Page 72 of Tuxedos and Tinsel

“Stop being an ass,” Susan replied as her cheeks warmed. “I’m not in love.”

“Could have fooled me. Little Miss Dreamy Eyes.”

Oh, brother. Please don’t tell her she was going to be stuck listening to his stupid nicknames. Linus loved his stupid nicknames. “Lewis and I are enjoying each other’s company, that is all,” she told him.

“Uh-huh.”

“We are. I’m not in love with Lewis Matolo.”

Aren’t you?After days of being ignored, the question slammed into her brain. How long was she going to pretend the man hadn’t gotten under skin?

Easy, she answered back. For as long as it took. Fake it till you make it, as the saying went.

Since she was having the conversation in her head, however, Linus felt comfortable continuing. “He certainly seems to care about you. Nearly took my head off in the hospital elevator the day Noel was born.”

“What? What did you do?” Besides mentioning the wedding. Sheknewsomething had happened that afternoon.

“Why are you assuming I did anything?”

“Because I’ve known you since birth,” Susan told him. “You always do something.”

Linus was insistent. “I swear I did nothing. At least not on purpose. All I said was that we needed to buy extra cookies because you love them so much. He suggested I stop picking on you.”

Warmth seeped through her veins. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had defended her honor.

“I’m not surprised. Lewis likes to look out for the underdog,” she told her brother.

Linus gave her a look. “You’re an underdog?”

“He was defending me against a comment you made. What do you think?”

“Either way, he’s not what I expected,” Linus said.

“I told you but you and Thomas refused to believe me. Thomas still doesn’t believe me.”

“Meh.” Linus waved off her complaint. “You know Thomas. Anything that could remotely impact the company gets him uptight.”

Susan looked away. He would really hate if he knew the truth then.

“If it will make you feel better, I’ll talk to him,” Linus said. “Let him know Lewis passes my sniff test.”

“Thank you. I’d appreciate that. And for the record… I hate when you make jokes about my sweet tooth.”

Linus leaned back in surprise. “We’ve been making those jokes since we were kids.”

“I know. Thanks to my mother.” Belinda used to love to point out how calories weren’t Susan’s friend and never missed an opportunity to remind her with a subtle jab. “Might as well just say you think I’m fat.”

“We don’t think that.” Linus continued to look shocked. “We just know you like cookies.”

“Well, it feels like you think so. Especially since that’s how Belinda meant it.”

“Belinda was a piece of work. None of us should take anything she said seriously.”

Easy for him to say; Linus and Thomas weren’t her children. “Still, I would appreciate if you stopped making the joke. Especially around my… Lewis.”

“No need to worry there,” Linus said. “He didn’t find the comment funny either. In fact, he pretty much said the same thing as you did. About you feeling like we were calling you fat.”

Because Lewis understood her. Susan couldn’t help her smile or the fullness in her heart. She’d always wondered what it would be like, having someone in her life who knew what she was thinking or feeling without her having to say a word. To be able to look across a crowd and know she wasn’t alone.