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“You can’t stomach tardiness,” he joked, pulling away from her.
“I absolutely cannot,” she said, dropping her hands and glancing over to me. “RJ, this is Lear Campbell, my best friend’s younger brother. Lear, RJ Brooks is one of our top associates. You’ve met?”
Lear’s eyes fell on me, and I had the sudden worry I’d forgotten to get dressed that morning and that he was looking at me naked, and the idea wasn’t completely unpleasant.
When I didn’t speak up, he did, and I kicked myself again. “Yes. I’m working with my cousin planning weddings now. Ms. Brooks was so kind to give me a moment of her time. I’m trying to talk her into working with me.”
Gretchen arched an eyebrow. “Well, if you’re doing weddings, you can’t do better than working with someone like Lear.”
She smiled warmly at him, and my cheeks heated.Shit. How do I turn him down now?
He had a dimple, a small one in his annoyingly handsome cheek, and it popped when he smiled. “Is email or a phone call best?”
I gritted my teeth. “Your cousin can give you my phone number.”
“Excellent.” Gretchen motioned toward the elevator and glanced between Lear and me. “Shall we?”
It took every ounce of focus to not run a hand down my dress to make sure it was there. “I’m going to take the stairs, actually, getting my steps in and all,” I said, wondering if the words sounded as flustered to them as they did in my head. I was running calculations about how much it might screw me over with Gretchen if Icontinued to blow off the guy who was apparently the brother she never had.
Lear nodded, a smile on his lips. “I’ll call with the date for the ceremony, Ms. Brooks. I’m looking forward to working with you.”
Stab, stab, stab.“Looking forward to it.”
I turned toward the stairs, fuming with each step that I’d probably have to work with this annoying jerk.
“Ms. Brooks!” His voice startled me, and I almost tripped as I stopped abruptly. He jogged toward me and, dammit, he looked good when he ran, his body held straight, well-developed shoulders filling out the shirt. “RJ.”
“Yes?”
Gretchen stood near the elevator across the lobby checking her phone, but I had a feeling if I held up two middle fingers dramatically in his face, she might look up at the wrong moment.
“Don’t forget your sandwich.” Lear held out his hand, winked, and I grabbed it, our fingers brushing for a moment and an unwelcome warm tingle radiating up my arm. “I’d hate for you to go hungry.” He smiled again—no, it wasn’t a smile. He smirked and then returned to Gretchen and the now-open elevator doors.
Shit.
Chapter 4
Lear
“HEY, TINA.” Ishared a smile with my cousin’s assistant. “Penny around?”
She shook her head. “Hasn’t been in all morning. She wasn’t at the house?”
“She and Kelly went to Charleston to visit Kelly’s parents for the weekend. I thought she was planning to come straight here.” I glanced at my watch. Penny was usually in the office early on Tuesdays. “Thanks, T. I’ll just wait in her office and try her cell.” We were supposed to be meeting to talk through the next several months and create a working plan. Settling in the chair opposite Penny’s desk, I glanced around the office. The exposed brick and industrial look fit her, and black-and-white photos covered the walls. Penny had carved out a niche for herself as someone versatile by taking on small offbeat ceremonies and then, after making connections, earning the trust of people wanting larger, more elaborate events.
I hadn’t grown up with my cousin. She’d graduated high school a few months after Caitlin and I moved to Sybel following our parents’ death. But before she left for college, she’d given us the lay of the land, showed us how to navigate the deep political waters of asmall-town high school, and she’d been right. I’d held tight to those reminders ever since.
If no one sees what bothers you, no one can really mess with you.
Be nice to everyone.
