Calling His Bluff by Amy Jo Cousins Read Free Book Online

green plastic
     lawn chairs and slammed on the brakes. She was out of the car in two seconds, and
     she had a chair in each hand moments later. She was about to pitch them onto the parkway
     when she came to her senses.
    Did she really want a rock through her windshield?
    Two minutes and a quick search of her med bag later, the chairs were stacked neatly
     just off the curb and a hot pink Post-it that broadcast her apology was anchored to
     the seat with a chunk of ice.
So sorry—Emergency! Leaving soon & will put the chairs back!
Her Jeep was parked neatly in the stolen space.
    She was still risking that her car would get attacked with a shovel, but if she had
     to drive around the block for one more minute, she was going to lose her mind. Or
     commit vehicular suicide.
    Finally, she’d made it. The one place where she knew everyone would be on her side.
     She’d managed to wrap up early enough that it was still before five, so there shouldn’t
     be anyone around except for her favorite people. She yanked open the door to her brother’s
     pub, the original Tyler’s, and prepared herself for some sympathy.
    “…I just felt sorry for Sarah because she was always mooning around about some guy
     she liked.”
    This was
not
happening to her.
    * * *
    “I was just yanking her chain.”
    It was a good thing he hadn’t actually sat down yet, J.D. thought, as he took another
     step back from the long wooden counter in front of him.
    Tyler had both hands flat against the bar. He looked about two seconds away from hopping
     it and coming after J.D. with fists swinging.
    “You kissed my sister?”
    He couldn’t blame the guy. When you ask your friend to check up on your sister, you
     don’t really mean it in a carnal way.
    “I asked you to
talk
to her, Damico. Tell me if you thought she seemed a little off. I didn’t tell you
     to put the moves on her.” Tyler wasn’t smiling at all. The man seemed pretty pissed,
     actually.
    “Hey, I was doped up on pain meds when you called. Plus, I haven’t seen Sarah since
     she was a kid. I wouldn’t know if she seemed a little off if I talked to her all day.”
    “Yeah, well, see with your eyes, not with your hands.” When Tyler yanked at the bar
     rag hanging from his belt and started polishing the counter in front of him like it
     was inspection time at the barracks, J.D. figured it was probably safe to sit down.
     Which was necessary, because after five days without crutches, his leg still ached
     like a son of a bitch. “Sarah doesn’t need her chain yanked by the likes of you. Dude,
     you don’t even know if you’re still married.”
    Maybe not so safe yet.
    “No way. I paid. I got the papers. Only one married here is you, bro. Thank god.”
    He glanced reflexively over his shoulder when he heard the gentle creak of a hinge
     and shivered as a small gust of cold air hit the nape of his neck. He hoped whoever
     it was would take the heat off him. The petite blonde who came barreling through the
     front door of the pub, two small children hanging off her hands, fit the bill.
    J.D. shook his head and smiled at the sight of the classic Gold Coast beauty, blond
     hair up in a twist and designer suit hanging flawlessly on her small frame. She definitely
     merited a second glance. Even though she was married to his best friend.
    Grace kicked off her high heels, which skidded to a stop at the base of the jukebox,
     and walked across the spotless hardwood floor of the bar in her stocking feet.
    J.D. had been out of the country when she conned her way into an under-the-table waitressing
     job at Tyler’s pub, using a fake name while she hid out from some cold and manipulative
     family members. It didn’t surprise him much that she’d fallen for Tyler. Women always
     did sooner or later. What did surprise him was that his buddy had fallen just as hard.
    “I’ll trade you your children for a glass of pinot grigio,” Grace suggested to her
     husband. She threw J.D. a