“It’s kept me honest several times, ” I said with a shrug.
“Maybe you’ll budge a little for this one?” she teased.
“You do realize his mom was my mom’s best friend, right? We grew up together, but he was older than me. The age thing is too much for my family anyway. Remember when I went out with Holden Drager that time? Three years older than me and my dad goes all out about how a man like that was only looking for one thing.”
“Sex? Or, since someone three years older than you is decrepit and elderly, someone to help with his feeding tube and catheter?” she said, mystified.
“No, a younger woman to get pregnant. So he could have a male heir.”
“I’m sorry, did you go out with a slightly older dude or someone who was going to inherit the throne? Why would anyone need a male heir?” she laughed.
“My parents are pretty traditional, and he was just being protective. He knows how much my bakery means to me, and they don’t want me getting involved with someone who would make me give that up to raise kids,” I said.
“You make it sound like that’s reasonable. People don’t do that outside of, like, fairy tales and weird European monarchies.”
“They’re looking out for me,” I said again, but with less conviction.
“I’m sure they are. They’re great, don’t get me wrong, but it’s okay to have a little fun. If you think you need permission,” Connie said.
“I don’t need anyone’s permission but my own. It just sounds like it would be a mistake. Stupid and fun and full of regret afterwards.”
“It’s lunch, not an elopement in Vegas,” Connie pointed out.
“Very funny. I’m not the spontaneous type. I get up at four in the morning and bake stuff. It’s my idea of living the dream. Like, see these,” I indicated the tray of tiny violets I’d sugared to use as cupcake decorations, “that’s what makes me happy, making something beautiful. I don’t have any business going out with a guy whose happy place is Scrooge McDuck’s vault of gold.”
“Okay, you’ve convinced me it’s a bad idea. Now go dig some earrings and lipstick out of your desk, because we both know you’re going,” Connie said.
I scrubbed my hands, set up my work station and decorated the cupcakes, placing each fragile violet with tweezers, balancing it just so in the center of a swirl of lemon buttercream. I felt a surge of satisfaction looking at them. I took a few pictures for the bakery’s Insta and placed the cupcakes in the cooler.
Then I went and found a pair of dangly hoop earrings in my desk drawer and put them on. Out came the mascara and lipstick from my purse. I might have misgivings about having lunch with Ryan after all this time, but my vanity came roaring out of hiding. Jeans and a bakery tee were fine for work, but no way was I going to lunch with him makeup-free and in a hairnet. I shook my hair out and brushed it till it shone and considered getting Tyla at the salon to give me highlights soon.
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A Note from the Author
Thank for you taking the time to read my latest release.
I hope you loved reading my story, as much as I enjoyed writing it.
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- Natasha L. Black
Books by Natasha L. Black
Forbidden Lovers Series:
Billionaire Boss
Date Your Brother’s Best Friend
Falling for my Enemy
Forbidden Crush
Secret Daddies Series
His Secret Baby
CEO’s Secret Baby
Boss's Secret Baby for Christmas
Daddy’s Secret Baby
My Ex’s Secret Baby
Bad Boy’s Secret Baby
Complete box set below:
Secret Daddies: A Contemporary Romance Box Set
Alpha Male Collection:
Forbidden Daddy
Redemption
Protecting Her
Saving Sky
Protecting Sasha
Complete box set here: Men in Charge
Reverse Harem/Ménage Collection:
Double Dirty
The Cabin
Double Trouble
Training the Rookie
Cuffed to my Roomies
Complete box set here: One Lucky Girl
Fake Marriage Collection:
Pretend You’re Mine
Pretend I’m Yours
Let’s Pretend
Faking It
Complete box set here: Playing Pretend
Other stories you may enjoy:
Back To You
Brother’s Best Friend
Forbidden Protector
Sweet Tooth
Connect with Natasha L. Black
Natasha L. Black is an Amazon Top 100 bestselling author. Dreaming and fantasizing ever since she was a young teenager, her love of writing flourished from a very early age. After working for 15 years as a veterinarian, she now follows her passion in writing for a living. She currently resides in a lovely country home in a rural area of Dallas, writing steamy novels to fulfill her readers' desires.
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Millionaire Boss: A Secret Baby Romance (Freeman Brothers Book 1) Page 23