Page 63 of Deadly Conflicts

Ally nodded. “Are they driving you crazy?”

“Your dad walked into the guesthouse and saw me naked.”

Ally giggled. “Were you guys in the middle of doing it?”

“Right before.”

“Oh, well, things could be worse,” Ally said. “You could’ve been actually in the middle of the act. That’s what happened to Jake and me when James walked in that first time.”

“Yes, I still hear how traumatized he is by that every once in a while.”

“I think that’s probably why Jake is still with me even though he doesn’t want to marry me.”

Mandy froze at the words, uncertain she heard them correctly. “What?”

“It’s true,” Ally said, taking another huge sip of her drink. She was going to be hammered in twenty minutes at the rate she was going. “Jake is probably only with me because he promised James he wouldn’t hurt me and now he’s caught.”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” Mandy didn’t realize how harsh the words sounded coming out of her mouth until it was too late to drag them back.

“You’re stupid,” Ally shot back, wrinkling her nose. “It’s true.”

“That is not true,” Mandy argued. “Jake loves you. He doesn’t care what James thinks. Well, he cares. They’re friends. You’re still the most important thing to him.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” Ally said, her expression morose. “I brought up the topic of marriage the other day.”

Mandy was thankful Ally’s eyes were trained on the table because she couldn’t hide her obvious gulp. “I … um … what did he say?”

“He blew off the question and said he loved me.”

“Are you sure he didn’t just misunderstand the question and that he really does love you?” Mandy asked.

“I want to believe he loves me but … maybe he’s never going to marry me.”

Mandy was flustered. She had a pile of information at her fingertips and she couldn’t use any of it because it would ruin things for both Jake and Ally. She was determined not do that. “Can I ask you a question?”

Ally’s shoulders hopped up and down. “Is this like one of those questions you ask James where I’m going to have to be philosophical and deep? If so, I don’t think I’m up for that.”

Mandy shook her head. “No. It’s a regular question.”

“Shoot.”

“Where did your sudden desire for marriage come from? I mean, I know you want to get married, but it wasn’t such a dire predicament when we had drinks a week ago.”

“It’s not a dire predicament,” Ally said. “I always thought that we would get married when the time was right. I thought Jake would somehow know the perfect moment. I stupidly assumed he was planning something big … and, yes, I know how lame that sounds.”

“It doesn’t sound lame,” Mandy said, hoping her voice reflected neutrality instead of squeaky panic. “Ally, I think you’re going off the rails here. I thought I was the one doing that, but now I think it’s you. Jake loves you. Please don’t doubt that.”

“I know Jake loves me,” Ally said. “I just don’t understand why he doesn’t want to marry me. I wasn’t even worried about it until Vince brought it up the other day and now it’s all I can think about.”

“Vince?” Things slipped into place for Mandy. “What does he have to do with this?”

“Nothing,” Ally replied hurriedly. “He actually followed me out to the office because I had to send a fax and we got to talking and things just kind of spilled out there. He wasn’t hitting on me or anything. He just wanted me to know I had options in case Jake never proposed.”

“Uh-huh.” Mandy wasn’t even remotely convinced that was true. “He just sort of followed you and accidentally said things that made you feel insecure?”

“I’m not insecure!”

“You’re acting insecure,” Mandy argued. “Jake loves you so much and instead of believing that you’re putting faith in a guy who walked out on you without a backward glance five years ago.”