Waiting On You (Blue Heron #3)(48)

He’d never said too much about life with Joe and Didi. When they were dating, they didn’t spend a lot of time with his relatives. There’d been an awkward family dinner in the early days (she seemed to remember insisting on it). Bryce had been as cheerful as a puppy, Didi with that pinched look, Joe amiable and friendly.

But Lucas could say more with his eyes than most people could say in three days.

Then again, that was the kind of thinking that had gotten her exactly nowhere.

Lucas adjusted Joe’s blanket, and that tender gesture...damn. Those were the kinds of things that messed with a person’s head. She should go before she felt mushier than she did already.

“So where are you staying while you’re here?” she asked.

“I got a furnished apartment in town. The old opera house.”

“Sure. Faith used to live there. With Levi. Well, across from Levi, then with Levi, then they bought a house. They’re cute. The apartments, I mean. Well, Levi and Faith are cute, too. You know what I mean.” She closed her eyes as the Tourette’s of Terror welled up again, spurred on by the old feelings that had led to her ruination.

She pictured Lucas in the generically furnished apartment, alone, not staying in the big McMansion where the other Campbells lived. The quiet of the green at night. No dog to keep him company.

“Would you like to have dinner sometime?” she heard herself say.

He gave her a long look, then nodded.

“I’m only asking because, well, hell, maybe you’re lonely. I collect strays, you know how it is. Plus, you don’t know too many people here. But you know me. And I know you. But it’s not a date. It’s not romantic, I mean. It’s just dinner. We get together and eat.”

“Yes, I seem to remember how dinner works.” His eyes were smiling.

Her arm was almost touching his, and she had an almost overwhelming desire to put her arms around him and draw his head to her shoulder, kiss his hair and tell him it would be okay. Maybe kiss him on the forehead. Or the mouth. Or the neck. Or the—

Slutty. Very, very slutty, envisioning sex in the dialysis unit.

“Can I ask you a question?”

She swallowed. “Mmm-hmm.”

“Why are you so intent on Bryce and Paulie being together?” His voice was low and perfectly pleasant.

She risked another look at him. Damn. His hair was so frickin’ beautiful, black and curly, carelessly tousled. If hair could talk, his would say, That’s right. This means everything you’re imagining. Run your fingers through me. Do it. You won’t be sorry.

“Colleen?”

“What? Yes. Um, what was the question?”

He smiled, and her uterus clenched. “Bryce and Paulie. Why is that a good idea?”

She cleared her throat and looked at Joe, who was dead to the world. Poor choice of words, actually. Who was sound asleep.

“You won’t say anything to Bryce, will you?” she asked.

“No.”

And he wouldn’t. She could trust him, she knew. No one she’d ever met in her life was as honorable as Lucas Campbell. “Paulie’s loved him for years. She’s a really great person, Lucas. Decent and kind and good.”

“I’m sure she is.”

“Do you remember her from high school?”

He shook his head. “Not really. I remember those chicken ads, though.”

“‘Thirty-eight ways to a heart attack,’” Colleen said with a smile.

“Doesn’t her father have ties to the Russian Mafia?”

“That was never proven.”

He raised an eyebrow. “If Paulie’s so great, Colleen, why are you fixing her up with my cousin? Why aren’t you fixing her up with Connor or Jack Holland or someone with a job and a future?”

“She doesn’t want those guys. She wants Bryce.” They were whispering, not wanting to wake poor Joe.

“And why does she want Bryce? Because he’s good-looking?”

“Well, actually, Lucas—”

“If—and I repeat, if—you manage to get Bryce to date her, what about what happens next? You know how many women Bryce has slept with?”

Her face flushed hotter. A lot, she knew, give or take a few.

“A lot,” Lucas said. “He likes the shallow, beautiful type who are only interested in screwing him.”

“I know exactly the type of women Bryce sleeps with,” she whispered back, suddenly furious. “And yes, they’re generally shallow and beautiful, and no, Paulie isn’t. And maybe it’s time for Bryce to find someone with more depth and character.”

“You’re going to have a big mess on your hands, and your friend is going to get hurt.”

“Right. He might marry someone else when she thought he was in love with her.”

He gave her a narrow-eyed stare. “We’re talking about my cousin, who goes through life without having to deal with the consequences of his actions, Colleen. If you want to fight about the past, you’ll have to do it alone, because I’m not interested.”

“Oh, so sorry. I didn’t mean to talk about something that wasn’t on your agenda.”

“You’re the one who showed up here, I might point out.”

“And you’re the one who swans back into town— You know what? Forget it. I happen to think Bryce should be with a woman like Paulie. No, she’s not some supermodel slut. She’s grounded and decent and loyal. And, I might point out to you, Spaniard, I’ve got a fairly amazing track record when it comes to matchmaking.”