Page 3 of Unexpected

“Maybe you should,” she said. “If you dress like that for meetings, I’m positive he’d be interested.”

“Oh,” I said, waving the bartender over to order a drink. “He’s interested. I’m just more interested in business.”

She smirked. “Maybe you could mix a little business with pleasure. It might close the deal faster.”

I knew she was only kidding—at least, I hoped so. But I wasn’t interested in sleeping with my clients. It would only end in disaster.

“You know I never mix business with pleasure.”

“That’s not true.” She gestured between us.

“That’s different,” I huffed, thanking the bartender when he returned with my drink. She and I had been colleagues first, then friends.

“Well, you look hot, girl,” she said, raising her glass to toast.

“So do you.” I grinned, following suit. I took a sip of my drink, relishing the burst of flavors on my tongue. The salty olive, the gin. It was divine. “I love that color on you.”

“I do look pretty fabulous, don’t I?” She laughed, and we both knew she was only half kidding. That was one of the things I loved about Lauren—her confidence.

“Where are the others?” I asked, glancing around for Juliana and Harper.

“Juliana had a work emergency. And Harper—”

I cut in, already knowing the answer. “Don’t tell me…Brett called at the last minute. And yet again, she dropped everything for him.”

She took a sip of her drink and nodded. “For a hot second, I thought you were going to stand me up too. Not that I’d mind. There’s a delicious piece of man candy at the bar I’d love to sample.”

I rolled my eyes and laughed. “Yeah, sorry. Long day, then Cal called.”

“Ugh. What’s he bailing on now?”

“The summer. Sophia.” My shoulders slumped, and I fiddled with the stem of my cocktail glass. “How am I going to tell her? She’s going to be crushed.”

Her jaw fell open. “He bailed for the entire summer?”

I nodded, still wondering what I was going to do. Gabriela wasn’t an option. Summer camp was out. And I sure as hell couldn’t take time off to watch Sophia twenty-four seven, even if I’d wanted to.

“You’re not looking to hire a six-year-old summer intern, are you?” I teased.

She threw her head back and laughed, the rich, lusty sound drawing the attention of several nearby men. “Um. No. How about a nanny service?”

“I don’t know,” I hedged. Sophia had only ever known Gabriela. And the idea of finding someone else—trusting someone else—seemed daunting.

“They run background checks and have a crazy vetting process,” she said, surprising me with her knowledge. “And you don’t even communicate directly with the nanny. The agency handles everything, like a vacation rental.”

I wanted to point out that my daughter wasn’t a vacation rental, but I needed details. “How do you know all this?” I asked. Lauren didn’t have kids, and I wasn’t sure she ever planned to.

“One of my clients—the house I did recently over on Hummingbird? She owns one. Hartly… Harlot… Hartwell Agency,” she finally settled on. “Rumor has it her clients include several major celebrities.” She dug in her purse, grabbing her phone and tapping on the screen. “I’m sending you her info now.”

“Thanks,” I said, not sure I’d ever use it. But at least it was something. I mean, if it was good enough for the celebrities of the world…

I opened my mouth to say something else, but Lauren held up a finger. “Hold that thought. There’s a hottie two tables over, and he is checking you out.”

I turned my head, curious to see what he looked like.

“No!” Lauren reached out, grabbing my chin and forcing my attention back to her. “Don’t look. Then he’ll know we were talking about him.”

“And now he’s going to think I’m a lesbian.” I made a goofy face, letting her know I was joking. She could be so dramatic.