all but bubbled out of the phone. “Isn’t he terrific?”
“I’m sure he is,” Erin replied diplomatically, and was rewarded by a prolonged long-distance monologue about Nathan’s virtues.
“Is he there? Can I talk to him for a minute?”
“Of course, I’ll get him. Give Thomas and Natalie a hug from me.”
Nathan hardly got a word in edgeways during the short conversation with his sister. His attempts consisted of a few words that were interrupted every time.
She smiled into her coffee. So even Nathan Chase succumbed to the charm of Sally’s bulldozer personality.
With a wry grin, Nathan handed her back the phone and her sister-in-law’s excited voice was again echoing in her ear.
“Hi again, Erin. I told Nathan you would look after him for me, show him around and stuff.”
Erin’s mouth fell open as her accusing gaze flew to Nathan. He shrugged and shook his head, then picked up the paper again and started reading.
“What? I can’t…”
“He’s never stopped in town for longer than a few hours; he hasn’t seen anything. Maybe you could also go to the theater or something. Anything you can think of.”
“I’m not…”
“I really appreciate it, Erin. I’m just devastated not to be home for my brother, but I know you’ll do everything you can for him…”
After a few moments of chatter, Sally hung up and Erin was left standing with her mouth open, holding the phone in one hand.
Nathan pretended to concentrate on his paper, while trying to control the grin fighting its way to his face. The other pawn in his sister’s game obviously had no clue about the stakes. He felt Erin’s stabbing gaze on the back of his head and it wasn’t hard to picture the fury clouding her delicate features. Apart from her giggles last night, she seemed to have a permanent scowl etched on her brow. Did the woman ever smile?
“Don’t worry, Erin,” he said without looking up. “Sally never needs to know that you didn’t play tour guide for me and I certainly don’t expect you to.”
“She’ll know,” Erin muttered, throwing herself back into her chair. “Sally always finds out things like that.”
He shrugged. “Fine. I’ll tell her I preferred to be on my own. She may even take the hint and not throw us together again.”
Erin’s head snapped up, brows drawn together. “Throw us together? What do you mean?”
He looked up, allowing the grin to surface. “What else?”
Her mouth hung open. “You mean she knew you would be staying longer and she deliberately didn’t tell me?”
He shrugged. “I’m afraid my sister fancies herself as something of a matchmaker.”
“Matchmaker?” With amusement he watched the emotions play across her face. “You mean she thought you and I…?” She sputtered. “What a ridiculous idea!” Nathan nodded. “Couldn’t agree more.” Knowing his reply had been less than flattering, he watched with amusement as relief flirted with bruised dignity in her expressive features.
“And you didn’t object to being sent here to play house with a total stranger?”
He shrugged again. “Why should I? I’ve shared a bed with fleas and dogs, I can share a house with a librarian.” He smiled faintly. “To tell you the truth, I thought you might make a nice change.”
Her hands clenched into fists, Erin jumped to her feet, anger flashing from her eyes, the soft fabric of his shirt rising and falling with her deep, indignant breaths. “Oh, did you? A nice change from fleas and dogs? Or did you mean a nice change from your babes? Is this the let’s seduce-the-librarian week? I am not a toy, I’m not a babe and I’m absolutely not a ‘nice change’!”
Nathan raised his hands in supplication. “I didn’t mean it like that, Erin! I certainly had no seduction plans. And would you please stop mentioning the word babes in every other sentence?”
She waited, hands on hips. “In what way did you mean it, then?”
He shrugged. “I simply meant I’d enjoy having some female company without having to flirt or play games. I thought we might enjoy some civil, polite conversation over cereal or TV dinners. Perhaps even play Scrabble or Trivial Pursuit.” He grinned at her. “You know, librarian stuff.”
“You don’t know anything about librarians.”
“I’m beginning to realize that. No glasses perched on that nose.” His gaze lifted to her hair. “And no bun this morning either.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” she muttered.
Nathan’s grin faded, leaving a lopsided smile. “Whatever else you are, Miss Librarian, you are certainly not a disappointment.”
The doorbell, combined with insistent knocking, interrupted any explanation of that cryptic remark. As Erin opened the front door after a brief glance through the peephole, two miniature redheads fought for a place in her arms. “Mom says you might take us swimming!” a piping voice yelled as Erin looked out to see a waving arm as her mother’s gray car sped away.
Inwardly she groaned, although she was careful not to let on to the twins that they were less than welcome. Her mother kept doing that. She loved her little brothers, and they stayed with her often, but Mom took blatant advantage of her protectiveness.
“Hey, guys!” She knelt down and hugged the five-year-olds. “How long do I get to keep you today?”
“Until tomorrow!” Samuel jumped up and down, trying to reach the coat-hanger. “Mom says that there’s plenty of room because Tom and Sally are away.”
Grinding her teeth, Erin forced a smile as she helped the boys hang up their jackets. She wouldn’t have minded having them staying this weekend, especially with Nathan in the house, but she would have appreciated being asked.
“Hello!” Nathan appeared in the kitchen door and smiled at the boys, then looked at Erin. “I can see the resemblance. Are they yours?”
“Noooo,” the twins said in unison. They were used to this question but it never failed to disgust them. “She’s not our mother, she’s our sister!” Daniel added.
The boys stared curiously at him.
“Are you Erin’s boyfriend?” Daniel asked. Nathan shook his head with a smile. “I’m afraid not.”
“Oh.” The child looked dejected. “Mom says we can’t have little brothers, but if Erin finds a boyfriend and gets married then we can have little nephews instead.”
“You already have a little niece,” Erin reminded her brothers. “Soon she’ll be old enough to play with you.”
“She’s a girl!” Samuel pointed out indignantly. “Do you have any boys?” he asked Nathan.
