Page 70 of Beehives and Broken Heroes

“—but she’s not you. You don’t need to be like her, and I wish you wouldn’t try so hard to be. The fact that you’ve been working so hard on controlling your emotions is commendable, but you don’t need to change, and I don’t want you to. Just be you.” He tugged on her hair.

Something inside her snapped, like a rubber band held tight too long, and she could breathe, really breathe, for the first time in a long time. He didn’t want her to change. And suddenly, she realized she didn’t want to change. She and Jo were different. Jo was the yin to her yang. They each had their own strengths and weaknesses, and that was fine. The variances were what made them strong. And Allie could control her emotions when it mattered most. She’d proven that tonight—she’d saved her sister and Jessie because she’d kept a level head.

Brandon continued, “I love your openness, your fiery spirit. I loved that you were about to shear your hair right off and that the idea didn’t intimidate you, even though it was an asinine idea. I love that you wanted to beat your moron of an ex at your birthday party, and then worried about his date and made sure she was told the truth about him. I love that when you brought my shirt back after your birthday, it smelled like you—like lavender. Did you sleep with it?”

Oh, man! He’d smelt her on his shirt! How embarrassing. She groaned. Well, there was nothing for it now. She nodded.

He pulled her close again. “And I love that you’d tell me that, even though it embarrasses you. And I love that you demanded honesty from me. Because I hate lying, and lying to you is even worse. I will never lie to you again.”

“Actually . . .” Her stomach roiled. “About that . . .” She glanced up at him, feeling silly, given their breakup at the beginning of the week. “If anything like this ever comes up again, I’d rather you did lie to me. I don’t want to know about you doing life-threatening things. It’s too terrifying.”

Brandon laughed, the deep timbre vibrating out of his chest and into her. “So?”

She ran her fingers over his beard—man, a bearded Brandon was so hot. “So what?”

“Are you going to marry me or what?”

Right, that. She’d thought it was a far, far, faaaaaar gone conclusion. “I guess,” she said, with an indifferent shrug of a shoulder. “It’s not like I’m going to get a better offer, anyway.”

“Why, you—” He tickled her. Right in those super ticklish spots at her sides.

She shrieked and stepped out of his grasp. “Okay, okay!” She put her hands up. “Uncle! Uncle!”

He put his hands down. “Fine, but only because I don’t want you to back up right over the side.”

“How’d you know it was me down there, and not Jo?” she asked, needing to know. He’d said months ago he could tell them apart, but she wanted to know. “She was wearing my jacket, and we look exactly the same.”

“Sunshine, if I were blind and deaf, I would still know you,” he said.

She threw her arms around him. “I won’t ever get a better offer because no one else is you. You’re not a hot mess, Brandon. You’re perfect. And I just don’t know how I got so lucky.”

* * *

The second they landed, Allie dragged Brandon back to the drive-in parking lot, and he let her. He’d let her drag him across the world and back if she wanted. And knowing her, she just might.

As soon as she saw her sister, she dropped his hand and sprinted to her. “We’re getting married!”

Brandon grinned at his fiancée. He loved seeing her so happy.

Jo jumped out of Cash’s arms and ran to Allie, and the sisters screamed and jumped up and down.

Brandon walked over to Cash. He glanced around seeing Tobias, Deputy Danny and the Slade twins were now gone. The only ones left were Cash, Andy and Jo.

Cash raised his brows.You’re engaged?the gesture asked.

Brandon nodded. Cash grinned. Conversation over.

Andy ambled on down—he hadn’t figured out what was happening yet.

Jo pulled back from Allie, eyes wide. “We can have a double wedding now!”

“You want that too?” Allie asked, her own eyes widening.

“Only since we were kids!”

The women started screaming again.

Then it clicked in Brandon’s head, and his heart stuttered. He looked at Cash. “Aren’t you getting married next week?”

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