I blinked. Turned. Holy crap, how had I forgotten they were there? We had literally been arguing about them.

In too deep, Jem …

“No!” I shrieked, spinning out of his grasp and frightening poor Luci and Falcor, who hissed and scuttled into the little ferret igloo in her playpen. “Please don’t … I’m very interested in hearing what you have to say. He’s just leaving!”

“He is?” His tone was bemused. I glanced up at his frown.

“To get me some donuts,” I informed him. I flashed a little smile. “Please, SJ?”

His face slackened, but his arms did the opposite, snaking around my waist and tightening. I only just managed to contain a scowl at how … nice … it felt having him around me, even though I knew he only saw it as protecting his possession.

Definitely over your head …

“I’m staying,” he said firmly. “Anything you have to say to Jemma, you can say in front of me.”

I rolled my eyes dramatically in Esther and Jules’s direction, and they smirked back at me. Silly, overprotective men, we all silently agreed.

I was the only one fuming about it, though.

“This would be a … talent exchange, for want of a better term,” Esther explained. SJ’s fingers dug into my belly, the tip of one finger finding my navel through the fabric of my dress. Every inch of me prickled with awareness.

Esther continued as if I wasn’t having some sort of existential crisis. “We think you’ve got exactly the right look for our marketing materials—pin-up girl slash sexy nerd. Not to mention you’re already well known in the ferret-having community, and you’re clearly not new to cosplay.” She gave my stall and all the adorable little costumes a lingering look.

“Pin-up girl?” SJ muttered, his tone confused. “Cosplay? Nerd? What are these terms?”

I fought a grin … and lost. “Sorry, he’s not from around here. A lot of our cultural references are lost on him.” I patted the big palm that rested on my belly. “I’ll explain later, sweetie.” I turned and threw him a saccharine grin. His eyes darkened, and his very prominent … something … started jabbing me in the back.

“So …” Esther continued as Jules smirked knowingly at me. “We want you to be our model. We’ll make you up, do a photoshoot, put you on our logo, our marketing materials, everything. We want you to be across the event. We’ll fully brief you so you can talk it up to your customers.”

My stomach jolted, and I was almost certain it had nothing to do with his proximity this time. “You want … me … to be a model and spokesperson for your event?” I asked faintly.

Jules nodded. “Absolutely!”

I shook my head. “But I don’t know what … how you …”