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“What?”
“Every time the camera caught her in the background of her brother Nicholas or her sister Natasha, she got this far-off kind of look. Natasha’s preparing for a wedding and Nicholas is always dating. Maybe Natalia wants to settle down.”
Hmm, Natalia settling down? A Bachelorette type of show? The ideas flew into her mind.
Dear MET executives,
With the Ruiz family climbing the reality TV charts, I would like to schedule a pitch session to discuss The Road to Ruiz Love.
Sincerely,
Amelia
“Is that the look when she’s got an idea?” Kimber half whispered to Cay.
“Yep, that’s it all right.”
Amelia blinked back in focus in time to catch Nate shaking his head in disapproval. What did she need his approval for? This was her career she was thinking about. Backyard barbecues were one thing, but were they the rest of her life? Amelia sighed inwardly. She had a lot of thinking to do over the next few days.
* * *
“I have the perfect dress for you.”
Amelia glanced up at the video footage she’d been editing all day long. The only time she recalled moving from the computer was to put on her favorite comfy, army-green hooded jacket from the coatrack by Lexi’s office door. As she worked, whether she had multiple monitors to edit or one, Amelia had turned the lights off. When Lexi entered her office, the light from the main floor spilled through, blinding Amelia like a vampire. She ducked behind the monitor and clutched her heart.
“Sorry.” Lexi cocked her head and grinned. She reached for the light switch with her long purple nails that matched her sparkly tutu. According to the chaotic whiteboard schedule, the afternoons were dedicated to a dance rehearsal led by Chantal Hairston, Lexi’s right-hand woman for the pageant coaching. Amelia couldn’t help observing the contrast in the way she and Lexi were dressed. While Lexi looked like a prima ballerina, here Amelia sat in her faded comfy jeans and an old red Southwood High T-shirt.
“I thought the bell over the door didn’t ding when I came back into the store,” Lexi continued, stepping farther into her office, but she turned to glance at the front door to the shop. “Damn it, I’m probably going to have to get a new bell. I can’t have customers sneaking in on me. You never know what I might be doing with the hot new neighbor.”
The hot new neighbor, as Amelia had learned last week, was none other than Stephen Reyes. He ran the new real estate and contracting agency in town. Over one of their dinners, Nate had shared with Amelia information about the business he and his brother owned. The brothers did a lot of scouting for television and movie execs—namely for MET—which probably explained Nate’s ability to contact Natalia so easily. She hinted again for the real story, but he declined—as always. Each brother had their own niche in the business. Stephen worked more with the Hollywood folks in the aspect of helping people get into their dream homes. Most of the homes, as Amelia understood, were replicas of iconic houses from the movies. If the frame of the desired homes needed work, Nate stepped in to reconstruct the buildings. Amelia understood Nate’s passion for tweaking the homes exactly how the home buyers wanted them to be. The man was good with his hands. Amelia rolled her eyes at her new friend and shook her head, not expecting the crick in her shoulders.
Three of the mandatory weeks were already up. When was the last time she’d woken up in the same bed for a full week? Two months ago, Amelia was jet-setting across the country. The mere thought of staying in one place for any amount of time seemed dull, and yet, these last few weeks had flown by.
Amelia had traveled to and from Grits and Glam Gowns in Grandmamma’s car and never once complained about being stuck behind a tractor. She didn’t bat an eye when someone parked their horse in a diagonal spot in front of the coffee shop on the corner. The road trips she took with Lexi and her Glam Squad never maxed more than two hours and the largest body of water they crossed was the Flint River.
This morning Amelia had arrived just after eight and judging from the clock in the right-hand corner of the monitor she used, the sun was about to set. Where was Nate? The last time she’d laid eyes on him, or hands, for that matter, he’d walked her to the front doors of Grits and Glam Gowns. He’d placed his hands on the rim of the door to stop himself from entering and defiling the gowns in his future sister-in-law’s store. Maybe during their heated kiss, he’d knocked the bell off-kilter. Amelia adored Nate, but as these weeks flew by, so had the time they had to be intimate. Since Grandmamma’s return from the hospital, Nate had become the ultimate choir boy.
Was it possible to miss someone—sexually—after a few times?
Cheeks flushed at the memory, Amelia fanned her face. “My goodness, I forgot how time flies when editing.”
“So you think you can come up with something?” Lexi asked, strutting across the length of her office.
“Not just something,” Amelia bragged, “some things.”
“I hope this hasn’t been too much trouble.”
“Not at all.” Amelia waved off the notion. “I’ve come up with the perfect video for you to give Emily and Sam.” She beamed. “I also took the liberty of putting together footage for you to give your potential clients. I like the regular portfolio, but sometimes having a visual of what it looks like to win helps. I noticed you’ve built your clientele based on each pageant win and word of mouth. This way you’ll have a portfolio potential pageant clients can see.”
“Let me see.” Lexi came over to Amelia’s side of the desk and leaned over to view what Amelia had come up with.
Amelia waited, nervous at Lexi’s response. The bubbles in the pit of her stomach were refreshing. When was the last time she’d gotten excited and nervous over her job? Damn, she missed working. Sure, the bubbles of excitement welled inside of her body when she thought of seeing Nate again, too; the two feelings were very similar. One, however, gave her orgasms.
“This is awesome, Amelia,” exclaimed Lexi once the video ended. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me.” Amelia shook her head. “This is what I do for a living.”
“Did? Right?” asked Lexi. “Nate shared with me he got you fired. I know I might not be able to pay much but I could really use your help around here.”
