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Adrian’s brainhitched when he heard Sofia’s voice in the entryway. Just the sound of her was enough to distract him. He set down his box cutter and waited. Walking backward into the kitchen, Sofia didn’t notice him right away. Adrian watched her carry in the island piece with Seth, admiring her strength and dedication. He couldn’t lie. He also enjoyed seeing her fine curves from his position kneeling on the floor, unpacking the tiles. He’d wondered if she’d go out of her way to avoid seeing him after her hasty retreat from his apartment, and he wasn’t thrilled that their first encounter would be in front of cameras. He had too many questions pushing at the front of his brain to trust his filter for long. He stood up and braced himself.
“Oh! Hi, Adrian.” Her voice squeaked on the last syllable as she tripped over a box of tiles waiting for installation, finally noticing his presence.
“Hi, Sofia. You okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. Seth, can you install the island, or do you need a hand?”
So she was still going to try and avoid him, huh? Hmm, he’d really rattled her. He didn’t know whether to be pleased or worried about that. He settled for a little of both.
“I’ve got it. Adrian can help me get the countertop on. It’s pretty straightforward since there’s no prep sink or gas range to install.”
“Great. As soon as you get it done, Adrian is going to get the tile floor laid, right?” She was narrating for the benefit of the camera Trina had rolling, and he played along.
“Yep, I’ve got the slate right here.” She stopped in her tracks halfway out of the kitchen.
“Slate?”
“Yeah. You didn’t see it when you came in?” he teased. She didn’t smile as he’d hoped.
“No, I clearly didn’t, or I would have asked you what the hell blue slate tiles were doing in my neutral kitchen instead of the bathrooms?”
The terse tone of voice had his hackles rising. Damn it. He hadn’t said anything about the cost of using real stone tiles because he’d been determined to back-off his “utilitarian” stance, but it seemed he couldn’t win. “The cut sheets in the project binder say blue slate in the kitchen and the porcelain faux marble in the bathrooms.”
“That’s not right. Let me see that.” She snatched the massive binder from his hands and scanned the page. “Da…rn it!” Trina moved in for a close-up with her camera mounted on her shoulder, and Sofia barely managed to catch the curse. “How the heck did this happen?”
“I’m sure it was just a simple switch error when someone was entering the details.”
“But was it ordered wrong? Or just written wrong? And…oh God! Did you already tile the bathrooms?” She shoved the binder at him and sprinted to see for herself, not waiting for a reply. He chased after her, his temper rising. Rico was mixing the grout, but hadn’t started laying the floor tile yet. “Stop! Hold on! That’s the wrong tile.”
He raised his hands as if he was being held up at gunpoint, his trowel dripping mortar back into the bucket. Adrian stifled a chuckle, knowing it would only piss her off more.
“Adrian. I need you to figure this out. Do we have enough tiles to finish the kitchen? Or did we order the wrong amounts?”
“I’ll figure it out. Relax.”
Aware that Trina was filming them intently, Sofia managed to keep her temper under control, but just barely. “Relax? We are three days from turning this house over to its owners, and I’m standing on a bare kitchen floor. I have a list a mile long of punch out work that still needs doing, and apparently a tile disaster to figure out. And you want me to relax? Figure it out, Adrian. I don’t have time for any other mistakes.” She looked him straight in the eye, adding meaning to her last two words.
His blood ran cold. Message received. He shrugged and turned to Trina. “Looks like I’ve got to track down some tile.”
* * *
Sofia detouredby craft services to snag a cup of coffee, hoping to restore her sanity before tackling the switch plates and outlet covers throughout the house as painters cleared the bedrooms. That man made her crazy on all the levels. Had she really just ranted at him about tiles in front of the camera? Did she look like a raging harpy or the sexually frustrated coworker? Damn. If she lost her chance at this show, at her dream, because she let herself get all twisted up over a guy, she didn’t think she could forgive herself.
“I think that’s all mixed in now.”
“Huh?”
Jake Ryland stepped up beside her and yanked her from her racing thoughts.
“You’ve been stirring that coffee like a can of separated paint. What’s up?”
“Nothing. Just a little mix-up. Nothing we can’t handle.”
“Don’t stress over mix-ups. Trust me. They make for better television. No one wants to see everything go right.”
“No one wants their house to turn out a mess either though.”
“True, which is why I’m glad you’re on top of it. I love the direction this pilot is heading. The tension between you and Adrian is a great plot arc. Keep up the good work.” He walked away before she had a chance to respond. He had a bad habit of doing that.
