“No.”She frowned.“What’s up with the twenty questions?”
I shrugged.No point in mentioning my suspicions.“Nothing.I just don’t know anything about the guy my BFF is spending her time with.That seems odd to me.”
She settled back in her seat and her eyes took on a dreamy look.“What can I say?He’s tall, dark, and handsome, with just a tiny bit of an accent.Italian, I think.Or maybe Greek?I don’t think I ever asked him about it.His best feature, other than his ability to bring me to orgasm multiple times, is that he’s obviously got money so I know he’s not after my bank balance.”She gave an apologetic shrug.“That’s huge in my world.”
I could understand that, even if it had never been an issue for me.If my bank balance didn’t have a red negative in front of it, I considered it a good sign.“He makes you happy?”
She nodded.“Yeah.He does.”
“Then I guess that’s all I really need to know.”My phone vibrated with an incoming text, and I picked it up.Unlocking the screen, I stared at it in surprise.“Ryland.”I hadn’t expected to hear from him, at least not this soon.
“What’s he want?Or is this one of those X-rated texts?”Sasha tucked her feet up under herself and grinned.
I shook my head.“No, it is not X-rated.”Although I would have been good with that.“I guess the emergency got called off.He says he’s got a surprise for me and wants me to meet him at a place south of town and not to bring Diego.”
Sasha grinned.“I think there’s hot springs out that way.I bet my bro finally got his act together and planned a romantic getaway.Why else would he say to leave Diego behind?Those kinds of places generally aren’t pet friendly.”
“You okay watching Diego for a day or two?”I was already on my feet and heading to the bedroom to pack an overnight case.
“Of course!You go, girl.Give that brother of mine a run for his money!”
Chapter Twelve
Ryland
“Ryland!Over here!”
I rolled my eyes and pivoted to search the crowd of people milling around the luggage carousels at the airport.So William had decided to send Max to pick me up?The guy was great with finance, but his social skills were iffy at best.Max could talk for hours without saying much of anything.Probably in retaliation for calling him Billy the last time we’d talked.William hated to be called Billy.It seemed to offend his British sensibilities, which in turn made it so tempting for the rest of us to use it whenever we wanted to get under his skin.
Spotting Max wasn’t difficult.A six-and-a-half-foot tall, wide-shouldered guy with red hair and a beard to match tended to stand out in a crowd.Hefting the duffel bag to my shoulder, I worked my way through the swarm of people between us.
Reaching him, I raised an eyebrow.“So how come you pulled chauffeur duty?William punishing you for something or just tired of listening to you talk?”
Max slapped me on the back hard enough to send a normal man staggering across the concourse.“Nice to see you too.And when I talk, it’s to impart useful information to those of you lesser men who don’t pay attention to the world news.I communicate thoughtful observations in a witty dialogue meant to entertain and enlighten.”
I grinned.“And sometimes lull us to sleep.”
Max grabbed the duffel bag from my shoulder.“Important guy like you shouldn’t be carrying his own bags.That’s what the chauffeur is for.So how come you dumped the poacher chase on Sam and Noah this late in the game?Billy said some young thing got you so het up you forgot how much you hated the poachers.”
I contemplated retrieving my duffel bag and decided against it.Max would be happy to wrestle me in the middle of the airport, but security might not take such a kind view of it and getting arrested would delay us and piss off William.Better to let him do the hauling for me.We extricated ourselves from the crowd and headed down the concourse toward the parking garage.
“Her name is Kimberly, and she’s not some hot young thing.She’s the woman I intend to marry just as soon as I manage to convince her I’m good for more than a one-night stand.She’s a little gun shy.”
“Hah!I knew you’d fall hard when you fell.”Max snickered before addressing me.“She thinks you’re a bad bet for a lifer?Smart girl.When do I get to meet her?”
I favored him with a look that would have felled a lesser man.“You don’t.Not until we’ve been safely married for at least ten years.I’m trying to convince her I’m a mature, stable partner, and you do nothing for my case.”
Max put on an exaggerated pout, his bottom lip sticking out.“I am crushed.Here I assumed you thought of all of us as your brothers -- brethren, so to speak -- and now you don’t want me to meet the future mother of my godchild?That hurts.”
We reached the elevator leading to the parking garage and Max pushed the up arrow.The doors opened immediately and we entered.
“Future mother of your godchild?I haven’t managed to convince her to consider me as a steady boyfriend and you’re looking ahead to children?”
“Well, someone has to push things along.”Max shook his head in mock sadness as the elevator doors closed with a quietswish.“You’re not getting any younger, you know.”
“True.”I held out a hand as if inspecting it for wrinkles.“How long till I hit retirement age?Three decades?Four?”
“Exactly!”Max smiled as the elevator bumped to a halt and the doors slid open to reveal rows of parked cars.“You need to get a move on it, or it’ll be too late.”
