Page 88 of Fierce-Michael

“Nope,” he said. “I’m just here for lunch with my girlfriend.”

It was said loud enough that there was silence in the office after that and lots of feet moving out and coming toward her office.

“Wow,” Kendra said. Kendra had been one of the setups and was married to Cade’s cousin Ivan. The last time she’d asked Jolene to set her up was at Kendra and Ivan’s wedding. “How long has this been going on and does Jolene know?”

“It’s been about two months now, right? Just short of it,” she said. “And she’s about to find out.”

“This is going to be fun,” Kendra said. “I’m sure we’ll hear all about it.”

“Let’s go get some food,” she said. “I’m sure you’re busy and it’s nice you took the time out to do this.”

They walked down the stairs and into the pub. Brody pointed to a table where he had a clear view. “I need to see my mother’s reaction when she comes in. Cade and Ella will be back here too. Best seat is over there.”

“Brody,” Aimee, Brody’s wife, said, moving over. “You guys are all horrible.”

“It’s fun and you know it,” Brody said, kissing his wife. “I thank my mother all the time for her setup, but it’s still fun to yank her chain.”

“You didn’t think it was so much fun when you were the first,” Aimee said.

“We’re all used to it now,” Brody said. Kelly and Michael went to the table that Brody had pointed to after giving Brody their drink orders.

They both got a soda and took a seat, the server moving over to get their food orders. She knew what she was getting since she’d looked at the special menu prior.

Before their food was delivered, they heard, “There is no way this is work related with that picture I just got.”

They both turned their head to see Jolene moving over quickly, Cade, Ella, Brody and Aimee laughing behind the bar. Aiden and his wife, Nic, were there too and Kelly hadn’t been paying enough attention to see them all gathering, meaning it was going to happen soon.

She was too lost in her boyfriend to notice anything else in the bar.

“It’s lunch,” she said.

“We are talking about work,” Michael said.

Jolene frowned and then flipped her phone over. “That looks like more.”

Kelly pulled the phone out of Jolene’s hand and noticed a picture of Michael putting his hand on her lower back when she sat, then a second picture where her head was tilted as she looked into the man’s eyes she loved.

“Maybe it is more,” she said.

Jolene slid into the seat next to her. “Fill me in.”

“Not much to say,” Michael said. “We are dating.”

Jolene looked at her. She was going to take Michael’s lead on this. “He’s right. We are dating. It’s not like we’ve got much time to see each other.”

“How long have you been dating?” Jolene asked.

“Less than two months, but you know Michael has a son. So I’m not taking any time away from that.”

“So it’s nothing serious?” Jolene asked.

She wanted to argue it was, but Michael shrugged. “We are taking it at our own pace. Is that a problem? Wasn’t aware I needed to give an update to everyone. It’s easier to come here to have lunch, but we could go somewhere else next time.”

Kelly heard laughing from all the siblings behind the bar again. She still wasn’t sure what was going on and wondered if Cade and Michael had something set up.

She wouldn’t be offended if that was the case and worried that he might not be feeling the same as her.

“No,” Jolene said. “You keep coming here. We like that.”

---