Page 24 of Secret Baby for My Brother's Best Friends

“You sure your mom didn’t-”

“Yes.” He cuts me off with a hard look. “I’m sure.”

Well. That complicates things in a different way.

Obviously, James is our friend, and probably won’t be entirely open to us pursuing his sister.

Which doesn’t mean I’m not going to do it. It just means I have to proceed with care.

I weigh it in my head, the potential fallout with a longtime friend versus giving up on the woman who gave me one of the best nights of my life.

It’s a close call, but somehow she still edges ahead.

“Okay,” James says. “Back to the topic at hand, we’re going to have to market this merger as far and wide as possible, so thatpotential clients are aware that we offer full boutique services. Fortunately, Chelsea here is a marketing expert.”

“Expert’s kind of pushing it,” she says, throwing her brother an indulgent look. “But I am good at what I do, and I’ve been doing it for a while.”

“I bet,” I say. She doesn’t have to convince me. She has an air of competence, and I do not doubt that she’s excellent at whatever she puts her mind to.

Her gaze flickers to me, her expression altering before she looks away. Redness spreads across her entire face as she focuses her being on opening her iPad in her hand.

Despite her embarrassment, I’m not entirely buying the shy act.

That boldness that enraptured me that first night has to be in there somewhere, likely hidden behind the bashful appearance. It’s probably thanks to her brother being here that she can’t express her true feelings.

Doesn’t mean I can’t tease it out of her, though.

"I look forward to working with you, and finally getting your name,Chelsea," I say.

“Likewise,” she responds, without looking up. "The first piece we'll be working on is our local outreach. I'm thinking of signboards, posters, and taking a section in the local magazines. I have a few contacts at the daily, and I can get them to write us a few articles for an affordable price."

"Question," I say. “We’ll be working together to come up with the marketing strategy, right?” I think James mentioned something like that before she arrived.

“Yes,” she admits.

“Do you have any ideas of where we can meet? Because we'll have to meet at least once a week, and coming here that often is going to put a cramp in our style."

"We don't have to meet that often in person," she says. "Half the meetings can be over Zoom."

I give her a sultry look. "What if I want to meet in person, though?"

Her face reddens again, and though I expect her to throw it right back at me, she just silently looks away and fumbles with her screen as she stammers. "Where would work for you?"

"Hmm, I don't know. There's a great wine bar near our office."

"A wine bar isn't the place for a business meeting," James says, and I raise my eyebrow at him.

"Who said anything about business?"

He practically scowls at me, and Adam jumps in with, "There's a coffee shop down the street from us."

“Sure,” she says. “Coffee shop is fine.”

“Great,” I grin.

We hammer out the details of that, and when she's done, she heads out to the bathroom, walking so quickly, her ass bounces with every step.

Man, I hate to see her go, but I love to watch her leave.