She put her cup down after finishing the last dregs of coffee and glanced up at the kitchen clock. It was almost eleven. Nathan had stayed almost double the allotted six hours. He would probably leave right after breakfast.
Perhaps she could manage to be civil just for another hour. For Sally’s sake.
Determined to do her best, she straightened up from her slouch and offered him more coffee. With a slight look of surprise, he accepted.
“Sally said you wouldn’t be staying long.”
Nathan took a sip of his coffee, then ran a hand through his hair. “Actually, I will be staying a while.”
“Oh,” she muttered. There must have been a change of plan. She might have to put up with him a bit longer. Without thinking, she sighed.
Nathan raised an eyebrow, the half-smile turning sardonic. “No need to sound as if your world is collapsing. There is room enough in this house for the two of us.”
“Are there no hot opportunities or babes awaiting you?”
He stared at her until she began squirming in her seat.
“You really dislike me, don’t you?” he asked at last. Erin thought his voice reflected boredom more than anything else. She bit her tongue to hold back the angry words, but they fought their way out anyway.
“I love Sally. She is my friend and my brother’s wife. I dislike it when people hurt her.”
Something flickered in his eyes. It could have been guilt or remorse, but she was more inclined to interpret it as irritation or even amusement.
“Has my sister said that I hurt her?”
“She doesn’t need to,” she snapped back. “It is obvious in her face every time she hopes that you will deign to come home and you don’t.”
“I see.”
“What kind of a man misses his own father’s funeral, for God’s sake?”
The outrage in her voice didn’t seem to affect him in the least. He sipped his coffee calmly and did not flinch from her incensed gaze. “I don’t know, Erin. What kind of a man does that and then comes home sporting perverted rabbits on his socks?”
Erin shook her head in disbelief. “Life is just one big joke to you, isn’t it?”
“Absolutely. An attitude I can heartily recommend. It’s the only way to keep your sanity in this world.” He gave her a small smile. “You’ve made your point. I’m an unfeeling bastard. Fine. Can we now agree to a truce while we’re sharing this house?”
“Just how long will you be staying, then?”
“A while.”
“How long is a ‘while’?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll be here at least until after Christmas.” Erin’s refilled cup almost didn’t survive the trip to the table, spilling precious drops on the white surface.
“After Christmas?”
“Yep.” He seemed unfazed by her obvious consternation, calmly mopping up the spilled coffee with a paper towel.
She groaned and hid her face in her hands. This was a disaster. She had been counting on having this time alone, to think things through and to make plans for the baby. She had taken time off this week, just for that purpose.
“I take it that’s a problem for you?”
“Sally said you would only stay the night,” she moaned. “If I’d known you were staying, I could have made other arrangements. I wouldn’t have sublet my apartment.”
The telephone on the wall rang and Erin answered it morosely, thinking that if he were a gentleman he would offer to move out and check into a hotel. After all, it was only a month until Thomas and Sally returned.
Right on cue, it was her sister-in-law, shouting through a tunnel of static, asking if her brother had arrived yet.
“I’m so glad you got to meet Nathan, Erin!” Enthusiasm 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