Mara regarded her over the rim of her mug. “Maybe this isn’t a stalker. Well, not a random one. Maybe it’s someone you’ve dated who is mad that you’ve moved on.”

“That’s just it. I haven’t moved on. The only things I do are go to work, take care of Hope, and record music. Other than Nick’s clients, I don’t come into contact with many people.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound like much fun.” Mara glanced over Kay’s shoulder. Her eyes narrowed and then sparkled with a mischievous gleam. “You know what you need? You need a man. Penny told me what you guys talked about at Christmas. About how you’re going to let us fix you up on a blind date.”

Kay thought back to all the things they’d discussed on Christmas Day. Once she’d realized that Eli had left his own family celebration just to avoid her, she’d tearfully confided in the other girls. They’d rallied around her, supporting her decision to move on and start dating after the holidays. But she didn’t remember agreeing to any setups. She hated blind dates.

“But I never said—” Kay’s mouth dropped open as Mara kicked her under the table. “Ow,” she whispered.

Mara typed something quickly on her cell phone and pushed it across the table. Raina, Ridley, and Kay all leaned forward to read what it said.

- - - Eli is outside the door listening.

“What?” Kay exclaimed. Then she crossed her arms. Pretending to set her up on a date to make Eli jealous was ridiculous. And childish. And unlikely to work since he couldn’t seem to care any less about what she was doing.

Mara shot her an exasperated look. “So, who’s up for a little matchmaking?”

Raina raised her hand. “I know someone who’s perfect. He used to be a model but now he’s an actor—”

“No models or actors,” Kay interrupted. Just the thought of it made her feel squeamish. Blind dates were awkward enough. She definitely didn’t want to deal with a guy who was prettier than she was.

“Oooo-kay then,” Raina drawled. “What about bodybuilders? Who doesn’t like a strong guy with lots of muscles, right?”

Kay had been pretty sure this was a bad idea from the beginning but she was especially sure of it now. A bodybuilder? Was Raina serious? She looked down at her own body, comfortably ensconced in her favorite pair of worn jeans and a soft sweater. She liked how she looked. Most of the time. But she had no illusions that a guy who spent most of his time in the gym would share her love of elastic waistbands.

“Um, I’m not sure if that would be such a good idea. I’m not that athletic.”

Mara waved away her concerns. “That’s okay. You shouldn’t have to pretend to be something you’re not. I’m not athletic either. We’ll just find you a guy who appreciates other things. You’ve got a great rack. And plenty of guys are breast men.”

Kay almost choked on her cocoa just as there was a soft oomph outside the door as if something had just knocked into the wall.

Mara tittered behind her hand. Kay dabbed at the spots on the front of her sweater with a napkin and glanced behind her at the doorway nervously. She wasn’t so sure baiting Eli like this was the way to go.

“What about T.J.?” Ridley piped up, mentioning an R&B singer that Jackson had recently signed to his label.

Kay shook her head. “I’m not dating another singer from the label. If it doesn’t work out, it would be weird.”

“Actually, he’s perfect because he’s only in town for a month or so to record his album. Then he’s going back to L.A. because he has a condo there,” Ridley said.

Kay looked around at the other girls, sure she was missing something. “Why would I date someone who’ll be gone in a few weeks? What’s the point?”

Mara hugged her. “Aw, you’re so sweet and innocent. It’s almost a shame that we’re corrupting you.”

Ridley finally took pity on her. “What Mara is trying to say is that sometimes you date guys just for the fun of it. Not because you plan on being together forever.”

Mara pursed her lips. “Actually, I was trying to say she should date him because I heard he is huge. Like barely able to walk straight while carrying that—”

The door to the kitchen burst open. They all jumped, including Kay. Eli stood in the doorway for a moment before he crossed the kitchen to stand behind her chair. His fingers curled over the top of the wood so hard it creaked. Kay gulped when his eyes landed on her.

“We need to go now. I want to get to your place and make sure it’s safe for the night.”

Eli regarded his sisters-in-law with a scowl before turning his dark look to Mara. Kay shrank back into her seat, but Mara just grinned.

“Oh hi, Eli. Lovely to see you,” she chirped.

“Um hmm,” was all Eli said in reply.

“WE NEED TO get to your place.” Eli ignored Mara and the other girls’ knowing looks. He didn’t doubt for a minute that they knew he’d overhead their conversation. Their amused grins told him that.

As far as he was concerned, he’d shown some serious restraint so far. They were trying to set Kay up with some big-dicked player who’d probably use and abuse her. What the hell were they thinking? He was shutting that down.

Immediately.

Kay raised her eyebrows. “We?”

“I’m not letting you go there alone.”

“I figured I wouldn’t be going home alone, but isn’t Matt coming with me?”