Page 50 of Charm

“No,” she says, waving for me to sit back down. “It’s fine.”

I lower back onto my chair because this woman may look and sound like Krista, but that comment is not something my closest friend would say.

I envy the fact that Krista never settles for anything she doesn’t want, including improperly prepared iced tea, so this is completely out of character for her.

“What’s wrong?” I ask in a rush. “What’s going on with you?”

It could be related to the stress between us, but I have no doubt that Krista knows how much I love her, and I’m confidentthat we’ll work out our business issues because our friendship is too important to both of us.

She bites the center of her bottom lip before her gaze drops to the front of the blue blouse she’s wearing. “I’m pregnant, Greer. Howie and I are going to have a baby.”

My big plans totalk about Krista’s big plans for Sweet Indulgence were swept away in a sea of tears as soon as she announced she’s pregnant.

We hugged as we cried, and as soon as we both settled down, we sat next to each other holding hands as she told me all about her morning sickness and the names they’re considering for their baby.

They won’t know the gender for a few weeks, but the names she shared with me are all perfect.

Her plan for Edlund to be her baby’s middle name made me sob out loud since it was Celia’s surname. Both of our children’s names will honor our best friend, and I couldn’t be happier about that.

I round the corner on my way back to Sweet Indulgence only to spot someone waiting for me.

It’s a very handsome someone wearing glasses and a tailored three-piece dark gray suit. The light blue shirt underneath is the perfect color to accentuate his eyes.

I laugh inwardly because thinking about how hot Holden Sheppard is won’t help me in my quest to keep his hands off of my business and me.

“Greer!” he calls out when he spots me. “You look lovely today.”

He may need to get his eyes rechecked because I’m not dressed to impress. I’m wearing one of my Sweet Indulgences T-shirts and a pair of white shorts since the temperature is supposed to skyrocket later this afternoon. To add to that, I look like I haven’t slept in days. To be precise, it was only last night. I tossed and turned in bed last night thinking about his business proposition and our time in East Hampton.

I don’t return the compliment because that’s not the tone I want to set with him right now. I wasn’t able to discuss business with Krista, so I’m no closer to knowing what I’m going to do than I was when I stormed out of Carden’s offices.

“I have a hectic day, Holden,” I say as I approach him. “I told you I’d reach out to talk when I’m ready.”

“I know.” He nods, tucking both hands in the front pockets of his pants. “I’m not here to pressure you. I come in peace.”

I can’t help but smile. “Do I want to know what that means?”

His face remains stoic. “I mentioned we wanted to present a new offer to you and Krista. I believe your response was ‘don’t bother,’ but I bothered anyway and had it drawn up. I’ll send it over to you via courier since I don’t have any of your contact information.”

This is the moment in time when I should offer my phone number to him, but I’m not about to do that. We’ve shared way too much time in bed. If he had my number, he could reach out to ask me out.

At least I think he’d do that, judging by what he said to me last night.

“I’m not in a position to make a final decision yet,” I say.

I was set on not selling, but knowing that Krista is having a baby does change things. How could it not?

“No rush,” he says in an even tone. “Take your time looking over the revised offer.”

“Okay.” I nod.

“Okay,” he repeats, grinning slightly. “I’ll take off. Unless you want me to stick around and stare at you for an hour or two.”

I ward off a smile by biting the corner of my bottom lip. “Let’s skip that.”

“My loss.” He sighs. “Have a good day, Summer.”

“Greer,” I correct him.

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