Derrick laughed. “Honey, I’ve seen every part of you. Nothing ugly yet. Well, except for that face you make when you—”
She slapped a hand over his mouth and glared. “Shut up, Derrick.”
He pulled away and grinned. “I was just going to say when you act like you’re right. You know, when you sayOh?all smarmy like?”
“Smarmy. What a big word for a little brain.”
“Oh, I like it when you get nasty, Syd.” The look he gave her made Sydney blush.
“Holy crap. Sydney Fields turned pink. It’s a miracle, Gage. Nothing ever embarrasses Sydney,” Hailey said with delight. “Well, except for her mom.”
“Who has just entered the lion’s den.” Derrick groaned. “Come on, Sydney. Let’s go rescue your mom.”
She blinked. “I think you mean rescueyourmom.”
Derrick pulled her with him. “Just remember what I said.I’mthe Warren twin you’re with, and you’re not allowed to be scared away by too many shrinks in one room.”
“My bet’s on Isabel.” Sydney shook her head. “I bet she insults your mother and her friend—hell, probably your entire family—before the night is through.”
“Maybe, but my mother will shrug it off and have your mom in therapy before the evening ends.”
Gage nodded. “I’d have to go with Derrick on this. You have no idea what Mom can be like.”
“She’s nice.” Hailey frowned.
“She’s scary,” Gage and Derrick said as one.
Personally, anyone that could handle Isabel Fields had Sydney’s vote. “Yeah, what are we betting?”
“Well, this is something I don’t see every day—Barbara at a loss,” James Kincaid commented from behind her.
Across the room, Barbara Warren looked poleaxed as Isabel waved her hands madly, making some point the other woman couldn’t seem to comprehend.
James chuckled, and she regarded the handsome older man with interest. He worked with Derrick’s mother. Along with Dylan, that made three psychiatrists in the room.
Like all the other men in the house, James was handsome and muscular. It was no wonder Sydney’s mother couldn’t stop herself from making an even bigger ass of herself as she’d flirted with every one of them until Sydney wanted to bury her head between the couch cushions. She could only hope the man her mother eventually tried to take back to her hotel after dinner wasn’t Gage or Derrick. Because as nice as Hailey had been to Isabel, if her mother tried to mess with Gage, she was a dead woman, courtesy of a very possessive blonde.
It went without saying Sydney would kick her mom’s perfect ass if she looked crosswise at Derrick again. Though some perverse part of her wanted to see how Derrick would handle an outright proposition. A few more glasses of wine and her mother would find some way to get him alone, she was sure. She still didn’t know why she hadn’t turned around and demanded they leave the minute her mother had stepped through the door and eyed the male eye candy with calculated interest.
“Sydney?”
“Don’t worry, James. I promise to take her out of here very soon.”
He patted her on the shoulder. “No worries. And if I may say, it’s easy to see where you get your looks. Your mother is stunning.”
“And narcissistic and loud.”
He coughed. “I wasn’t going to say that. I’m on my best behavior tonight.”
“Why? You’re around the Warrens.” She shook her head at Derrick and Dylan arguing over some stupid football game on the television, growing louder and louder. Gage continued to flirt with Hailey outrageously, his hands everywhere. Sydney had half a mind to order them into the nearest bedroom to get it over with already.
“The boys are usually on their best behavior around Barbara.”
She snorted. “The boys? Really? They let you call them that?”
“No. It annoys the snot out of them. Watch.”
He said something about the gamethe boyswere watching, and she snickered when Derrick and Dylan turned twin frowns his way.
