Page 21 of Nothing to This

“We’re slating him now?”

“No, not slating him, praising him.His slick move gives me an advantage too.I’ve never met any of his haughty top floor friends.That means I can parade around up there making his life miserable and, unless he wants to blow your cover, he can’t tell me not to.”

“He could tell me it’s a security breach to have my friends around the office.”

“Yeah, but he won’t,” Brenna said, squeezing her arm.“He loves us too much… and I’ll tell Mom… oh, and his children.I’ll tell his children.Don’t forget them.He might think they idolize him, but they love Auntie Brenna more.If I tell them their father upset me, whoa!”

Brenna could always relax her.“Okay, you can come snoop around.”

“And have a real conversation,” Brenna said.“Tell me, if he’s staying with you and this is his weekend with the kids, how does that work?Does Baxter know?”

“I’ll take them to your mom’s.”

“Even though he’s living with you?”Brenna’s incredulity opened her mouth except, yeah, she had nothing.“What does Baxter think about your ex living with you?”

Sliding a hand up the strap of her purse, she avoided eye contact.“I’m seeing him tonight.”

“So he doesn’t know?”

“Since when do you care about my boyfriend’s opinions?”she said, twisting to smile like it was a tease.“Besides, I wouldn’t exactly call JD an ex.”

“Meaning he’s a… current?”Brenna asked and gasped, tugging on her arm.“Did you have sex with him last night?”She gasped again.“Are you ovulating?”

The constant questioning and childlike enthusiasm were hilarious.“Geez, Bren, the guy knocked me up once.You think either of us would make the same mistake twice?”

“Uh, have you forgotten that your kids are delightful?I think you should have more… Would you have more?”

“Kids?Are you and Lotta still talking about it?”

“I don’t know, kinda,” Brenna said.“But don’t change the subject.”The elevator pinged and the doors opened.Out they went, through the bullpen and up the stairs.“Why not stay at Baxter’s apartment this weekend?Leave Jamie alone with the kids at yours.”

Troublemaker.Brenna would relish putting her brother in any stressful position.

“Your mom will swoop in and help him, you know that.”

“Not if I tell her it’s prep for a newborn.”

“A newborn?”

“Sure, he’ll have to prove he can handle two four-year-olds before we let him use your uterus again.”

Another laugh.She guided Brenna to the desk, propping her on the end while she retrieved a chair.When she brought it back, she put it at the end of the desk and steered Brenna down into it.

“He doesn’t want to use my uterus again,” she said.“Let’s talk about your uterus.”

“No, let’s talk about what you’re going to do this weekend,” Brenna said, watching her switch on her laptop and check what had materialized on her desk since she left.“Go to Baxter’s, screw his brains out, break the news about Jamie gently, and leave my brother to drown in SpaghettiOs.”

She returned to filling in the forms she hadn’t finished before.“My children don’t eat SpaghettiOs.”

“All kids eat them,” Brenna said, picking up a document from her in-tray.“You just aren’t nice enough to give them to your children.Bet my brother has enough money to buy the whole factory.He could buy the twinsallthe SpaghettiOs in the world.”

“Why are we talking about SpaghettiOs?”

“Because you don’t want to talk about your uterus, or your boyfriend, and you haven’t brought me coffee.”

Pushing the papers aside, she rose.“I’ll get coffee providing there’s no more talk of my uterus or my boyfriend.”

Leaving her friend at the desk perusing papers, she went downstairs to the coffee room—one of the first places she’d sought that morning.As long as there was coffee, she’d get through the day.