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Connor knew Noah was expecting a flip response, so he said, “If it hasn’t been apparent, your sister has been barely acknowledging my existence lately”

“You do kno to push her buttons, I’ll give you that”

“Likewise, she’s not so bad at pushing buttons herself”

Noah threw him an amused look “Why don’t you help take her off our hands?” he joked “You knowus a favor if you two got hitched”

Connor looked at Noah quizzically He could swear there was a note of underlying seriousness to Noah’s kidding but Noah’s face revealed nothing other than his typical expression of amusement at the world “If you value your health, you won’t let Allison hear about that scheme”

As ht of hiarded hi No aes

Noah cast hi to marry off Allison?”

Connor tossed him a skeptical look as they reached the volleyball net set up on a corner of the lawn in the Whittaker’s backyard

Noah sighed heavily as if being forced to confess “Okay, yeah Guilty” He shrugged, looking far froot ol’ Quent hitched to Liz last year, I’ve suspected that she’s set her sights on me and Matt And, you knohat they say, the best defense is a good offense”

“In other words,” Connor supplied, playing along, “get her hitched to ets you hitched?”

“Exactly” Noah added with a pretense of ruefulness, “Can’t bla”

Connor looked over to see Allison joining the crowd near the net “Yeah,” he agreed, “but I’h for our little princess”

Noah scoffed, dropping his teasing deht? The folks adore you They’ve never said it, but I think they’d be pleased if you and Allison ever wound up together And, I’ve got to tell you, it would be a relief for ave a uys Allison has brought home?”

Unfortunately, he had…and he agreed with Noah He nodded over at Allison and said, “The princess h”

Noah followed his gaze “Yeah, I know Allison can get into her nose-in-the-air routine with you But, I always thought that was just a defensive et to her when you obviously do”

She showed hiot Aloud, he said, testing, “Just supposing I illing to help you implement this little plot of yours—purely in the interest of helping you escape a possible e trap, of course—”

“Of course,” Noah agreed readily

“What’s to say that you, Matt, and Quent don’t beatthe princess’s heart”

Noah cocked his head, pretending to consider that for a rant you that’s a risk Under the circuh,” he said, his tone nonchalant, “I’d say it’s er would be that the princess would break your heart”

Connor tossed hi The youngest Whittaker brother, Connor thought, ay ossip columns portrayed him as

Noah slapped hia with hi, “and I can’t wait to creauys”

As it turned out, their team eked out a victory for the second year in a row Afterward, Connor sat doith a cold beer and so to wind down

He was just finishing his second hot dog when his cell phone rang Sliding the phone out of his pocket, he noted that the name on the display was that of one of his top deputies

He quickly excused hi the Whittakers’ expectations up if the neasn’t what he hoped He’d had a hunch, though, and had followed through on it

The call was brief but nevertheless had hi to punch the air with satisfaction

When he got back to the picnic table, he sat down next to Allison and, keeping his tone as mild as possible because he knew his words alone would be shocking enough, ht Kendall”

She stopped into face him “He’s been arrested?”

He nodded “And uess is he’ll be held without bail under the circumstances”