Page 81 of Her Ruthless Protector

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A.J. couldn’t stop smiling. Hell, she thought her face might actually crack she was so damned excited. It was a half-hour to show time, and there was nothing in the world more exciting. She pinched herself.

“Ow.”

She grinned bigger and looked around and saw Kane’s broad shoulders. Okay, there was one thing in the universe that was more exhilarating, and that was being in Kane McNamara’s arms. Then, as if he knew she was staring at him, he turned around and gave her a smoldering look.

Holy hell, he knew what she was thinking about. How in the world could he possibly know? Then he winked.

He totally knew.

Damn, the muscles in her face were beginning to hurt.

“A.J.!” The stressed-out stage manager called out.

“A.J.!” Chet bellowed.

“A.J.!” Python yelled.

“A.J.! Come here, we need you.” Shelly almost screamed.

“A.J., I want to introduce you to Fleur,” Troy said in a low voice at her elbow.

“A.J., I refuse to put up with this.” Amber shrilled.

A.J. let out a piercing whistle and everybody stopped talking. “One at a time. Al, you first,” A.J. pointed to the stage manager.

“Clear Glass is the first performance, and Olaf’s missing.”

“Check the bathroom.”

“Already did.”

“You gotta check the porta potty out behind the stage, the one the contractors use. He’s taking his time doing his business while playing video games on his phone.”

“How in the hell do you know these things?” Al asked incredulously.

“It’s my job,” A.J. answered calmly, then she pointed to Chet. “Chet, you’re next.”

“Got the fire ordinance people saying we can’t do the fireworks for the finale. First time we were told of this.”

“I already have a permit. Shelly has it, get her to talk to them.”

Chet nodded and walked away.

“Don’t you dare ignore me another minute,” Amber screeched.

“What is it?” A.J. asked in an exasperated tone of voice.

“The lighting manager said that the lavender filters for the lights for my performance are lost. That’s unacceptable.”

“You misheard him. He’s combining the blue and pink filters to create the lavender affect, you’re covered.”

“I need lavender, not blue and pink.” Amber stamped her foot.

“I said you’re getting lavender,” A.J. said patiently.

“You said I was getting blue and pink, that’s not the same thing.”