Beverly Barton 3 Book Bundle. BEVERLY BARTON

with contacts, he still wore glasses. “You’re not interested in me and I’m not interested in you. But we can be friends, right?”

      He heaved a sigh of relief and Bernie almost laughed in his face. Did Raymond actually think she wanted him?

      “Hey, I know you’ve got a thing for Robyn,” Bernie said.

      Raymond’s face turned beet red.

      “Oh, look, I didn’t mean to embarrass or upset you.”

      “I’m not upset.” His muscles tensed. “I’d just rather Robyn didn’t know how I feel, that I’m nuts about her and always have been.”

      Oh, get real. Robyn knew. Heck, everybody in Adams Landing knew.

      “Mums the word,” Bernie assured him.

      “Is she serious about Paul Landon?”

      Robyn serious about a guy? He had to be kidding, right? “No, I’m pretty sure she’s not serious about him.”

      “Would you laugh if I told you that I’ve been in love with your sister for as long as I can remember?” Raymond looked directly at Bernie, sincerity and hopelessness in his expression.

      “No, I’d never laugh at you or anyone else about something as serious as being in love.”

      Shrugging, Raymond forced a rather pitiful smile and paused, doing little more than shuffling his feet. “I married someone else and moved away from Adams Landing because I knew I didn’t have a chance with Robyn. But she’s older now and sooner or later she’ll settle down. Why not with me?”

      Bernie widened her eyes. “Ah …”

      “You think I’m crazy?”

      “No, that’s not it.”

      “Robyn needs a man who’ll put her up on a pedestal and worship her. She needs a man who’d be totally devoted to her.” Raymond jerked his hand out of Bernie’s and laid his open palm over his heart. “I’m that man.”

      “Oh, Raymond … I … I …”

      He released her and stepped back, his sad brown eyes glistening with tears. “God, I don’t know why I told you all this. I feel like such a fool. But you said we could be friends and I thought … if you could put in a good word for me with Robyn …”

      Bernie reached out and grasped Raymond’s arm. “Let me give you some advice about my sister.”

      He looked at her, hope in his eyes.

      “Play hard to get.”

      “What?”

      “Robyn loves a challenge. Pretend you’re not interested in her.”

      “I—I don’t know if I can do that.”

      Bernie patted him on the arm. “I’ll tell Robyn that I think you’re a great guy and a real catch for some lucky girl, but not for me.”

      Raymond nodded. “Thanks, Bernie. I’m sorry I went all emotional on you.”

      “Why don’t you go ask Holly Burcham or Renee Michaels to dance? Show Robyn that you aren’t pining away for her. Consider it a first step in proving to her that you’re not the least bit interested in her.”

      “I guess I can do that. You’re her sister. You should know what would work with her.”

      Bernie stood there alone on the dance floor for several minutes and watched Raymond Long make a beeline to Renee Michaels, who had been dancing with her date for the evening, Ron Hensley. Holding her breath, Bernie prayed that Renee wouldn’t reject Raymond. The poor guy needed something to boost his sagging ego. When Renee slipped her arm through Raymond’s and led him onto the dance floor, Bernie sighed with relief and turned to go to the buffet table. She hadn’t eaten a bite since breakfast and she was hungry.

      When she turned around, she ran right into Jim, who grabbed her shoulders and shoved her backward to keep them from colliding.

      “I thought you said you weren’t interested in Raymond Long,” Jim said teasingly.

      “Ha-ha. Very funny.”

      “I was headed this way to rescue you, but you two looked awfully chummy.”

      “I was giving him pointers on how to deal with my sister. The poor guy is so crazy about her that he’s downright pitiful.”

      “What did you advise him to do?”

      She looked Jim right in the eyes. “I told him to do what you’re doing—play hard to get.”

      Frowning, Jim released his hold on Bernie’s shoulders. “Do you think I’m playing games with Robyn?”

      “Aren’t you? You have to know that the more you resist her, the more she’ll want you.”

      “Hmm … I take it that she hasn’t been turned down very often.”

      “Make that never.”

      “There’s a first time for everything.” Jim grasped Bernie’s hand. “Let’s dance.”

      With her head spinning and butterflies doing a mating dance in her belly, Bernie stared wide eyed at Jim. “What?”

      “You promised to save me a dance,” he told her. “So do you or don’t you want to dance with me?”

      Yes, I want to dance with you. I want you to take me in your arms, hold me close, whisper sweet nothings in my ear. And when you leave here tonight, I want it to be with me, not my baby sister.

      “Well, actually, I was thinking about heading to the buffet tables. My stomach’s on the verge of making some very unseemly noises.”

      Jim chuckled. “One dance, then we’ll hit the buffet tables together.”

      She nodded and didn’t hesitate when Jim slid his arm around her and pulled her into his arms. For an entire minute, she couldn’t breathe. He was so close she could smell him. Just a whiff of a light citrus aftershave, a mint mouthwash, and an underlying masculine scent that was as individual to Jim Norton as his fingerprints. She was sure that she could pick him out from a dozen other men simply by his smell.

      “Don’t be surprised if Kevin asks you for a dance later,” Jim said.

      “What?”

      “My son has a crush on you. He asked me if I thought it would be all right if he asked you for a dance.”

      “I’m flattered.”

      “Kevin’s a smart kid. He knows when someone genuinely likes him.”

       Is his dad as smart as he is?

      “Does he know how much you love him?” Bernie gasped. “Oh, God, Jim, I’m sorry. That just popped out. Your relationship with your son is none of my business.”

      “It’s okay. You and I are friends, aren’t we? At least I feel like we are. You’ve spent a lot of time with Kevin and me the past week or so and I know you weren’t asking just to be nosy.”

      “I’d like to think that you and I are friends and that Kevin and I are, too. But friendship doesn’t give me the right to—”

      Jim tightened his hold around Bernie, drawing her so close that her breasts pressed against his chest. “I want to be a good father more than anything, but I’ve made such a mess of my life. I’ve got a real chance with Kevin now and I don’t want to blow it. I think he knows how much he means to me, but I’m not sure. My relationship with my ex-wife has been volatile, to say the least, and she’s used Kevin to get back at me. For over six years, she’s undermined my relationship with Kevin.”

      “I don’t understand why she would do that. Doesn’t she know that by driving a wedge between you and