Page 78 of My Dark Prince
Romeo Costa:And you weren’t dumb enough to get in bed with the headache known as my sister-in-law.
Zach Sun:No offense, Rom, but it’s not like Dallas is a walk in the park.
Ollie vB:More like a run in Jurassic Park.
Romeo Costa:Careful now. You seem mighty attached to those balls. I’d hate to make them a car charm for Dallas to hang on one of her new rearview mirrors.
Ollie vB:She’s more likely to try frying them with caramelized onions and figs.
Zach Sun:Why didn’t you tell us you have a job, Oliver?
Ollie vB:It’s hardly a job. My family can’t fire me.
Romeo Costa:What else are you hiding from us?
Ollie vB:Just those three bodies.
Ollie vB:Oh, and don’t ask me where I was during that Zodiac killer era.
Romeo Costa:By the way, Dallas did, indeed, arrive at your place.
Ollie vB:I’m aware.
Romeo Costa:She’s having a lot of fun with Briar.
Ollie vB:If Dallas ruins her, I am suing you for emotional damage.
Zach Sun:Careful or we’ll have to conclude that you actually want to marry this woman.
Romeo Costa:It will be a cold day in hell when Oliver von Bismarck walks down an aisle that doesn’t belong in a Walgreens to buy some more lube.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Briar
I’d spoken too soon.
Oliver had not, in fact, decided to stop shadowing me. Unless, of course, you considered five calls in thirty minutes adequate personal space.
The Costa household’s sleek cordless phone rang. Oliver’s name flashed on the green-lit screen.
Make that six.
I clicked the answer button, interrupting him before he could speak, “Are you sure she’s my friend?”
His deep chuckle filled the other line. “Why wouldn’t she be?”
“Maybe the dozen or so red flags.”
“Dallas? Red flags? She’s perfectly normal.”
“Normal?” I wore Luca in a BabyBjorn, stroking the thick mane of dark hair on his head with one hand and holding the phone up to my ear with the other. “She brought a paperback to the house earlier.”
“She’s literate. Some would call that a wonderful quality.”
“Then she whipped out her Kindle.”
“Perhaps she got bored of the paperback.”
