Best Man's Conquest Read Online Free PDF Page A

cousin and not wanting to make things worse.
    Blake was a genuinely nice guy, and he loved Deidre. Unfortunately, he didn’t have much in the way of a backbone.
    Of the three brothers he was the youngest, and while he hadn’t taken a beating with the ugly stick, he wasn’t what you would call a looker, either. He was sort of…nondescript, and he let everyone, including his family— especially his family —walk all over him.
    Which is why Ivy feared Deidre would be bowing to her in-laws’ wishes for the rest of her natural life.
    â€œSo, Ivy, I hear you’re a practicing psychologist now,” Dillon said.
    Uh-oh. She distinctly felt an attack coming on.
    Wonderful.
    At the very least, taking potshots at her would deflect the attention from Deidre. It would be worth a little humiliation.
    â€œYes, I am,” Ivy said, unable to keep the defensive lilt from her voice. One corner of Dillon’s mouth quirked up in a very subtle grin, and Ivy raised her chin, bracing for the onslaught of insults. The “shrink” jokes she’d already heard a million times. The “little book” jabs.
    She fisted her hands in her lap, digging her nails in the heels of her palms, her foot tapping like mad under the table, steeling herself for the worst.
    Bring it on, pal.
    â€œI find it truly fascinating,” Dillon said, and Ivy thought, sure you do.
    Dee covered a yawn with fingers tipped in bright pink, clawlike nails, and Dum made a production of looking at her watch. Did they think they were the queens of stimulating conversation?
    Dale and Calvin, on the other hand, looked thoroughly amused by the entire situation. Those two were even worse than Dillon. They needed to grow up and get a life.
    â€œHer book has been on the New York Times bestseller list for months,” Deidre said, a note of pride in her voice. “She’s famous.”
    Unimpressed, the Tweedles rolled their eyes.
    â€œI’m particularly interested in the study of self-esteem,” Dillon said.
    Self-esteem?
    Was that some sort of veiled insult? Was he honestly suggesting that Ivy had low self-esteem?
    She felt her blood pressure shoot up to a dangerously high level, and her foot was cramping up from the workout it was getting.
    She was incredibly comfortable with herself, thank you very much .
    â€œI once read that people with a negative or low self-esteem will insult and belittle other people to boost their own egos.” His expression was serious, but there was a spark of pure mischief in Dillon’s eyes. His gaze strayed briefly to the Tweedles, then back to Ivy. “Is that true?”
    It took a full ten seconds for the impact of his words to settle in, and when it did, Ivy was so surprised she nearly laughed out loud.
    He wasn’t attacking her. His observations were aimed directly at the twins.
    â€œThat is true,” she told him, in her therapist’s, I’m-not-speaking-of-anyone-in-particular-just-stating-the-scientific-evidence tone.
    Dale and Calvin weren’t looking so cocky now, and a grateful smile had begun to creep over Deidre’s face.
    The Tweedles were a bit slower to catch on.
    Ivy watched with guilty pleasure as the two of them digested his words with brains no doubt impaired by bleach overexposure. She relished the look of stunned indignation on their faces when the meaning hit home.
    She had never been an advocate of “an eye for an eye” and preferred not to lower herself to the Tweedles’ level, but it felt damned good to knock those two down a peg.
    â€œIn fact,” she continued, “self-esteem is one of the most widely studied areas of psychology.”
    â€œWhy is that?” Dillon asked, feeding the flames, while the Tweedles grew increasingly uncomfortable.
    Her conscience told her that what she was about to do was childish and just plain mean, but she couldn’t deny the satisfaction she felt watching the Tweedles