Page 64 of Christmas with Brother's Best Friends

“I’ll just do some water. Thank you,” I tell him as my hands fidget in my lap under the table. I managed to convince him tomeet somewhere else besides a bar, but I didn’t expect this fancy restaurant.

“Aw, come on. I know we’re here for business, but we can have a little fun too,” Vincent says as he flashes me a charming grin. “Especially since you ditched me last time.”

My face warms up. “Sorry about that. I do appreciate and respect your time.”

Vincent waves his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. You can make it up to me in San Francisco.”

I let out a stiff laugh. He’s already so confident that I’ll take the job, but I just don’t know yet. Eventually, I’ll have to tell the guys the truth. I can’t hide something like this from them. Especially since one of them is the father.

What I’m worried about is what will happen next. What if they don’t want to help raise the baby? What if they decide that they don’t want to be with me?

I’ll have to raise the baby alone, and the thought of doing that far away from home scares the hell out of me. I don’t think that’s genuinely plausible after giving it some actual thought.

Of course, among all the scary scenarios in my head, there is the fantasy of the guys wanting to be a family. Wanting to be with me. Somehow, everything turns out okay without struggle or pain.

But I know how reality is.

No matter what I do, my life will change, and people will get hurt.

“I’ve been really thinking about your offer,” I tell him, my palms growing clammy.

Vincent holds up a finger to make me pause as the waiter comes by. “Your best sake.”

I almost roll my eyes as he orders for me again, but I control myself. I’m about to really disappoint him.

Vincent turns back to me and grins. “Well? Ready to pack your bags and come work for me?”

The past version of me would’ve already had my bags packed and ready to go, but things are different now. The guys changed everything, and this baby will change thingseven more.

I’m not that woman anymore. I can’t run away.

“No, she won’t be.”

My eyes dart up as Ryan strides over to our table like he’s on a mission. My heart jolts to a complete stop as he walks over to my side, my shock rendering me silent.

“Ryan, is that you?” Vincent questions him as he narrows his eyes in suspicion.

“Sure is,” Ryan replies as he wraps his fingers around my arm and helps me to my feet. “She will not be working for you because you’re a gigantic asshole with an even bigger ego and a small dick.”

Vincent’s jaw drops in shock, and I still can’t get a word out. What the hell is he doing? Is he literally insane?

“Excuse me?” Vincent sputters, bewilderment etched across his face.

“You heard me. I know you fucked Gina and Scarlett, and I know that you hired them so that you could fuck them,” Ryan bites out as he pulls my coat around me. “If you think you’re going to do the same thing with Emma, you can go fuck yourself.”

“Ryan!” I hiss at him, my mind reeling from all the insults he just spat out.

Ryan wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me away from the table, not letting me get another word in. “Be pissed at me, but I’m doing you a favor. I know him.”

I stumble along, pitching a quick look over my shoulder to see that Vincent is red in the face. He didn’t exactly defend himself. Did he only offer me the job because he wanted to sleep with me?

Disappointment drops on my chest like a sack of bricks, leaving me feeling crushed and deflated. As if I need this blow to my ego on top of everything else.

“This way,” Ryan says as he leads me down the quiet, empty sidewalk, pools of streetlights illuminating our way through the dark.

I snap back to reality and jerk away from him, stumbling back toward the entrance of an unlit alleyway. “I can’t believe you just did that! How did you even know where I was?”

Ryan narrows his eyes as he steps closer to me. “I have my ways. I knew you were meeting up with him, so I had to talk some sense into you.”