The Watson Brothers
Page 27
“Okay, look, I’m not asking you to marry the girl.”
“I’m not marrying anyone!” Just the sound of the “M” word struck terror in Ozzie’s heart.
“That’s what I said, damn it, and keep your voice down.”
Ozzie glanced around and saw that the others were watching them, their ears perked with interest. Dicks. Oh yeah, they all wanted to know more about Marci. None of them would hesitate to go chasing after her. In the three months that they’d all known her, more than one guy on the team had tried to get with her.
’Course, none of them had yet discovered her whacky eccentricities. Then again, maybe none of them would mind.
In a more subdued tone, now infused with annoyance, Ozzie said, “Any one of them would be thrilled to do . . . whatever it is you want me to do.”
“Bullshit. This is my sister-in-law we’re talking about. Any of them would be working hard to get in her pants.”
True. And it pissed Ozzie off big-time, but rather than say so, he pointed out the obvious. “And you think I wouldn’t be?”
Lucius’s eyes narrowed. “Not if you know what’s good for you.”
Ozzie threw up his hands. “Great. Just friggin’ great. So what the hell am I supposed to do with her, if not enjoy her?”
Disgruntled, Lucius growled, “You talk about her like she’s a pinball machine.”
“Right.” Ozzie rolled his eyes. “With a few lights missing.”
Lucius drew a deep breath to regain his aplomb.
Ozzie watched him. He really didn’t want to get on his buddy’s bad side. Lucius stood six-four, and though he was a good friend with a sense of style that leaned toward raunchy T-shirts, he also took anything that had anything to do with his wife very seriously.
“Nice shirt,” Ozzie commented, hoping to help Lucius along in his efforts to be calm. The shirt read: WORLD’S GREATEST and beneath that sat a proud rooster.
“Forget the shirt.” Lucius glanced at his watch. “I need to get going. Bethany’s waiting for me. So do we have a deal or what?”
He had to be kidding.
On an exhalation, Lucius barked, “I only want you to keep an eye on her. There’ve been a few strange things happening—”
“Like her talking to turtles or something?”
“Your sarcasm isn’t helping,” Lucius warned him. “I meant something more threatening. Marci feels like someone’s been following her. She’s not a woman given to melodrama—”
“That’s a joke, right?”
“—so her concerns also concern me,” Lucius finished through gritted teeth. “And they concern my wife, who won’t be able to enjoy our belated honeymoon unless we both know someone is keeping an eye on Marci. Someone I can trust not to hurt her.”
“I don’t hurt women.”
“Exactly.” Lucius glanced away. “But I was talking about her feelings, actually.”
Seeing no way out, Ozzie crossed his arms over his chest and conceded. “So what’s in it for me?”
“What do you want?”
“I very recently inherited a farmhouse from my granny. It needs some work—”
“Done.” Lucius stuck out his hand.
Whoa. That was way too easy. “Understand, Lucius. This is an old house. I don’t want to just slap up drywall and cheap paint. I want to maintain the original design and—”
“Shake on it, damn it, so I can go.”
Ozzie shook, and he had to admit, anticipation stirred within him. So he’d be seeing Marci again. Huh. He had very mixed feelings about that, but mostly he felt—
Rather than release his hand, Lucius tugged him closer to whisper, “Put on your coat. You’re advertising a stiffy. And you know, I think maybe you should be wearing my shirt.” Then the bastard walked away laughing.
Ozzie glanced down at the rise in his jeans. Cursing his overactive libido, especially where it concerned Marci Churchill, he turned his back so no one else in the room would notice.
He didn’t have a full boner, but rather a semi-boner. Though for a man of his endowments, it showed about the same.
And just because they’d discussed Marci.
How the hell was he supposed to watch over her, be close to her, and not touch her?
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Compilation copyrightCopyright © 2008 by Lori Foster
“My House, My Rules” copyright © 2003 by Lori Foster
“Bringing Up Baby” copyright © 2003 by Lori Foster
“Good With His Hands” copyright © 2004 by Lori Foster
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First Brava Books Mass-Market Paperback Printing: September 2008
First Zebra Books Mass-Market Paperback Printing: May 2016
ISBN-13: 978-1-4201-3938-9
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eISBN-13: 978-1-4201-3939-6
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