Collide (The Barker Triplets 2)

“I just want you to be happy,” her sister said quietly.

A vein began to throb over Bobbi’s left temple. She didn’t have to see

it to know it was there and she frowned, her blue eyes stormy as she gazed back at her sister. Her sister who was madly in love with a man and anyone with an eye in their head knew it. How could you not? The looks and touches, and kisses and touches, and fucking looks were plain old nauseating.

Enough already.

“Billie, there are lots of kinds of love.” She cleared her throat and tried again. “Not everyone loves the same and not every love is the same.” Oh god, was she even making sense?

“Uh huh,” Billie said dryly.

“Not everyone needs a mad, passionate, sort of thing.”

“Uh huh.”

Bobbi took a moment to calm herself. To fight for that control that she desperately needed because all she wanted to do was smash her fist into Billie’s perfectly made up face. But then that would ruin Billie’s makeup and that wasn’t part of Bobbi’s vision of the perfect wedding day.

Exhale.

I can’t do this.

Inhale.

She tried again. “Not everyone wants that sort of distraction.”

“Distraction?” Billie retorted. “Is that what we’re calling it? Distraction? Wow, you make love sound so clinical, so freaking not important. Whatever happened to mad, passionate, animal magnetism hot-as-hell love?”

“It’s over rated.” The comeback popped out before she could stop it and one look into Billie’s eyes had Bobbi wishing she had more control over her own tongue.

“Really?” Billie flicked a long piece of hair over her shoulder. “What about sex? How is your sex life with boring I-match-my-boxers-to-my-dress-shirt Gerry? Does he even bring you to orgasm? Does he even know how?”

“Billie Jo Barker, that is none of your business!”

But her sister just shook her head and stepped back. “I didn’t think so.”

Bobbi’s fists clenched so tightly that she winced as her nails dug into the soft skin on her palms. When her sister had the good notion to glance down, Billie took another step back. Her sister may have been the super athlete, the Olympic star, the girl who could skate circles around any guy on the ice, but when it came to down and dirty fighting? No one could take Bobbi.

“I bet you haven’t had sex with him in weeks.”

Bobbi stared at her sister, suddenly and utterly defeated because truthfully, she couldn’t remember the last time she had been intimate with her fiancé.

Not since Shane had come home.

God, could she not think of him already?

Something hot prickled the edges of her eyes and she flew to the mirror, grabbing a tissue as she did so and dabbing at the corner frantically. “Shit,” she whispered hoarsely.

A hand on her shoulder was almost too much and she drew in a quick, jagged breath before turning to her sister.

“I’m getting married to Gerald today, Billie, and I need you to be there for me. Can you do that?”

Bobbi sounded so cold even to her own ears. So damn cold and lifeless.

For a moment Billie said nothing and then she nodded. A quick, jerky kind of thing and grabbed her bouquet.

“I love you, sis, and I want you to be happy. But you’re right. There are all sorts of love, I guess, and if marrying Gerry Dooley—”

“Gerald.”