Return To Rose Cottage: The Laws of Attraction

Ashley frowned at him. “You are not. Otherwise—”

He interrupted, grinning at her. “Do you really want to go there?”

Ashley sighed and shut up.

“Smart and handsome,” Melanie said with approval.

“A dead man,” Ashley commented, scowling at him. “You were supposed to back me up. We’re not dating.”

“Oh, I must have missed that memo.” He dutifully turned to her sisters. “We’re not dating.”

“Then what are you doing?” Maggie inquired sweetly. “Besides kissing, that is?”

“Kissing?” Ashley asked. “Where would you get an idea like that?”

“The clues are everywhere,” Maggie said blithely. “Those telltale traces of lipstick on Josh’s face, for instance, and the fact that your lipstick is the exact same shade… What’s left of it, anyway.”

Ashley felt her cheeks flaming. She turned to Josh. “Have I mentioned that my sisters are a couple of obnoxious meddlers?”

“I think it’s sweet,” he said.

“Sweet?” she echoed incredulously. “What’s sweet about them barging in here and making you uncomfort able?”

“I’m not uncomfortable.”

She stared at him. He did seem perfectly at ease. She was the only one about to jump out of her skin. “Oh, forget it. I’m going fishing. The rest of you can do whatever the hell you want to do.”

“Sorry, ladies,” Josh said. “I think that’s my cue. Have a nice day.”

They were in the boat before Ashley finally risked a look into his eyes. They were sparkling with amusement.

“You thought that was funny, didn’t you?” she demanded irritably.

“I don’t know about funny, but it wasn’t quite the big deal you want to turn it into.”

“Just wait,” she muttered direly. “Just you wait.”

She was going to take a certain amount of perverse pleasure in watching Josh squirm when her sisters decided he was exactly the right catch and set out to reel him in for her.

Josh recalled Ashley’s warning when he was sitting in a booth at a café later that afternoon with a cappuccino and the Richmond paper and he spotted Maggie and Melanie about to descend on him. They looked as thrilled as if they’d just noticed an especially plump turkey for their Thanksgiving dinner.

“Hello again,” Maggie said, sliding into the booth opposite him.

Melanie slipped in beside him, so there would be no escape. “Where’s Ashley?”

“I dropped her back at Rose Cottage about an hour ago.”

“Catch any fish today?” Maggie asked.

“Not a one,” he admitted, recalling just how frustrating that had been to Ashley. She hadn’t quite gotten the knack of appreciating the process more than the outcome. She’d been very irritable when he’d left her at Rose Cottage.

Melanie laughed. “Uh-oh, that must have driven Ashley up a wall. She probably took it as a personal affront.”

“Pretty much,” he agreed. In fact, she’d made such a commotion, it was little wonder the fish had taken off. He hadn’t had the nerve to point out to her that fish tended to flee when humans made too much racket.

Maggie’s gaze narrowed. “Did that make you run for cover?”

“No, it made me run home to change into clean clothes so I could meet her here for coffee.”

“Oh,” Maggie said, obviously deflated.

“Do you honestly want to be here cross-examining me when she gets here?” he inquired.

The two women exchanged a look. “Probably a bad idea,” Melanie admitted.

“She’ll think we’re spying again,” Maggie agreed. “But we have our eyes on you, Madison. Don’t forget that.”

Josh laughed. “Not for a minute,” he promised.

Maggie gave him one last considering look. “You could be good for her.”

“Thank you.”

“Has she told you why she’s hiding out down here?”

“No.”

“Make her tell you,” she urged. “She needs to talk about it.”

“Maybe what she needs is to put it behind her,” Josh suggested. “Sometimes you can talk a thing to death.”

“Nice theory, but talking things to death is how Ashley handles a crisis,” Maggie informed him. “This time she’s clammed up. It’s not healthy.”

“I don’t suppose you want to share a little information with me, maybe tell me what it is I’m supposed to get her to talk about,” he suggested.

“Sorry,” Maggie said. “She’d kill us if we told.”

“Does it have something to do with work?”

They exchanged a look, then nodded.

“Then we have a problem. She and I have agreed to avoid the subject of work at all costs. In fact we have a bet going about who can do the best job of steering clear of the topic.”

“Great, that’s just great,” Maggie said in obvious disgust, oblivious to the suddenly frantic signals Melanie was trying to send her.

“Actually it is great,” Ashley chimed in, startling Maggie. “Work is not a topic I care to get into with anyone right now, including the two of you. Go away.” She frowned at Josh. “Didn’t I warn you about them?”

“Hey, I was sitting here minding my own business and they turned up. It’s not like I invited them to join us.”