The Wedding Dance Read Online Free PDF Page A

upset because my team is winning.”
    “Your team?” his brother demanded. “A little thing like moving to the other side of the country and suddenly you’ve switched teams?”
    “At least when they’re winning.”
    “Traitor.”
    They made it through to halftime like that, with RJ cursing every mistake the home team made and Patrick making a point of cheering for the Bears as loudly as possible. After all, if you couldn’t revel in the sporting misfortune of your sibling’s favorite team, what could you do? For a little while, it was like being kids again crowded into their parents’ old home with everyone in front of the TV watching whatever big game was on.
    At halftime, RJ asked, “Was Phoebe upset with me? I should have warned her that I might need her to step in to take a look at the landscaping for Rose and Donovan’s property.”
    Patrick caught his brother’s slight twitch at the eminent plastic surgeon’s name. “No, she wasn’t upset, although we both were surprised you’d decided you couldn’t help.”
    RJ shrugged. “I had a lot to do back at work.”
    Patrick was pretty sure his brother could have had his work done at the Rose Chalet in no time flat if he needed to. Not to mention the fact that the owner, Rose, seemed perfectly happy to let him off the hook for a few hours to take a look at her property.
    But rather than giving Patrick the chance to ask any further questions, RJ got up off the couch to grab a new bag of chips from the kitchen. “You hungry?” he said as a clear subject changer. “I could throw some burgers on the grill.”
    “No, I ate. I took Phoebe out to dinner.”
    His brother raised an eyebrow. “Just as a thank you for helping out, right?”
    Patrick frowned, even though it was precisely the reason he’d given Phoebe to get her to finally agree. “No. As a date.”
    “A date?”
    “Why are you so surprised?” Patrick asked a little more hotly than he needed to.
    “It’s not you. It’s just that Phoebe’s not exactly a relationship kind of girl.”
    “What is that supposed to mean?” Patrick demanded, immediately taking offense at his brother’s offhand judgment. “I thought Phoebe was your friend.”
    “Take it easy.”
    “So you can keep insulting her? I don’t think so.”
    RJ shook his head. “I’m not insulting her. All I’m saying is that Phoebe isn’t the settling down type. Just…don’t expect too much, okay?”
    “Are you actually telling me you’ve never been tempted to ask Phoebe out on a date yourself?”
    RJ actually looked shocked by his question. “What? No. No way.”
    “Oh, come on. I know that our taste in women isn’t all that different. You must have thought about it.”
    RJ shook his head. “That’s not how things work in the Rose Chalet.”
    “Why?” Patrick asked. “Have you all taken vows of celibacy?”
    His brother smiled at that. “No, I’m pretty sure that wasn’t in our employment contract. It’s just that we’ve all been working together so long that we think of one another more like family than anything.”
    “Really?” Patrick asked before he could stop himself. “What about Rose then?”
    RJ looked at him sharply. “Especially Rose.”
    Patrick suddenly realized why RJ hadn’t wanted to work on Rose and Donovan’s house plans. At least one thing was clear tonight.
    “Are we going to sit here arguing,” RJ asked, “or are we going to watch the second half?”
    Patrick took the second beer his brother handed him and forced himself to sit back to watch Chicago claim their victory, though there wasn’t a lot of pleasure in it by then.
    How could RJ think that Phoebe wasn’t ever going to respond to a guy who was looking for more than a one-night stand? And even if that really was the case, did it matter?
    Patrick already knew he couldn’t give up on the chance to be with her just because she was the kind of woman who put up walls around herself to keep other people out. He would just have to