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Positive. Hell, he d said it three times. That had to mean something, right?
Why do you think it s a girlfriend? Sheri asked. Was he talking dirty in his sleep or spanking the
monkey or something? Oh God, don t answer that yuck, my brother.
There was no monkey spanking involved. Well, not then anyway. I guess I just thought Shit,
never mind. It was stupid. I guess I just wondered what sort of woman could get under the skin of Mr.
Tall, Dark, and Detached-from-Humankind.
Jillian, Sheri repeated as though trying to place the name. The only Jillian I can think of is my
Aunt Sarah s daughter who died way before I was even born. Obviously, I never knew her.
A cousin?
Yeah, I guess so. I can t imagine Mac would even remember her. He would have been five or six
when she died, and our family really never talked about her.
Can t be the same Jillian then, Kelli said. Can you think of anyone else?
He dated a Jenna in college. Wait, no, maybe it was Jeanine. Whatever, it wasn t serious. None of
Mac s relationships ever were.
Exactly why I wanted to play hide-the-salami with him, Kelli said, projecting a cheerful
indifference she wasn t sure she really felt.
You sure you re okay, Kel?
Of course! Her words sounded falsely bright, even to her own ears, and she knew Sheri heard it,
too. She cleared her throat and tried again. I m fabulous, obviously. I got to nail your brother, which
allows me to cross one major item off my bucket list. I just need to go hang gliding and learn to juggle
now.
Okay, then. Sheri paused, and Kelli knew her friend was waiting for her to offer more. To fill in
the blanks with something juicy or jokey.
Kelli stayed quiet.
Right, so good luck with that, Sheri said. The hang gliding that is. You ll call if you need
anything?
Absolutely. Oh, I almost forgot your mother s here.
What? Seriously?
She found out about the engagement somehow. I think Mac s freaking out about it a little. He d
hoped to keep the whole thing quiet and isolated in Mexico. I m not sure what he s going to do now.
Christ, are you okay?
I feel lousy lying to your mom. She always had a knack for knowing when I wasn t telling the truth.
For now, she believes the whole story, so Mac s cover isn t blown or anything, although speaking of
blowing Mac
If she bought the story, you re the one who should be worried. You know Stella Patton is perfectly
capable of marching you to the altar at gunpoint, don t you?
Kelli winced and threaded her fingers through her hair, feeling a chunk of crusted sugar. God, was
it only last night she d been in an arms dealer s bathtub with Mac and a giant lizard?
And on the arms dealer s bathroom counter, legs wrapped around Mac s hips
I m hoping your mom will understand when it s all over and we explain it was a matter of national
security, Kelli said.
Don t count on it. My mom would love to have you as a daughter-in-law. Don t be surprised if she
brings new meaning to the idea of a shotgun wedding.
The odds of a wedding actually happening are the same as the chances I ll join a convent.
You ll be the hottest nun on the block. Look, I ve gotta run, Kel. The boys are starting to fuss
again, and I don t want them to wake Sam since he was up with them last night. You ll call if you
need anything?
Will do. Hugs to the babies and that big hunk of man-flesh.
Bye, hon.
Kelli hung up the phone, feeling more uncertain than she had before she d dialed Sheri s number.
Who the hell was Jillian?
More importantly, why did she care? The engagement was fake, and the sex was meaningless. She
might have some temporary claim to Mac s body at the moment, but certainly not his heart or mind or
dreams. What the hell was her problem?
She climbed out of bed and went to take a shower, a little reluctant to scrub away the remnants of
last night s sex. She had to hand it to Mac, the man knew his way around a woman s body. Even with
his hands shackled, he d made her come harder than any man ever had before. That was saying
something.
She toweled off and dressed in set of pink surgical scrubs, forcing herself to turn her attention to the
day s agenda. Volunteers had been busy using live traps to collect feral cats from around the area.
Today was going to be a big day of snipping and suturing, hopefully making a good-sized dent in the
number of homeless cats breeding and starving and wreaking havoc on the area s bird populations.
Trudging down the stairs to the dining area, she froze mid-step as Mac s mother looked up from her
morning paper and smiled. Stella was impeccably dressed in loose linen trousers and a matching top.
Her eyes bored into Kelli the way they had when Sheri and Kelli got busted sneaking out in middle
school.
She nodded at Kelli. I trust you slept well, dear?
Kelli felt the heat creep into her cheeks. How thin were the walls in Mac s house, anyway?
I
Oh, please, Stella said, shoving her newspaper aside before Kelli could stammer a response.
You can cut the blushing bride act with me. You forget I m the one who picked you up on prom night
after your date passed out from exhaustion in the backseat of his car.
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