lifted her eyes skyward. “Please help her, God.”
Janie ignored her sister’s melodramatic behavior. “So, can you think of anyone who even slightly resembles my fantasy lover?”
“No one except my brother-in-law.” Sara had no sooner made the comment when a look of horror crossed her face. “Don’t worry, I’m only kidding. I wouldn’t wish Gabe on any female. Especially my baby sister.”
Gabe Montero. Alex’s brother. Janie’s eyes grew wide. She’d never thought about him. He was coming to dinner tonight and would be staying in Erie for the next week.
Rattling on, Sara added, “Except for his good looks, he doesn’t have a thing going for him. He’s definitely the love ‘em and leave ‘em type.”
No problem there.
“You know, I don’t think he’s ever dated a woman longer than a week.”
Perfect. A week. That should be enough time, Janie thought.
Gabe Montero was tall, all right, and he had dark hair and dark eyes. As far as the sinister look and bad-boy type, he fit the bill there, too. Not to mention his nice butt.
But Sara was right. He didn’t have a thing going for him. The man was a total screw-up--always had been--and, as far as she knew, lacked any kind of redeeming qualities whatsoever. As a teen, he’d spent more time in juvenile detention centers than in school, and when he was eighteen he’d done time in a real jail for stealing a car.
Gabe and Alex were total opposites. While Alex had been concentrating on his grades so he could get into a decent college, his younger brother had all but flunked out of high school. Janie supposed his behavior had a lot to do with the fact that their parents had died in a car accident when the boys were fourteen and twelve. The Montero brothers had gone to live with an uncle who, according to Sara, had resented having to take them in.
But in spite of their parents’ tragic deaths, Alex had worked hard, gotten accepted into Penn State, and then landed a job with an electronics firm. He was now CEO of that same firm and made a very substantial income.
This was more than she could say for Gabe. The last she’d heard he drove a cab in New York City. There was nothing wrong with his occupation, but he wasn’t exactly the ambitious type.
But like she’d told Sara, ambition wasn’t high on her list of priorities for a lover. Still . . . Gabe Montero?
She tried to think of something nice about him. The man did come to visit Sara, Alex and the kids every summer, without fail. And Travis and Livvy adored him, for some reason.
Okay, so maybe he told the kids great stories, but so did she. And maybe he paid them lots of attention and brought them presents. But again, so did she. Janie started feeling a little jealous, the way she usually did when Gabe Montero was in town. Mostly because the kids behaved as if their Aunt Janie didn’t even exist when he was around.
But it was only for a week, give or take a day.
Then again, a week is all I need to have a quick fling. Maybe I could call my next book Everything I Ever Wanted to Know About Sex I Learned in One Week.
No, Gabe Montero wasn’t the kind of man Janie was looking to have an affair with. Nor was he even close.
Massaging her lower back, and looking out the kitchen window, Sara interrupted her sister’s thoughts. “Janie, here come Alex and the kids. Do you think we could talk about this later?”
“Sure, why not?” Not that there would be much point in bringing it up again. Janie knew Sara wasn’t going to see the light. “My sexual needs obviously aren’t that important,” she said on a sigh, then asked, “You need me to do anything?”
Sara turned away from the window. “You could finish setting the dining room table. That would be a big help. I’m sure Livvy will want to give you a hand.”
“Okay, but only if you promise to sit down and rest for a few minutes.”
Although Sara promised she would, Janie knew she wouldn’t rest for long, if at all. Her sister had the kind of energy that just wouldn’t quit. She was sort of the Energizer bunny reincarnated. Getting up from the kitchen table, Janie grabbed a celery stick, smeared it with dip and headed for the dining room.
Normally, when Janie was invited for dinner, they ate in the kitchen, but not when