Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 95080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
“Oh yes.” She giggled. “That’s putting it mildly.”
“Well, you’ll help him with that.”
Courtney threw her arm around Matt’s neck, which, I could tell, both surprised and pleased him. It was always fun to watch his cheeks flush when he was happy and see the shy smile, the real one, come out.
“Oh my,” Jennifer gasped.
“That was over a guy. I used to make that sound,” Matt said seriously, leaning close to Jennifer. “Who are we looking at?”
“Right there. In the red Henley. Jesus.”
“Where are you looking?”
“With the shoulders and the muscles and…damn.”
“Honey, what’s red to you?”
“Right there,” she squeaked. “Okay, I’ll be right—oh, never mind, here he comes.”
When we all finally saw who had captured her interest, Matt and I groaned loudly.
“No, no, no, that is not pretty,” Eric said dryly. “That’s related, as in brother.”
“What?” Jennifer seemed confused.
“Really?” Ira groused at me, back from the bar long enough to hear what was going on. He passed out Cosmos to the girls and took a swig of the black and tan he’d gotten for himself. “Your brother the DEA agent had to come?”
“It’s because of what happened on Wednesday. His overprotective mode is still engaged.”
Ira jolted suddenly. “Please tell me the partner isn’t coming.”
“They haven’t been partners for a while,” I informed Ira, “and to answer your question, I really hope not.”
“Oh,” Matt whispered, “is he? Is Cord coming?”
“I’m standing right here,” Eric reminded him.
“Is he?” Matt pressed.
“That guy is your brother?” Jennifer’s breath caught.
“Ira, how come I only now discover that Tracy has a hot brother?” Courtney demanded to know.
“Ira, honey, you can date me,” Eric told him. “Because apparently your woman wants the brother, and my guy wants the brother’s partner.”
“As if I could ever get Cord Nolan’s attention away from Tracy,” Matt scoffed. “That’ll be the day.”
“What are you talking about?”
Matt gave me a patronizing look. “Gimme a break, Trace. Even you are not that oblivious.”
I squinted at him.
He stared at me for a minute, and then his eyes widened. “Oh shit, you really are.”
“What are you—”
“Excuse me,” Alex said as he reached the table, gently moving around the women to step in front of me. “How’re you? You feel all right?”
“I’m fine,” I grumbled, glowering at him.
Immediately, he turned to Matt, leaned in, and hugged him. Matt’s smile was warm as he soaked up Alex’s attention, answered his questions about how he was, and then remained close—Alex’s arm was still draped around his shoulders so he couldn’t have moved if he’d wanted to—when my brother offered his hand to Eric. It was nice to see my best friend and his husband so at ease with Alex. He gave Matt a final squeeze and then turned to the women.
“Ladies,” he greeted them, smiling.
All the men in my family but me were handsome. I simply wasn’t. The adjective couldn’t be applied to me. And that wasn’t to say that I was some hideous creature that should have been locked in a dungeon, but somehow the genes got mixed weird when it came to me. I took after my mother in bone structure and build. So instead of looking like my brothers and my father, tall and muscular, with swimmers’ builds, I was shorter and leaner, toned, with some definition, but no amount of cardio and weight training could make me into the perfect specimen of manhood that Alex Brandt was or, even more so, Cord Nolan. Cord was hard all over, with cut, rippling muscles…
“What about Cord?” Alex asked.
My head snapped up at that—had I said something out loud?—and I was faced with my brother’s smirk.
“What?” I asked him.
“You said something about Cord?”
“No,” I said crossly, then took a breath. “I need you to be nice to Breckin when you see him, all right?”
Instant scowl, and then Alex crossed his arms, which made his biceps bulge. “Why would Breckin be here?”
“Just don’t be a dick,” I warned him. “Go get a drink.”
When he turned to go, Jennifer moved quickly into his personal space. “You’re a DEA agent?” she asked him.
“Yeah.”
“I’d love to have you come speak to my fifth graders if you could ever find the time.”
I watched him get interested fast. “Absolutely. Can I get you a drink?”
Shoving the barely sipped Cosmo back at Ira, she smiled wide. “Oh yes, please.”
Alex took her hand to lead her to the opposite end of the bar, where the bartender seemed stuck.
“Oh, that was smooth,” Eric agreed.
“Yeah, she picked him up like a pro,” I told Courtney, impressed. “Damn.”
“Fucking teachers,” her friend April complained. “Would he have been as impressed if I said I was a lawyer at Putney Marsh on the partner track?”
“No,” Eric assured her, putting an arm around her shoulders. “But you don’t want him anyway. Law enforcement, late nights, no time off… Who needs the irritation?”
April laughed with Eric, leaning into him.