LITMIR.BIZ

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      There was nothing she could do about the choices she’d made in the past, but she certainly wasn’t going to make the same mistakes twice. Jonah Flynn was just the kind of man who could make her priorities get all out of whack. That made him dangerous. She would tell him about the baby once the audit was complete and she had done her job. He couldn’t know the truth about her identity or the baby before then, which made it imperative that she not let her guard down around him.

      “We’re here!” Violet called out from the living room.

      “I’m in the kitchen,” she replied, giving the pasta a stir and setting the timer. Since she’d added the girls to the approved guest list with the doorman, they tended to show up with little warning. “It’s nowhere near ready, sorry.”

      The girls came around the corner with paper sacks and set them on the counter. “We’re not in a hurry,” Harper insisted. “Anyway, I brought a bottle of chardonnay and Violet picked up some cheese and crackers to keep us busy until dinner is ready. The wine is just for us, of course.”

      Her best friends unpacked the items from the bags and set them on the counter. “Oh, and tiramisu,” Harper admitted, pulling the seductive dessert from the bag. “I had to.”

      Emma groaned inwardly. “You said FlynnSoft has a gym, right? After all this I’m going to have to find it or I’ll gain fifty pounds with this kid. Now that I’ve gotten my appetite back, I’m hungry almost all the time.”

      Harper smiled and nodded. “It’s on the ground floor near the rear entrance. You can’t miss it. There’s usually no one in there after six or so. You can have it all to yourself.”

      “I don’t know what you’re complaining about,” Lucy said. She reached out and put her hand on Emma’s slightly rounded belly. “You look like you had a big lunch, not that you’re over three months pregnant. I think you can afford some indulgent carbs.”

      “I’m glad you think so,” Emma quipped. “Now open those crackers. I’m starving.”

      Violet opened the box of crackers while Lucy pulled wineglasses from the cabinet and the corkscrew from the drawer.

      “So how is the FlynnSoft assignment going?” Lucy asked after Harper opened the bottle and poured her glass.

      There was something about Lucy’s tone that worried Emma. She turned away from the marinara sauce she’d made and frozen to look at Harper and knew instantly that she’d spilled the secret about Jonah to the others. Emma swore under her breath and returned to mixing the cheeses and seasonings into the bowl.

      “I’ll just presume you all are caught up on who Jonah is—thank you, Harper—and jump right into it. I have never met a man so persistent in my life. You should’ve seen his face when I told him I wouldn’t go to dinner with him. It was as though I was the first woman in his life to ever tell him no.”

      “You probably were. I sure wouldn’t tell him no,” Violet spoke up.

      “Well, someone needs to,” Emma responded. “He’s not a god. He can’t get his way all the time. That kind of arrogance makes me crazy.”

      “I’ve never really thought of him as arrogant in the years I’ve known him,” Harper said, shrugging. “He’s confident, sure, very smart, of course. He knows what he wants and he goes after it. I find that attractive. But you’re determined not to like him, so he could save puppies from burning buildings and you would find a reason to hate him for it.”

      Emma opened her mouth to argue, but knew there wasn’t much point. It was true. Mostly. She didn’t hate him. She couldn’t feel that way about the father of her child. But she had to find things wrong with him for her own protection. And if he was perfect, she’d make up lies in her head about all of Jonah’s evil doings and pretend they were true. “It’s better this way, trust me.”

      “Why, Em?” Lucy settled into a chair at the kitchen table. “And don’t give me some story about your sister. We’ve all heard it before and know better than anyone that you’re not your sister. You certainly aren’t going to disappoint your parents with anything you do. You’re a better person.”

      “There’s no sense in punishing yourself for sins you’ve never committed,” Lucy said.

      Instead of answering right away, Emma drained the pasta and started mixing it with the sauce and cheese to put in the oven. What could she say to that? Was that really what she was doing? “I’m not punishing myself.”

      “Yes, you are,” Harper insisted. “If not for your sister’s sins, then for whatever you did at that Mardi Gras party. I think the punishment far outweighs the crime.”

      “That night was a mistake and I’ll never be able to put it behind me. Don’t you think getting impregnated out of wedlock by a stranger at a party will disappoint my parents?”

      “They might not be thrilled, but grandbabies become a joy no matter what,” Violet said.

      “I’ll remind you of that when you accidentally get pregnant by a man whose name you don’t know, Violet.”

      “Listen, honey,” Harper interjected. “I’ve made plenty of mistakes where men are concerned. But not even one of my best moments were as sexy or romantic as what you told me about your night with him. You jumped in with both feet and scared yourself. Okay, I get it. But that doesn’t mean you have to stay out of the pool entirely. If you’re not ready for the deep end, at least put your feet in. Test the waters. Letting your hair down every once in a while won’t hurt anything. It might be good for you.”

      Popping the casserole dish in the oven, Emma dusted her hands off on her yoga pants and eyed her friends’ wine with a touch of jealousy. If she didn’t put an end to this discussion, her friends would continue to badger her and they’d miss the show they’d come over to watch. “That is all well and good, but I’m not getting in a pool of any kind with Jonah Flynn. Not that he’d want to once I’m huge and pregnant anyway.”

      “With his baby!” Lucy pointed out.

      “It doesn’t matter. Does he look like the paternal type to you? I’ve told you my reasons for avoiding Jonah, but if nothing else I’ve said convinces you, know that it’s a major conflict of interest. I’m auditing FlynnSoft. If even so much as a whisper of a relationship pops up about Jonah and me, past or present, my credibility is shot. I’d probably lose my job and permanently damage the reputation I’ve worked so hard to build. No man, not even Jonah Flynn, is worth that. Not to me.”

      “Well, they’re going to find out when the baby is born and everyone figures out what happened between the two of you. There’s no avoiding that. Your only option is to tell Tim you can’t do it. That would be the most forthright answer,” Violet said.

      “Technically. But can’t isn’t in my vocabulary. I refuse to back down from this challenge, even if there’s a risk.”

      Harper nodded in resignation and Lucy sighed. Emma hoped her friends would leave it alone, at least for the next two hours.

      “Of course,” Harper said with a smirk, “if I was going to sully my reputation and ruin my career for a man, it’d be for him.”

      * * *

      Jonah was sitting at his desk Wednesday afternoon when his phone rang. He recognized the number as his financial advisor, Paul. Hopefully it was good news.

      “Paul,” he said. “Tell me what I want to hear.”

      There was a hesitation on the line that instantly told Jonah he was out of luck. “I’m sorry to tell you, Jonah, but it’s going to take me at least two more days to get everything handled. We could look into getting a short-term loan to get you the money, but the banks are really tight on those lately with the market the way it is. I doubt it would come through any faster. Any chance you could borrow it from...um...”

      “From my mother?” Jonah asked.

      “She

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