Page 48 of My Fiancé's Brother
He rubbed the back of his neck.
Why was I always dumping my issues at this man’s feet?
I tried to switch gears by asking him, “Did you have fun tonight?”
His expression didn’t change.
I swallowed a huge lump in my throat and lied. “I think you and Julie make a nice couple.”
“You should go to bed.”
“You’re scowling.”
He looked over his shoulder at Matt and then looked back at me. “I'm going to help you upstairs now.”
I carefully stepped, wobbling only slightly. “I can do it myself.”
Jackson walked around the island, and before I could react, he scooped me into his strong arms, holding me against his chest. I stared up at his beautiful face as he began to move with ease up the stairs.
“Carrying another person up the stairs is dangerous,” I worked to enunciate my words.
He glanced down at me. “I can carry another guy my size on my back.”
I blinked, noticing from this angle, just how long his eyelashes were. Was it like firefighters? Did they have to carry someone as part of qualifying for his job? “What distance do you have to carry the other person?”
“It depends.”
“On what?”
“If we’re five miles away, and he’s hurt, that’s how far I carry him. If we’re ten miles, that’s the distance we go.”
I frowned at him. “But what if you get tired?”
He pushed into my room. “Getting tired isn’t an excuse. You just get the job done.”
“I can take it from here,” I said. I struggled to lift my head from his chest.
He lay me on the bed and stood over me.
“The room is spinning.”
“Keep your eyes open,” he moved to the foot of the bed.
His two warm hands were on my ankle. Unable to lift my head, I realized that he was working on the strap of my high heel. I decided to let him since I didn’t think I would be able to manage it.
I stared at the ceiling fan. “Do me a favor?”
“What.” He pulled off one shoe and moved to my other foot.
“Can you and Julie not be too loud?”
“What?” He sounded harsh.
I lifted my head. “When she comes up here as your sophisticated overnight guest.”
“Julie isn’t coming upstairs.”
I dropped my head back on the pillow. “She would if you asked her.”
