Flirting with Forever: A Hot Romantic Comedy(63)

“What’s she doing with you? Are you sure she’s not just slumming it a little?”

“Thanks, Ang. You’re a great sister.”

She laughed. “I’m teasing. But I shouldn’t have had to hear through the grapevine that you’re finally in a relationship.”

“Sorry. I wasn’t keeping it from you on purpose.”

“What does Riley think?”

“She thinks it’s great. She loved Nora already, so that makes a huge difference.”

“Oh my gosh, I love this so much. I don’t want to put any pressure on you, but I’m really rooting for this to work out. So is Maggie.”

“Thanks.”

“Speaking of Maggie, is there any way we can get her to stop talking about her new and improved sex life?”

“She’s telling you too?”

She groaned. “All the time. I’m happy for her but I don’t need that level of detail. It’s getting weird.”

“Thankfully I’m not getting detail. Tell her to call Tori. They can talk sex all day long.”

“I’ll try that angle. Or maybe we should just bring it up in front of Mom and let the whole situation take care of itself naturally.”

“Careful. That could easily backfire.”

“You’re right. Mom is way too willing to talk about sex. Speaking of, you better call her.”

I winced. I did need to call my mom. She was going to be just as pissed off as Angie, if not more, that I hadn’t made a formal relationship announcement yet.

“I will. Look, I’m trying to ease Nora into this. I don’t need Mom casually leaving wedding magazines on my coffee table.”

“That’s fair. Here’s the plan. Tell Mom. Then I’ll have Dallas call her and talk her out of whatever scheme she concocts to try to influence your wedding and baby plans. He can get Dad involved if necessary.”

That was a good idea. Mom seemed to listen to Dallas more than the rest of us. No wonder he was such a good lawyer.

“Perfect. I’ll call her in a bit.”

“Awesome.” Her voice got quiet, like she was talking away from the phone. “Get off the table and why aren’t you wearing pants?”

I grinned. Her kids were hilarious.

“Gotta go,” she said. “Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

I went back to my sketchbook, finishing the first preliminary design concept. It wasn’t bad but I’d need to spend some more time on it.

Kari poked her head in. Her red hair was up in a thick, curly ponytail and her piercings glinted in the light.

“What’s up?”

“There’s a group of guys out here asking for you.”

That was weird. I didn’t have any appointments. “Group of guys? Who are they?”

“They said they know Nora and they want to talk to you. I was going to tell them they need to make an appointment, but the one guy was oddly persuasive. He kind of scared me but also turned me on a little bit.”

My brow furrowed. “I guess I’ll come see what they want.”

“Yeah, I think you should.”

I wondered what this was about. Three guys who knew Nora? Who were they? Her father lived overseas, so it didn’t seem likely it was him. She’d mentioned a half-brother, but if he was one of them, who were the other two?

Three men stood in the lobby. One waited with his arms crossed, a dark expression on his face. He had the polished air of wealth and wore a button-down shirt and slacks.

The second was busy looking at the piercing jewelry in the glass case. He adjusted a pair of black-rimmed glasses and in contrast to the first guy, his shirt was partially un-tucked.

The third was also dressed in a button-down and slacks, but his sleeves were cuffed and he stood with an air of casual confidence. He glanced around with an amused half-smile on his face.

Who the hell were they?

“Hey.” I approached with a degree of caution, especially because the first guy looked like he might suddenly grow horns. “I’m Dex St. James. What can I do for you?”

“Shepherd Calloway.” The angry looking one stepped forward and shook my hand in a firm grip. “This is Corban Nash and Camden Cox.”

I shook Corban’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“You can call me Cox,” the third one said in a slight Texas drawl as he offered me his hand. “Good to meet you.”

“Is there somewhere we can talk?” Shepherd asked.

“We won’t take too much of your time,” Corban said. “But it’s important.”

Cox just grinned, like he was enjoying himself.

This was so weird.

“Sure.” I gestured to the back of the shop. “My office is this way.”

They followed me into my office and I shut the door. There wasn’t a lot of space, and not enough seats, but that didn’t seem to bother them. Cox took one of the chairs, making himself comfortable. Shepherd and Corban remained standing.

I sat at my desk. “What’s this about? Did you say you know Nora?”

“She’s one of my wife’s best friends,” Shepherd said.

“Mine, too,” Corban said.

Cox raised his hand. “Same here, my friend.”