Read Waiting for Wednesday for Free Online Page B

in.”
    “I’ll talk to you in the morning, Tris,” Keira said.
    “Bye, sis,” he said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. “See you at home, Riley.” They watched his sisters leave before Lane turned to him.
    “I can’t—”
    37
    Mari Carr
    “Yes, you can. You should. I really wish you would.” His tone was somewhat pleading, but he was too tired to give a shit. Lane had saved him tonight and the idea of having her close at hand while Pop recovered was the answer to a prayer.
    His words seemed to take some of the wind out of her sails. “I just—”
    “Think about it,” he said, cutting her off again. “You’re between jobs. You don’t have an apartment yet. You could take your time looking for both those things while taking care of Pop. I don’t know what else to say to convince you, Lane, other than please. We need you. I need you.”
    She sighed tiredly before nodding. “Okay. I’ll do it.” 38
    Waiting for Wednesday

Chapter Three
    Tris and Ewan carried her suitcases upstairs to the Collins apartment, and Lane tried to sort out what the hell was going on in her body. Her stomach was full of butterflies, her heart racing, her hands shaking and her head pounding. This could not be a good sign. What was she thinking to agree to such an arrangement? She followed the brothers’ progress down the hall as they put her belongings in Riley’s room.
    She’d elected to room with Tristan’s sister—despite the potential problems involved with that decision—rather than ask Tris to uproot and move into Ewan’s room. For one thing, she really did feel she should be close to Mr. Collins, especially during his first few days home. Secondly—and most importantly—she thought there might be some protection in staying with Riley. Surely Tris wouldn’t try to sneak into her bed with his sister sleeping a few feet away. She would have to figure out how to stay away from Tris until she managed to control her attraction to him.
    It had been four days since his pop’s stroke. Tris had been working double shifts at the pub and visiting his father in the hospital, so they hadn’t had more than a few minutes to talk about her new position in his family’s household and they’d had no time to talk about what had happened on the couch. If his family hadn’t come upstairs when they had, she would have had sex with him.
    Tris came out of the room with a too-pleased grin on his face and she wondered if she’d bitten off more than she could chew. He continued toward her, wrapping a possessive arm around her waist and holding her close. She struggled when Ewan followed Tris into the living room, but her big-as-a-mountain friend refused to release her. Short of kneeing him in the balls, which she seriously considered, she saw no way to avoid his grip.
    Ewan smiled at them, shaking his head. “Are you two going to need a chaperone?” 39
    Mari Carr
    “I won’t. Tris might,” she said as Tris released her and gave his brother a dirty look.
    “I’ll bear that in mind. I’ve got some work to do in the restaurant office. Freaking tax time. Kicks my ass every year. You coming, Tris?” Ewan asked.
    “I’ll be down in a bit,” Tris said.
    Ewan pretended to give Tris a stern look before grinning at her. She rolled her eyes as he headed downstairs, chuckling to himself. Riley was already in the restaurant kitchen working on the lunch special, which left her alone with Tris.
    She took a deep breath and prepared to issue the speech she’d been practicing for days. “Tris—”
    “Save your breath, Lane.”
    “What?” She was taken off guard by his no-nonsense demeanor.
    “You intend to warn me off. Tell me how you’re here to serve as my pop’s nurse and that’s all. You’ll mention how you just got out of a crappy marriage and you’ll probably build up to some bullshit about being free and enjoying it and then you’ll wind down with the old ‘I’m not interested in a relationship right now’ line.”