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“Can I ask you a question?”
She swallowed. “Mmm-hmm.”
“Why are you so intent on Bryce and Paulie being together?” His voice was low and perfectly pleasant.
She risked another look at him. Damn. His hair was so frickin’ beautiful, black and curly, carelessly tousled. If hair could talk, his would say,That’s right. This means everything you’re imagining. Run your fingers through me. Do it. You won’t be sorry.
“Colleen?”
“What? Yes. Um, what was the question?”
He smiled, and her uterus clenched. “Bryce and Paulie. Why is that a good idea?”
She cleared her throat and looked at Joe, who was dead to the world. Poor choice of words, actually. Who was sound asleep.
“You won’t say anything to Bryce, will you?” she asked.
“No.”
And he wouldn’t. She could trust him, she knew. No one she’d ever met in her life was as honorable as Lucas Campbell. “Paulie’s loved him for years. She’s a really great person, Lucas. Decent and kind and good.”
“I’m sure she is.”
“Do you remember her from high school?”
He shook his head. “Not really. I remember those chicken ads, though.”
“‘Thirty-eight ways to a heart attack,’” Colleen said with a smile.
“Doesn’t her father have ties to the Russian Mafia?”
“That was never proven.”
He raised an eyebrow. “If Paulie’s so great, Colleen, why are you fixing her up with my cousin? Why aren’t you fixing her up with Connor or Jack Holland or someone with a job and a future?”
“She doesn’t want those guys. She wants Bryce.” They were whispering, not wanting to wake poor Joe.
“And why does she want Bryce? Because he’s good-looking?”
“Well, actually, Lucas—”
“If—and I repeat, if—you manage to get Bryce to date her, what about what happens next? You know how many women Bryce has slept with?”
Her face flushed hotter. A lot, she knew, give or take a few.
“A lot,” Lucas said. “He likes the shallow, beautiful type who are only interested in screwing him.”
“I know exactly the type of women Bryce sleeps with,” she whispered back, suddenly furious. “And yes, they’re generally shallow and beautiful, and no, Paulie isn’t. And maybe it’s time for Bryce to find someone with more depth and character.”
“You’re going to have a big mess on your hands, and your friend is going to get hurt.”
“Right. He might marry someone else when she thought he was in love with her.”
He gave her a narrow-eyed stare. “We’re talking about my cousin, who goes through life without having to deal with the consequences of his actions, Colleen. If you want to fight about the past, you’ll have to do it alone, because I’m not interested.”
“Oh, so sorry. I didn’t mean to talk about something that wasn’t on your agenda.”
“You’re the one who showed up here, I might point out.”
