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СКАЧАТЬ But she could see the needle on Deidre’s stress meter creeping into the red zone. Deidre eyed the Tweedles’ untouched chocolate mousse with ravenous eyes and asked, “Would anyone like seconds on dessert?”

      “Not me,” Dillon said, rubbing a hand across what Ivy was sure was still a washboard stomach. “I’m stuffed.”

      “Like she needs seconds,” Dee mumbled under her breath, but conveniently loud enough for the entire table to hear. Dum snickered and Blake’s brothers exchanged a look, one that said Deidre’s fluctuating weight had been a topic of conversation in the past.

      That didn’t surprise Ivy. The Tweedles hadn’t exactly been Deidre’s first choice for bridesmaids. In fact, they weren’t her last choice, either. They ranked somewhere just below the never-in-a-million-years category. But Blake’s brothers were the groomsmen, per their gazillionaire father’s demands, and they had refused to stand up in the wedding without their girlfriends.

      Since Deidre would be stuck as a part of the family for the next fifty years or so, and Daddy was footing the bill for the wedding—and the house they were moving into after the honeymoon, and the cars they would be driving—Deidre felt it best to acquiesce.

      The whole arrangement set off warning bells for Ivy, but she was keeping her mouth shut. Deidre seemed happy, and Ivy didn’t want to burst her bubble. There was a very slim chance it would all work out, and Ivy was clinging to that hope.

      An uncomfortable silence fell over the table, and Deidre lowered her eyes to her lap, shame flaring in red-hot splotches across her cheeks. Blake looked awkwardly around, everywhere but at the woman he should have been speaking up to defend. Ivy felt torn between defending her cousin and not wanting to make things worse.

      Blake was a genuinely nice guy, and he loved Deidre. Unfortunately, he didn’t have much in the way of a backbone.

      Of the three brothers he was the youngest, and while he hadn’t taken a beating with the ugly stick, he wasn’t what you would call a looker, either. He was sort of…nondescript, and he let everyone, including his family—especially his family—walk all over him.

      Which is why Ivy feared Deidre would be bowing to her in-laws’ wishes for the rest of her natural life.

      “So, Ivy, I hear you’re a practicing psychologist now,” Dillon said.

      Uh-oh. She distinctly felt an attack coming on.

      Wonderful.

      At the very least, taking potshots at her would deflect the attention from Deidre. It would be worth a little humiliation.

      “Yes, I am,” Ivy said, unable to keep the defensive lilt from her voice. One corner of Dillon’s mouth quirked up in a very subtle grin, and Ivy raised her chin, bracing for the onslaught of insults. The “shrink” jokes she’d already heard a million times. The “little book” jabs.

      She fisted her hands in her lap, digging her nails in the heels of her palms, her foot tapping like mad under the table, steeling herself for the worst.

      Bring it on, pal.

      “I find it truly fascinating,” Dillon said, and Ivy thought, sure you do.

      Dee covered a yawn with fingers tipped in bright pink, clawlike nails, and Dum made a production of looking at her watch. Did they think they were the queens of stimulating conversation?

      Dale and Calvin, on the other hand, looked thoroughly amused by the entire situation. Those two were even worse than Dillon. They needed to grow up and get a life.

      “Her book has been on the New York Times bestseller list for months,” Deidre said, a note of pride in her voice. “She’s famous.”

      Unimpressed, the Tweedles rolled their eyes.

      “I’m particularly interested in the study of self-esteem,” Dillon said.

      Self-esteem?

      Was that some sort of veiled insult? Was he honestly suggesting that Ivy had low self-esteem?

      She felt her blood pressure shoot up to a dangerously high level, and her foot was cramping up from the workout it was getting.

      She was incredibly comfortable with herself, thank you very much.

      “I once read that people with a negative or low self-esteem will insult and belittle other people to boost their own egos.” His expression was serious, but there was a spark of pure mischief in Dillon’s eyes. His gaze strayed briefly to the Tweedles, then back to Ivy. “Is that true?”

      It took a full ten seconds for the impact of his words to settle in, and when it did, Ivy was so surprised she nearly laughed out loud.

      He wasn’t attacking her. His observations were aimed directly at the twins.

      “That is true,” she told him, in her therapist’s, I’m-not-speaking-of-anyone-in-particular-just-stating-the-scientific-evidence tone.

      Dale and Calvin weren’t looking so cocky now, and a grateful smile had begun to creep over Deidre’s face.

      The Tweedles were a bit slower to catch on.

      Ivy watched with guilty pleasure as the two of them digested his words with brains no doubt impaired by bleach overexposure. She relished the look of stunned indignation on their faces when the meaning hit home.

      She had never been an advocate of “an eye for an eye” and preferred not to lower herself to the Tweedles’ level, but it felt damned good to knock those two down a peg.

      “In fact,” she continued, “self-esteem is one of the most widely studied areas of psychology.”

      “Why is that?” Dillon asked, feeding the flames, while the Tweedles grew increasingly uncomfortable.

      Her conscience told her that what she was about to do was childish and just plain mean, but she couldn’t deny the satisfaction she felt watching the Tweedles squirm. And who knows, May be her words would strike some sort of chord, and they would think of other people’s feelings for a change.

      Should she or shouldn’t she?

      Oh, what the hell.

      “Because self-esteem plays a role in virtually everything we do,” she explained. “A lack of it can have dire effects. People who are unsure of themselves sometimes have trouble sustaining healthy relationships. Since they often feel embarrassed and ashamed without due cause, their irrational reactions tend to baffle and alienate others.”

      “That is fascinating,” Deidre agreed, casting a grin Ivy’s way.

      On a roll now, Ivy added, “Even worse, low self-esteem can cause or contribute to neurosis, anxiety, defensiveness, eating disorders and even alcohol and drug abuse.”

      “How tragic,” Dillon said, looking pointedly to Blake’s brothers. “Don’t you think?”

      Dale and Calvin exchanged an uneasy look, but neither uttered a sound. It was clear they were of the collective opinion that they shouldn’t mess with the billionaire oil man.

      The СКАЧАТЬ