You Had Me At Goodbye. Jane Blackwood

had to give the guy some credit—he could do the wounded dog look with the best.

      “You’ll be wasting your time. And mine. Goodbye.”

      After he left, Katherine immediately looked up the stairs and smiled. “I couldn’t have done it without you, Larry.”

      “Lawrence,” he corrected. “And I’m not certain eavesdropping qualifies me as hero of the year.”

      “I think you know that if I didn’t know you were sitting up there watching us, I would have folded. I wouldn’t have thought you had it in you to be so nice.”

      Lawrence walked down the stairs, one eyebrow raised. “Based on what?” He actually was a bit insulted. He was a nice guy, wasn’t he?

      Katherine walked toward the living room, and he followed, sitting across from her. “Remember I Googled you? You didn’t seem like a guy who goes around rescuing damsels in distress. Unless they’re blond. Nearly every picture of you has you standing next to a tall, skinny blonde.”

      “This is true. And beautiful—don’t forget that they are all beautiful.” She made a face, and he laughed. “What is wrong with a man liking to be around beautiful women?”

      She drew her legs up onto the couch, wrapping her arms around them. “If all men like beautiful women, what happens to the rest of us?”

      “Who do you mean?”

      “Like me. And other women like me. Ordinary woman without big boobs and long legs and blond hair.”

      “You’re quite pretty,” he said. “In fact, you have moments when you border on beautiful. Let me guess—you think a man should fall in love with a woman’s soul first, is that it?”

      “Yes,” she said, even though she was just as shallow as the next person. Still, she persisted. “Just look at all the beautiful women who fall in love with older men. Ugly men. Look at Donald Trump. He’s not good-looking, but look at the women he gets.”

      He started laughing; he couldn’t help it. “Oh, good God, you’re kidding, right? Do you think those women were with me because they thought I was a wonderful person? Let me tell you something—when the money dries up, an amazing thing happens: the beautiful women disappear. Present company excepted, of course.”

      “You are very cynical,” she pronounced.

      “I wouldn’t say Brian is ugly, would you?”

      Kat smiled, enjoying herself far more than during her emotionally draining conversation with Brian. “What does that have to do with anything? We were talking about you and how shallow you are.”

      “Is your ex-boyfriend ugly?” he repeated.

      “Well, no. He’s good-looking. A jerk, but good-looking.”

      “Ah-ha,” he said, pointing a finger at her.

      “Ah-ha, what?”

      “You were able to overlook the fact he is a jerk because he was good-looking. You are just as shallow as I am.”

      She looked at him as if he were crazy, even though she knew he was partially right. “I didn’t know he was a jerk until very recently.”

      Larry stood up. “I’m going to try to get some writing done. Maybe some of your woeful tale will inspire me.”

      “One can only hope. Good luck, Larry.”

      He was walking away and paused. “Lawrence,” he corrected, and she just grinned.

      When he’d gone, Kat let out a long breath and looked up at her aunt in all her glory and remembered she’d meant to call her days ago. She grabbed up the phone and dialed California where her aunt lived.

      “Lila, it’s Kat.”

      “Hi, sweetie. Did you make it to the cottage okay? Is everything all right?”

      It was weird having a conversation with her aunt sprawled in front of her in her altogether, so Kat turned away from the painting. “Everything’s fine. But it turns out I have a roommate. You know Lawrence Kendall?”

      “Oh, no.”

      “Oh, yes. Apparently Carl said he could have the cottage for the summer. Did he forget to tell you?”

      “He talked about it, but I didn’t know whether he’d finalized anything with him. I completely forgot, to be honest. He was so sick, and we knew we weren’t going to make it to the Vineyard this year. I’m so sorry.”

      Kat twirled the phone cord with her finger. “Everything’s worked out so far, I guess. Neither of us wants to give up the place, so we’re in negotiations.”

      “If I know you, you’re winning,” she said.

      “Do you know him? He seems like an okay guy, but…”

      “I never met him, but Carl thought the world of him. He did strike me as a very complicated man.”

      Kat furrowed her brow. Larry seemed like a nice guy, a bit shallow, but certainly not complicated. Then again, she didn’t really know him. “Complicated is not a word I’d use to describe him,” Kat said.

      Lila laughed her soft, lilting laugh. “Have you read any of his books?”

      “Have you?” Kat asked with disbelief.

      “His last three. He’s quite good, but not really what I prefer to read.”

      “Your complicated man suggested we have a summer fling. I think he was half-serious, but I’m not sure.”

      Lila laughed again, apparently not worried about her niece being propositioned. “What did you say?”

      “No, of course. I hardly know the guy. And I just broke up with Brian, remember? And speaking of that rat, he showed up here.”

      “No.”

      “Yes. But I sent him packing. At least I tried. I think he plans to hang around here until I change my mind. But I won’t, and I do have Larry to thank for that. Brian thinks Larry is more than my housemate, and I let him go on thinking that.”

      “Good for you. And Lawrence is gorgeous, so I’ll bet that didn’t go over very well with Brian.”

      “Lila,” Kat said, slightly shocked, “I thought you liked older men.”

      “I do, but I can appreciate a younger one, too. Don’t worry about Lawrence, Kat. He’s one of the good guys. At least, Carl thought so. Having said that, a man’s opinion of another man is not always something to consider.”

      “That’s true.”

      “I’ll bet he’s lonely,” Lila said, her voice going all soft and breathy. “Men like that are profoundly lonely.”

      Kat snorted. “Lila, you’re more of a romantic than I am, and I thought I was hopeless. I’ll let you go; I just wanted to make sure this guy was safe and to thank you again for the cottage, even if it didn’t turn out the way I’d planned.”

      “Actually, I’m glad you called because I was going to call you. Something very upsetting is happening. Carl’s children are contesting the will, even though he was very generous to them. They want the cottage,” Lila said, her voice breaking. “I wanted you to be aware that they might send someone, a lawyer or something, to take a look around. I can’t lose that cottage.” Kat gripped the phone, knowing her aunt was crying on the other end.

      “Is there anything I can do?”

      She sniffed. “Just let them in. I’ve hired a lawyer, too. We were so happy there.”

      “I know.” Kat closed her eyes, picturing Lila snuggled up next to Carl on the porch swing. Brian had thought it was creepy for a woman so young to show so much affection for an older man, but Kat thought it was beautiful. Carl loved Lila to distraction,