Three Little Words - Сьюзен Мэллери

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      Consuelo nodded slowly. “He’s the first guy I’ve liked in a long time. But he’s nothing like me.”

      “Isn’t that a good thing? Opposites attract and all that?”

      Consuelo sighed. “I should just go kill something. I’ll feel better.”

      “That’s certainly one solution,” Isabel said slowly, hoping her friend was kidding. “Or you could take a chance. Go out with him a couple of times. See where it leads.”

      “Maybe. Is the sex different?”

      “Excuse me?”

      “Between normal people? Without the threat of danger or death?”

      Isabel opened her mouth, then closed it. “I’m so the wrong person to ask. I’ve never had dangerous sex.”

      “Right. It’s mostly indoors and in a bed.”

      Except for those few experiences in Billy’s truck, yes. “You prefer it outdoors? You can ask the guy. I’m thinking he’ll be thrilled to be flexible.” This was ridiculous. Talk about the blind leading the blind. “Maybe you should ask someone else about it. Someone more adventurous.”

      “I don’t want anyone else to know. You won’t say anything, will you?”

      “No.” First, because she’d given her word, and second, because there wasn’t anything to say. She didn’t know who they were talking about or what Consuelo was nervous about.

      “Any guy would be lucky to have you in his life,” she offered. “The next time a guy you like asks you out, say yes. If you want to kiss him, kiss him. If he reacts badly, please don’t kill him.”

      Consuelo got an odd look on her face. “You’re saying I shouldn’t have sex with him and then slit his throat.”

      Isabel laughed. “Probably not.”

      But instead of chuckling in return, Consuelo shook her head. “I’m never going to get this right,” she muttered, before stalking away.

      Isabel stared after her, not sure what on earth had just happened.

      CHAPTER FIVE

      “I LIKE THE PLAN,” Jeff Michelson said, walking with Ford through the CDS building. “The combination of challenging physical activities and classroom time is perfect.”

      “I’m glad you think so. The Gold Rush Resort has plenty of rooms for the weeks you’re interested in, and we can extend the reservations into the weekend for anyone who wants to bring his or her family. We’ll have transportation from the resort to CDS and run a shuttle into town. Car rentals are available, too.”

      “Great.”

      This was Ford’s second presentation of the week, and they’d both gone well. He was going to get a contract from both. So far he was significantly above the projected sales target, but Ford figured with the company just starting, he was picking low-hanging fruit. There would be more challenges later as he had to hunt down clients.

      The plan was for the companies to be so pleased they came back every year or two, which would give them repeat business. But it would take a while to kick in.

      The two men went back to Ford’s office. He confirmed the tentative dates, printed out the contracts and handed them over.

      Jeff took the folder. “We’ll make our decision this week.”

      “I’ll hold those two weeks until Friday,” Ford told him.

      “You have other companies interested in them, don’t you?”

      Ford smiled. “We’re getting busy, but don’t worry about that. As soon as I hear from you, the time is yours. I’ll hold the hotel block of rooms, as well.”

      “I saw the casino on my drive into town. Could we stay there?”

      Ford leaned back in his chair. “You can, but I’ll tell you, the casino offers a big distraction. Your people will stay up later gambling, so they’ll be less focused the next day. If you want to offer them accommodations there, I would suggest they switch hotels Friday night and then stay the weekend.”

      “Good point,” Jeff said.

      They rose and shook hands. Ford walked the other man out. As they reached the parking lot, he saw two blonde women walking toward them and sighed heavily. Jeff noticed, as well.

      He whistled softly. “They part of the team?”

      “No. They’re my sisters.”

      “Sorry, man.”

      “No worries. They’re both married, by the way.”

      “Right.”

      Jeff nodded and got into this rental. Ford thought about ducking into the building but knew there was no point. He had no problem running from a fight when it came to his family, but Dakota and Montana would simply continue to hunt him down. Disappearing meant postponing the inevitable.

      So he waited as the two women approached.

      They were the same height, with the same attractive features. Brown eyes, blond hair. Montana wore hers longer. Their other triplet—Nevada—was missing, but Ford knew he would be hearing from her soon enough.

      “Hey, big brother,” Montana said as she reached him and leaned in for a kiss. “How are you?”

      He hugged her. “Wondering how much of a pain you’re going to be in my ass.”

      She stepped back and laughed. “Bigger than you know.”

      “Montana, don’t,” Dakota said, taking her turn for a hug. “You’ll scare him off.”

      “I don’t scare that easily.” He put his hands on Dakota’s shoulders, looked into her eyes and said, “No.”

      “I haven’t asked a question yet.”

      “You don’t have to. I know that’s why you’re here and that I won’t like it. So no.”

      “It’s about Mom,” Montana informed him.

      He dropped his arms to his sides and headed for the safety of CDS. If only there was some kind of security system so he could lock them out. There was food in the fridge—he could make do for a while. Hole up here until they forgot about him.

      His sisters followed him inside. Once he reached the hallway, he couldn’t decide where to go, which meant they had him trapped.

      “She’s really upset,” Montana told him.

      Dakota nodded, her gaze uncomfortably direct. “It wouldn’t kill you to humor her.”

      “It might,” he muttered.

      “All she wants is for you to be happy,” Montana said. “Is that so bad? She loves you. We all love you and we don’t want you to go away again.” Tears filled her eyes. “We missed you so much.”

      That low blow was followed by Dakota setting up for the kill shot. “Just one date. How bad could it be?”

      “Bad.”

      “Ford, she’s your mother,” Dakota said, as if he were in danger of forgetting.

      He could feel the doors of the prison closing. For maybe the thousandth time since coming home, he had the thought that life would be a hell of a lot easier if he didn’t like his family. If he could ignore them or yell at them.

      What they couldn’t understand and he didn’t know how to explain was his mother’s plan was never going to work. He wasn’t going to meet a nice girl and settle down because he wouldn’t do that to anyone he liked. Most people wanted to fall in love and then stay in love. He didn’t.

      When he got involved,

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