“Who’s Beth?” Keri asked.“The bartender at your wedding.”“Oh, that’s right. How could I forget whenmy husband almost got thrown out of our ownreception for trying to hire her like a hooker orsomething.”“What’s a hooker?” Bobby asked.Keri’s island tan flushed pink. “Oops.”“You put it on the end of a fishing pole,dummy,” Brian explained.Bobby frowned. “Uncle Joe tried to hire aworm?”

“For each full day you stick it out with the Kowalskis, you get to ask me one question.”Keri, unlike Joe, did have a poker face and she made sure it was in place while she turned his words over in her head. “When you say the Kowalskis, you mean…”“The entire family.” The dimples were about as pronounced as she’d ever seen them. “Every one of them.”Her first thought was oh shit. Her second, to wonder if People was hiring.”

“Simon rolled his eyes. “It’s a good thing we know the person who’s dating Magnus Bane,” he said. “Otherwise, I get the feeling we’d all just lie around all the time wondering what the hell to do next. Or trying to raise the money to hire him by selling lemonade or something.”Alec looked merely irritated by this comment. “The only way you could raise enough money to hire Magnus by selling lemonade is if you put meth in it.”

“Sorry, Sam, but I call 'em like see 'em. When you hire a nanny for the kids, you hire Mrs. Doubtfire. When you hire someone who looks like Sunny...well, then I'm afraid you hired her for yourself.”

“Love is always there when you don’t need it, and when you need it and it’s not there, well, that’s what hookers are for.”

“So what’s the verdict?” Kayla asked. “Can I act, or am I just a bimbo who got hired because I look goodin lingerie?”“Is that a trick question?” Sean grinned. “Because I’m pretty sure you look good in lingerie.”