Titus: Book Two of the Cantrell Brothers Series

Chapter Nine

With Anna's slight weight on his lap, Titus should have felt at ease, but he didn't. He should be the happiest man in the world, but he wasn't; instead, his heart was threatening to jump out of his chest as he tried to invade the complex mind that was Anna Simmons. Brow furrowed and mouth gaping wide open, she was definitely trying to think through what he had just said.

Just say yes! he wanted to scream at her but didn't.

“What?” she finally asked, instantly removing herself from his hold and situating herself at the opposite end of the couch.

Jeans worn down to the thread and a black sweatshirt that he recognized as her brother's old Army apparel, she looked much worse for wear than she had yesterday. What had been apprehensive yet a more stable demeanor was now completely broken, leaving her entire body shaking.

Looking directly at her, he replied, “Marry me. It'll solve everything, Anna.”

“I don't...” she trailed off, giving him a strange, confused look. “Titus, how will-”

“Think about it. We're with each other all the time. Hunter's hardly ever here. If we got married now, nobody would bat an eye – well, just let me call up one of my mom's old sewing friends, and then nobody will suspect anything. You'll be able to keep on teaching. I can help with everything that you and the baby will need. It couldn't be more simple!”

“No." She started to cry again. “I can't...Titus, we can't. It-t's-”

“Why not? Give me one good reason. Just one good reason, Anna.”

She sat there, open-mouthed as she wiped the tears away. With hands itching to drag her back onto his lap, Titus was anything but patient as he waited for her to give one good reason, but he knew she couldn't come up with anything. This was the perfect solution.

She finally opened her mouth. That was when Titus's heart all but stopped beating in his bare chest. Goosebumps began to become erect on his skin, and he suddenly regretted not having put on a shirt after getting out of bed.

“Why are you so...” she trailed off.

“Why am I so what, Anna?”

“You're too nice, Titus. You know that?”

He shook his head, subtle as he slowly moved over to Anna's curled up form. Her arms were still tight around her legs, a sign that she was trying to close herself off from the rest of the world. But more importantly, she was trying to close off from him.

That was simply unacceptable.

She always shared everything with him. It didn't matter if it was how Hunter had been the night before or how she was always a little paranoid whenever it came to her co-workers, she told him everything. There was no way he could just sit there on the couch as she tried to keep him from knowing something that she was having troubles with.

“Anna, listen to me." He managed to get her attention, glad when her blue eyes connected with his. “Yeah, I guess I can be nice sometimes. And sure, this is a real tough time right now, but that doesn't mean that you have to refuse my help. That's all I want to do here. I just want to help.”

Liar! his mind screamed, and he tried not to cringe at the loud uproar. You're using this marriage to make her finally fall for you. You're manipulating all of this to stop hurting for once.

And he did hurt. It didn't matter that she and Hunter were done now. It didn't matter that she had come to him right away. Anna still didn't love him as more than just a brother, and it had been so long – much too long for anybody to wait. But here he was. Waiting.