Page 11 of Igniting Sparks

That delicious.

Thatinnocent.

Fuck, no poker face in the world can save me.

Zane glances up from his station as a sly grin crosses his features.

And here we go. Not even five steps in the door.

“So… you and Mina, huh? Gotta say man, I didn’t see that one coming.”

“Neither did I,” I mutter, tugging a hand through my hair.

Maybe he’ll drop it. Let it lie.

“When were you going to tell me you two were together?”

Or maybe not.

“Not just together. Apparently, they’re engaged. I betterget an invitation to the wedding.” Ash pokes his head out of his office, chuckling at the death stare I shoot in his direction.

I grab a stress ball from the drawer, determined to exert all my angst on the rubber ball. “Cut the shit. She needed help, so I helped her.”

“And you truly committed to that role,” Zane adds, ducking as I lob the stress ball at his head. “All I want to know is why did she pick you? I was standing right there, too.”

“Because she has a crush on Braden,” Ash replies with an offhanded shrug.

“No, she doesn’t,” I say, trying to play it off. “We’re friends… I think.”

It’s true. Mina isn’t some random chick. She’s sweet. Adorable. Okay, she’s fucking stunning and her mouth should come with a warning label.

I am so not okay.

Ash snorts at my denial. “Dude, she likes you. Everyone knows it, including you. So, what happens now?”

I toss up my hands as I pace the reception area. “Damned if I know. She said she only needed me for a few minutes.”

“See?” Zane points at me, a shit-eating grin on his face. “That’s unacceptable. You need to take hours with a woman like that. Fuck that minute shit.”

“Do you want me to kill you?” I shoot Zane a glare, which only amuses him further.

Ash flips through the day’s schedule. “I thought Mina was joking about the whole fake engagement scenario that day at Rum and Ruin.”

“Me, too, but the woman is serious. Oh, and her aunt fucking hates me.”

Ash gives me a strange look. “She met you for like thirty seconds.”

“Apparently, that’s all it takes.”

But this doesn’t sit well with my older brother. He’s more than a little protective of me. According to my folks, he’sbeen that way since they brought me home from the hospital.

Thirty-seven years later, he’s still the same way.

“What is this woman’s deal?”

“Not justanywoman. Bitsy Farnsworth.”

Ash’s eyes widen as he steps closer. “Mina is a Farnsworth? How the fuck did I not know that?”