The Trouble with Love (Sex, Love & Stiletto 4)

And once that adrenaline wore off . . .

Emma knew what that heartbreak felt like.

“Ems?” Julie asked, touching her arm, softer this time. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m good. And thank you for the invitations, truly. But I’m actually headed to North Carolina for the holiday.”

Her friends exchanged puzzled looks. “Since when? I could have sworn we just talked last week about our plans—”

“Since Saturday. My dad’s been bugging me about it for weeks and I’ve been saying no, but . . . he wore me down.”

Actually, that wasn’t entirely true. Her father had gone ahead and bought her a plane ticket without her consent. Something Emma could have ignored if not for . . . Daisy.

Her twin still responded to Emma’s texts, but she never initiated them anymore. And whenever Emma called, it went straight to voice mail. Emma wanted to see her sister in person to dig beneath the surface.

Even if it meant sitting around the table and playing nice with her father while he prattled on about Sinclair Media and the fact that he had no successor for the company since neither daughter was interested, and Daisy had gone and gotten herself a “damned divorce,” and Emma . . . well, Emma up and left the table whenever her father dared to mention Cassidy.

So. The holiday should be great.

“Well, that’ll be fun!” Julie said brightly.

Emma gave her a look. “It won’t be. But can we just . . . not talk about it? Holidays are supposed to be stressful, right?”

“But—”

“Subject change,” Emma pleaded. “Please.”

“Oooh, I have one!” Grace said, sitting up straighter and directing her attention to the guys at the table. “Hey, Cassidy, is it true that you’re hiring a sports editor?”

Julie and Emma twisted in their seats to face the men.

Cassidy squinted at Grace over his whiskey tumbler. “Where’d you hear that?”

Grace pursed her lips and glanced at Jake. Cassidy gave his employee an annoyed look.

“Okay, look, it’s like this,” Jake said, setting his glass on the table. “I may have been in your office earlier today, and I may have seen something on your desk that I shouldn’t have. And I may have mentioned it to my pretty wife.”

“I don’t even know where to start,” Cassidy said.

“Oh, I do!” Sam said. “I got this. Mr. Malone, son, why were you in Mr. Cassidy’s office?”

Jake stared at him. “Are you trying to do a principal impersonation?”

Sam gave him a patient look and Jake squirmed. “You’re good at it. Okay, um, I was in Cassidy’s office because I was looking for something.”

“Looking for . . .” Sam prodded.

“Condoms,” Jake said matter-of-factly.

Julie snorted, but Sam merely gave a sage nod. “You were seeking contraceptives.”

“Yes, to, um, fornicate with my wife.”

“Actually,” Emma said, peeking over the top of the couch as she watched the interaction. “One can’t fornicate with one’s wife. Fornication by definition is sexual intercourse with someone you’re not married to.”

All four men stared at her. “How does she know that?” Jake whispered to Cassidy.

“Don’t ask me. I didn’t marry her, remember?”