I Still Do Read Free

caused him to make the vow. Marriage hadn’t been on his mind.
    Only Emily.
    But then he’d gone home and a tragedy one rainy September night had changed his life forever. No, not forever, he hastened to assure himself. As a matter of fact, he’d just recently gotten his life back. And no impulsive, impromptu Las Vegas wedding was going to return him to the box of endless responsibilities to others he’d been trapped inside for the last thirteen years.
    Sucking in a deep breath, he allowed himself a few more minutes to observe her from afar. Maybe then he’d figure out how Emily had gotten under his adult, on-his-first-vacation-in-forever skin so fast that he’d done something as ridiculous as stand in front of an Elvis impersonator and say “I do.”
    She looked like an adult now too, in a little khaki-colored dress that was buttoned up to her chin and ironed within an inch of its life. Her shiny brown hair was too short to braid. It swirled around her heart-shaped face, with bangs that skimmed her straight brows and framed those startling blue eyes. Her nose was short, just like the rest of her, and her mouth looked soft. It was soft. Hot, too. He remembered—
    â€œWild Will!”
    At the sound of the old nickname, Will jerked around to stare at a young man who looked vaguely familiar. He searched through his mental Rolodex. “Uh…Jared? Jon? Um…”
    â€œJake.” The kid extended a hand and pumped Will’s in an exuberant handshake. “I’m one of Betsy’s friends. Pool party? I hit my head on the side and you drove me to the E.R.?”
    â€œOh, yeah.” It wasn’t the first time he’d had to play nursemaid to one of his siblings’ friends. And it hadn’t made much of an impression, as accustomed as he was to playing parent to his brothers and sisters.
    â€œWhat’s Betsy up to these days?”
    â€œGraduated from college.” He couldn’t keep his grin to himself. His youngest sister, out of his hair and on her own. After thirteen years of worry, thirteen years of second-guessing his every move, thirteen years of pretending he knew what the hell he was doing when his siblings looked to him for security and support, he was finally free of family.
    Free of care.
    â€œShe out of the house?”
    â€œYep. They’re all out of the house.”
    Jake must have heard the relief and satisfaction in his voice because his smile widened. “Whoa-ho. You look like a man ready to make up for lost time. Now it’s Wild Will’s turn to play, huh?”
    Wild Will. There it was again, that old nickname. The one he’d had in high school. The one he’d lived up to—to a point, anyway—because his summers belonged to Emily. He glanced over his shoulder at her, and saw that she was still frowning over the papers on the reference desk, oblivious to his presence.
    God, if only he’d been oblivious to hers in Vegas. But their casual glances had met and they’d both halted their footsteps, stunned to see each other again.
    He was still stunned. Of all the women in all the world to meet up with just weeks after he’d promised himself it was finally, finally his turn to fly high.
    Only to fall flat on his ass by getting himself hitched instead.
    â€œI’ve got a lot of living to do,” he told Jake, though he was really reminding himself. “I’ve been tied down for too long.”
    â€œI hear ya, man,” Jake said, laughter sparkling in his eyes. “But, hey, a library doesn’t seem like the first place I’d go if I was looking for good times.” His gaze roamed the room, then his eyes widened. “On the other hand, I don’t remember the librarians looking like that. ”
    Will frowned. “Looking like—”
    The kid let out a low wolf whistle. “Maybe she’d let me check her out instead of a book.”
    Annoyed, Will shot a look