Free Murphy's Law by Lisa Marie Rice Page B

the can of beer and set it on a counter with a bang. She crossed her arms and waited. When she started tapping her foot, Nick threw up his hands.
    “Okay, okay. I blew it. Okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?”
    “What I want to hear is what happened,” Lou said grimly. “Now.”
    It wasn’t easy, confessing to being a jerk. Especially to his sister. Nick knew it was going to hurt, so he hobbled back into the living room and sat down. Might as well be comfortable. He drew in a deep breath, then blew it out.
    His head hurt. His knee hurt. Remembering hurt. It all hurt.
    “Well, what happened was this. I was—I was blown away when the doctor said I’d never play again. I just couldn’t wrap my mind round the thought. The bottom just dropped out of my life. So I decided to go out and get drunk. Stinking drunk. And I did. I got totally wasted.”
    Lou rolled her eyes. “Typical male reaction.”
    “Yeah, well, I’m still paying for it, so don’t crow. Anyway, by the time I got done, I could barely walk. I stopped by your house for a little sympathy, but you weren’t there.” Nick’s eyes slid to Lou. Maybe he could shift some of the blame here.
    Lou’s gaze was level. “I’m a busy woman. Some of us have serious jobs. Go on.”
    So that wasn’t going to work.
    “Well, I was buzzing your door when Faith walked into the building. I wanted company, so I asked her out for a drink and then—then things just went on from there.”
    “Things?”
    “Yeah.” Nick shifted uneasily. “You know. Things.”
    “You weren’t…” Lou hesitated. “You weren’t violent, were you?”
    “Of course not,” Nick snapped, annoyed. There were gaping holes in his memory but what memories there were, were almost unbearably sweet—and satisfying. Oh God. Pale slender legs hugging his hips, tight and warm and welcoming between them. He couldn’t be violent with any woman, let alone someone as delicate as Faith. Then his head shot up. “Why?”
    “Well,” Lou said, troubled, “I saw Faith yesterday, like I said. I invited her up for a cup of coffee and said I was going to stop by your house later and did she want to come along? She turned pale and got very upset. Then she said she couldn’t tag along because she was leaving in a hurry. She was off to some conference, called in at the last minute. A mathematics conference in Italy. In Siena, of all places.”
    “Siena?” Nick’s voice was sharp. “So that’s why—” That’s why she isn’t answering. He’d called a thousand times, had buzzed her doorbell until his own head had buzzed. “What’s she doing in Siena?”
    “A conference. I just told you that, Nick.” Lou gave him a withering glare. It was unfortunate that Lou’s tongue was as sharp as her eyes . “Start paying some attention here. This is your life.”
    “So…“ Nick tried to keep his voice casual. “When is she coming back?” Maybe he could pick her up at the airport, pick up where they left off…
    “Do you know—” Lou frowned. “I didn’t ask. I was too busy telling her how pretty Siena was and how much she was going to enjoy it. I told her all our Rossi cousins lived in Siena. I gave Dante a quick call and told him to look her up.”
    “Dante!” Nick half rose out of his chair, then put a hand to his head. He’d hurt himself with his own voice. “Why would you want to call Dante ? Why not Mike?” Mike was on the other side of forty, overweight and happily married with two kids.
    “Because.” Lou glared at him. “Dante has more time to show her the sights. But you’re evading, Nick. I want to know exactly what happened between you and Faith. And I especially want to know why Faith looked so unhappy when I mentioned your name.”
    But Nick wasn’t listening. “If Dante puts any moves on her, I swear I’ll kill him.” Nick’s head swiveled at the sound of the phone and he groaned. “Get that, will you, Lou? I don’t want to talk to anyone.”
    “Okay.” Lou