She nodded, the trust in her gaze twisting my chest into unfamiliar knots. I stepped back from the bed and turned toward the door, each step heavier than the last as I moved away from her. I wanted to stay, my arms wrapped around her as she slept.
“Ian.” The soft voice stopped me in my tracks as I turned to look back at her.
“Yes, love?”
“Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?” Her quiet uncertainty would have had me agreeing even if it wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do anyway.
“Of course.” I strolled back to the bed, going to the other side as she watched me curiously. I threw myself on the bed with a light bounce, her giggle soothing the tight knot her tears had formed in my chest. “Shall we discuss all of the shenanigans we’ll get up to this summer? Or would that keep you awake? Perhaps I’ll tell you about my time at university. I can’t really speak of their educational merits, but the ones with the best parties…now that I can regal you with.” I cut my eyes toward her in time to catch a glimpse of her grin. “Parties it is then.”
She wiggled under the covers and I shifted over since the weight of my body was pinning the blanket down and keeping her wedged in. She managed to pull her arm out from under the blanket finally and curled her fingers around mine. I squeezed her hand gently knowing I’d lay here all night if it made her feel safe.
“Thank you, Ian.”
“My pleasure, Jane love, my pleasure.”
The subtle sound of a throat being cleared woke me and my eyes popped open to see Michael standing next to me, his tailored suit spotless as he eyed my new sleeping arrangement with barely concealed ire.
“Must I get the dueling pistols out already, brother? It hasn’t been twenty-four hours and by rights you’ve already compromised our guest.”
“Thank goodness we’re no longer in the eighteenth century then.” I adjusted my head to keep the bright morning sun streaming through the window from blinding me. Michael took the opportunity to step aside at my movement, and caused the light to hit me straight in the eyes since he no longer blocked it for me. I groaned and threw my arm over my eyes. My other hand was still firmly entangled with Jane’s and I glanced over to see if our conversation had awoken her, but she slept on.
“I don’t know. There is something to be said for the manners and morals of the time.” Michael replied drily as I rolled my eyes. He gestured at the bed and said, “Care to explain?”
“I thought I’d compromise her virtue and good name and therefore force us to wed or otherwise face the censure of our peers for our immorality.” I responded jovially, smirking as I watched his jaw work. After a moment I gave in and told him what he wanted to know. “She had a nightmare and the sound of her crying woke me. I came in here to reassure her, and she asked me to stay until she fell asleep. As a gentleman, I could not see fit to refuse her.” Michael gave a pointed glance at her entwined fingers. I gave him my most innocent look as I said, “She took my hand. What was I to do?”
“Ah, yes. The eternal question. And one you frequently have the wrong answer too.” He waved one hand unconcernedly while keeping the other tucked into his pocket. “Regardless, I must go and won’t be back until dinnertime. I would like us to dine together. Would you be kind enough to make reservations for us somewhere, brother?”
“Of course. Anywhere in particular?” I asked graciously.
“Wherever she’s comfortable will be fine.” He hesitated on his way out. “My first order of business is to learn everything I can about her godfather. Introduce her to Buster at your earliest convenience. We may need to leave her with him for a short time while we tend to the matter.”
“More than happy to, brother.” Understanding passed between us as our eyes met. Neither of us was willing to let Jane’s godfather go unpunished for his behavior. He would pay for the error of his ways. We would insure it. A tight spin of his heel and Michael was gone, leaving me alone with our little warrior vagabond.
I carefully disentangled my hand from hers, impressed by her apparent ability to sleep through anything. I was usually woken by any sound when I managed to sleep, but this morning felt more refreshed than I had in years.
Sleeping hand in hand with her seemed to have cured my persistent insomnia. I wondered if I could convince Jane and Michael that I needed to spend every night sleeping next to her. The idea entertained me as I contemplated various arguments on the way to the shower.
Chapter Four
The sound of water running woke me up and I yawned as I sat up trying to remember where I was. The sun streamed in through a window overlooking a dirty street I didn’t recognize, as the events from the day before trickled in. Memories of Ian and my decision to work for the brothers as a babysitter hit me as the shower cut off and was replaced by a cheerful whistling.
Instinctively, I knew the whistling belonged to Ian. It had his signature written all over it. The memory of him comforting me when I woke from nightmares of being attacked curbed my natural tendency to panic. The clear light of morning combined with being well rested left me questioning my decision to throw my lot in with those two. The idea of a grown man who needed to be babysat was ridiculous and the thought that I could handle him was even more ridiculous.
Him strolling out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel would be a good example.
“Lovie! You’re awake. I was afraid I would be left to my own devices as you slept the day away.” I shook my head in an attempt to draw my attention from his bare chest. It wasn’t like it was the first bare chest I’d ever seen, in fact I’d seen quite a bit more than just a chest on mission trips. But none of them came close to the man in front of me.
He was pale, for one, and lean. There was nothing bulky or overdone about his body. He had a light dusting of pale golden hair along with a distinct muscle definition. My eyes traced the curve of his bicep as he set his hands on his hips and remembered his strength as he’d held me. As my gaze traveled over his chest and dipped lower to the towel knotted at his hip I jerked it away. A low chuckle made me flush as I met his amused smirk.
“Perhaps I should get dressed. I have no doubt Michael would consider our current circumstances improper.” He sauntered to the closet, completely unconcerned about his state of undress, and I stole a peek at his back. It was just as nice as the front, I noticed, quickly averting my gaze as he glanced over his shoulder.
“So what are we shopping for today? Blousy shirts and long skirts? Perhaps we should read through Little Women for the latest fashion advice.” I wasn’t sure if it was the British accent making him sound snarky or if it was just Ian. The grin he tossed me made me think it was Ian.
“Actually, I don’t want long skirts.”
“What? Are my ears deceiving me? Did I just hear you correctly? No long skirts? Does this mean I get to see those lovely legs in a miniskirt?” Ian leaned around the corner of the door with a delighted smile.
“You’ve never seen my legs. How would you know they’re lovely? Maybe I wear skirts to hide my varicose veins.” I teased, leaning over my crossed legs on the bed.
“Ah, love, there’s nothing about you that’s not lovely.” He went back into the closet before he could see the pleased smile cross my face.
“Thank you, and no, I won’t be wearing a miniskirt.” At my words he came back out, a hand placed dramatically over his heart, his body now covered in a white t-shirt and navy slacks.
“The disappointment is difficult to bear, but I will try.” His eyes narrowed in speculation as he took in my position. “So if no to the long skirts, what do you wish to wear?”
“Pants.” I told him, bouncing a little in excitement. His eyebrows rose as he pressed his lips together and nodded. “I’ve always wanted to wear them, but my parents didn’t feel they were ladylike.” I rolled my eyes. “They felt a woman wearing pants gave a man ideas. I don’t think that’s true. I mean if you really think about it, it would be harder to rape a woman wearing pants. I mean you can just toss a skirt up!
”
He blinked slowly at my rant, a bemused smile tilting the corners of his lips.
“Quite right, lovie. You make an excellent point. However, I imagine any man that made the mistake of trying to harm you would quickly come to regret it, my little warrior. Pants or no pants.”
“And pants cover the same amount of skin, but they’re so much easier to move around in and no risk of the wind blowing your skirt up.” He nodded agreeably, but didn’t comment. “It would be easier to straddle things too.”
He closed his eyes for a second. “Jane, my love, if you’re going to insist on no sexual innuendos, I must ask that you quit giving me so many opportunities to make them.”
I tilted my head in puzzlement and he only shook his in reply.
“Let’s get breakfast and then we shall go find you some pants, and perhaps a nice dress that shows a little of your leg.” He held his arm out to me and I took it, still wearing his clothes from the night before, but they would have to do until we’d purchased more. The clothes I had been wearing when I arrived had disappeared, most likely to a trashcan.
“Underwear too.” I added as an afterthought. I sent him a sideways glance as I thought I heard him groan, but he just gave me a pained smile. “You shaved,” I noticed, running my finger along his smooth jaw. “It looks good.” He captured my hand in his, dimples dancing as he gave me a gorgeous grin.
“Thank you, love. Now where do you want to go first? The concierge gave me a list of shops nearby where we can purchase clothing for you.” He asked as he guided me to the table where a covered tray sat. He pulled the cover off with a flourish revealing two plates with omelets and fruit.
“I thought we’d go to Wal-Mart. They’ll have everything I need and it’s cheap.”
“Wal-Mart? I don’t recall a store with that name on his list,” he asked doubtfully. “Money isn’t an issue. I’ll provide your clothing, since having you babysit wearing my clothes would only serve as a distraction for me.”
“You’ve never heard of Wal-Mart?” I was struck by the blank look on his face when he said Wal-Mart. How could he not have heard of Wal-Mart?
“Noooo? Should I have?” He dug into his omelet as I stared at him in disbelief. He really didn’t know what I was talking about. He pointed his fork to my plate. “Eat. You’ll need your strength if we’ll be traipsing around town to buy you a new wardrobe.”
I stabbed my fork into the omelet wondering what alternate universe I found myself in. I was eating breakfast with a roguish playboy who went out of his way to find places for me to shop, who comforted me, and yet needed a babysitter to keep him out of trouble. Not to mention our standard of living was light years apart.
We finished our breakfast quickly, and I moved to clean up our dishes. He stopped me by cupping my chin, and turning my head to inspect the bruising along my cheek. He delicately touched the split on my lip and my breath froze.
“How do you feel? I should have asked you sooner.” His eyes pierced mine, the light gray color taking me by surprise as he carefully studied me. “If you don’t feel like shopping, we can postpone it for another day.”
I barely shook my head, the warm touch of his hand paralyzing me. A glint of admiration shown in his eyes as he stroked my cheek with his thumb. “You are strong, but you must tell me if you grow weary while we’re out. Deal?”
“Yes,” I replied, my tongue darting out to touch the cut he’d tended. His gaze followed the motion before he stepped away.
“We should be off then.”
I nodded, and grabbed my purse as I followed him to the door. When we arrived at the lobby, he escorted me to the valet area, and seeing my confused expression he explained. “I had the car moved to valet parking. Yesterday, I only parked where I did because it was more expedient.” He opened the car door, helping me in before going around to the driver side. “Buckle up, love. I’m still not used to driving on the wrong side of the road here.” My panicked glance seemed to amuse him as he peeled out of the garage. He drove aggressively, but maintained complete control and I slowly relaxed.
Our first stop was a dress shop and immediately after entering I wanted to turn around and leave. I shook my head as Ian gave me a questioning look when I hesitated at the door. The clothing was formal and not my style at all, but Ian kept me from leaving as a lady walked up to us. With one look she dismissed me and Ian’s eyes narrowed. I attempted to hide behind him, but he wouldn’t allow it.
“We need a complete wardrobe for my friend.” He informed her silkily and she took a second look at me. “Her luggage was lost and she’d been forced to wear my things. I’d like to amend the situation as soon as possible. Can you assist us?”
The saleslady practically simpered at his British accent and the promise of a fat commission and I rolled my eyes.
“Of course, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll have her taken care of in no time at all.” Her distaste at my appearance was obvious and I frowned. “We’ll take her measurements and have a personal shopper gather items as you enjoy some light refreshments.” She spoke only to Ian, managing to ignore my presence completely even though I was the reason we were there. Her attitude annoyed me and I had no intention of sitting around while a personal shopper found clothes for me. It sounded expensive and no telling what they’d show up with.
Ian glanced down at me as I tugged on his arm.
“Let’s go. This isn’t the place for me.” I told him quietly, keeping my eyes averted from the frozen smile on the saleslady’s face. She reminded me of a mannequin with her clothes hanging from her bony frame.
“Quite right.” He winked at me and pasted a matching fake smile on his face as he turned to the mannequin. “I’m afraid you won’t do. You’ve made quite an effort to ignore my companion, why I’m not sure, but regardless we won’t be shopping here today.” He turned and with a gentle hand on my back guided me to the door.
The second place was more casual, a hip little boutique not far from the French Quarter. I glanced longingly down the street wanting to explore the vibrant city I found myself in, but forced myself into the shop. Clothing took precedence at the moment.
I meandered through the racks, overwhelmed with the choices. Nothing came close to resembling what I normally wore, and the variety of options made deciding what to try difficult. Ian picked up on my dazed state and guided me toward a selection of tops.
“This one would look striking with your skin.” He picked up a jewel colored top, one of the few that didn’t appear to bare an unnecessary amount of skin. I nodded and he held on to it, pushing me toward a display of jeans. “You wanted pants. I believe jeans are an American favorite.”
I flipped through them and something occurred to me.
“Ian.”
“Yes?”
“I don’t even know what size I wear.” The admission was vaguely embarrassing as I stood in front of the stacks of jeans, but Ian only bumped me out of the way.
“No worries.” He winked as he checked the tag and held up a pair. He put it back as he said, “I’m an expert at sizing a woman up.” The next pair had his approval and he handed them to me along with the top he’d picked out. “Now, let’s go have you try these on.”
At the door of the dressing room, I stopped him. “I can dress myself.”
“Ah, yes, I’ll wait here then and you can model them for me.” He gave me a quick waggle of his eyebrows and settled onto a seat outside the dressing room. I went in and quickly changed into the top, but stopped short when I saw the price tag on the jeans. I marched back out of the dressing room holding them in my hand. Ian jumped up at my appearance, his brow furrowed in puzzlement as I waved the jeans at him.
“The top is lovely, but why haven’t you tried the jeans? I think they’d be smashing together.”
“They’re six hundred dollars.” I hissed, holding the tag up so he could see. A blank look accompanied his next words.
“What’s the problem? They seem like nice jeans.”
“They’re six hundred dollars.” I couldn’t seem to manage to say anything else. The price tag held me in disbelief until another thought occurred to me. “How much is the top I’m wearing?” I raised my arms trying to find a tag, and Ian stopped me.
“What difference does it make, love? The cost doesn’t bother me. If you like it we’ll get it.”
“It bothers me!” I poked him in the chest and his eyes popped in surprise. “I shop at Wal-Mart and Goodwill stores. I’ve never spent six hundred dollars on anything much less a single pair of pants and I won’t start today.”
I spun on my heel back to the dressing room where I took off the, ah three hundred dollar top, and changed back to the oversize t-shirt I’d borrowed from Ian. I set the clothes on the table for discards and took Ian’s hand.
“We are going to find a thrift store or a Wal-Mart,” I said determinedly, waving the girl away as she asked if we’d found everything okay.
“I’m dying to see this Wal-Mart place you keep going on about. It must be something special if you insist on purchasing your clothing there.” Ian exclaimed as he allowed himself to be pulled down the street.
“You can also buy groceries and get the oil changed in your car while you shop.” I informed him to his stunned incredulity. My determined march slowed as I caught sight of a secondhand shop up ahead. “This is what I’m talking about.”
“Hmm?” Ian glanced up at my words, obviously still considering the idea of a one stop store. I dragged him inside and instantly felt more at ease. The girl behind the register gave us a casual wave as I moved toward the back. “What is this place?”
“It’s a secondhand store,” I told him. “People bring in clothes they don’t want anymore and the shop sells them.”
Average Jane Page 7
