Page 77 of Call It Love

Her posture relaxed slightly. “I’m sorry, Anna. For a lot of things, including jumping to the wrong conclusion. Actually, you did look uncomfortable with Marcus. Was he bothering you?”

“Nothing I couldn’t handle.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“He made a pass. I shut it down. Even if I weren’t with Chase, and I am, I wouldn’t be interested in him. In fairness, Chase and I haven’t made our relationship public. Marcus probably doesn’t know.”

She nodded. “Well, again, I’m sorry. Can we blame it on the crazy pregnancy hormones?”

I allowed a small laugh. “Yeah. Let’s go with that.”

She looked around. “So this is going to be the scene of the next big Sterling Mill shindig, huh?”

“Yep. Assuming I can pull it together.”

“You can. And that’s why I’m here. I said I’d help. Well, that, and it’s my day off, and Reid was driving me crazy telling me I should rest. So, it’s either help you or fake a nap somewhere.”

I chuckled. “Whatever it takes to have the help, I’m grateful to have it.”

“So, what’s the plan?”

I woke up my tablet and looked at the list I’d made. “Other than the obvious need to clean this place out and stage a small miracle? I need help wrangling auction donations. After I get lunch for the guys, I thought I’d spend the afternoon making some calls. And the hardest thing is, I need to find a good band at short notice who’s basically willing to work for food.”

“Oof.” She winced. “I can help with the auction. I’ll start by offering a year of free oil changes. That’ll guilt some of the other businesses into ponying up something decent. But let me see what else I can do. I used to attend some fundraisers with my dad. I’ll try to think of some other ideas.” She paused, then her face lit up. “You know what you should do.”

My brow wrinkled, wary of her idea when she got that look. “What?”

“Tomorrow’s our girls’ night. It’s me, Cam, Em, and some of our friends. Join us. It’s the perfect way to come out of hiding.”

“I’m not hiding.”

She arched an eyebrow.

“Okay, fine. It’s easier here.”

“I get it. But it’s time to grab the bull by the horns. In fact,” she winked, “Ferg’s has a riding bull. We could go there instead, and you could literally grab it.”

I shuddered at the idea. “I don’t think getting tossed on my butt in front of everyone will help any.”

“Sure, it would. But we’ll save that for another time. We’re meeting at Megan’s house.”

“Who?”

“Megan Bliss. She manages Bliss Confections. You’ll love her.”

“Are you sure no one would mind if I showed up?”

She waved off my concern. “Please. They love a good comeback story. You’ll be golden.”

“If you’re sure…”

“I’m sure.” Her voice softened a touch. “It might be good for all of us. Help us find our way back to…you know. How it used to be.”

A small lump caught in my throat. “Okay. I’ll come.”

“Good. Now let’s see what else you’ve got there.”

Chapter 26

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