Page 65 of Bad Boy Done Wrong
She pressed her palms to her flushed cheeks, her heart racing. She’d never expected him to sacrifice for her. “I’m not sure—”
“I’msure.”
Her eyes welled, overwhelmed with this shocking wonderful news. “But won’t you be burning a bridge, turning them down?”
“I explained the timing was bad. There’s a wait list, anyway, so it worked out. Besides, it’ll give me more time for this book I’m working on. Maybe after that I’ll study something closer to home.” A smile played over his lips. “I’m particularly interested in courtship rituals in modern society.”
She stared at him—giddy and amazed and shocked. So shocked. Her bad-boy professor was so much better than any fantasy she could ever have dreamed up. She let out a small laugh of pure wonder, scarcely believing it.
He took both her hands in his. “I’ll be here for the full year sabbatical, working on my book. I hope you’ll be with me. During that time, I’ll apply for jobs locally. Columbia, Yale, and NYU all have excellent anthropology departments.”
She still couldn’t believe it. “You’d do that? Switch jobs for me?”
He framed her face with his large hands. “I’d do anything for you. I love you, Carrie.”
She wrapped her arms around him and burrowed her head into his neck, suddenly shaky with the risk she was about to take. He stroked her back, quietly soothing her, somehow reading her in that primal language he was so good at. Tears welled up, spilling down her cheeks. A few moments later, she untangled herself from him to wipe her eyes.
She took a deep quavering breath. “I’m scared, but…I want to give us a chance.”
He hugged her tight. “I won’t hurt you. Promise.” He pulled back, his eyes burning into hers. “Complete honesty. Complete commitment.” He paused. “That is, if you’re okay with not exploring more. I know you haven’t dated much.”
She stared at him. “You’d really let me date other men just to explore?”
His expression was fierce. “This is where my wrestling skills and physical prowess would come into play. You’d ultimately see I was the more viable partner.”
“I think I already see that.”
He peeled her off and stood, looking disgruntled. “Youthink?”
She grinned and stood close to him. “You could show off your physical prowess a bit more to remind me.”
He flashed a devilish smile and lifted her by the waist, wrapping his arms around her. She automatically wrapped her arms and legs around him.
“You’re about to meet Harvey,” he growled, walking with her toward the adjacent wall.
Her back connected with the wall.Hello, Harvey Wallbanger, my old friend.
She giggled. “I found my viable partner.”
Zach didn’t make any move, though, merely pressed against her and gazed into her eyes with so much love her eyes filled with happy tears.
She cupped his face in her hands. “I love you too. I never was a fling girl at heart.”
A wide smile slowly spread across his handsome face. “The next step is I spend time with your family.”
“There are steps?”
“Courtship rituals are well established throughout the history of man. One of them dictates you’re not just marrying your partner, you’re marrying their family. You already know my family, the Campbells, so next I need to get to know yours.”
She couldn’t help her smile. This was a new side to him—the academic, though she’d seen glimpses of it. Some of the things he’d said before that sounded odd now made sense. Like when he’d asked if she’d done research for her wish list or when he’d explained that everything came down to biology. And he was talking marriage, which filled her with a joy she could barely contain. She wanted to dance around the room, but she was pressed between a hard wall and a deliciously hard man. She stroked his scruffy beard, not grown in much, less wild looking but still just as dear to her. “What’re the other steps?”
He set her on her feet and spoke in a confident tone. “The male has to prove he’ll be a good protector through feats of strength and endurance.” He paused, looking thoughtful. “It would be easier if I had some competition to wrestle.”
“You could wrestle Edward.”
His eyes narrowed. “You still into him?”
“No, but it would be fun to watch. I’m sure you’d kick ass.”
