Ask Me Something (The Something Series Book 2) by Aubrey Bondurant

in the same office any longer. Juliette won’t
know anything. Neither will anyone else unless we choose to tell them.”
    I swallowed
hard.
    “And nothing has
happened yet, so if you’re having second thoughts, then we can go slower or not
at all. The last thing you need is more pressure from me, either,” he offered.
    The thought of moving
any slower or not at all left me unsettled. “Is Juliette as unhappy as I think
she is?” I questioned, concerned for our mutual friend and desperately needing
a change in subject.
    Luckily, he
shrugged, taking it in stride. “You know her. One minute she looks sad and the
next she pulls it together and is her bubbly self again. I think she wants to
make her marriage work.”
    “Well that makes
one of them,” I retorted.
    “I don’t
disagree. Did you tell her that?”
    “What do you
think?” I was mildly offended.
    “I think that
sometimes your well-intended advice may be a little harsher than you realize.”
    I tried not to
let his words sting. “Duly noted.”
    “I’ll call
McKenzie. You all right with heading out in an hour?”
    “Sure. Send me
that file on the pharmaceutical company, and I should be.” I was anxious to get
some information about this potentially lucrative client.
    He hesitated,
knowing that once I got the file I’d want more time. “Okay, I’ll tell her
ninety minutes.” He resigned, and left me to my work.
    ***
    The late lunch
with Brian and McKenzie had been fun. They had an easy affection between them and
made sure I was part of the conversation whether I wanted to be or not.
Sometimes the people who put me most at ease were the ones not waiting on my
cues but who instead charged forward with exuberance. McKenzie reminded me of
Juliette in that way. Spending time with her was easy and found myself getting
comfortable with her a lot more quickly than I normally would with someone new.
    It was in the
first dressing room, however, that McKenzie dropped a bombshell on me.
    “I’m sorry, what
did you say?” I inquired, thinking I must have misunderstood her.
    “I asked if you
could teach me how to seduce a man,” she repeated.
    Uh oh, it was
what I’d thought. I hesitated, handing her the next dress to try on. After
taking a seat on the stool in the corner of the large dressing room, I finally
found my voice again. “I need a little background information first, McKenzie.”
Watching her sigh, I shook my head at the first dress she’d tried on. “Not that
one. Try the pink and white one.”
    “I have a crush
on someone and I’m tired of only being friends.”
    “Someone at
school?” Before I gave advice, I needed to find out who she was trying to
seduce. The last thing I needed was for Brian to discover I’d given his baby
sister advice on how to blow her professor.
    “No, someone
from home. I’ve known him a long time, but he still sees me as a kid.”
    I arched a brow
and looked at the flattering dress she was modelling. “Turn around let me see.”
    She was such a
naturally pretty girl with her long, sandy blonde hair and puppy-dog eyes like
her brother’s. She wore no makeup, and yet her face was flawless. She only
needed to learn to flatter her lean body better.
    “I like this
dress on you.”
    Kenzie looked in
the mirror and frowned. “I want something a little more sexy.”
    Shaking my head,
I reminded her, “You’re attending a wedding shower on a boat filled with women.
Who exactly do you want to be sexy for?”
    She grinned
sheepishly. “Good point. But I want the dress for the wedding to be a little
more—you know.”
    Yeah, I did
know. She was a young woman trying to pull it together and look like a grown
up. I’d been there. “How much older is this guy you have a crush on?”
    It wasn’t a good
sign when she paused. “Eight years, technically, but—”
    “Eight years,
Kenzie? Please tell me he isn’t one of your teachers or someone you work for?”
    “No. Our
families have known each other for a long