LITMIR.BIZ

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      “I wonder why,” Nina said dryly.

      “Hey, we’re trying to help you here, if you hadn’t noticed.”

      “What’s Latin for ‘I’m not exactly buying that’?”

      He ran a finger slowly up the back of her neck and Nina shivered. “So tell me again about how much you liked kissing me.”

      “I grade your ego an A-plus,” Nina murmured. “But clearly it was you who liked kissing me since you can’t stop talking about it.”

      Outside, Crockett plucked a rose and handed it to Marvella, which she took with a laugh. To the casual bystander, it would appear to be any other Sunday afternoon, passed pleasantly by people who enjoyed each other’s company.

      Only the flash of Valentine’s face as she glanced up at Nina’s window gave away the mirage.

      “Something’s not right,” Nina murmured.

      “I know. We’re going to help you fix it. You’re new to town. We have to spot you some lag time on learning how to outwit Marvella.”

      “But that’s my sister!”

      “It’s okay,” Navarro said. “Trust me.” Then he made her shiver again as he put an arm around her. “So back to the kiss we shared—”

      “A mistake of epic proportions.”

      “Really?” He turned to face her.

      “Yes.”

      “So you’ll not be kissing anything of mine I ask—”

      “No.”

      He raised his brows. “Well, that is new.”

      “You’re not fooling me, Navarro Jefferson. Any woman with an ounce of sanity would listen to the bull you’re peddling and say, ‘No, thank you.”’

      “I like your sense of self-respect.” He turned her head gently so she was looking down into the courtyard again. “Now watch Crockett close the deal.”

      Nina watched, amazed, as Crockett led Valentine away from Marvella, apparently with Marvella’s approval. He handed Valentine a hanky out of his pocket, which she gratefully took.

      Two minutes later Crockett and Valentine walked into the bedroom.

      “Are you all right?” Nina asked, rushing over to her baby sister.

      “I’m fine.” Valentine sank into the only chair in the room, while everyone else gathered around her. “And don’t ask me to talk about it, because I can’t.”

      “Why not?” Nina demanded.

      “I just can’t.” Valentine turned sad eyes on Crockett. “Thanks for coming to my rescue.”

      “I like gratitude in a woman,” Crockett said. “Maybe we should try for a foursome.”

      To Nina’s surprise, Valentine giggled. “Pass. One Jefferson was all I needed.”

      “See?” Crockett said to Nina.

      “Okay. Hold on a minute here,” Nina said. “Everybody hear the new rule. No more joking about sexual matters. It’s in very poor taste, considering the…situation.”

      Valentine and the two men stared at her.

      “Whew, that’s the librarian in her coming out,” Navarro said. “No sense of humor. Where’s your bun?”

      Nina swept a hand over her chin-length hair. “Buns are passé for librarians. Why are you all taking this so lightly?”

      “So we don’t cry?” Valentine said. “Personally, I prefer their way of talking about it to yours, Nina. No offense or anything. But ever since you got here, you’ve been acting like I should be trundled off to a nunnery, and you’re starting to make me nervous.”

      “Nervous?” Nina glanced at Navarro.

      “There’s a good chance you’re repressed,” he told her.

      “I’m just a woman trying to take care of her family,” Nina said sternly. “I take care of my family differently than you take care of yours. Certain matters deserve respect, and pregnancy is one of them.”

      “Yes, but I swear I’ve developed a twitch since you arrived,” Valentine said. “Nina, I’m never going to be able to live up to your standards.”

      “Ah,” Navarro said. “Now we’re getting to the deep issues.”

      “What are you talking about?” Nina said. “We’re sisters. We have no deep issues to overcome.”

      “Yes, we do,” Valentine said. “Even though I love you. Can I have a glass of water? I’m not feeling too well.”

      “I’ll get it.” Crockett sprang to do her bidding.

      Navarro pulled Nina into the circle of his arms. “Don’t worry,” he said. “Everything is going to be fine.”

      “Nothing is going to be fine!” she insisted, but she didn’t try to pull away. “My sister is unmarried and pregnant, and our heirloom bed is broken. How is everything going to be fine?”

      “Because,” Navarro said, putting his lips against her temple. “I’ve decided you need me.”

      Valentine laughed.

      Nina bristled. “I have never needed anything less.”

      “That’s not what you were saying when we kissed.”

      “You kissed him?” Valentine asked. “You know what that means, don’t you?”

      “I know, I know. It means that, in the future, I’ll kiss anything he wants me to.”

      Valentine frowned. “No, Nina. It means that he’ll love you and leave you.”

      Nina’s skin turned cold. “He can’t love me and leave me. We will never have those feelings for each other. In fact, the only reason we’ll ever be on speaking terms is because of the baby.”

      But Nina felt another chill hit her—and she realized that she actually did like the big cowboy holding her close to his warm, strong body.

      Very unlibrarianlike to fall for a man she’d only just met, especially a man who was used to women kissing him “wherever he liked.” Probably running after him as though he were some kind of prince. In this part of the world, he was likely considered a great catch.

      Not by me, Nina thought. I always said I was going to wait for the right man to come along, and Navarro is not the man for my charmed bed!

      Chapter Three

      “I know what you’re thinking,” Navarro told Nina. “You’re thinking I’m not the right man. But I am. And I’ll show you. Let’s get back to finishing up this bed while the girls hen-talk,” he told his brother.

      Nina glanced at Valentine. “Hen-talk, indeed. Could you live with that much chauvinism in your life?”

      Valentine smiled. “Yes.”

      “How? I’ve worked hard to get an education and to earn respect at my job. No man’s going to refer to me as a hen,” Nina said to Valentine, but she was looking at Navarro.

      “Mad as a wet hen,” Crockett pointed out.

      “As a counterpoint, I would just like to say that I’ve worked hard to be a good cowboy and to earn respect at my job. Nobody is ever going to henpeck me,” Navarro said to Crockett, but he was looking at Nina.

      Valentine sighed. “Crockett says they’re going to take care of me. Is that all right, Nina? I like the sound of it. I think I’m gonna go for it. I’m ready to leave the shelter of your wings.”

      “Again?”

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