Luck Be a Lady - Cathie Linz [75]
“So you’ve told me a dozen times.” Connor had come in from Ohio for the holiday weekend.
“It bears repeating.”
“So does that play.” Connor pointed to the TV. “I can’t believe they stopped the ball where they have.”
“She’s been impossible from the moment I met her. Yanking me out of the wedding at the Venetian.”
“I’m sorry to have missed that.”
“And then demanding I help her.”
“Knowing you’re a sucker for damsels in distress.”
“She made me take her to a brothel.”
Connor sat up. “Okay, now the story is getting interesting.”
“And then we got marooned in this podunk town in the middle of nowhere.”
“Wait, go back to the brothel part.”
“Nothing happened there.”
“Too bad. Are you having erectile dysfunction?”
“No.”
“Hey, I’m your brother. You can tell me.”
“Watch the game,” Logan growled.
“Believe me, I’m trying to.”
A minute later, Logan said, “I’m just saying that she’s the one who is being unreasonable. She said I kiss and run.”
“Of all the nerve. Was she right?”
“I was called into work.”
“Right.”
“It’s the truth.”
“I’m sure it is. Hold on a minute. I thought you said nothing happened. So what’s with the kiss-and-run shit?”
“Watch your language. You know if Mom hears you . . .”
“The shit will hit the fan?” Connor grinned.
“Easy for you to say. You live in Ohio and fly into town for a day or two and then disappear.”
“To my podunk town, right?”
“I don’t know if your town is Podunk. I’ve never been there.”
“The town is called Hopeful.”
“It has more than three inhabitants, right?”
“Right.”
“Then it’s bigger than Last Resort, where I was marooned with Megan.”
“Wait, start over. I wasn’t paying attention.”
Logan threw a pillow at him.
Connor grabbed it midair. “Interception!”
“You boys better not be playing football with my couch pillows!” their mom yelled from the kitchen. “Don’t make me come out there.”
Logan and Connor sank back onto the couch, laughing.
“What are Dad and Gramps doing today?” Connor asked. “Going to the Aunts’?”
Logan nodded. The Aunts was a special label for their dad’s four sisters, all of whom lived in the Chicago area. They usually presented a united front, which is how they got their name as a group rather than as individuals. “Unless Dad and Gramps decide to come over here and stage another intervention,” he grumbled.
“I heard about that,” Connor said. “I thought it was a good idea.”
“So did Megan.”
“I had a feeling we’d get back to her.”
“I thought she’d see my point of view. Foolish on my part, I know.”
“Downright stupid, I’d say.”
“She could have been more understanding.”
“About you kissing and running? You’re not going to find many women who’d be understanding about that.”
“Yeah, but shekissed me last night and then kicked me out of her condo.”
“Good for her.”
“Are you even listening to me?”
“Not really.”
“You’re a big help.”
“That’s my goal in life.”
“You’re my brother,” Logan said. “You’re supposed to have my back.”
“Only if someone is threatening you. Not if you’re just acting stupidly.”
“I’m not acting stupidly.”
“So you’re saying this Megan, the smart librarian, is the one who is stupid?”
“How do you know she’s a librarian?”
“Gramps told me. If you’re not interested in her, maybe I should give her a call and see if I can hook up with her this weekend. I wouldn’t kiss and run.”
“Don’t make me shoot you,” Logan growled.
“I’m just saying if you don’t appreciate her, maybe I would.”
“Who says I don’t appreciate her?”
“Your actions say it. You don’t call her. You said she’s certifiable.”
“And that makes you want to hook up with her?”
“You’re a sucker for damsels in distress. I’m a sucker for certifiable women who’ll grab me and kiss me.”
“In your dreams.”
“Are you staking some kind of claim on her?”
“She’s not a gold mine.”
“Isn’t she?”
“Fine. You want me to call her, I’ll call her.” He grabbed his iPhone. “Watch me.”
“Do I have to?” Connor groaned.
“Damn. I got her voice mail.”
“So leave a message.