.”

“If I promise not to
tempt you with my mind-blowing kisses, will you still let me take you
and Alex out for your birthday?”

“Only if you give me
a present.”

“I already have your
present and it’s wrapped. I think you’ll like it a lot, or I hope
you do anyhow.”

“I’ll have a
surprise for you, too, at dinner.”

He narrowed his blue
eyes at her. “I can’t imagine what it’ll be. Give me a hint.”