Marrying My Best Friend's Sister: A Billionaire Enemies to Lovers MC Romance (Secret Love) by Nikki Bloom (free ebook novel .txt) 📗

“Mmm, that smells delicious.”

Jacinda turned to me and smiled. “Yeah, I thought that would get your head out of your work for a bit. Come sit. Tell me about your weekend. Quit fiddling with your project. It’s done, it’s perfect.”

“I bet you say that to all the scientists,” I said as I got to my feet and went to join her in our tiny kitchenette. Not only had Jacinda made the coffee, but she also had pastries to go with it. That girl was a saint.

Jacinda took a bite of a breakfast bagel. “So, still angsting about your project?”

“Mm, not really. I think I have a plan to even the playing field.”

“You do?”

“Yeah…” That was when I remembered Dom’s words about discussing this with a lawyer.

Right, I’ll get right on that.

The door to the lab opened and Danna Powell breezed in like she owned the place. “Good morning, losers.” She tossed her blonde hair back, blue eyes glinting like she was Kathryn Merteuil in Cruel Intentions. I ignored her, but Jacinda smiled and nodded because she wasn’t raised by wolves.

“Just received some news today.” She came to lean by my stool, smiling smugly at me. I seriously considered punching her in the face.

She continued waiting expectantly for me to ask her about her news and I continued to sip my coffee. Even Jacinda did not oblige but took a large bite of her bagel so she had an excuse not to talk.

“Well, I’ve just received news from the Grant Committee. They were looking forward to my entry as they’d heard really good things.”

The coffee went down bitter after those words. I got to my feet and walked back to my workstation without a word. I just didn’t want to hear it. Behind me, Danna laughed. “Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll give yours a once-over before they make their final decision. Don’t be too disheartened.”

Honestly, you’d think that she’d be embarrassed about her mean girl dialogue, but Donna wasn’t self-aware enough for that. I continued to sip my coffee as I checked my email and she finally got tired of talking to herself and left. Jacinda and I immediately turned to each other, bitch faces at the ready.

“Can you believe that witch?”

Jacinda shrugged. “Personally, I think she’s just really insecure.”

“Urgh.” I rolled my eyes. “Why do you have to be so empathetic all the time?”

“I can’t help it!” Jacinda threw her hands up in the air and brought me another bagel. “Here, eat. Forget her. Your project is groundbreaking, and the grant committee would be fools to pass over it.”

I clenched my jaw, even more determined to skew the odds in my favor.

I grabbed a dollar as soon as I got home and exited my apartment. Knocking on my neighbor’s door, I held out the dollar and smiled as he opened up to greet me. “Hey, Chaz.” He was clad in the tiniest shorts in existence, his junk lovingly cradled in soft cotton. You’d think he’d shave his legs with militant discipline the way he loves to show them off, but no.

He looked from me to the money, an eyebrow quirked. “What’s going on?”

“I need your legal services.”

Christopher Brady, my neighbor, was always something of an anathema to me. When I met him, he had just finished his law degree from Stanford University. But he was working in a specialty bar because he was totally in love with the oblivious owner. Since he moved in, we’d spent many a wine-soaked evening on his couch, while Chaz counted the ways in which Mason Kirkpatrick was absolutely perfect.

“But why can’t you just tell him? Aren’t you gays like straightforward about that sort of thing?”

He would sigh deeply, looking lovesick.

“If I just wanted to have sex, sure. But I want to run my fingers through his curly brown hair in the shower, and make sure the conditioner has gotten on every strand. I want to fold his boxers next to mine and fantasize about the children we’ll adopt together.”

I had laughed because all that was so oddly specific. Our relationship was very well established by now; he knocked on my door when he wanted to vent, and I knocked on his door when I needed sugar or salt.

That’s why I couldn’t really blame him for how wide his eyes got at my new request.

He snatched up the dollar anyway and ushered me in.

“What trouble have you gotten yourself into now, huh? Did you forget to put the plastics in the recycle bin?”

“Ha-ha. I have an actual huge thing that’s going on in my life right now.”

He flopped down on the white patent leather sofa and patted the seat beside him. “Come on, tell Uncle Chaz all about it.”

So I did.

I explained the whole marriage of convenience thing and asked for his advice. He steepled his hands and grinned at me. “Well, well, I feel as if I just fell in a novel by Sophie Kinsella or something. I’m pretty sure there are easier ways to get laid, Nico.”

I nodded along. “Sure. If what I wanted was to get laid, you’d totally have a valid poin-”

“What?” he slapped my thigh lightly, brown eyes wide. “You don’t want to fuck Domenic Cliff? Pull the other one.”

I rolled my eyes. “Chaz, could you please focus?”

“I’m focused! So what do you need from me, girl?”

“Dom and my brother asked me to speak to a lawyer and get some advice.”

“Honey, I’m a bartender.”

“With a law degree.”

“Fine. Okay. So you want to marry this man for his clout, right? And he wants to marry you for respectability-”

I put a hand on his arm. “I mean this falls under lawyer-client privilege right? You took my dollar.”

“You watch too much TV, but yeah, I’ll keep your confidences. Can we continue?”

I took my hand away and wiggled deeper into the couch. “Yes please, continue.”

“You both have your reasons for the wedding, and so now what you need