Page 59 of Christmas at the Castle
“What?” Sophie drew back. “Kat has no idea what I’m doing.”
Gill rubbed the back of his neck, but that did nothing to loosen the tight muscles. He was confused. Kat had to be involved. “What exactly are you doing?”
“Playing matchmaker.” Sophie leveled a finger at him. “And you’d better not tell her.”
He groaned. “Stop. Before this gets out of hand.”
“I’m not going to stop. Jamie and Kat are perfect together.” Sophie clasped her hands to her chest. “They’ll have beautiful, blue-eyed babies.”
Gill’s stomach churned. He thought he might be sick. “The two just met, and you’re already talking babies?”
With a big grin, Sophie nodded.
Time to bring his little sister back to earth. “Not going to happen.”
She finally rubbed Maximillian. “Why not?”
“Jamie is a love ’em and leave ’em, delete their contact info from his phone type of guy. Marriage isn’t part of his vocabulary. Girlfriend, either.”
“Jamie may have been that way in the past.” Her tone wavered with uncertainty.
Gill arched a brow. “Kitty Kat?”
Sophie shrugged. “He has a unique sense of humor.”
“One that could get him slapped by certain women or arrested in a few countries.” Not to mention break Kat’s heart. Not that Gill cared.
“He’s not that bad.”
“Oh, yes, he is.”
Sophie tilted her head. “Maybe he was, but Jamie’s changed. Or he’s in the process of changing.”
“How so?”
“Bertrand told me the duke has threatened to cut off Jamie’s allowance if he doesn’t settle down.”
“No more womanizing or—”
“The duke wants him to marry. Jamie has a year to find a wife.” Sophie grinned. “The timing couldn’t be better.”
She made the situation sound so simple. Which it wasn’t. “Jamie might need a wife, but Kat—”
“When they get married, Kat and I will finally be sisters. Won’t that be fabulous?”
When, not if.
In some ways, Sophie was still a dreamy girl, one who believed that unicorns lived on the other side of rainbows. Funny considering some of the cases she worked on were heart wrenching and showed the darker side of people. But she never let that consume her. Gill didn’t want to burst her bubble—no doubt, it was pink and heart shaped—but she needed to be reasonable and realistic.
“Not sisters, sisters-in-law.”
“Close enough.” Sophie shimmied her shoulders. “I’ve dreamed of this happening…forever.”
“You haven’t known Jamie that long.”
She shook her head. “Not with him, silly. I originally wanted Kat to marry you or Jacques. But then Jacques couldn’t get married and you can’t stand Kat.”
Gill stiffened. “I never said I couldn’t stand her.”
