“I told you’d she’d get her knickers in a twist about this,” Robbie said.

“Can’t be helped,” Sully said with a shrug. “Do you have any eights?”

“Go fish,” Robbie said.

Sully sighed as he took a card off the top of the pile. The two men were sitting on the landing with a pack of cards and a bottle of brandy between them. The only light shone dimly from Charlie’s landing below, and the draft that blew through the stairwell caused her to shiver.

“You’re playing go fish?” Lindsey asked, knowing full well she was just verifying the obvious.

“Neither of us had enough money for poker,” Robbie said.

“And war seemed inappropriate,” Sully added.

“Could lead to fisticuffs,” Robbie agreed.

“Go home!” Lindsey barked.

They both looked at her in consternation. Sully picked up the brandy and took a sip and then handed it to Robbie, who did the same.

“Nope,” Sully said. “We’re staying.”

“But that’s completely unacceptable,” Lindsey said. “You can’t sit in my hallway all night.”

“It’s a free country,” Robbie protested. Lindsey noticed his British accent seemed thicker and he was slurring. “And coming from me, that’s saying something.”

“Are you all right?” Lindsey asked. She hunkered down in front of Robbie. One whiff and she knew he was not all right. “You’re shnockered.”

“Am I?” he asked. Then he keeled over onto his back with his arms out wide and a snore coming from his mouth.

Lindsey glanced at Sully. “This is your doing, isn’t it?”

His bright blue eyes went wide with innocence. “I can’t imagine what you mean.”

“Let me take a wild guess,” she said. “Robbie was a bit miffed about my sleeping at your house and was quite determined to even things out by sending you on a wild errand so he could be my shadow tonight.”

Sully prodded Robbie with the toe of his shoe, but the Englishman didn’t respond.

“When I tossed you both out,” Lindsey continued, “I’m betting he planned to camp out on the steps and you joined him, bringing brandy and cards to pass the time. How am I doing so far?”

“Sounds reasonable enough.” Sully brushed a bit of imaginary lint off his shirtsleeve.

“But”—Lindsey emphasized the word, hoping Sully caught the double meaning—“you didn’t actually drink any of the brandy, did you?”

“It’s not really my thing,” he said. “It’s more of an Englishman’s beverage, don’t you think?”

“I think you got even for being sent on a wild-goose chase, that’s what I think,” she said. “Also, you should be ashamed of yourself. Look at him. He’s a drunken mess!”

“Oh, I don’t know. I think he’s kind of cute when he’s not flapping his lips.”

Lindsey rolled her eyes. “Come on, help me carry him in.”

“What?” Sully squawked.

“Well, he’s got to sleep it off somewhere,” she said.

“I’ll give him a ride home,” Sully said.

“You’re going to carry a man down three flights of stairs?” she asked. She gave him a dubious look.

“I was thinking I’d roll him,” he said.

“No.”

“I’m sure he’d bounce.”

“No.”

“He’d better have one heck of a headache tomorrow,” Sully said.

“I’m sure he will,” she said.

She bent over and hoisted Robbie into a seated position. Sully took one arm and draped it over his shoulder while Lindsey took the other. Together they hauled the Englishman into her apartment and dumped him on the sofa.

“What if he’s faking it?” Sully asked.

Lindsey held up the bottle of brandy to the light. It was more than half gone.

“Somehow I doubt it,” she said.

“Still, he’s an actor,” Sully said. “This could just be a ruse to get into your apartment and be alone with you.”

As if he heard them speaking, Robbie let out a grunt and a snore and turned over onto his side into the back of the couch. Heathcliff hopped up beside him and lay down next to him.

Sully frowned at the dog. “Hey, help a guy out.”

Heathcliff put his head down on his paws.

“Robbie gave him pizza crust,” she explained.

“I think I should stay just in case someone tries to break in,” Sully said. “This one is going to be of no use to you.”

“No one is going to try and break in,” she said. “Why would they? It’s like Grand Central Station around here.”

She put her hand on Sully’s arm and guided him to the door. “Thanks for looking out for me, but I’m good.”

“But I—” he began, but she cut him off.

“Good night, Sully,” she said. She closed the door on his frowning face.

Back in the living room, Robbie snored on. Lindsey was quite certain he wasn’t faking it, as he didn’t move when she put a quilt on him. He’d been known to catch her off guard with a surprise kiss before. Never would there be a better opportunity, but he slept right through it, for which she was relieved. She was not up for any more relationship shenanigans, not when she was so worried about her brother.

She headed to the bedroom with Heathcliff at her side. Amazingly enough, even though he wasn’t in shape enough to defend a wet noodle, she felt better just having Robbie in the apartment. His presence, well, maybe his snoring made the shadows stay in the shadows and Lindsey was grateful.

*   *   *

“My head,” Robbie moaned. “I think that bloody pirate split me with an ax when I wasn’t looking.”

“No, you’re in one piece,” Lindsey said. “I promise.”

She’d cooked up a breakfast of toast and tea, which Robbie was gingerly nibbling. She’d also given him some pain pills for his head, but she had a feeling only lots of water and a nap would set him right.

“I’d say you two are even now, wouldn’t you?” she asked.

Robbie glowered. “I don’t know. How’s he feeling this morning?”

“Vindicated?” she asked. “After all, you did send him out into the cold.”

“Not far enough,” he said. “I should have sent him to Long Island.”

Lindsey rolled her eyes and poured him some more tea.

“So tell me,” Robbie said. “Because truly, I can’t feel any worse than I do now—do I stand a chance with you at all?”

“Are you still married?” she asked.

“It’s just a piece of paper,” he protested. “You know Kitty and I are just business partners.”

“Not to me,” she said. “I don’t date married men.”

“What if I were free?” he asked. He lowered his head and was cradling it in his hands as if holding it together to keep it from separating. “What then, my lovely librarian, would I stand a chance with you then?”

His normally mischievous green eyes were studying her so intently that Lindsey felt her breath catch. Even with a pitiful hangover, Robbie was a force to be reckoned with. It was as if he emitted his own electromagnetic field and no one was immune. Not even Lindsey.

She had always used his marriage as a buffer for her attraction to him. There could never be a them because she was not about to date anyone who was already spoken for, whether it was in name only or not. The thought of him being available was singularly disturbing because she really didn’t know if she could resist his charm.

“I really can’t answer that since it isn’t the case, now is it?” she asked, skillfully dodging the question, or so she thought.

His green eyes flashed and his grin was wicked when he caught her hand and placed a kiss on her knuckles, which made her shiver.

“Then I have hope,” he said.

Lindsey tugged her hand away and said, “No, you don’t, because you’re married.”

A fist pounded on her door, and the fire went out of Robbie’s eyes and he groaned, clutching his head.

“I’ll bet it’s the sodding seahorse here to gloat,” he said.

Lindsey left him and went to open the door. Not surprisingly, Sully stood on the other side. He looked Lindsey over and then glanced past her to where Robbie was sitting at the table, the picture of misery.

“So all went well last night?” he asked. He looked pretty satisfied with himself.

“All went just fine,” Lindsey assured him. She tossed her hair over her shoulders, placed her hand over her chest and gave a deep sigh. “I feel like a new woman. I had no idea it could be so life altering, so earth shattering—”

Her words were cut off by a low growl coming from Sully’s throat.

“Ha! Serves you right,” she said. “Now give the poor man a lift home. I have to get to work. Oh, and lock up after yourselves.”