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“She’s always in crisis mode.”
“Mr. Ryan, I’m serious!” Maggie cried, but he ignored her.
Chris headed down the hallway and opened Kelly’s office door. Inside, Kelly, Veronica, and Rylie were watching the tablet in Veronica’s hand in horror.
Kelly looked up and met his gaze. Her face was deathly pale, and the bottom of his stomach dropped out.
“What happened?” he asked
“Several media outlets scooped the Valdez wedding,” Rylie answered.
Chris knew how important discretion was to Kelly, but this wasn’t the first time some friend of a friend had blabbed to the press. Chris came around the desk and set the vase of flowers on the flat, mahogany surface. “I’m sorry, Kel, but this has happened before. We’ll just hire more security for the actual event.”
“You don’t understand. They said their source is someone inside Something Borrowed Wedding Solutions. Our whole reputation is built on our confidentiality and someone has trashed it.”
Kelly looked so lost as she spoke, and all he wanted to do was pull her against him and hold her.
“Veronica, can you and Rylie clear the room while I talk to Kelly?”
Once the door was shut behind them, he came around the desk and did just that. Their conversation about love could wait; she needed her friend and partner right now.
“I am going to fix this.” He ran his hand over her hair and down her back. “You understand? That is what I am here for.”
Her arms tightened around his waist and he pushed aside the flash of awareness at the press of her breasts. “I’m scared, Chris. Everything I have worked for, my whole life…I could lose everything.”
“No, you won’t. I won’t let that happen.” He pulled away from Kelly and stroked her cheek. “And you’ll always have me.”
“Thank you.” She wiped at her eyes, and sniffed, reaching around him for a box of tissues on her desk. “What is the first step?”
“I’ll hire a guy I know to find out who really dropped a dime to the press. Just give me a few days to handle this, all right? Don’t do anything. Be vague, damage control only. Just tell people that call you are looking into the allegations, but to rest assured that Something Borrowed holds its clients’ privacy in the highest regard.”
Kelly snorted. “If they’ll believe me.”
“It doesn’t matter if they do or don’t. You do that, and I’ll handle the rest.”
“I know.” She patted his chest with a smile. “That’s what I pay you the big bucks for, right?”
“Yep. So, try not to stress. I’ll get this handled in no time.”
“I am really glad I have you in my corner, Chris. I am honestly freaking out.”
He ran his hand up her arm and squeezed her shoulder. “It will be okay.”
“What are the flowers for?” she asked abruptly.
All right, I guess we are going to talk about it. “I bought them for you. You said something really important and I screwed up.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
Now, his heart fluttered nervously. “You said you loved me, and I didn’t realize it wasn’t our usual banter.”
She seemed confused. “Yes, it was.”
“It was?”
“Uh huh. Did you think I was serious?”
“Yeah. I was afraid I’d messed up again. I mean, you took off before I woke up and I thought maybe you were pissed at me.”
