Can't Tie Me Down! (Sinclair Sisters 1)

“I don’t know who Gladys is to call her, which means you need to get that sexy behind out of bed. I’m making coffee. You’re getting up.” He stomped out of the room.

When the door shut behind him, Mairi rolled to her back and stared up at the ceiling. He thought her backside was sexy? She smiled, then remembered that she was angry with him and had been for the past six years. The man was messing with her head. Again.

“Why me?” she moaned.

There was no answer.

???

There was a knock at the interior door, the one leading down to the garage, as Keir made his way through the tiny apartment to the kitchen. He detoured to the door, hoping it wasn’t one of the fake boyfriends, because after a sleepless night in the same room as Mairi, he wasn’t in the mood to deal with more Star Wars trivia. He threw the door open and sagged with relief. It was his brother.

“There’s a Wookiee outside,” Sean said as he sauntered into the flat, eyeing Keir’s bare feet and chest. “And you’re nearly naked. Does that mean you’ve managed to wear the fair Mairi down?”

Keir snorted. “She’s driving me nuts.”

“She always drives you nuts. That’s why you’re still hanging around in this one-horse town. You wouldn’t know what to do with yourself without Mairi driving you nuts. You’re made for each other. You’re a pair of drama queens.”

Keir filled the coffee pot, leaned back against the counter and folded his arms. “Thanks, your opinion means so little to me.”

“Welcome. Is there coffee?”

“You sound like Mairi. I’m making it.” He reached for the kettle. “I gather you met the boyfriends?”

“Not so much met as observed them, like I was a scientist studying life on Mars.” Sean grinned widely as though the whole thing was entertaining. It wasn’t.

Keir glared at him. “This isn’t funny. It’s annoying.”

“It’s perfect. It’s your chance to show Mairi that you’re better than her other options. Those guys make you look good.”

“Are you saying I need all the help I can get?” Keir said, aware of how sadly true that statement was.

“Aye, but chin up, bro—even with your lack of skill, love finds a way.”

The bedroom door crashed open as Sean was talking, and Mairi dragged herself into the kitchen. She smacked Sean on the back of his head as she passed. “It’s ‘life finds a way,’ numbskull. Not love. Malcolm would never have said love. He was a scientist.” She came to a halt in front of Keir. “Where’s my coffee?”

He shook his head at her. She was dressed in jeans and a red tartan lumberjack shirt, and her hair was wild. She looked feral. His woman definitely did not do mornings. “It’s coming. Try not to go rabid and kill someone while you wait.”

She glared at him, obviously deciding that the coffee would brew faster if she tried to kill him with the power of her mind.

Keir let out a sigh and looked over her head to his brother. “Who the hell is Malcolm?”

“Jurassic Park,” Sean said. “You need to watch something other than football.”

“Why are you here, anyway?” Keir asked his younger brother.

“That’s what I’ve been asking you all night,” Mairi said. “Is there coffee yet? I’m waiting for coffee. The coffee you promised me. Or is this coffee just another one of your lies? Like ‘I’ll be right back’ before you wander off in the middle of the night and end up in jail.”

Sean turned a laugh into a cough that fooled no one. “At least you two are talking about that night. That’s progress.”

Keir ignored his soon-to-be-deceased brother, reached behind him, grabbed a mug, filled it with oil-slick coffee and handed it to the beast. She grasped it in both hands and breathed deeply, and her eyes drifted closed. She almost looked as though she were in love. Over coffee. It was yet more evidence of life’s many injustices.

“So why are you here?” Keir asked Sean.

“I came to help you set up your website, remember?”

“Uh, no.”