Page 13 of Friend Me

A date with Jackson’s brother seemed vaguely incestuous. But what other option did I have?

“I’ll think about it.” I threaded my arm through his as we walked back toward the office. “Now, what about you? Feeling better?”

Jackson laid his hand over mine. “Much better. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Oh, I do,” I said in a teasing tone. I ticked the items off my fingers. “You’d miss every meeting and they’d run the place into the ground without you. You’d starve because you’d forget to eat. You’d go to jail for nonpayment of taxes. Oh, and you wouldn’t be with Alicia.”

As usual, he argued. “I was the one who actually did the groveling.”

“But I gave you the idea. Without my amazing tips, you’d never have won her back.” I wished I could’ve seen all my best romance novel grovel tips in action, but he’d done the groveling in Austin.

I walked through the revolving door, and he met me on the other side. “Point taken.” He turned a hopeful eye to the delivery guy at the security desk. “Is there food?”

“Of course there’s food,” I said. “You have a lunch meeting with Mr. Weston.”

His smile drooped. “Weston.” The relationship between Synergy’s CEO and Jackson was one I characterized in public as challenging. Really, they were like two wet cats in a sack.

“But I ordered your favorite chipotle-chicken sandwich. With fries. Carry it up for me?” I signed for the food, and Jackson took the bags from the delivery guy.

When the elevator doors closed behind us, Jackson looked up from the floor. “Any way you could—”

“Nope.”

“But you don’t know what I—”

“No.” He was wrong. I did.

“But what if—?”

“Not a chance. You’re going on your honeymoon in ten days. You have to meet with him before you go. And I scheduled him during lunch so you’d both be in a better mood. I ordered cookies.”

Jackson’s shoulders slumped. But then his face brightened. “Double chocolate-chip?”

“Of course.”

“I love you, Marlee.”

If only his partner felt the same.

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