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"Katie, honey, you need a date for your sister's wedding"

"I had a date, Mo the bride"

"All right, fine Your sister stole your boyfriend," Janis McCor But that was nearly a year ago It's water under the bridge They're gettingin and we have two hundred other guests We're going to have a long weekend of all kinds of events and, trust me, you'll feel better if you have a date The extended family will torture you if you don't, and that will make us both crazy" Her mother finally paused for a breath "For me, Katie? Please?"

At ti up and acting ood teht solution to a problem Like this one But she'd never been into dra And it was difficult to refuse her mother Mostly because Janis didn't ask for veryparents orried and slipped Katie an extra fifty dollars every time they had lunch, despite the fact that Katie had been on her own since college and had a great job that she adored

"Mom," she said, "I love you You know that"

"Don't say 'but' I' ot engaged I swear, the second she brought over bride ray"

Katie leaned forward in the booth of the restaurant She and hera quick lunch to talk about the latest changes Courtney hadThe fact that it was only teeks away didn't seem to worry Courtney

Nor had stealing Katie's boyfriend

She wasn't going to be bitter, Katie re to rise above petty emotion Courtney was her sister and the sisterly bond was powerful and lasting And if Courtney woke up with a zit the size of Cleveland on her wedding day, well, that would be fun, too

Katie cleared her throat "However, asfestivities, there isn't anyone We're talking Fool's Gold You know there aren't a lot of single guys hanging around I can't come up with anyone I would trust to pretend to be involved with me"

"Are you telling me you haven't dated since you and Alex broke up?"

Technically, they hadn't broken up Katie had brought Alex hoht dinners with Katie's parents Soularly for ht was the feeling Katie had that Alex was going to pop the question Mostly because she'd accidentally found a receipt for a dia in his coat pocket when he'd loaned it to her at a football game

Katie hadn't been sure Alex was the guy she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, but she'd figured being unsure was noruy was the one? Only, he hadn't proposed Their friendly dinner had been interrupted by Courtney's unexpected arrival Alex and Courtney had taken one look at each other and Katie had ceased to exist

"Katie?" heranyone?"

"No I've been busy ork and not in the mood"

Her hed "It's four days of family and stress I know I don't want to have to field questions about your lack of love life and you have to want it even less You have to bring a man"

"Sorry, no"

"What about Howie?"

Dear God, no

Katie thought about banging her head against the table, because honestly, the pain would be less "Mom, no"

"Why not? He's smart and rich and very funny"

And his name was Howie He was the son of hertheir best to fix up their kids for years Katie had resisted with all her ht The last ti Fool's Gold He'd been e Tall, skinny, with too-short pants, thick black-ri at her as if she were an uninteresting for to say to each other

"Most of the ti to take one for the team But I'm not interested in Howie," she said firmly "I'd rather deal with the aard questions" No one was desperate enough for Howie--certainly not her

"Katie, don't make me use my bad-mom voice"

Katie smiled "Mom, I'm twenty-seven The bad-mom voice doesn't work on me"

"Want to bet?" Her ain Worry darkened her eyes "Please? I'll beg Do you want that? I'ood tiood a time as you can have at this And I don't want you to worry about what everyone elseIt's four days You'll barely have to see each other"

It was four days trapped in a hotel with her fao to avoid them--and Howie?

"He's doing so project at work," her mother added "I'm sure he'll be busy most of the time"

Katie hesitated, not just because she adored her mother but also because the questions froun to border on brutal There she was--the older sister--still not o fifteenin love

"Fine," Katie conceded at last "Just for the wedding, though Nothing more Ever"

Herto be wonderful You'll see"

Wonderful? Katie could think of a lot of words but that wasn't one of therets Four days with Howie? Fourteen years ago, they'd barely lasted an hour in each other's presence

The only bright spot in the whole thing was that back then he'd disliked her as much as she'd disliked hi his mother no and then none of this would be an issue

"Mother, I won't," Howard Jackson Kent said firmly

"I see"

Two simple words They didn'tto come back and bite him in the ass He could already feel the teeth

"We'll ignore the fact that Janis McCor at him from across his desk

They were in his office, his s There was only one way she would have known he was free, whicha little chat with his personal assistant

"We'll ignore the fact that Janis has asked for my help"

If only that were true, he thought, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his temple

"You could do it for Katie," his irl"

Never words to ri"

Granted, it had been a lot of years ago, but he remembered that su with her while Tina retted the decision the second Katie had looked at hihed with obvious disappointment

Katie had been opinionated, only interested in sports and obviously contemptuous of him Sure, he'd been a nerd and aard and he'd never communicated ith others But she'd been difficult and unfriendly She'd also threatened to beat him up At the time, she probably could have