Can't Buy Me Love: Romantic Comedy (Sinclair Sisters Trilogy Book 3)

by Janet Elizabeth Henderson

  Bloody Logan. Even his house was seducing her.

  “How did I become a member of a knitting club when I can’t knit and I never applied for membership?” Agnes glanced at the two women at the table, but they couldn’t hear her over the hum of the sewing machines.

  “Apparently, knitting chose you.” Logan’s grin was wide.

  “How does that work, exactly? Do they don robes and sneak down to their basement to light candles and chant to a big ball of wool?”

  “With this lot, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

  “Is there some sort of initiation for new members?” Not that she considered herself a new member. She just wanted to be prepared for whatever was coming her way.

  “Aye, you strip naked, wrap yourself in wool and run down the high street shouting, ‘You can take our lives, but you will never take our knitting.’”

  As usual, Logan was having far too much fun at her expense. “How do you get out of the group?”

  “You don’t. Once you’re in, you’re in for life. It’s like the Mafia.”

  “You really are no help at all.” She smacked his chest. He caught her hand and held it against him, making her want to sink deep inside the man and never leave.

  “I’m glad you came to me for help with this,” he said, his voice a low, rumbling sound she could feel right through her body.

  “It wasn’t like I had much choice.” The only people she knew in Invertary were ones she worked with—and Logan. Who she also technically worked with…

  “You had a choice,” he said softly. “You could have confronted Dougal and told him he’d never asked for jumpers. Or you could have called your sister in Glasgow and had her drive up with some. The shops there are open all the time, and she would have done it in a second.”

  Agnes didn’t have an answer for him. He was right, and she didn’t want to look too closely at why she’d chosen Logan.

  “Oh, for goodness’ sake,” Heather said, making Agnes realize the sewing machines had fallen silent. For how long, she didn’t know. “Will you two stop making googly eyes at one another long enough to get me a cup of tea? I’m parched over here.”

  Agnes snatched her hand from Logan’s clasp. “There’s nothing going on here.”

  “Aye,” Jean said with a mischievous smile. “And I’m sure there was nothing going on at the hotel the other night either when they caught Logan streaking in the halls.”

  Logan folded his arms. “I wasn’t streaking. I was…”

  Yeah, there was no logical explanation for being caught naked in a hallway. At that moment, Agnes felt a little sorry she’d shoved him out the door—but only a little.

  “Flashing your backside to the world,” Heather said. “We know. It was all over Facebook before they banned it for being too…what’s the word?”

  “Sexy?” Jean said.

  “Salacious,” Heather said with a nod.

  Agnes covered her mouth with her hands as she looked up at Logan.

  “You seriously owe me,” he told her. “If the guys at work see it, they’re never going to let me live it down.”

  “Oh, they’ll have seen them,” Heather said. “It was my Megan who sent the photos to me, and she’s in Bahrain, I think, being a bodyguard to some princess or other. I still don’t like the thought of Megan with a gun, but she’s happy. And she says to tell you that you’ve aged well.”

  “Aged well, my backside. I’m only thirty-eight.”

  “Yes.” Heather nodded. “It’s your backside that’s aged well.”

  As the women giggled, Logan cast Agnes an exasperated glance.

  “I’m sorry?” she said, but it didn’t sound convincing, even to her ears. “To be fair, it is a very nice backside. A really cute little bubble butt.” She held up her hands to show him what she meant.

  “Oh, I am totally getting you back for that crack,” he promised.

  “Crack!” Jean said, then howled with laughter.

  “It’s like dealing with teenagers.” Logan shook his head before pushing away from the counter. “I was going to help you with the tea, but you’re on your own now for that bubble butt crack.”

  “Men,” Jean said. “They’re so sensitive.”

  And then all the women burst out laughing.

  Chapter 18

  “Should we wake them?” a voice whispered, stirring Agnes from a deep sleep.

  “Naw, let them sleep,” a slightly deeper male voice whispered back. “We should definitely take some photos though—they might come in handy later.”

  “Good idea.”

  Agnes wasn’t sure where she was, or how she’d gotten there, but it felt great. She was warm, and secure, and…happy. Well, apart from the whispering voices that irritated the edge of her consciousness.

  “They look so cute together,” the female voice said. “Is it normal to sleep like that when you aren’t boyfriend and girlfriend?”

  “How would I know?” The male’s voice turned gruff.

  “I’m only asking. And I figured you’d know because you totally want Zoe to be your girlfriend. Oh, Zoe, my Zoe, I love you, Zoe.” She heard kissing noises.

  “Stop it.” The other voice grew louder. “Seriously, quit it, or you’ll regret it.”

  Agnes knew that voice. She struggled out of the depths of sleep, trying to remember. Oh, yeah, it was Drew, Logan’s son. She started to smile and froze. Her eyes shot open, and she was confronted by the sight of Drew putting his sister into a choke hold.

  “What the hell?” Her voice sounded like rough sandpaper on wood.

  A deep groan came from behind her. “Go back to sleep.” And an arm tightened around her waist.

  Logan. She’d been asleep with Logan. In the same room as his kids? This didn’t make sense. Where was the caffeine? She needed it—badly.

  “Oh, good, you’re awake,” Darcy said as Drew released her. “We have to go to school, but we wanted to say goodbye first.”

  Agnes barely heard her. She was too busy looking around the room. She was in Logan’s living room, on the sofa—spooning with Logan. With a groan, she shoved his arm away and tried to climb off the sofa. But the damn thing wouldn’t let her go. Her legs kicked uselessly in the air as she fought for the momentum to get up.

  “What are you doing?” Logan grumbled.

  “I don’t know,” Drew said. “But it’s entertaining.”

  “She’s stuck. I saw a tortoise do that once when it was upside down on its shell. Its wee legs were too tiny to get to back up the right way,” Darcy said helpfully as she took pity on Agnes and offered a hand to get her up.

  Agnes grasped it like a lifeline. Standing beside the kids, she checked what she was wearing—still the suit she’d arrived in last night. Thank goodness!

  “This is not what it looks like,” she said to them as she finger-combed her hair.

  “It looked like you and Dad were cuddling,” Darcy said, her innocent, wide-eyed look not fooling anyone.

  “What’s going on?” Logan propped himself up on an elbow. Thankfully, he was wearing a T-shirt under the blanket that had covered them.

  “We’re going to school,” Drew said.

  “And you’re cuddling on the sofa with Agnes,” Darcy added with a delighted smile. “Why are you on the sofa?”

  Now that was an excellent question. Agnes watched as Logan ran a hand through his hair. “Because Heather and Jean crashed in my bed, saying it was too late to go home. Margaret went next door with Gran. And the only place left to sleep was here.”

  “With Agnes,” Darcy pointed out cheerfully.

  “It’s all perfectly innocent.” Agnes tried for her ‘don’t mess with me’ tone but couldn’t quite pull it off. “Obviously, we had to share.”

  “Or,” Drew said with a grin, “he could have slept on the pullout bed in my room.”

  “There’s a pullout?” Agnes screeched at Logan, who shrugged and smiled.

  “Does this mean you’re his girlfriend now?” Darcy asked.<
br />
  “No. No, it just means we slept together.” Oh, that sounded bad. And judging by the grins on Logan’s and Drew’s faces, it would come back to haunt her. “Okay, you two need to get to school.” She shooed them out of the room. “Do you have everything you need? Lunchboxes? Water bottles? Homework?”

  “We’re all sorted,” Drew said as he headed for the door.

  “You know,” Darcy told her. “Those are stepmum questions. Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider your position on this matter?”

  Agnes gaped at her as the men in the family laughed. “Get out and get to school.”

  “Okay, but I want you to know that this whole thing is giving me very mixed messages about relationships,” Darcy said as she followed her brother. “And I’m at such an impressionable age.”

  With that, they disappeared through the door.

  Agnes let out a groan, picked up a cushion, and pummeled Logan with it. “There. Was. A. Rollout?” she said between blows.

  He snatched the cushion from her and stuffed it under his head. “This was a better option.”

  “For who? Now your kids have the wrong idea.”

  “No, Agnes, love, they have the right idea.”

  “But I’m leaving Invertary!” Didn’t he understand that this was all going to blow up in their faces? “They’ll get hurt.”

  “And I’ll help them cope with it.”

  “You are being incredibly stubborn and very annoying. Why won’t you believe me when I say this thing between us has a definite ‘best before date’?”

  “Oh, I do believe you. And I won’t do anything to stop you when you go. That’s your choice, and you have the right to make it. But, you can’t stop me from showing you just how good this could be while you’re still here.”

  “You are driving me mad!” She lobbed another cushion at him before stomping from the room, only to find his mother in the kitchen frying bacon. “Don’t you live next door? Shouldn’t you be there making breakfast?”

  “I would be, but you’re here and I’m nosy.” Shona smiled at her before reaching for the coffee pot, filling a mug and handing it to her. “Milk and sugar are on the table.”

  Agnes took the mug and plopped down in a chair. “Your son is driving me nuts.”

  “He gets that from his father,” Shona said as she dished up food.

  She put two plates on the table and took a seat facing Agnes. “Dig in and, while you’re at it, maybe you can explain why my son’s bum is all over the internet.”

  Agnes groaned. Shona was wrong—Logan definitely got his tendency to annoy her from his mother. “It was an accident,” she said weakly.

  Shona arched an eyebrow. “You accidentally slept with him and then kicked him out of your room so strangers could ogle him?”

  “This whole family is evil,” Agnes muttered as she cut up her bacon.

  “No, dear.” Shona reached over to pat her hand. “We just don’t let crap slide. Don’t worry—you fit right in.”

  A strangled little scream escaped Agnes. “Like I keep telling your son, I’m not staying in Invertary. As soon as the year with Dougal is up, I’m heading to warmer climes.” If she lasted a year.

  “Is that it? That’s your reason for giving up on Logan? You want more sun?”

  “I’m not giving up on him. There’s nothing to give up on.” Okay, so that was a lie and, judging by the look on Shona’s face, she knew it. Damn McBride family, they were all annoying as hell. “I don’t just want to leave Invertary for the sun. I want a career. I want stability. And I want more sun.”

  “You know, it’s easier to achieve stability when you’re part of a pair. I’ve been married forty-two years and I’m very stable.”

  “Yeah, I can tell.”

  Shona narrowed her eyes. “I gave you that bacon, and I can take it away again.”

  “Mine.” Agnes pulled the plate closer. “Look, you don’t know me, so I have no idea why you’re so damn keen on getting me together with your son. But stability has nothing to do with being in a relationship. I just don’t want to rely on anyone else. I did that when I was a kid, and I’m never doing it again. People let you down, they hurt you, and they leave you to care for yourself.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Agnes wished she could take them back.

  Shona’s face softened. “Logan said your parents weren’t there for you when you were a bairn.”

  “Logan’s been snooping,” Agnes said stiffly.

  “He’s an investigator. It’s what he does. Always was far too curious for his own good, poking his nose in where it didn’t belong.” She squeezed Agnes’ hand again. “And as for why I think you and Logan should try being together, well, it’s because I’ve not seen him this interested in a woman since his divorce.”

  “Shona—” she started to protest that the woman’s reasoning wasn’t up to much, but Shona cut her off.

  “You know, I had a bad childhood too.” She reached for her tea. “I won’t go into the details, but there was abuse. Took me a long time to trust anyone after that, but it’s possible. Don’t let your parents stop you from living a full life. Everybody needs someone to lean on, a partner to get through life with. Whether that’s a friend or a lover, doesn’t matter. We all need someone. Don’t let them take that away from you.”

  “I don’t want to talk about my parents. They have nothing to do with my life, and that’s how I like it.”

  “I understand. But I’d hate to think you’d never trust anyone. You’re a good girl. You’re strong and capable, and more than a match for any man. Even if you were in a relationship, you’d never let someone neglect you or hurt you. You wouldn’t put up with that from anyone. You aren’t a helpless child anymore. You can do this. I believe in you. And even if the person you settle with isn’t Logan, I still hope you eventually trust someone enough to let them in.”

  Agnes found herself turning her hand to hold on to Shona’s. “Why? You hardly know me.”

  Shona’s eyes twinkled, just like her son’s did. “The big ball of wool in Margaret’s basement told me.”

  Laughter eased the pressure in her chest some.

  “What’s funny?” Logan said as he came into the room, scratching his head.

  Agnes slid her hand out from under Shona’s and picked up her cutlery.

  “Nothing,” Shona said, angling her cheek for a kiss, which Logan promptly gave.

  A pang of longing shot through Agnes at the sight. She wanted her morning kiss too. And she didn’t want a nice staid peck on the cheek like he’d given his mother. Warm, dancing eyes met hers, and she couldn’t help the heat that filled her cheeks. Damn man knew what she was thinking.

  “You want to have a shower before we head to the hotel?” Logan said as he poured himself a coffee.

  He was dressed in a long-sleeved T-shirt and jeans. Both looked rumpled because he’d slept in them. Beside her. A shiver ran up her spine, and she focused on her food again.

  “I’ll grab one there,” she said. “I didn’t bring a change of clothes with me.”

  “I can lend you some if you like,” Shona offered.

  Agnes smiled at the bright orange jumper Shona wore over lime-colored leggings. “I’d better wear one of my suits, just in case Dougal wants to nitpick.”

  “Okay,” Logan said. “I’ll jump in the shower, and then we’ll head out.”

  “I have a car, so I don’t need a lift,” Agnes pointed out.

  “You don’t have a car,” Logan said. “You have an accident on wheels. We’re taking mine. The roads are icy and the last thing I want is to hear you wrapped that heap around a lamppost.” He looked back at his mother as he sauntered from the room. “Tackle her and confiscate her keys if she tries to leave.” And then he was gone.

  When Agnes looked at Shona, the older woman smiled smugly. “What were you saying about people who leave you to care for yourself?”

  “You’re exactly like your son,” Agnes complained.

  “Thank y
ou.” Shona beamed.

  Chapter 19

  “Thanks for sorting out the sweatshirts for me,” Agnes said once she was in the car with Logan. He was right—his vehicle was so much better than the heap she’d hired.

  He shrugged. “That’s what friends are for, and anyway, we had fun helping.”

  A strange thought occurred to her and came out of her mouth before she could censor it. “I’ve never really had any friends.”

  He shot her a sidelong glance. “Never?”

  It was too late to take it back, so she shook her head at the same time as she wedged her hands between her knees to keep from touching him. “I had my sisters. We did everything together.” More out of necessity than anything else. “There wasn’t time to make other friends.”

  “Once you’re settled in one place, you can make the time.”

  For some reason, the reminder she planned to leave sat heavily on her chest, making it hard to breathe. She searched for something to talk about, anything that would take her mind off the feeling crushing her chest.

  “It’s going to snow.” She pointed to the heavy gray clouds hanging low over the town.

  “If it does, you have to build a snowman with me,” Logan said. “And have a snowball fight. Is it a deal?”

  “I don’t like being cold.”

  As they turned into the hotel carpark, his dark gaze caught hers. “I could warm you up afterward,” the wicked man said.

  Oh, she was sure he could. Just being in the car with him made her feel pretty warm. His proximity was driving her nuts, making her want to touch and taste when she’d resolved to keep her distance. Of course, spending the night curled up in his arms hadn’t helped her plan any.

  “It’s playing in the snow, Agnes,” he said when she didn’t answer. “You’ll enjoy it, I promise. And if you don’t, I’ll make you some hot chocolate to apologize for dragging you out into the cold.”

  Damn, he was irresistible. “Okay,” she found herself agreeing.

  As soon as they parked, Agnes opened the door to jump out, but Logan put a hand on her arm to stop her. “We are friends. You just don’t realize it because you’ve never had any, but I can teach you how to have friends.” He reached out and stroked her hair. “No matter what happens with us, learning how to be friends with someone will stand you in good stead for the future. Let me give you that.”