Page 7 of Protecting Love

“I’m not. Or I don’t think so. Maybe I’m just hormonal.”

“More like horny,” London said.

She snorted. “Just because you’re getting a lot of action in the sheets doesn’t mean the rest of us need it.”

London waved her hand. “Who are you kidding? You don’t miss it until you see it’s possible for someone else to get it.”

Her sister wasn’t wrong. “I’m happy for you,” she said primly.

“And jealous. Go on, admit it.”

There was no way to contain the laughter. “Just a little. But I’m still happy for you. And thanks for the laugh. Honestly, I expected this to go bad. It’s just a rough bunch. I think I just feel bad for Debra. They are going to dump it on her. She’s going to be the bad guy.”

“That isn’t your problem now,” London pointed out.

“Nope. Thank God for that. I’m onto the next one. And thankfully it’s not a full-on reorganization. Just got lots of personnel issues and trying to build better morale.”

“That’s you, Ms. Sunshine. You enjoy doing those.”

Paris stood up and grabbed the bag as her sister was reaching for another truffle. “That’s right. I’ve got my shine back now.”

“Where are those going?” London asked, pointing to the bag.

“In a bowl in the kitchen. If they are in my office or up front, I’ll eat too many. This way, they are out of sight, sort of.”

“Good point. And if you’ve got time later, we need to talk.”

She stopped and turned in the doorway. “What’s going on? I’ve got time now.”

“Well, Molly said there were three calls she fielded today interested in services. I think we need to consider expanding our own staff.”

“Oh, thank God you suggested it. I’ve already got resumes.”

“Hey, I’m not that hard. Why do you make me feel bad?”

“Because you are harder to please than me and you jump too fast on top of it. But we are both drowning in work. We should have hired at least one more person last month.”

“I think we need two,” London said. “I don’t want to turn business away, and we’ve got all of West’s work.”

“I’ll send you what I’ve got and we’ll go from there.”

“See, not so hard to deal with,” London said. “Just remember that.”

“Like you’d let me forget,” she said, shaking her head, but at least smiling and feeling much better about her day.

And after another two truffles in the kitchen, she was going to be sick just like her sister, but she needed the hit.

Because maybe London was right. Maybe she was jealous that her sister had a personal life and Paris was spending her time working and eating snacks at night while the Hallmark Channel played in the background.

2

WHAT PEOPLE KNOW

“Hold the elevator.”

Fletcher’s hand reached out and slapped against the cold metal, preventing the door from shutting as the tall blonde stepped in out of breath.

Figures.