Her Best Mistake (Novella) Read online

  “Is he better looking than me?” Eric demanded, grinning at his own question when she rolled her eyes. Damn—he was going to miss her. He had really liked her sense of humor.

  “No. The man is not really more handsome than you,” Lisa said easily. “And he’s not as nice or as well off or as personable. But I still like him better. He makes me feel alive again. When you find someone who makes you feel that way, you’ll understand why I’m doing this.”

  “Probably not,” Eric said on a laugh. “You’re the perfect woman. I was planning to marry you.”

  “Oh God—spare me. That was never going to happen,” Lisa assured him as she snorted over the bold statement. “Trust me, I am far from the perfect woman. The perfect woman would for damn sure not be interested in another man while you’re planning picnic lunches.”

  “Well, maybe if you get tired of him, you can give me a call,” Eric suggested. “It’s not like you’re sleeping with him yet, right?”

  Lisa said nothing. There was a limit to what she was willing to admit.

  Eric frowned. “So, what? You are sleeping with him? I thought you didn’t move that fast.”

  “That’s a rather personal question given the fact you and I only had a single, casual dinner date that ended in a chaste, unmemorable kiss,” Lisa protested. “You strike me as the kind of man with a booty call list a mile long, so no judgment is allowed. The chemistry just wasn’t happening between us. I suggest we admit it and move on.”

  “Seriously—I was planning to marry you,” Eric said again, not willing to admit anything to a woman he wanted a chance with.

  This time Lisa laughed hard. “Kissing you was like kissing a friend. We have no chemistry, Eric.”

  “You have chemistry with the new guy?” Eric asked.

  “Yes—buckets and buckets of it,” Lisa said softly. “And he is not the kind of man you get over enough to go back to dating casually again. Now let’s get to the really important question. Can we still be friends?”

  “Sure,” Eric said. “Can we at least eat the lunch I brought?”

  Lisa laughed softly. “God—you are resilient. I do admire that about you.”

  Eric shrugged, as he passed her a sandwich and a bottle of mineral water. “Yeah, I wish my brother had gotten a little of that quality. Finn’s ex did a number on him. I don’t think he’s been with a woman since his divorce.”

  Lisa swallowed. “I’m sure it’s only a matter of time. Finn is an incredibly attractive man too, as you well know. All he has to do is be willing to take a chance again.”

  “Yes, but Dr. Roberts is a skeptic. He puts a wall between him and every woman he meets. The woman would have to crawl into bed with him to get his attention.”

  Lisa paused with the mineral water at her lips. She lowered it, unable to even take a sip. Her heart rate sped up. Finn wasn’t even out of the States yet.

  “Do you think anything like that is ever likely to ever happen to Finn?” Lisa asked. The voice inside her screamed about changing the subject before the truth accidentally rolled out of her mouth.

  Eric laughed. “Since we’re not dating anymore, I guess I can tell you this. I left a note and key at the desk for a friend I was trying to hook Finn up with while he was here. The wimp begged off. I swear when he’s back in town I’m going to fix him up.”

  “Stop there . . .” Lisa said, holding up a hand. When he did stop, she used the same hand to run over her face. “I can’t believe I’m going to do this.”

  “Lisa . . . the hook-up was just a joke . . . like a brotherly thing. Are you that offended by it?” Eric asked, sipping his drink.

  “No, I’m not offended. That’s not my issue with it,” Lisa replied, drawing in a giant breath. “It’s just . . . damn it, Eric. The clerk gave me the note you left and the key to Finn’s room. I thought it was you because the note was signed by you. And she thought I was the woman . . .”

  Eric dropped what was left of his sandwich on the napkin in his lap and leaned forward in the chair. “Are you telling me that you slept with my brother?”

  Lisa sighed. “Yes. I climbed into bed with a naked man and slept with your brother. I didn’t know it was your brother until you brought him around to meet me. You never said you had a twin. And he looked like you. At first I almost didn’t go through with it, but it had been so long, and he smelled so damn good. I couldn’t help myself. Then he wasn’t you, and when I realized I was very glad he wasn’t you . . . I can’t really talk about the rest.”

  Eric leaned back in the chair. “So Finn thought you were Alicia . . . and you thought Finn was me. So just when did you figure it out?”

  “Not until you introduced us,” Lisa said.

  “And then . . .” Eric prompted, trying to take in that his brother had slept with his girlfriend.

  “And then I went to see him to apologize,” Lisa said, clearing her throat. “He doesn’t feel like you, smell like you, or kiss like you. He’s edgy, competitive in surprising ways, intelligent in his field, and loves you more than anything. I sent him away and planned to never see either of you again. The guilt was too much, no matter how much I really liked him.”

  “Well this really sucks,” Eric said fiercely. “I didn’t sleep with his ex when she offered. I didn’t want that between us. Yet now I hear Finn slept with my girlfriend.”

  “No, he didn’t. He slept with your booty call woman. And the freaking note was signed by you asking to be woken up. Want to tell me about your relationship to Alicia? Does she always wake you up? Don’t try to bullshit me, Eric. You’re a player and were playing me. You’re not completely innocent in this,” Lisa argued.

  “I’m just an average man with great needs,” Eric joked, laughing when Lisa rolled her eyes.

  “So is your brother. And he made me happy to be the woman meeting them,” Lisa said defiantly.

  “He could have told me this himself,” Eric argued, suddenly remembering all the attempts Finn had made to start a serious conversation. He’d thought Finn had been going to say he was renewing his contract. Eric hadn’t wanted to hear it. He shook his head and picked up his sandwich again.

  “Finn is a dead man. If there is anything left of him after I’m done, you’re welcome to do what you want with the rest,” Eric said, eating his sandwich.

  “It wasn’t Finn’s fault that we continued after our mistake. It was mine. All mine. He was naked when I got there and his ass was . . . never mind. TMI. And you can leave anytime you want now,” Lisa ordered.

  Eric was quiet for a long time as he continued to eat, frowning over the information as he thought about it. He was disappointed, but not really pissed. Finn and Lisa. Maybe it wasn’t going to be his favorite idea for a while, but he didn’t want Finn crawling back into his shell either. Damn it—he missed his brother. He wanted him home.

  “If it was so great, why did you let him just leave today?” Eric asked.

  “I didn’t say it was great,” Lisa said sharply, finally taking a sip of water. She needed it to cool her flaming face.

  “It had to have been great. He’s my brother,” Eric said firmly, fascinated when the blush spread from her chest to her neck.

  “Could you please not talk about Finn in those terms?” Lisa begged. “It’s been hard enough to deal with his leaving. Look, I miss him. Okay? I miss him. But he’s got his work and his contract and I’m sure I don’t have to tell you any of this,” Lisa finished.

  “Make him come home and I’ll dance at your wedding,” Eric said, almost smiling over the irony. “I’m almost over the worst of the disappointment. Give me a few more minutes here and I’ll talk you into marrying him. Finn deserves a good woman like you.”

  “Oh well . . . thanks for the sincerity of your own devotion to a woman you thought about marrying. Glad I’m so easy to get over. By the way, I’m not marrying your brother either,” Lisa said, shaking her head.

  “You obviously don’t understand Roberts men,” Eric said. “When we set our minds
on something we want, we always get it.”

  “But you didn’t get me,” Lisa pointed out.

  “Didn’t I?” Eric asked, smiling as he reached for his sandwich again. “Now I can have dinner with you anytime I want. You’re going to be my sister-in-law. To make this up to me, you have to do exactly as I say for the next three months. I want Finn to come home.”

  “Me too,” Lisa said sadly, picking up her own sandwich. “Me too.”

  Chapter 7

  Lisa swung her car into the short term parking lot at the airport.

  “Now that he’s arriving, I’m wishing like hell that we had told Finn the truth. He would have had the plane ride to adjust. I don’t think the airport is the perfect place for our little revelation, Eric,” Lisa said.

  Eric laughed. “Consider this Finn’s punishment for sleeping with you and not confessing to me. I love him too much to do anything else. We’ll break the news to him gently and together. Trust me, sweetheart.”

  “I don’t like handling it this way,” she said, climbing out of the car.

  Eric walked around the car and pulled Lisa into his arms for a reassuring hug. “Come on. He’s due any minute and I want to get this over with quickly.”

  He kissed her forehead as she nodded.

  ***

  It was one week shy of three months since he’d seen her. Finn knew this because he’d marked off the days on a calendar, working himself hard until he was too tired to dream of her every night. He’d lost weight but finished his contract in record time. He had wanted to be home weeks earlier, but in the end bureaucracy had delayed him.

  He and Lisa had done an online chat and talked on the phone once a month. Neither that nor the emails had been satisfying. She was friendly, but distant too. Technology was not the same as being there.

  Now he was unsure and worried, lost in wondering if he was the only one who felt the way he did about the two of them. Then he saw Lisa walking towards him through the airport crowd, her gaze searching until it found his. Seconds later she was running to him and he was catching her up. She was sniffling, crying, hugging, and kissing him while he laughed, professing his happiness to see her over and over. He finally made himself let her go.

  When she stepped back a little, Finn glanced over her shoulder, straight into his brother’s critical gaze.

  “Eric,” he said.

  “Hello, Finn,” Eric said in return, willing his mouth not to quirk. “What do you think you’re doing with Lisa?”

  Finn let out a breath, only to take in another as he met and held his brother’s gaze. “I fell in love with your girlfriend last time I was home. I’m sorry, bro—but that’s how it is.”

  “Sorry, bro? That’s all you have to say about kissing her in front of me? Well, fuck that shit, Dr. Roberts. Either tell me you’re back to stay for good or get on another plane back to Egypt,” Eric said, crossing his arms.

  They were drawing all kinds of attention in the airport, two tall, well-built redheads fighting over an equally stunning, mostly red-haired woman. It wasn’t even all that uncommon in Boston, but the fight that seemed to be brewing among the two males was.

  “Oh, I’m back to stay,” Finn said stiffly, “but I’m staying with Lisa.”

  “Finn . . .” Lisa began, only to find his fingers pressed over her lips. Eric might be enjoying the drama, but she sure wasn’t.

  Finn kissed her cheek and dropped his bag by her feet. “It’s okay. Eric has a right to be upset. I have to let him have his say. This confrontation was inevitable.”

  “You’re right. And I say it was pretty low of you to sleep with Lisa when I never slept with Megan,” Eric said.

  “One date did not make me your girlfriend,” Lisa exclaimed hotly, walking to the two men fighting over her. “I swear one day I’m going to laugh about all this. Eric, tell him.”

  Finn put his arm out to hold her back and it slid across the top of her breasts, effectively drying up her speech as she grabbed his arm against her. When he turned to look at her for her firm grip on him, Finn’s gaze was dancing. “God, you feel good. I missed you like hell.”

  “Stop that,” Lisa ordered, pushing Finn’s arm away as she heard Eric snicker. The instant arousal she felt for Finn only made her glare at both of them.

  “That dare in your gaze is not having the effect you were hoping for, honey,” Finn said dryly.

  Huffing, Lisa turned her gaze on Eric, who was openly laughing now. “Enough of this high school bullshit, Eric. You’re a grown-up. Can you act like one please?”

  “Okay, fine—if you insist. Finn, Lisa told me about the two of you the day you left town. I made her promise not to tell you because I knew this tiny moment was the only revenge I had the heart to extract,” Eric said. “I’m over it. You can have her.”

  “So you don’t care?” Finn asked.

  “Eric cared for about two minutes,” Lisa answered for him, making Eric laugh. “We both agreed it was never going anywhere.”

  “Good—because I’d have to kick my brother’s ass if he tried to take my girlfriend,” Finn joked. He slid his arm away from her grasp, thinking about how much fun he was going to have with her later. Guilt-free fun.

  “One week of sleeping with a guy . . .” Lisa stopped, clamping her mouth closed when both men laughed. “Bastards. You’re both bastards. And I’ve fallen in love with one of you. God help me.”

  Finn stepped into her then, swooped to her mouth, catching her off-guard. “Call me that again later, and then please tell me you love me again. God, I’ve missed you.”

  Eric reached out and punched Finn hard in the arm. “Stop embarrassing her in public. Lisa isn’t that kind of woman.”

  Finn pulled her close and straightened to his full height, ensuring he was a full three inches taller than his evil twin. “I’m sorry. I never intended any of this, but I need her. Can you get that?”

  “No, but what the hell. I just can’t believe you took advantage of her mistake. That was so not like you,” Eric said. “It could have just as easily been me she climbed in bed with that night. In fact, she thought it was.”

  “Yes, I suppose it could have been,” Finn admitted.

  Lisa took a deep breath, breathing in the scent of Finn. “Never would have happened. I was lured by the smell of Finn. You just aren’t him, Eric. We’ve had this discussion. Move on.”

  Finn grinned down at her. “I have a meeting tomorrow just to check in, but I’m mostly free for the next three days. I don’t officially resume my regular office hours until next week.”

  “You can crash with me until you get things figured out,” Lisa said, “unless you want to spend some quality time with your evil twin.”

  “My condo is finally fixed, but you’re not bringing those sand-filled clothes into my place. Shack up with your girlfriend. You know you want to anyway,” Eric said, taking out his phone to check the message that came in for him.

  “When we dump the gambler here, I’ll tell you in great detail where I want to be for the next three days. Do you have to work?” Finn asked Lisa.

  “Boss,” Lisa said pointing at herself. “I gave myself time off to play with you.”

  Eric looked up from his phone and gave her a look. “Could you two at least wait until you drop me off to talk about your sex life?”

  “No,” they answered together.

  “Here then,” Eric said, fishing a key out of his pocket. “Happy reunion. It’s the Copley suite.”

  Finn grinned and took the key from his brother, letting go of Lisa long enough to hug Eric. “I missed you too. Thanks for not hating me.”

  “Stop getting mushy on me. Just means I won’t have to hook you up. By the way, you owe me the perfect woman since you took mine,” Eric said.

  “Why don’t you just buy one?” Finn asked.

  “Ha. Ha. Very funny. Go back to your sand box,” Eric said.

  “Not for a while and not unless my wife goes with me,” Finn said.

  “Wife?
What wife?” Lisa demanded, pulling away.

  “Ah hell,” Eric said, climbing into the backseat of Lisa’s car. “Here we go. I told you he’d want to marry you.”

  “But I . . .” Lisa began, standing outside the car, staring up into Finn’s blue-gray eyes.

  “Long engagement. I promise I’ll be faithful. If you want to live together to see how it goes, I’m willing to do that too. For now, just be my girlfriend,” Finn said sincerely.”

  “But you don’t really even know me yet, Finn. I’m older than you and look it. This could wear off in a few months. I want you like crazy at the moment, but anything could happen,” Lisa said. “We both know this. We’ve been divorced before.”

  Finn stepped into her and kissed her softly. He absorbed her moan and lifted Lisa to her toes for an embrace that reassured him the woman in his arms could be convinced.

  “I’m going to be the husband you always dreamed about having, and you can tame my beast,” he whispered.

  Lisa laughed. “What would I ever want to do that? I like him too much. I’m hoping to have trouble walking tomorrow.”

  Finn bent her body as he kissed her deeply, his erection straining against the fabric of his well-worn jeans. It was all he could do not to back her up against the car. Three months, he thought. Three painfully long months were finally over.

  The car door opened and Eric stuck his head out, looking disgusted. “Geez, bro. I got you a freaking expensive room in a five star hotel. You’re seriously going to do that in the airport parking garage?”

  Finn glared at his brother, let Lisa go, and walked her to the driver’s side. Then he jogged around to climb into the passenger seat.

  “You owe me,” Eric said as they pulled out of the airport.

  “For stopping me from embarrassing Lisa in public?” Finn asked. “Okay. Thanks.”

  “No,” Eric said, smiling. “For telling Mom and Dad about your new girlfriend.”

  “Okay, I do owe you,” Finn said, grinning.

  “Yes. They were quite concerned to hear you were going to be the stepfather of Lisa’s four children. Fortunately I didn’t tell them her last name. So they haven’t had time to buy her off,” Eric said.