Zach watched as Lilli talked to Oliver's daughter. He wished he knew what she was saying. Kids naturally loved her. Everyone naturally loved her, including him, but he was afraid he was losing her.

Ainsley squeezed in beside him. He forced a smile, as he felt a little awkward about her deception.

"She's one remark from bolting. Looks like she'll have an accomplice."

Zach sighed. "I know."

"My plan was to get you off Ree's back, but then you opened up about Lill. She likes you a ton."

"It's mutual."

Ainsley nodded, but couldn't respond. "Okay, groomsmen over here..."

Zach moved away from Ainsley. He looked over at Lilli and winked. He saw the look he needed. The one he missed for two years. It was one of affection, although it had recently changed to be mingled with disbelief. He had to convince Lilli how serious he was about her. It wasn't a game, even if the asshole brothers made it look like one. But the rehearsal was taking place, so he couldn't talk to her.

Except for the kids, the rehearsal went off without a hitch. They always seemed like a waste of time for a bunch of adults to be told how to stand and walk. Obviously, the two little ones needed some practice, but Zach was pretty sure it was going to be a crap shoot with them. They had minds of their own, and perpetual motion seemed to be the number one priority for Theodore. He expected Oliver's kids to be sitting on Lilli's lap before the weekend was over. Zach would prefer Lilli on his lap, but he was beginning to think Lilli was right, it was an awful first date. He should have planned better and made it about the two of them, not showing up together at the wedding with all these people. He owed her a proper date.

You should have asked her out months ago, dumbass, so it would be just a normal meet the family weekend.

JJ announced in a loud voice for everyone to head over to the house. Zach smirked at the word house. The Sumner's Weston home was a lot of things, but 'the house' wasn't the phrase he would use to describe it. The Newport home fit into the house category and the Tahoe house did too, but Weston did not.

As he approached Lilli, she said, "Ainse, do you have your car?"

"Nope, I'm with my rents."

"Tell Carolyn you're with me and Zach."

Zach restrained himself from frowning and smiled at her best friend, with whom he had a very unusual relationship. He was glad she deleted their Tumblr conversation. He felt like he went too far, as he relied on a stranger, but he thought she was the writer of the story, which affected him deeply. All he could see was a blurred line. Between Ree and Lilli and between Ree and Ainsley. As he read Lilli's words again, he could pick out her humor. Jillian had some of her nervous habits. He could still find a publisher for the book, but he didn't want to anymore. He didn't want an editor to rip it apart because it was his story as well. It would feel good to convince Kendall to publish it under a pseudonym, but without the promise of more stories in the works, she wouldn't give it the support it deserved. It would fizzle like Lilli's friend's adult book. A positive takeaway for Ainsley was she was on the side of Zach and Lilli, except Zach wasn't stupid. One misstep on his part and she'd only be on Lilli's side and would probably be eating balls soup, and he didn't mean matzah balls.

The ride from the Weston Golf Club to the Sumner's wasn't long. The house was full when the wedding party arrived. His father stood in the corner talking to Uncle Kurt. Zach scanned around the room for his brother. Aside from spending time with Lilli, her meeting Max was the thing he was looking forward to most. Lilli trembled on his arm. He moved his arm to be around her and pulled her close for support. If he focused too much on how good she felt, his hand would be back in his pocket.

She said, "Is that a superhero? He's really hot. Anise, look, he's too short for me!"

Zach hissed. "Don't even think about it. You're mine."

Lilli turned to him and put her hand on his chest. Was the woman doing it on purpose, or was she clueless? "Yours?" Her eyes twinkled, so Zach relaxed. "Your assistant."

He leaned over and tasted the skin behind her ear before he answered her, so no one could hear. "That's just temporary. You're mine in every way, even if I haven't shown you yet."

She abruptly pulled back, and he smirked down at her. He would take it as slow as necessary to convince her he meant it. He looked up from Lilli when he heard his name.

Max approached with a smile. "I came to meet your girl."

Max looked good, but had his signature shadow under his eyes. Zach respected him for his commitment. His brother embraced him. When he pulled back, he introduced Lilli. She had a weird grin on her face and he held his breath. Lilli could be a loose cannon, at least when the barrel wasn't jammed, but she was pleasant, and he smiled at her.

She whispered to him. "I like your superpowers better than his."

"I don't have superpowers."

"You might not know it. Maybe I'll tell you about them someday."

"Lilli, you can tell me anything. Any random Lilli thought." He was certain there was an endless supply in her head. "Any secret." She frowned slightly. Shit, he had to tell her.

At dinner, which thankfully was a buffet and not a huge formal meal, Zach lost Lilli to Ainsley. He had a drink and talked to Anita about Cooper. "I keep hearing amazing things about this girl."

Zach looked around. Ainsley was without Lilli, but he frowned when he saw Troy talking to Lilli's best friend.

"She is amazing. Excuse me." He approached them. "Hey, where is she?"

Ainsley pointed. She was in a quiet corner with Oliver's wife and the little girl on her lap. He was wrong. It didn't take the entire weekend. He should have known. With Cody, it had been before lunch.

Turning back to Ainsley, he said, "Don't go anywhere alone with him. Trust me, as your friend and a guy."

Ainsely laughed. "I already figured it out when he greeted my breasts."

Troy slithered away, as Zach felt embarrassed but refused to look at the body parts mentioned. He turned and walked towards Lilli. Both children were asleep and the two women talked quietly. He was glad she found a friend. Before he reached her, his mother intersected with him.

"I like her. I like how she likes children. So many women don't these days." Jane didn't want children. His mother never once told him she liked Jane. Lilli was winning everyone over on her first day. Unfortunately, he wasn't confident he had won her over.

He walked over and sat next to her. Whispering, he said, "You always make friends with the small ones."

He reached out and touched the soft, chubby leg. He was only thirty, but he wanted one or two in his future. What was he working toward? Not sitting alone in his boxers, eating cereal for dinner.

Emma said, "Zach, we took a vote. She's a keeper."

Lilli blushed. He wished he could protect her from embarrassment, but with Lilli it was impossible. "My Mom likes you, too."

Oliver appeared and relieved Lilli of her burden. "We need to get them home. See you tomorrow."

The others were still drinking, but Oliver didn't look disappointed to be leaving. Zach wouldn't be, if it meant being alone with Lilli. He promised himself he'd take things slowly.

He put his arm around her. She looked up at him and smiled. He reached up and twirled a loose piece of her hair. "Do you know I've spent far too much time deciding if I like your hair better, up or down?" She shook her head in disbelief. "Seriously..."

"Zach, I wanted to come meet your friend. I just heard she's the one."

Zach reluctantly stood and offered his hand to Kenneth Sumner. "The one, sir? Lilli, do you know Mr. Sumner?"

She shook her head. "I've seen you, but never met you."

"Are you really the girl who holds the record?"

"What record?" Zach felt uncomfortable with where his friend's father was heading.

"Her position at Roche-Sumner."

Lilli let out a restrained laugh. Once again, she was embarrassed. Lilli really was notorious in their small publishing world. Was Ann a legend for luring her away? Zach was grateful to her for bringing Lilli to DM.

Zach sat on the couch next to Lilli, and Sumner took a seat in a chair across from them in the small gathering area of the formal room. "Sir, could I ask? Why do you keep her?"

The older man's face turned serious. "She picks winners and has the editing skills to make them bestsellers."

Lilli nodded. "I learned a lot from her, but it wasn't easy."

"She scares me." Zach admitted.

Lilli laughed. "She scares everyone, including her own authors, even successful ones like Matthew Clark."

Zach said, "Now I have Lilli, and she knows her secrets."

The older man knitted his brow. Lilli said, "I know the clues to sense what kind of mood she's in. The real secrets I'm keeping for when I'm an agent."

"Is that your plan?"

"It's everyone's plan." Zach hadn't seen his uncle approached.

Lilli fidgeted over the spotlight. Zach felt proud to brag for her. "She spotted a best seller recently. We'll send it to HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, HMH..."

"Roche-Sumner?"

Zach waved his hand. "Not on the first round. I like the author, so..."

Kurt said, "We bring plenty of options your way, Kenny. I have confidence in my team here."

Zach squeezed her shoulder. With the compliment, he sat up straighter, but Lilli didn't. She had doubts about herself and probably his intentions, but she had no reason to doubt her ability. Olivia appeared and joined the conversation. She told Ken Sumner about their plan to expand the Boston office. Lilli righted her shoulders.

"That's why I'm paying attention. Zach promises Lilli will be ready." Kurt said.

Zach laughed. "Beware, she knows your R-S secrets."

The group dispersed and Lilli said, "I don't understand how they can be friends and competitive."

Zach laughed. "The goal is the same. We all want best sellers. The competition comes from the money deal. Each side wants a bigger slice of the pie. We want to cut a deal which is lucrative for our clients, but remember, agents live off commission. You won't suddenly make enough to have Olivia's shoe collection when you're an agent."

"Because the office manager job pays so much?"

Zach thought for a moment. "More likely because she has her stepfather's credit card."

"Anything is better than the poor I am now."

Zach thought as two agents together, they could live comfortably. He stood and reached out his hand. "Lill, come with me."

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