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Marti made a mental note to have a little chat with Karen. She was no longer her favorite. Although Marti could be bribed with a special batch of her muffins.
“What do you want, Love?” She scowled and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Not a morning person, I take it?”
“Depends on the morning. Or the company,” she snipped.
“Hmm . . . somehow, I doubt that.”
“Is there a point to your little visit, or did you just wake up with the urge to annoy someone?”
“Are you always this grouchy first thing?”
“With egotistical doctors who show up at my workplace without warning before I’ve had my morning coffee? Yes.”
“I’d hate to see your bedside manner.” He grimaced, then took a sip of his coffee.
“You could only be so lucky.”
When she glared at him, he held her stare. Several seconds passed. The muscle in his jaw flexed, and her hands fisted at her side. The green of his eyes bore into her baby blues, but she refused to break.
She moved an inch closer, never wavering, eyes fixed. Their noses almost touched as she stared him down like a Pitt Bull.
Who would be the first to snap?
A second later, he threw his head back and laughed. “You’re such a trip, McBride.”
Marti growled. It was like he had a guidebook on how to irritate her.
He rocked back on his heels. “Okay, the truth is, I do have a reason for being here.”
She waved him on.
“I was hoping I could convince you to go out with me again.”
It was her turn to laugh. And, boy, did she.
She rested her hands on the knees of her fashionably torn black skinny jeans and laughed until she struggled for breath. Once she straightened and smoothed a hand down the mane of her silky locks, trying to compose herself, she noted his serious expression and pursed her lips. “And why would I want to do that?”
She knew precisely why she’d do that. She needed him for her column, but he didn’t need to know that.
“Because I’m the hottest thing to grace your social calendar?”
She snorted. “Try again.”
“Because you’re desperate for affection?”
“Do you value your manhood?”
He stepped forward and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, his touch electric. His gaze flickered to her mouth, causing the air to stall in her lungs. “Because you secretly have a crush on me?”
She swallowed as the scent of his cologne drifted up to her nose. “You wish,” she said, her tone hard. Then she placed her palms firmly on his chest, ignoring the wall of muscle, and shoved.
He barely budged, but it was enough to make him take a step back before he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, ruffling the dark locks. “Okay, the truth is that since the article ran, Hidden Heartbeat has doubled the donations they took in all last year in just this weekend alone.”
Marti raised a brow, and he continued, “We’re in the initial stages of talks with a celebrity endorsement, as well as a potentially huge deal with a major baby brand in the US. This puts us so close to having the funds to go national, I can taste it.”
“And?”
