Falling for the Wingman (The Kelly Brothers, Book 3) Read Free Page B

“Maybe.”
    “Maybe?” he asked, arching a brow.
    “I’ll need a favor from you in exchange, as well as your complete cooperation with my plan.”
    He crossed his arms and leaned back. “What are your terms?”
    A mischievous smile curled her lips. “First off, if I’m going to be your wingman, you will never, ever, refer to me as ‘Goose.’”
    For the first time since he’d left home, a full-bodied laugh erupted from his chest. “Agreed. We’ll have to come up with a unique call sign for you.”
    “Second, how long can you stay in town? If my plan is going to work, we’ll need a few days.”
    This sounded promising. “I can stay until Sunday morning. Even though I’m on my post-deployment R&R, I have to report back to Eglin so I can meet the movers Monday morning.”
    “Plenty of time. Where are you staying?”
    Uh-oh—the first hiccup in his hastily thrown together plan just revealed itself. He’d been so certain he’d be able to coax Kourtney back that he hadn’t even thought about overnight accommodations. Hell, he hadn’t even packed a suitcase.
    And Alex knew it, judging by the “I thought so” expression on her face. “Let me make a phone call.”
    She pulled out her cell and punched in a number. “Hello, Miss Martha, how are you this evening?” After a few uh-huhs and a “You’re so sweet,” she continued. “Do you have any rooms available at your B&B? My date for the wedding just got into town, and he needs a place to stay.”
    Her date for the wedding? A moment of panic kicked his heart into high gear, but Alex just kept on going as though nothing was wrong with this scenario.
    “Well, I would invite him to stay with me—once you get a look at him, you’ll understand why—but I don’t want to set tongues wagging.”
    Oh, she’d definitely have one wagging tongue—his. Not to mention her sister’s.
    “You only have a room available until Wednesday morning, huh?” She slid her gaze back to him, her drawl becoming more syrupy by the second as she twirled her hair around her finger. “That should be fine. Perhaps by then, I won’t care about my reputation.”
    He could almost hear the other woman on the line giggling with Alex.
    “That’s so sweet of you. I’ll send him over in a bit. Thank you again.” She ended the call and set her phone on the table. “I’ve got you a room at the Honey Bee Bed and Breakfast for the next three nights. Miss Martha’s a great cook, so you’re in for a treat.”
    “Back up a minute, Alex. What’s this about me being your date for the wedding?”
    “That’s where my plan comes into action. Mama and Kourtney have been harping on me for weeks because I don’t have a date for the wedding, so if you pose as my date, that gets them off my back for a few seconds.”
    “Just one problem—I’m here to convince your sister to marry me, not sit beside you as she marries that asshole.”
    She reached for his half-drunk bottle of Purple Haze and helped herself to a drink from it. “Just hear me out. As my date for the wedding, you’re automatically invited to all the pre-wedding bullshit, meaning you’ll have more access to my sister.”
    His jaw fell lax. He hadn’t considered that.
    “Furthermore, I know my sister, remember? I know for a fact she always wants what she can’t have. If she sees the two of us together, she’ll want you even more, especially if she thinks you’ve moved on to me of all people.”
    “Are you sure of that?”
    “Do I look like I’m trying to pull a fast one on you?”
    No, Alex had never been one to beat around the bush. She was frank and direct, more one of the guys than some girl who got off on playing head games with men. And as crazy as her plan sounded, it might actually work. “What’s the rest of your plan?”
    She dragged her chair to his side of the table and beckoned for him to lean in closer as she dropped her voice. “Starting tonight, we’ll show up in places where I know the town