Free Temporary (Indelibly Marked #2) by Kim Carmichael

only to him.
    “James, and yes.” He tapped his glass against hers.
    “You said you had a strategy?”
    “A business woman, I like that.” He reached into his blazer
pocket and pulled out the summons along with a small notebook and a pen. “It
seems to me the main concern is to avoid any sort of negative publicity for
Permanent Tattoo?”
    Emily nodded.
    “We have a couple of choices. We can let them take us to
court and fight it, or we can settle, but as part of the settlement, we would
insist on no publicity.” James tapped his pen on his notebook.
    She looked down, running her finger along the stem of the
glass.
    “Emily do you have any questions?” Dillon asked and leaned
forward.
    Ivan fought the urge to punch Dillon in the face. There was
no way would Emily blurt out a decision when it came to Permanent without
turning it over in her mind a million times.
    Emily pursed her lips.
    James drank down his wine and clicked his pen, trying to
rush her without words.
    “Do you understand the options?” Dillon prodded.
    “Of course she understands the options.” Ivan hit the table.
“She’s not stupid, in fact, she’s so smart, she’s thinking before spewing an
answer at you.”
    She lifted her head and turned to him, cupping her hand over
her mouth.
    Fine, she may have shared her private sexy voice with those
goons, but the shielded whisper belonged to him and he moved over to receive
it.
    “You’re in charge of the shop. What should we do?” Her
breath tickled him.
    “We’re in charge of the shop, tell me your gut,” he mumbled,
trying to abate the shivers traveling down his own body.
    “The settlement thing seems good, but where are we going to
get the money? Lindsay will notice missing funds.” She grabbed his forearm.
    “I’ll front whatever is needed, including our friend James.”
He turned to her. “We’ll get it, don’t worry. Just tell me what you want to do,
and take your time.”
    For a second she paused, stared into his eyes. Her face
broke out in a smile, not one of those excited smiles at drinking some
overpriced grape juice, but one that connected them. “I think the settlement
thing sounds like the best plan.”
    “I agree.” He sat back.
    “Do you think the settlement option will work?” she asked
the attorney. “Do you think you can get that guy to go away?”
    “For the most part, I have found that people want the
money.” James made some notations in his book. “I will draft a letter and we’ll
move fast.”
    “Thank you.” Once again, she shook James’ hand, but
underneath the table, she took his hand.
    “That’s my job.” James closed his notebook and put it away.
“I should probably get going. I want to get started right away.”
    “I’ll go with you to fill in the blanks.” Dillon took a last
sip of his wine. “I promised my sister I’d help.”
    “Thanks, Dill,” she whispered as she gave him a quick hug.
    “Just focus on the businesses, we’ll take care of the legal
things.” He gave her a pretend punch in the arm. “Later, Ivan.”
    Ivan lifted his chin. Along with the businesses, now he had
to watch the big brother, and most importantly, his best friend and unborn
child.
    “Enjoy the wine. Just consider it part of my comprehensive
service.” With one last beach boy smile, James left with Dillon tagging along.
    Alone with Ivan, she moved his glass toward him. “You never
even tasted the wine.”
    “Aren’t you supposed to make a toast or something?” He
lifted the glass.
    She mimicked his action. “Then I propose a toast to you for
offering to front the money without even taking a breath.”
    “Of course.” He tapped his glass against hers.
    They both took a sip.
    The acidic liquid hit his throat and he grabbed for his
water, taking a gulp and trying to dilute it. “Oh Lord.”
    “You don’t like it?” She betrayed herself with a laugh.
    “You poser.” He elbowed her. “You hate it.”
    “It’s like drinking cough medicine. I