Buying His Bride (The Donovan Brothers Trilogy Book 1) by Alison Ashlyn Page B

wouldn’t mind because John had said it was not up McKinley’s usual alley. But I certainly didn’t intend for you to start dating Michael Donovan, of all people!”
    “Brian, you’re making it sound like I’m doing something outrageous.” Sierra smiled, hoping she looked confident. She didn’t feel confident. “I appreciate your giving me the business lead. I do. It’s just that that side of things didn’t work out when the three of us sat down for our meeting.” She avoided his gaze by taking a sip of her latte from the coffee vendor in the courtyard. “Something else…did. That’s all.”
    It was critical that Brian and everyone else see her and Michael as a couple rather than as a business proposition, but the water cooler news around the office about their date was bound to come as something of a shock nonetheless. San Francisco’s public relations world was a small one.
    She and Michael had been spotted by one of McKinley’s junior partners while they were out on Friday. Of course, that had been part of the see-and-be-seen plan.
    At the same time, Sierra wasn’t wild her colleagues were gossiping about her private life. Given her well-known reticence toward men, the gossip was more pronounced than it might have been otherwise.
    Brian wasn’t placated. “Sierra, I’m almost old enough to be your father. Bruce and I both are.” He frowned at the thought and then revised. “Scratch that. We’re old enough to be your handsome, charming, older brothers.”
    Sierra laughed, but Brian refused to be distracted. “If Bruce and I had kids, boys or girls, I wouldn’t want them to date Michael Donovan”
    “Boys or girls?” Sierra stared at him. “Are you trying to say Michael is gay?”
    “What? No, of course not! Haven’t you read the papers? He’s most definitely straight and goes through women like water. That’s my point. He’s not your type.”
    “I don’t have a type, Brian. You know that.” Sierra cocked her head at him. “In fact, you’ve always said that was part of my problem: I keep my mind on business only. How many times have you tried to persuade me to date in the past? Now I finally am and you’re upset!”
    “Honey, anyone else and I’d be thrilled, but Donovan’s the kind of guy who eats little girls like you for breakfast… You’re going from zero-to-sixty in five seconds flat. Why not start with someone a little more tame?”
    “Dare I imagine you’re envious—a tall, handsome billionaire?” Sierra tried to inject a teasing note to jolly Brian out of his concern. Truth be told, it made her nervous. More nervous than she already was. She wasn’t too sure she could handle Michael Donovan, either, particularly after their make-out session in his car.
    “Don’t get me wrong. You’re gorgeous and he’s lucky to be dating you. That’s not my point.”
    Sierra shrugged. “As you and Bruce well know, pretty much most men are out of my realm of experience. By choice. What difference does that make? I’m a quick study, I promise.”
    After their conversation, Sierra spoke with a client, finished drafting a report, and then glanced at the clock on her desk. The morning had passed quickly. “Crap!” She was late for her weekly lunch with Jen.
    “So was it hot?” Jen asked. They ate at their usual open-air spot.
    Sierra took a bite of her spinach salad. “I thought the weather was rather cool,” she prevaricated.
    “Oh. My. God. It was hot. You two totally had sex! Look at you! I told you so!”
    “We did not have sex!” Sierra clung to technicalities. Well, they hadn’t, exactly. True, Michael had given her an amazing orgasm, but they’d stayed out of bed. Furthermore, it wasn’t something she intended to let happen again.
    “So clothes stayed on, just as planned?” Jen was incorrigible.
    Sierra thought of the ripped nylons and flushed. “Um, more or less.”
    “Less or more?”
    Sierra shot a quelling glance at her friend. “I’m not saying anything