Naked Games (Hard to Get 3)

“I don’t know, but aren’t you the least bit suspicious? Hell, she comes out of nowhere and drops this bomb on Gracie and we’re all supposed to just embrace her?”

“We ran a check on her, Dean. She came back clean. She doesn’t even have an outstanding parking ticket.”

Dean ran a hand through his hair. “I know, I know. It’s just a feeling. Something about her puts me on edge.”

Jonas rubbed his jaw. “Yeah, I noticed. However, maybe this has nothing to do with her being some sort of con artist.”

Dean stiffened and stepped closer to Jonas. “What do you mean?”

“Hell, man, you’re attracted to her. You’ve been watching her like a hawk that just spotted a field mouse.”

Christ, he’d been that transparent? “Look, I won’t deny she can fill out a pair of jeans. So what’s your point?”

Jonas shook his head. “Whatever. All I’m saying is that you need to chill.” He pointed a finger in the direction of the kitchen. “Wade’s about half a step from kicking your ass. This reunion is important to Gracie. She’s been looking forward to it since she first spoke to Catherine.”

“You’re right.” Dean sighed. “Damn it.”

Jonas grinned, which made Dean want to punch him. “I usually am, buddy.”

Dean shoved at his shoulder. “You’re also a pain in the ass.”

Jonas laughed as he headed back into the kitchen. When Dean followed, he purposely kept his gaze away from the delectable Catherine Michaels. She was going to be visiting all week. Surely he could keep himself in check that long. How hard could it possibly be?

5

Catherine had been curious about Dean from the moment she’d met him the night before. At Gracie and Wade’s, he’d seemed to have a chip on his shoulder when it came to her and she wanted to know why. She’d even told Mary all about him when she’d called her to tell her how her first face-to-face with Gracie had gone. Now, as she stood on his front walk in the bright noonday sun, she had to wonder if her curiosity would get her into a world of trouble. Unfortunately, there was no going back now. She was already here. Besides, he wasn’t an ogre. Hadn’t Gracie said he was a sweet guy? Surely they could come to some sort of understanding.

Catherine wanted things to work with her sister and that meant that Gracie’s family needed to accept her. Even though Gracie hadn’t married Wade yet, his family had made it clear that Gracie was indeed one of them. Besides, the only other alternative was to ignore the man for the duration of her stay. She couldn’t very well do that without coming off as rude. A little voice inside her head said there were other, more intimate reasons for not wishing to ignore the sexy man, but Catherine squashed that little voice into oblivion.

As she strode forward and stepped onto the front porch, Catherine began to have second thoughts all the same. Maybe he would tell her to go fly a kite. Maybe he’d resent her for showing up unannounced. When Catherine had talked to Gracie about Dean’s obvious animosity toward her, Gracie had come up with the plan for Catherine to meet him one-on-one. On his own turf. It was Saturday, and Gracie had sworn he’d be home, but what if he was busy? Or worse, busy with a woman?

“Oh, God,” she mumbled. For all she knew he’d greet her with a shotgun. “Maybe I’ll just call. We can have a nice, safe chat over the phone.”

As she turned around to leave, she heard the door creak open behind her. Catherine froze in place. Her feet simply refused to move. Okay, she had two options. Run full steam ahead back to the safety of her rental car, or face the man. When she heard a low, deep voice whisper something from behind, Catherine screwed up her courage and turned around. Dean stood there, leaning against the door frame, an annoying frown marring his handsome expression. He had comfortably worn jeans and a loose, heather gray T-shirt. And he was barefoot. Dang, the man was delish.

“And just where do you think you’re going?”

Catherine had the sense that she was facing down her executioner. She held on to her purse tighter, as if for self-defense, and forced herself to look him

in the eye. “Hi. Um, I hope I’m not interrupting you.”

“Nope.” He stepped back and asked, “Do you want to come in?”

“Thank you.” Catherine stepped around him and entered the house. It was a pretty ranch style. The interior wasn’t as interesting as Wade’s, but it was spacious and comfortable. Lots of windows and a cathedral ceiling made the room appear larger than it actually was. The big, brown suede couch facing a large flat-screen television looked inviting. The kitchen was at the back of the house but it was open to the living area, and she could see something cooking on the stove. She looked up at him and asked, “Were you having lunch?”

“Yeah.”

That one word and nothing more. Catherine slumped, as it became crystal clear that Dean wasn’t going to be in an understanding and compromising mood. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come.”

When she turned to go, a strong hand wrapped around her upper arm, effectively halting her in her tracks. “I don’t mind sharing lunch with you. You like chicken and noodles?”

His tone was as unyielding as the hand holding her in place, but the fact he was willing to be at least a tiny bit civilized gave her hope. Catherine smiled. “I love it. But only if you have plenty, of course.”

Dean snorted and released her. “My mom made a ton of it. It’ll take me a week to eat it all.”

Catherine unzipped her black wool coat and laid it over the back of a brown, leather recliner sitting near the door. “Mama used to make enough food for an army.” Her heart squeezed at the memory. “Daddy was always getting on her about making him fat, even though he barely had an inch of fat on him.”

“You miss them,” he stated as he moved toward the kitchen.