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staying in my old room for a few nights while he’s on his honeymoon.”
    Like she owed him any explanation! Honestly, this was her house—her family home, at any rate. He was the interloper. He should be the one defending himself and offering up explanations for why he was here.
    â€œWell, sweetheart,” he drawled, “that’s where we might have a problem. Because Nick told me I could stay here until he gets back.”
    Scowling, she let his words sink in, all the while wishing her brother were nearby so she could wring his neck. Was it too much to ask that she be allowed to stay in her childhood home while she was in Ohio? Alone. To rest and recuperate before going back to her mile-a-minute world and no-rest-for-the-weary occupation.
    â€œWhy do you need to stay here?” she wanted to know. “Don’t you have a house of your own to go to?”
    She could have sworn he blushed at that. His cheekbones turned a dull red and he refused to meet her gaze.
    â€œYeah,” he said in a low rumble. “You’d think that would make a difference.”
    â€œExcuse me?”
    â€œI got kicked out, okay?” he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and slouching against the counter cabinets.
    He was pouting. And looking decidedly embarrassed, Beth thought.
    Oh, the day was taking a turn for the better, after all.
    She perked up, fighting the urge to giggle at his obvious discomfort and reversal of fortune.
    â€œYou got kicked out,” she repeated, trying not to sound too gleeful. “Of your own house. Why?”
    The flush disappeared from his face, then was replaced by the flat, grim line of his mouth.
    â€œNever mind why,” was his terse reply. “The point is, I needed a place to stay, and your brother offered the use of his house until he and Karen get back from their honeymoon.”
    It was her turn to cross her arms. At this point, she didn’t even care that the gesture pushed her breasts up and caused the flimsy satin and lace bodice to bunch and reveal a fair amount of cleavage.
    If the sight offended him, fine. If it turned him off, so be it. And if it turned him on…good. Maybe he would feel intimidated by his attraction to her and hightail it to the nearest hotel.
    Or back into Lori-Lisa-Laura’s open arms.
    Okay, that didn’t sit as well with her as the two previous possibilities, but still…whatever got him out of her brother’s house while she was there.
    â€œWell, you can’t stay here,” she told him again, more firmly this time.
    â€œOh, no? You want to call Nick in Hawaii, interrupt whatever he and Karen are up to at this particular moment—” he waggled his eyebrows to indicate what he predicted they’d be doing, and probably wasn’t far offthe mark “—and ask him exactly who his choice is for houseguest while he’s gone?”
    â€œSure,” she said, calling his bluff. “I’m pretty sure he’ll pick me, considering how I’m his sister and all. His blood relative.”
    â€œAnd I’m his best friend since fifth grade,” Connor put in. “Not to mention invited. Does Nick even know you’re here?”
    â€œOf course he knows I’m here,” she fired back.
    When she’d first been making arrangements to return to Ohio for his wedding, she’d offered to get a hotel room. Wanted to, to be honest. But Nick had insisted she stay at the house.
    â€œIt’s your house, too,” he’d cajoled. “And besides, Karen and I will be leaving right after the reception. You’ll have the whole place to yourself.”
    She’d agreed, partly because she didn’t want to hurt his feelings, and partly because she’d been looking forward to coming home, sleeping in her old bedroom, and just being alone with her thoughts and her memories for a few days.
    So much for that, she reflected now. She hadn’t even been able to