Page 45 of Auctioned To Be Mine

I considered that. Adrian had good instincts. He knew what resonated with people. My cousins had a flare for being extra. Hell, the last show I attended was in the pouring rain on top of a mountain in Greece. They really liked the dramatic. If he was saying the standard approach wasn’t enough, he was probably right.

“Did he have any specific ideas?”

“He’s got a few directions he’s thinking. Nothing locked in.” Drew paused. “He mentioned something about real couples. As in, not models playing at being in love. Actual people who are either engaged or recently married. Let them tell their story while they wear the clothes.”

“That could work,” I said slowly.

“It could be incredible,” Drew said. “Or it could be a disaster if the couples are boring or nervous or fight backstage.” He shrugged. “But you know Adrian. He’s not going to let it be a disaster.”

“I’ve been brainstorming,” I said. “I’ll think of something.”

Drew looked at me sideways. “What’s going on with you?”

“Nothing.”

“You said that already and I didn’t believe you then either.” He crossed his arms. “You’re spacing out. I’ve been talking to you and I can see you’re not actually here.”

I didn’t say anything. I walked over to one of the velvet chairs and dropped into it, leaning my elbows on my knees. Drew sat down across from me and waited. He was annoyingly patient when he wanted information.

“I’ve been a little distracted,” I admitted.

“By what?”

I looked at him and sighed. “The girl.”

“What happened at that dinner? You haven’t been the same since.”

I shrugged and thought about lying, but I needed advice and Drew was the best option. “We went back to my place for a drink.”

He knew what that meant. “Ah. I see.”

“Please don’t make it weird,” I said again.

“What do I care? You take women home all the time.” He shook his head. “I mean, I guess it’s been a while. So congrats on breaking your slump. Just watch. You’ll have two more notches on your bedpost by the end of the week.”

“No, man,” I said more intensely than I had intended.

“No what?”

“It wasn’t like that with her,” I said. “She’s cool. I want to see her again.”

That got Drew’s attention. “Well, well, well. That’s different for you. But, hey, what’s wrong with that?”

“It’s a bad time to be distracted,” I said.

“You can work and get a girlfriend. People do it all the time.”

I looked at him. “She’s not my girlfriend. Chill the fuck out.”

He raised both hands. “Okay. Sure.”

“It was one night. I like her. Let’s not jump ahead.”

Drew shrugged. “We just watched it happened with the cousins. And when they fell, they fell hard.”

“I’m not them,” I said with a grin. “I’m just saying Victoria is someone I want to see again.”

“Great, so why do you seem so wound up?” he asked. “You should go for a run.”