How to Handle a Heartbreaker Read Free Page A

that he wrecked Flynn’s relationship with Maddie? Because Maddie and Abby were tight, and Flynn had no intention of dropping his new squeeze. It was like geometry all over again. The transcendental proof, cause and effect—and now he had a massive headache.
    Nothing a good beer and a beat-down over Mike couldn’t cure. He just had to make sure he partnered with Colin, because lately Flynn was next to useless in a game. His head in the clouds, dreaming about Maddie. But the kid had potential.
    Brody finished washing himself and continued to think of a way around Abby’s wariness. Charm and flirting hadn’t worked. The dog obviously wasn’t getting him closer. So how to work an angle under her shields and into her pants, but far enough away from her heart so that when they ended, she and his brothers wouldn’t be gunning for him?
    ***
    Abby stared longingly at the wet windowpane, wishing she could rzewind the clock.
    “Missing your honey man?” Vanessa drawled. “Why don’t you just put the guy out of his misery and sleep with him?”
    “As much as I appreciate your honesty—”
    Vanessa snorted.
    “—I don’t need comments from the peanut gallery. I’m not missing anyone.”
    “Uh-huh. That’s why you keep looking at Mike’s house through the window.”
    Abby turned to glare at her roommate. Vanessa was Maddie’s cousin, yet the two couldn’t have been more different. Maddie had a vibrant joy, dramatic flair, and warm beauty. She glowed with her love for Flynn. Abby’s creative mind likened Vanessa more to an icy Valkyrie. A warrior in business, logical, and eminently better suited to dealing with stress, Vanessa never panicked or didn’t know what to do. She was like perfection on two long legs that ended in a gorgeous brain that never quit. Currently single due to her own desire for solitude, not because men didn’t want her.
    Abby should have hated her for that alone. So much confidence, and the woman deserved every bit of it. Yet she remained loyal to friends and family. And as much as Abby sometimes wished Vanessa would ease up, the woman regarded her as part of her family unit.
    After drawing in a deep breath, Abby let it out and explained to Vanessa, once again , what the neighbor really meant to her. “I write, Vanessa. You know this. You also know I use the guys next door as reference material.”
    “Blah blah blah. Yeah. You want to make your male characters real, so you eavesdrop on the guys talking smack over cards on Fridays. I know. But that doesn’t explain why you’re always looking at Brody’s ass. Mind you, it’s a fine ass. But your interest seems much more prurient than scholarly.”
    Vanessa’s blue eyes sparkled, her joy in the verbal battle clear.
    Catching the spirit, Abby shot back, “Well, at least I have plans for the weekend.”
    Vanessa raised a blond brow and crossed her arms over her chest. “So do I.”
    Abby looked her over. From Vanessa’s size eleven running shoes to the running shorts and T-shirt sporting a Go Vegan or Go Home slogan. “Some Friday. You’re going to drive to the gym to work out after putting in a full day.” Abby huffed. “At least I have a good excuse for no social prospects. My deadline is looming.”
    “True.” Vanessa shrugged. “But I use exercise to relieve stress. You say you want to listen to the guys for research, but in this weather, you can’t hear a blasted thing anyone is saying with their windows closed. So I ask again, why are you staring at Mike’s house? I’ll tell you why. Because you and that blond doofus can’t get enough of each other.”
    “He is that,” Abby agreed. A great big galoot who’d rescued a monstrous stray dog from euthanasia at the pound, who taught his nephew how to cheat at cards and cry on command, and who’d been protective of his best friend when Flynn and Maddie had been on the rocks a month ago. Then what else Vanessa said penetrated. “Wait. What?” Get enough of each