Page 19 of The Jerk

“I said,” Priscilla repeated patiently, “you should have come to me to ask for advice.”

This time, his lips quirked. “You know I wouldn’t do that.”

“Why not?”

He said truthfully, “Because you’re a twit – a lovable twit, mind you, but still a twit.”

She giggled.

“See?”

She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I may be sillier than most, but I’m far from being stupid. I have Christopoulos blood running in my veins too, you know.” She wagged her finger at him. “If you really like Roberta Granger—-”

Leandro frowned. “Back up a second there. Why are you talking about Bobby?”

“Because I’m going to give you valuable advice about her?”

“I thought you were going to give me advice about Greek politics.”

She was just as incredulous as he was. “Why would I when I don’t evenknowwhat position Uncle Orion is running for?”

He grimaced. “Good point.” It was just another sign that he was clearly losing it.Five days.It had been five days since he had last seen Bobby, and here he was, acting like he was a lovesick fool.Wake up, you piece of ass,he told himself furiously. He had wasted enough time thinking about what he could have had with Bobby – and didn’t. He needed to find a woman to replace her and resume his plans for getting back in the good graces of the public.

Priscilla snapped her fingers in her cousin’s face. “Leandro! Pay attention. I’m trying to tell you something important here!”

He flushed. “I’m sorry. I really just have too many things on my mind—-”

“If you’re thinking about your Bobby, then you have all the more reason to listen to me. Iknowher, okay? We’re not like BFFs or anything, but we’re friends.”

“And?” He didn’t see where this was going. After all, Priscilla was friends witheveryone. She was one of those rare women who didn’t possess a mean bone in her body, choosing to deliberately let insults intended to hurt her fly over her head instead.

“I know how you can win her.”

He rolled his eyes.

“I’m serious,” she insisted. “We were doing yoga together once—-”

“Now I know you’re joking. Bobby’s not the kind to do yoga.”

“She is when she found out that yoga could help deaf kids with anger management issues.”

He considered that and said gruffly, “Go on.”

“And we got to talking about boys.”

He wasn’t so sure now that he wanted to listen to his cousin.

“And she told me shyly that the kind of guy she wanted was someone plain, someone ordinary like her who’d spend lots of time with her, make her feel pretty and sexy even if she clearly wasn’t, and...” she paused, trying to recall the rest that Bobby had to say after that. “Oh, and she wants someonesmart.The kind she could talk to about books.”

He asked skeptically, “She told youallthat?”

Priscilla rolled her eyes. “I’m a twit, remember? Of course she’s going to tell me everything. Twits don’t backstab.”

A moment passed before Leandro’s lips formed a reluctant smile. “That was indeed helpful.”

“You don’t really look her type, though.”

The words stung. “Well, type or not, she never fails to succumb to my kisses.”

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