Kevin was thirty-three years old. Old enough to tell his mother no, yet here he was parked in front of his parents’ house, about to play bartender at his sister’s freaking baby shower.
He turned with a glare when his sister rapped on his passenger window. She jerked open the door. “Suck it up, buttercup.”
“It’s a baby shower, Megan. It’s for a bunch of gossipy women.”
“That’s a sexist statement, Kevin Vandemeer. You think a man’s responsibility ends as soon as he’s deposited his sperm?”
He cringed, the statement hitting a little too close to home. “No.”
“Whoa,” she said, her teasing gone. “What happened?”
“Why do you think something happened?”
“Because you look exactly like Dad did when he ran over the family dog.”
“I didn’t—”
“Every minute you stay out here with me is a minute you don’t have to be with Mom.” She grinned. “Maybe that will help loosen your tongue.”
“Fine. It’s about a woman.”
“Your date last night? Yeah, I remember. I picked you up.” She paused. “Oh, my God. You’re not having second thoughts about her, are you?”
“No, it’s my next-door neighbor.”
Her eyes flew open and she looked more eager than he expected. “Oh? The cute one you mentioned last night.”
“That’s the one.”
She waved her hand. “So, wait. Did something happen last night?” When he gave her a questioning look, she added, “Was she the one who brought you dinner the first night?”
He grimaced, acknowledging her leap.
She gave him a mock punch in the arm. “Hey, we Vandemeers are more than just a pretty face.”
“I’m not sure I’d be including me in the smart gene pool anymore.”
“Oh, God. What happened?”
“I slept with her.”
Her smile fell. “But you just met her.” She shook her head, grimacing. “Sorry. You’re both consenting adults”—her gaze jerked up to his—“it was consenting, wasn’t it?”
“Oh, my God! You really think I would do that?”
“Not you, you idiot.” She smacked his arm again. “You were drunk as a skunk last night. Maybe you leaped before you looked and now you feel like you rushed things.” Then she hastily added, “Or maybe she took advantage of the situation and now you feel trapped.” But she looked like she didn’t believe the last one for a minute.
“Save your sympathy. I was the asshole.”
“What did you do?”
He groaned and leaned back in his seat. “For some reason she thought it would be a one-time thing. And she admitted she didn’t randomly sleep with guys. And I didn’t mean for it to happen, but she was just so damn sexy. …”
Megan grimaced. “Okay, maybe tell this story without so many details.”
“Oh, I love the details!” A familiar voice said. “And here I thought this baby shower would be boring as hell.”
Megan spun around and squealed. “Libby!” She pulled her friend into a tight hug, then set her loose. “Look at your cute little tummy. I’ve grown as huge as a whale in the last month since you’ve seen me.”
“Huge?” Libby asked, shaking her head. “Please. But enough baby talk. I want to hear Kevin’s juicy details.”
“Do you even know what we’re talking about?” Megan asked.
“If you don’t want to hear something from your brother, it has to be about sex.”
“He found himself a girlfriend,” Megan said.
“Haven’t you only been home for three days?”
He groaned. “She’s not my girlfriend.”
“Why?” Libby asked. “What’s wrong with her?”
“Nothing. At first. She seemed sweet and normal.”
“Normal is so overrated,” Libby said.
“Not for me,” he said. “I’ve had my share of crazy.”
“So she’s pretty, sweet, and normal,” Megan said. “I fail to see a problem.”
Kevin narrowed his eyes. “I’m pretty sure I never said she was pretty and I never said she was sweet. How do you know she’s those things?”
Megan looked momentarily flustered before she said, “Last night you said she was cute. And you slept with her. That’s a given.”
Something wasn’t adding up here. “You know about my past girlfriends, so sweet is definitely not a given.”
Libby waved her hand. “Forget about that and move to the good part: You slept with her?”
“Oh, my God.” Kevin groaned. “Yes, I slept with her.”
Libby put a hand on her hip. “I also fail to see the problem.”
“I spent the night at her house, but when I got up this morning, I found a bunch of wedding photos spread across her dining room table. Cutouts. Like she was planning a wedding.”
“Ouch.” Libby said. “Little early in the relationship to be planning your wedding.”
Megan closed her eyes, then opened them, staring at him for a moment as though carefully choosing her words. “What did she say when you asked her about it?”
“I didn’t ask.”
Megan narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean you didn’t ask?”
“I woke up before she did and I had to take the cat home to the litter box—”
Libby gasped. “You have a cat?”
But Megan glared at him. “You didn’t.”
Libby shook her head. “I can’t believe you have a cat.”
Megan shot her an exasperated look. “Libby, focus.” Then she turned her steely gaze back on her brother. “Please tell me you didn’t.”
Kevin cringed. “I panicked.”
Libby’s eyes flew open as she realized what Megan had figured out. “Oh, my God. You snuck out?”
“Her cousin saw me,” he said a little too defensively.
“That’s supposed to make it better?” Megan demanded, getting irrationally pissed. “You are such a fucking idiot.” Then she stomped off to the house.
He turned to Libby. “Why’s she so mad?”
“Well…I would say she’s offended for all womankind, but I agree she’s taking it a tad bit personally.”
“Matt thought I did the right thing.”
Libby snorted. “Matt Osborn?”
“Yeah…”
“Did you ever wonder why he’s still single?”
“How would you know…?”
She shook her head. “I know things. But your sister’s wrong. You’re not just a fucking idiot, you’re also an asshole.”
“I already said that I was.”
“It obviously can’t be said enough.”
“What should I do?”
She laughed. “You’re asking me for advice?”
“You three girls are the only ones I can ask. Megan’s pissed, and Blair’s libel to kick me in the nuts. That leaves you.”
“Aww…so happy to be your first choice.”
“Well?”
“You’re screwed.” She started toward the house.
“Libby!”
She stopped and turned around to face him. “Okay, fine. What do you want out of this? Absolution? Because that’s not happening.”
“No. I don’t know.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I’d like to find out if she was really planning a wedding with me, I guess.”
She put her hand on her hip again. “You realize how incredibly egotistical that sounds, right? You’re presuming a woman who knew you for three days was already planning your wedding? You’re just that awesome.”
“When you put it that way…”
“So presuming she’s halfway normal and it wasn’t your wedding, what outcome are you looking for?”
“Another chance with her.”
Libby burst into laughter. “That ship has sailed, Kevin.”
He tried to ignore the heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach. “But what explanation could she possibly have for those pictures?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she’s helping a friend plan her wedding.” Libby looked back at the house. “Hell, think about your mother’s job. Maybe she’s a wedding planner.”
“Oh, God. I’m an idiot.”
“I thought we’d all accepted that as a given.”
“I have to apologize.”
“That’s a good start.” She grabbed his forearm and dragged him into the house. “But right now you have to deal with your mother.”