Enlisted by Love Read Free Page A

would not go quietly. But hope sprang eternal. “He’s Michael’s best friend,” Tess said, shutting the door with her foot while she juggled the coffee cups.
    Her dark hair was piled on top of her head in a precarious knot that was already coming loose. Greta resisted the urge to offer to show her how it was done. It required a certain power of will that she wasn’t certain her sister possessed. Besides, Tess looked cute with the curls falling out of the knot.
Cute
was not an adjective Greta would ever wish to have applied to herself, but it certainly suited Tess.
    Tess handed Greta a cup of coffee, then plopped down next to her on the bed and snatched her laptop away. Greta supposed this was because she hadn’t immediately responded.
    â€œIt’s a favor for a friend of Michael’s,” Tess reminded her. “I hardly ever ask you for favors.” She glared at Greta, though the glare wasn’t very successful because Tess was trying not to giggle about something. She and Michael had probably met for coffee earlier, the way they often did, and Michael had probably kissed her senseless before sending her to work, a bad habit he had gotten into months ago.
    â€œMichael owes
me
a favor,” Greta contented herself with saying, “not the other way around.”
    Tess choked on a sip of coffee and raised a brow. “Is that right?”
    â€œMy dear, I gave you to him,” Greta said, knowing that would provoke Tess and hoping it would distract her from her complaint about Mr. Blake. “He owes me for the rest of his natural life.”
    â€œYou what?” Tess sputtered, just as Greta had predicted. Tess liked to think she had fought hard for her happiness — which she certainly had — but under no circumstances had she fought
alone
. “You gave me to him?” Tess was almost incoherent, which was one of the advantages of knowing your opponent so thoroughly.
    â€œGift-wrapped with my warmest regards,” Greta said tranquilly, taking the laptop back and making an elaborate show of scrolling through her notes. She had a great deal of work to do, and the sooner Tess believed that, the sooner they could drop the subject of Mr. Ian Blake.
    â€œIn other words, Michael did you a favor by taking me off your hands,” Tess said tartly. Which showed Greta’s attempt at diversion had worked perfectly.
    Greta gave Tess a look over the top of the computer. “You don’t seem to have gone anywhere,” she pointed out.
    â€œThat’s because we’re partners,” Tess responded with a wicked grin. Greta had to smile back. She’d had a hard time convincing Tess that she was a full partner in the business Greta had started and Greta knew she still didn’t believe it sometimes. But Greta couldn’t have reached her current level of success without Tess — not just because of her ability to work hard at whatever Greta needed her to do, but because of her unquestioning faith in Greta.
    The smile left her face when she realized that if Tess really were an equal partner — and it wasn’t just something Greta said to be nice — then she had an equal say in running the business, including which clients they would work with. Which meant it couldn’t be considered a favor if Greta did agree to work with Mr. Blake. She hoped Tess didn’t reach this inconvenient conclusion, too.
    Greta sighed. She didn’t want to do it, but she was fair-minded. Too fair-minded for her own good, she thought sourly. Soft and squishy, especially when it came to Tess.
    â€œTell me why you care about this client,” she said, not wanting his name to pass her lips, as if that would somehow make him real, a person she had to deal with. Didn’t you have to say the devil’s name to summon him? Same principle.
    â€œMichael recommended you to him,” Tess explained. “And now Colonel Blake says you’re booked for the