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Ambi trailed off. She stood there, a few feet from the entrance to the mostly empty room. She looked nervous suddenly.
“Uh- they do all the setup and takedown. Their tables and chairs are nice. Everything is new. It’s all very modern, to match the building itself. Like I said. Classy. I think it’s a good fit.”
Trey wanted to argue with her. He wanted to tell her to pick something shittier, something that people would complain about, something that required tacky decorations. He’d rather honestly host the whole thing in an old gym somewhere with a space for a dance floor and potluck style tables set up at the back. At least people would have fun then.
“There’s more than enough room for a band and other entertainment. I brought a list of contacts with me that I thought were suitable. I’d have to book soon, as most people are already busy this time of year. I’m going to have to call in a favor as it is.”
Trey flexed his hands. He opened and closed his fists, his palms disgustingly damp. His heart did something wild in his chest. God. Ambi had no idea how fucking hot it was that she was doing this. What she’d always wanted to do. That she was so… put together. So in charge. So good at this.
When he still didn’t answer, her liquid eyes traveled slowly to his face. Something in the air shifted between them. The room became awkwardly charged again, like the floor was filled up with live wires, sparking and dangerous around their ankles like a viper waiting to strike.
When she blinked it was like it happened in slow motion, one dark sweep of even darker lashes. Finally, she sighed.
“Well, if you don’t like it, I have two other places that aren’t booked up. They’re not as nice as this one though, and they won’t give me as good of a price. This really is the best option.”
Trey blinked back. Ambi was too much of a professional to let him in. She had a good mask in place. The kind of mask that gave nothing away. She looked at him like she was seeing through him, like he was anyone else. Like they’d never shared anything. Not a life, not an apartment, not hopes and dreams. Not even a moment.
It absolutely gutted him. Was there really nothing there? Did he imagine the whole hesitant couple of seconds on her part when he’d kissed her? The instant he swore she’d been about to kiss him back? Had she moved on? Just because she didn’t have someone didn’t mean that she wasn’t happy. She’d obviously carved out a life for herself. Started a business from scratch. She was well on her way to becoming a success.
He wanted to kiss her again, to try to convince her that there was something. Something unfinished. Something, anything. A shred of what they were. That it wasn’t just alive for him. He needed to convince himself that he wasn’t the only one that had battled five long years to put out the fire and lost. That she felt just a little of that inferno, somewhere in her being. That there wasn’t enough water on earth to put it out for either of them.
“Hello? Trey? Anyone home in there?” Ambi snapped her fingers right in front of his face. “If you’re not going to answer me, I’m going to take your silence as a yes and just book the place.” She rolled her eyes. “God, I don’t even know why you insisted on coming down here. You hired me to do this all for you and yet you’re here. Making my life difficult. As per usual.”
“So, you do still feel something.” As soon as he put it out there, he knew it was the wrong thing to say.
Ambi’s eyes widened, and not in a good way. In the kind of telltale way that said she knew exactly what he was doing and that it was a pathetic stab in the dark on his part. She looked at him like he was the fly who had been pissing her off for the past two days. The one she’d finally lined up in the crosshairs of her fly swatter and would be only too happy to smush.
Ambi inhaled sharply, but when she spoke her voice was strong and even. “We’re talking about the hall. I’m doing a job. The job I was paid to do. There is nothing else. There will never be anything else. I’m a professional, which is why I’m here. Because I care about my business. Because this is a huge opportunity to me, and honestly, because you made it impossible for me to say no. I’m not a bad person, Trey, so just tell me. Is this place okay or not?”
