Page 107 of Unsure in Love

“Yup.” I grinned. “Bree, meet Luis.”

“May I?” She gestured to the car seat.

“Sure.” Resting the seat on her desk, I plucked Luis out and placed him in her arms.

“He is so precious,” she whispered. “My God, Cass, he’s the mirror image of Damian. He only got your eyes.”

“Yeah. He’s a copy of Dad, for sure.”

I watched with amusement as Bree cooed to Luis about how handsome he was. When she handed him back over, I didn’t put him back in the seat. I kept him in my arms because I was addicted to holding him.

“Damian is in his office,” Bree said. “Come on, I’ll carry this for you.” She took up the car seat.

“Oh, so it’s okay? I mean… that I’m here?” Heat filled my cheeks. “If he’s busy, I can wait or come back later.”

“Are you kidding? I’ll likely get fired for not letting you in. Don’t worry, you and Lucia are on the let-in-without-a-question list.”

“There’s a list?”

She grinned. “An unwritten one.” She gestured to me to follow her. On our brief journey, she asked about my New York experience so far.

I expressed that I was missing my sisters, but I had adjusted from small town to big-city life just fine. Damian had a lot to do with that. He made me feel so comfortable here.

Stopping outside the door, she said, “Awesome, and how’s business?”

She referred to my tattoo shop back in Oakland. It was Bree who arranged all my trips back to Nebraska to check up on business before I was too heavily pregnant to travel. She even kept in contact with my employee and kept me posted while I took some time to relax after giving birth. Did I mention how much I appreciated her?

“Good. Having someone else focus on that part has left time to think about expanding my art career,” I shared. “You know, as in painting more and getting my art out there. This is New York, after all. I’ve got a shot, right?”

“Go for it. Damian has so many high-profile contacts. Don’t be afraid to use them.”

I laughed. “Why not?”

“And if you need help with anything, I’m here.”

“Thank you, Bree.”

Smiling, she knocked on Damian’s door.

“Yes, Bree?” he called.

“I’ve got a surprise, sir.” She winked at me.

“What?”

The confusion in Damian’s voice made me anxious. Maybe I was distracting him from something important. When the door opened, and he spotted me, his radiant smile put me at ease.

“And what a pleasant surprise it is.”

He got up and walked to us, taking me by surprise when he swooped down and claimed my mouth. I was certain things would have heated up some more if I wasn’t holding Luis.

When he let me up for air, I glanced over my shoulder to see if his assistant saw all of that, but Bree had deposited the baby’s car seat and disappeared.

“Hi,” I breathed.

“Hey, everything alright?” He eyed me and Luis with a hint of concern. It was the first time I’d come to his office after my move.

“Of course.” My eyes darted around the office. “I just missed you, and I thought you might want to have an impromptu lunch date with Luis and me. Plus, I wanted to take my new car for a spin to get accustomed to big-city driving.” I chanced a look at him, a little afraid of seeing annoyance on his face. “I hope I didn’t interrupt something important.”