His Little Secret: Double the Trouble. Maureen Child

laughed in spite of the situation. Maria was not only Robert’s fiancée, but a really good friend. And right now, Penny needed one. “Maria, he paid off my bills. He stuck his nose in and used his money to ‘straighten out my life.’”

      “Good for him.”

      “What? Aren’t you on my side?”

      “Absolutely. But why shouldn’t he pay off your bills? Honestly, Penny, pride’s a great thing. But I’d rather have electricity than sit in the dark telling myself over and over again how proud I am.”

      “Some help you are.”

      “Hey, I’m a lawyer. We’re soulless, remember?”

      Penny laughed again. “I keep forgetting that part. And how did you know I’d be here?”

      “Colt told me.”

      “Told you? When did you see him?”

      Maria pulled the gold chain out of Reid’s mouth and said, “At the hospital. I was supposed to meet Robert for lunch today but when I got there, he and Colt were just heading to the cafeteria.”

      “What? Why?” Colt went to see her brother? Without bothering to mention it to her? What was going on? What was he up to now? There was just no telling. Nothing was sacred to Colt. He’d invaded every aspect of her life and there was no sign of his stopping.

      Maria shrugged, and kissed the top of Reid’s head. “I don’t know. Rob just said he’d see me at home later. But they looked...serious.”

      “Great.” Now she could worry about what her brother and her— Wait. Just what was Colt to her? Her ex? Sure, but there was more. Her baby daddy? Yep, that, too. Her lover? Everything inside her curled up into a ball and whimpered at the thought. One night with Colt had her dreaming of more nights with Colt and that was just piling mistakes on mistakes and she knew it.

      Didn’t stop the wanting, though. Didn’t stop the wishing or the misery that accompanied the knowledge that wishes very rarely came true.