Page 26 of Never Kiss Your Brother's Best Friend

Oh my gosh, I didn’t say that out loud, did I?

“No, no. Just talking to Buddy.”

We move into the room and close the door so I can put Buddy down. There’s a long table in the center, and six chairs around it. I pull out my notebook and laptop, ready to go over our progress and discuss the next steps. Sterling does the same, his focus and determination evident. It's clear that he takes this project to heart, just like I do.

"So," I begin, flipping through my notes, "let's catch up on what we've accomplished so far. I had a fantastic meeting with Mia and Zoe yesterday. Mia is on board for the raffle, and Zoe is helping us with the venue and the silent auction. They're both incredibly enthusiastic about the project."

"Great," Sterling says, leaning back in his chair and steepling his fingers. "I’ve also made some calls to other vets who are part of the VMA around the state."

"Oh, really?" I lean forward, propping my chin on my hands. "How did those go?"

Sterling grins, clearly pleased with the outcome. "Better than I could have imagined. The support from my colleagues is overwhelming. They've pledged their time, expertise, and even some fantastic prizes for the silent auction. Dr. Reynolds, in particular, from Charlotte, offered free dog food for life as a raffle prize. It's incredible how invested they are in making this shelter a reality."

"That's amazing, Sterling! We're really building a community around this project," I say, feeling a surge of pride for what we're accomplishing together. We've already made such great strides.

Sterling leans back, crossing his arms. "Now, let's talk about the big question. Which fundraiser should we launch first?"

"I was thinking the concert," I tell him. "It'll be the easiest to put together, since all we have to do is find the band and sell tickets, so we shouldn't have an issue scheduling it in the near future."

I pull out a calendar from my purse and spread it out on the table.

"How about three weeks, maybe two if we can find an act quickly? The weather should be pleasant, and it gives us enough time to get the word out."

"I actually have some connections from the city. I’ve seen a lot of great bands over the years and some friends of mine know some of the members personally. I can reach out to them right away to see if they’d help us out. What do you think?"

Sterling nods. "That sounds good. And the venue, we should talk about that. What are you thinking?”

"I was thinking we could do it at the community theater," I suggest, jotting down some notes. “It’s a large place for such a small town. But you know how much Cedar Creek loves the arts, so we’re lucky to have it. It seats close to a thousand. Plus, there’s already a stage and all the electrical in place, so it would be easy for the band to set up.”

Sterling's eyes light up with approval. "Done. Let's go with that."

I take a moment to gather my thoughts, running my finger across my notes when I feel a paw on my leg. “Hey there, you feeling left out?” I lift Buddy up, and he snuggles into the crook of my arm, filling me with warmth. I adore him. “You want some love from Sterling?"

I move closer to Sterling and when he reaches out to pet the dog, his hand brushes against mine. His touch feels like it’s connected to a live wire and all the hair on my arms stands at full attention.

Apparently, there’s no hiding my reaction. Sterling looks up at me with a mischievous grin. “Cold, Emma?”

Sure, we’ll go with that.

“Yes, there’s definitely a draft in here. Or maybe the air conditioning just kicked on,” I respond and spin quickly away so he can’t see my grin.

I sit back down holding Buddy on my lap and do my best to move on.

"Okay, so, the venue is settled. Next, we'll have to figure out how we want to handle selling tickets once we have a band in place. We should see if some of local businesses will consider helping.”

Sterling nods. "Yeah, we want to maximize community involvement. We could also talk to them about donating to the raffle or silent auction while we’re there. We don't want to have a ton of stuff, you know? So we don't overwhelm people. Maybe just a few, high-value items that are really desirable."

"Agreed," I say, my mind racing with possibilities. "Let's start with the basic necessities—vet services, grooming, house cleaning. Then we can include some luxury items, like a day at a spa or a massage. I'm sure we can canvas the town and get some great prizes."

"Perfect, so that leaves us with the raffle. I'll put together a list of possibilities, and we can talk about that later. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good," I say, making a note. "Holy crap, Sterling. We're actually doing this."

"It's a bit surreal, isn't it?" he says with a chuckle. "But I'm excited about this, Emma. We always worked well together. Remember back in high school when we had that big biology project? The one that involved building an ecosystem. We were a dynamic duo then, weren't we?"

I let out a small laugh. "I remember. You didn't want to be my partner at first because I was a grade lower than you, so you thought I'd screw it up. But once we got started, we were unstoppable. We made a perfect team."

"Yeah, well, I was an idiot," he says, and I laugh, shaking my head.

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