Can't Buy Me Love (Sinclair Sisters 3)

“We’re all sorted,” Drew said as he headed for the door.

“You know,” Darcy told her. “Those are stepmum questions. Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider your position on this matter?”

Agnes gaped at her as the men in the family laughed. “Get out and get to school.”

“Okay, but I want you to know that this whole thing is giving me very mixed messages about relationships,” Darcy said as she followed her brother. “And I’m at such an impressionable age.”

With that, they disappeared through the door.

Agnes let out a groan, picked up a cushion, and pummeled Logan with it. “There. Was. A. Rollout?” she said between blows.

He snatched the cushion from her and stuffed it under his head. “This was a better option.”

“For who? Now your kids have the wrong idea.”

“No, Agnes, love, they have the right idea.”

“But I’m leaving Invertary!” Didn’t he understand that this was all going to blow up in their faces? “They’ll get hurt.”

“And I’ll help them cope with it.”

“You are being incredibly stubborn and very annoying. Why won’t you believe me when I say this thing between us has a definite ‘best before date’?”

“Oh, I do believe you. And I won’t do anything to stop you when you go. That’s your choice, and you have the right to make it. But, you can’t stop me from showing you just how good this could be while you’re still here.”

“You are driving me mad!” She lobbed another cushion at him before stomping from the room, only to find his mother in the kitchen frying bacon. “Don’t you live next door? Shouldn’t you be there making breakfast?”

“I would be, but you’re here and I’m nosy.” Shona smiled at her before reaching for the coffee pot, filling a mug and handing it to her. “Milk and sugar are on the table.”

Agnes took the mug and plopped down in a chair. “Your son is driving me nuts.”

“He gets that from his father,” Shona said as she dished up food.

She put two plates on the table and took a seat facing Agnes. “Dig in and, while you’re at it, maybe you can explain why my son’s bum is all over the internet.”

Agnes groaned. Shona was wrong—Logan definitely got his tendency to annoy her from his mother. “It was an accident,” she said weakly.

Shona arched an eyebrow. “You accidentally slept with him and then kicked him out of your room so strangers could ogle him?”

“This whole family is evil,” Agnes muttered as she cut up her bacon.

“No, dear.” Shona reached over to pat her hand. “We just don’t let crap slide. Don’t worry—you fit right in.”

A strangled little scream escaped Agnes. “Like I keep telling your son, I’m not staying in Invertary. As soon as the year with Dougal is up, I’m heading to warmer climes.” If she lasted a year.

“Is that it? That’s your reason for giving up on Logan? You want more sun?”

“I’m not giving up on him. There’s nothing to give up on.” Okay, so that was a lie and, judging by the look on Shona’s face, she knew it. Damn McBride family, they were all annoying as hell. “I don’t just want to leave Invertary for the sun. I want a career. I want stability. And I want more sun.”

“You know, it’s easier to achieve stability when you’re part of a pair. I’ve been married forty-two years and I’m very stable.”

“Yeah, I can tell.”

Shona narrowed her eyes. “I gave you that bacon, and I can take it away again.”

“Mine.” Agnes pulled the plate closer. “Look, you don’t know me, so I have no idea why you’re so damn keen on getting me together with your son. But stability has nothing to do with being in a relationship. I just don’t want to rely on anyone else. I did that when I was a kid, and I’m never doing it again. People let you down, they hurt you, and they leave you to care for yourself.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Agnes wished she could take them back.

Shona’s face softened. “Logan said your parents weren’t there for you when you were a bairn.”