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“That’s not the point.”
“What is the point?”
“Neither of us seems to know what’s going on here. I’d rather not face the Valenti Family Inquisition until we do.”
“So does this mean the truce is over?”
“My brain is so scrambled right now, I don’t know what to think.”
His irresistible grin spread over his face, and his dimple made an appearance. Sofia struggled to stay mad. Why was she mad again?
“So my kisses scramble your brain?”
“They make me stupid. It wasn’t a compliment.”
“You don’t get to decide what I take as a compliment. Turning that impressive brain off with my lips is something I’m very proud of.”
“I do get to decide when I want to kiss you.”
“Yes, you do, just as you decided to kiss me in the car.”
“Clearly, the truce isn’t working, but I’m going to ask that we keep our kisses away from the workplace while we figure things out.”
Now that she’d spilled her worries, she felt her anxiety spiraling. She nibbled a fry.
“I just don’t want everyone jumping all over this,” she said around another fry, “before we see if it’s really going to be a thing.” She grabbed three fries and tucked them into her mouth. “I mean it could be bad for your proposal, for my credibility, and oh God! The show! What if someone caught us on camera?” She reached for another handful of fries, and his hand covered hers. Taking it in his, he raised it to his lips and kissed it, silencing her thoughts with frightening ease.
“Don’t worry, beautiful. We will go as slow as you need to, but be clear. There is anus. And this is definitely a thing.” His phone chirped a text alert. He glanced at it and frowned. “We should head back. We need to film your walk-and-talk, and I need my guys to finish this demo day on time.”
Head still spinning that he hadn’t walked away from her meltdown, she climbed back into her car in silence. There had been something she’d wanted to talk to him about…
* * *
Adrian rana hand through his hair as a camera-ready Sofia walked into the rubble of what used to be the kitchen and stole his breath. Was it her beauty contrasting with the wreckage he’d caused that made his heart stutter in his chest? Or was it something more? He had to get a grip, or he’d look like a fool on film.
“Okay, you two, just walk side by side and talk to each other. Try to keep a steady pace, because I’ll be walking backward.” Trina prepped them. “I’m pretty nimble, but things are all torn up today. Good job on that, Adrian.” Trina was friendly but focused as she talked them through what she needed for the shot.
“What can I say? You’ve got to break things before you can fix them.”
“Let’s start here in the kitchen. The demo is mostly done, and it makes a great backdrop. I’m going to keep filming so if you blow a line or need to repeat yourself, just say it again, and we’ll edit it in post. Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” muttered Adrian.
“And…go!”
“Hey Adrian, the demo looks great!” He barely recognized the girl he’d had lunch with. When she put on her camera mask, she was a different person.
“Yeah, we had a fun morning. You’ll see your wall is mostly gone. We’ve got the cased opening framed in, which let us avoid the header beam.”
“That’s fantastic. I’ve got a few changes I need to talk to you about in here. Instead of the custom built-ins, I found some gorgeous ready-mades for less, but it means I have to change the layout a little…” She turned to gesture to the empty space beneath the window. “How hard would it be to move the main sink a foot and a half to the right?”
“The plumbing? Maybe an extra hour. But then it isn’t centered under the window.” Where was this coming from? Why was she making changes to the blueprints now?
“That was my next question.”
“We can’t move the window.” He crossed his arms as if that would help him hold back his frustration. It didn’t help. He couldn’t tear apart the back of the house just so she could keep her fancy plans. It went against everything Valenti Brothers stood for.
“But the cabinets won’t work right if we don’t.”
