Big Girl Panties by Stephanie Evanovich

wanted me taken care of in case something bad happened to him. Little did he know. Anyway, when I told my parents I was going to stay here in New Jersey, a decision I made mostly out of grief and laziness, I couldn’t tell if they were relieved or angry. So basically Martin and Agnes Busch wished me luck, and I haven’t seen or heard from them since. I’m sure I’m nothing but a memory.”
    Logan was dumbfounded and took a minute to digest all he’d been given. It was becoming increasingly clear where Holly’s emotional eating was coming from. He was just about to comment on how impressed he was that she’d attended Brown when it hit him. “Wait a tick. Did you just tell me your maiden name was Busch?”
    She raised her chin a fraction higher and looked him right in the eye before nodding. “And not the rich, presidential, or Anheuser good kind of Busch, either.”
    â€œYou spent your entire childhood with the name Holly Busch?” he said in disbelief.
    She nodded again.
    â€œYou’re kidding me. I don’t believe you. Who does that?” he kept asking, not caring if she thought he considered her parents demented.
    â€œWho does it? Quirky folks with a jaded sense of humor, obviously,” she replied. “When I would complain about it to them, they used to tell me it would build character. You should meet my sister, Azalea.”
    â€œWhat the fuck?!” Logan gasped, horrified.
    â€œI’m teasing,” she quickly told him, startled by his immediate and adverse reaction.
    â€œThank God.” He exhaled and shook his head.
    â€œI don’t have a sister, just an older brother, the crown prince of the Busch family. Prince Albert. And no, they never kept him in a can.”
    â€œHolly, please stop with the shtick. It’s too early in the morning and you’re scrambling my brain.” He was on the verge of pleading.
    â€œSorry. Force of habit. I really do have a brother named Albert. He’s fifteen years older than me and just like them. I guess it could have been worse. They didn’t name me Rose.”
    â€œYeah, I guess that would be worse.” Logan was flummoxed, wishing he could find the positive spin on what sounded like a completely dismal childhood. “Why did you say you weren’t sure of your family’s motives before?”
    â€œBecause Albert is one sneaky bastard. He got married and moved away to start stockpiling shit in his own house. But he also put the idea in my parents’ heads that after college I could return to take care of them as they got older. The three of them hatched the plan like they were doing me a favor. After all, I was fat and awkward; nobody was going to want me anyway. The day they told me it was expected of me, I felt like I had just been handed a death sentence.”
    â€œI’m speechless,” he said, frowning.
    â€œIt’s okay. I got the last laugh, sort of. I did manage to land a husband, but they were in no position to pay for a wedding. So we paid for it ourselves. By then they had pretty much become hermits, so they didn’t even attend. They only were willing to travel after Bruce died because Albert was with them, telling them the reward of getting me to go back there would be worth it to them. I could go on with a hundred more examples, but not only don’t I want to bore you, by the look on your face, I don’t think you can take it.”
    â€œI think you’re right,” he readily admitted.
    â€œLong story short, instead of character, what they really ended up building in me was a deep resentment that made it very easy to turn my back on them. The day I took the name Brennan was easily the happiest day of my life. I even got to keep my initials. Bonus.”
    He was almost afraid to continue inquiring. “No friends?”
    â€œA few. Not many from my childhood. I developed a pretty thick skin. I probably harbored a lot of