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As they pulled items out of the box, he got what she was saying. Having a flashy booth would send a very bad message to their investors, as well as the public. They were supposed to be reducing costs. This showed they were back to basics.
“You take that side, and I’ll take this one. Here’s a twisty.” She held out something that looked like it had come off a loaf of bread, then pointed to the chair she’d pushed up to the wall. There was a chair on his side, too. They both climbed up, tied the sign in place, then stepped down to admire their work.
And walked directly into each other.
“Sorry,” he said, trying hard to ignore how her arm felt against his as she bumped into him. How could such a small thing make his entire body react? He couldn’t recall it ever being like this with a woman before.
“Okay, now for the handouts.” She headed over to the box.
“Handouts?” he asked.
She’d been leaning over, but his words caused her to straighten. “Yes. Brochures. Business cards. Takeaways. We also have a signup sheet.”
“We’re supposed to be a tech company, and we’re using paper?”
“Paper is a takeaway.” Brooke stepped back and gestured to indicate the surrounding, very empty expo hall. They’d arrived earlier than everyone else to set up, probably because nobody else had brochures and business cards to set out. “How many of these other companies will give takeaways? People will walk out of here having seen demos and talked to people, but with nothing in hand.”
He didn’t know about that. He’d done quite a few of these, and he’d seen some business cards changing hands, for sure. But he admired her passion. It inspired him to trust her and follow her on this journey to see where it went.
Brooke stepped toward him, handing him a stack of pages. “Fan those out over on that table. I’ll handle the display up front.”
They worked in silence, but he was all too aware of her, just a few feet away from him, moving with a grace that was fascinating to watch. In fact, he was having a hard time concentrating, thanks to the way she’d commanded his peripheral vision.
“All done.” He stepped back, admiring his work. Somehow, she ended up standing next to him, although he hadn’t noticed her moving. He looked over at her and noticed the way she bit her lower lip as she studied the work she’d done.
Suddenly, she looked up at him, and her lips parted like she was about to say something. But then she seemed to notice him looking down at her, and her expression changed. Softened. She was looking up at him like she was thinking exactly what he was thinking.
She wanted him to kiss her.
He moved slowly at first, giving her every possible chance to pull away if this wasn’t what she wanted. But she turned toward him, reaching out to place her hand on his chest as he lowered his head and did the very thing he’d wanted to do since the day she’d walked into his life.
The instant his lips touched hers, he knew this was the right thing to do. Nothing had ever feltrighter, in fact. He turned until he was fully facing her, settling his hands onto the small of her back but not pushing. She rose up on tiptoe and rested her hands on his shoulders, deepening the kiss as she pressed her body against his.
“May I have your attention?”
The noise blared through the speakers above them, immediately obliterating the silence. He’d lost all sense of space and time while kissing her and now his ears were ringing. He pulled back, looking up at the speaker, then down at her. He was sure she would be completely freaked out by what had just happened, but instead, she started laughing.
Laughing.
He couldn’t help it. He found himself laughing, too. Stepping back, he released his hold on her and looked around, confirming that they were, indeed, still alone, at least in the immediate area. Meanwhile, the person coming through the speakers was carrying on about booth times and breaks and what types of beverages were and weren’t allowed in the exhibit hall.
“Dinner?” he asked.
Brooke nodded. She looked like she’d just woken up from a nap, all groggy and confused. But she grabbed her purse from the box, then closed the box up and shoved it under one of the tables. He had to fight the urge to take her hand as they walked from the expo hall because they were, after all, here on business.
7
“So, tell me about your company.”
Brooke took a deep breath and smiled at the man standing in front of her. He was youngish, but that was nothing unique. Everyone here was male, young, and dressed like this guy—casual top of some sort and baggy jeans with sneakers. It was impossible to tell the investors from the entrepreneurs from the app developers who’d been dragged along by their bosses. The one thing that was even slightly unique here was her. She’d seen only four other women this morning. Two had been models hired to stand around and draw attention to specific booths.
“Homework Helper is a free app for students.” Brooke lifted the tablet Justin had left on the table before rushing off to get them some coffee. “Students log in and get help from other students. They can upgrade to a membership where professional tutors help out. There are also forums where they can have discussions about other things. Do you want to see how it works?”
The guy nodded, and Brooke went through the demonstration. She’d watched Justin do this countless times that morning, but she was having a hard time learning. All she could think about was what it had been like to kiss him. And that had been followed by dinner in the hotel restaurant, where he’d looked at her across the table and asked her questions about her future, her interests, her family… Like he was really interested in her. Genuinely interested inher.
Yeah, she was falling hard. And she didn’t know how to rein herself back in. She’d spent the past couple of years trying to keep herself focused on work, and now she couldn’t seem to focus on it at all.
“Sounds like Tutor2Tutor.”
