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Chapter Twenty-Six
Megan
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Competition day arrivedfaster than I thought. On the day itself, I was nervous as hell. When I woke up, I had messages from Nina and Aunt Dana, wishing me luck. I’d neglected poor Nina lately and felt bad about that but figured she understood. I still regularly spoke to Aunt Dana, but she avoided mentioning Luke. Obviously, we’d agreed to disagree.
It was very early, so I made a coffee and went over my presentation at Luke’s kitchen counter. I was so lost in it that I didn’t even acknowledge him when he approached me, not until he kissed the side of my neck, wrapping an arm around my waist.
“Good morning, Meg.”
“Hey.”
I sank against him, loving how his body felt against mine. I was already dressed for the day in a gray office dress. I was going to pair it with white heels. He was still in pajama bottoms. His torso was naked and delicious.
I closed my laptop, turning around. His eyes were sleepy, and his hair was a mess. The whiskers on his cheeks looked hot on him. God, I loved this man so, so much. I wanted to jump his bones every second of the day and have a million babies with him. But whenever I tried to think about the future, I simply couldn’t. Besides, Luke hadn’t even talked about what would happen after my internship was over in December, so perhaps it was best if I didn’t visualize anything, lest I be disappointed again.
“You’re so beautiful after you wake up,” I murmured.
He moved his hands up to my shoulders. “You’re tense.”
“I’m nervous.”
“Want a relaxing massage?” He wiggled his eyebrows.
I laughed. “No, we don’t have time. Besides, it’s not bad to be a little nervous.”
Mentors were allowed and encouraged to participate in the presentation. I was happy Luke was going to be there.
“You’re going to nail it. You’re extraordinarily talented and hardworking.”
“Hmm... you are biased, though.”
He leaned in, kissing my shoulder. My skin tingled. “When it comes to you, yes. But not your work. I would do you a disservice otherwise.”
That was 100 percent true, and I appreciated it.
“But you can use all your techniques to relax me later in the afternoon if I don’t win.”
He straightened up. “That won’t be necessary. I’m confident in you, babe.”
“Thanks. Now hop in the shower. I don’t want to be late.”
We arrived at the presentation room on Wabash Avenue on time. Klaus joined us as well. I thought it was genuinely nice of him to come here and support me.
It was a whole day event. All presentations were in the morning. Then, during lunch, the committee would decide the winners, and they would announce them in the afternoon. In the evening, the committee would take the winners out to dinner. I was glad for Luke’s company. I only needed ten minutes to present, and then I would just be listening to the others’ presentations the rest of the time, and I was sure it would be nerve-racking.
The presentation room was huge, with a hundred seats and a big stage. The committee consisted of three people, and they were sitting at a table next to the stage. They were all superstars in the architecture world. Michael Jenkins was the youngest architect to have designed buildings on six continents. Elsa Redford had twice won the Paris prize for architecture. Valerie Black ran a very prestigious architecture office in London.
All the windows had been covered with shutters so no one could see the presentations. We all had designated seats, and the competitors sat in a different area than the rest of the attendees. Carson was sitting a few rows behind me. Our eyes crossed once, and he flashed me an unpleasant smirk. I was determined to avoid him today. My white heels were uncomfortable. They pinched my toes, and I berated myself for not having broken them in last week. I was number twenty to present, so I sat through nineteen presentations, waiting my turn. It was excruciating because I couldn't help but admit that all of them were impressive. I also couldn't help myself from comparing theirs to what I did, even though I was proud of my work. I had gone above and beyond, designing it—even Luke had said so on more than one occasion.
Klaus said I was the most dedicated intern they'd had. Still, looking at the presentations in front of me, everyone had put in a lot of work.
When they finally called my name, I walked up to the stage with robotic movements.Lord, I need to loosen up.
My presentation came on-screen without me having to do anything; they had an assistant who handled the computer and the remote, and I was grateful for that. I stood up straight, rolling my shoulders, looking at everyone in the audience. I zeroed in on Luke, the pride in his eyes filling me with joy.
"Hello, everyone," I said. "First, I want to thank you for the opportunity to compete. I am going to present today a luxury villa that I have worked on for the past few months." I couldn't be prouder of Charles’s villa. It was a very modern structure, as he'd wanted, with many windows so light could come in. He could easily admire his gorgeous view from every room.
