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“And I don’t know how you feel about this, but…Magnus and I were talking about this a little bit on the flight over. I thought if we opened up the look of the lobby with more windows, it’ll seem even bigger than it is…even ifwe take some of the lobby space and use it for this room.” Autumn points to the room that we used for the cocktail hour.
Autumn is really in her element now, and I can’t be sure what Scarlett is thinking. I love every idea I’ve seen so far, but I can see how this would be completely overwhelming.
“Imagine the weddings here if we combined these two rooms and added tons of windows to the back. There’s access to the restaurant’s kitchen if we tack this room onto the main one…sorry, am I talking too fast? I can just let you look at them too, they’re pretty self-explanatory, and y’all know what you’re doing when it comes to plans.” Autumn makes a face at me, gritting her teeth.
“The Southern comes out in our girl when she’s passionate about something,” Pappy tells Scarlett proudly. “My wife had a Southern accent too and it’s like music to my ears.”
Scarlett smiles at Pappy and Autumn groans, her face flushing.
“It comes out when I’mnervous,” she says. She looks at Scarlett. “I just really want to get this right. I want to do something thatyou’lllove. And I can scrap the whole thing, all of it, and start over. You just tell me what you hate…what you love…if anything…”
She laughs and I’ve never seen her flustered like this. She’s worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood and practically all the homes of Zac’s team, and is looking at Scarlett like she’s waiting with bated breath.
Scarlett clears her throat and her voice is slightly shaky when she speaks. “I’m blown away.”
She presses her lips together and blinks fast, fanning her face.
“And I’m trying really hard not to cry because this is just…incredible.” Her lips wobble and she shakes her head. “The thought to detail, the way you’re considering making the most of every space and not just tearing things down…I love everything I’ve seen.”
Autumn sags against the wall, her hand going to her heart as she leans her head back. “Oh, thank goodness,” she says.
“You’ve already given my feelings more consideration in the twenty-four hours we’ve known each other than my granddad did in the twenty-three years I’ve been alive.” She tries to play it off like she’s joking, but I can see the truth behind it, and my heart hurts for her.
She looks around at all of us. “I don’t want to hold any of you back. It’s clear to me that you’ve got this…” She stands up and puts her hand on Autumn’s arm. “Thank you…it’s amazing,reallyamazing.”
She looks at me, her eyes shining again, and I want nothing more than to hug her right here in front of everyone. But she’s already moving toward the door.
“I have to check on the dogs. I left them alone in my office and that’s a fairly new thing I’m trying.” She laughs and is out the door before I can stop her.
I look at my brother and Autumn, holding my thumb back toward the door. “I’m just gonna check on her really quick.”
Zac nods. “I was hoping you would.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN
PROUD GORILLA
SCARLETT
I hurry to my office and am turning to shut the door behind me, the dogs rushing to my side, when Jamison reaches out and stops the door.
“You okay?” he asks.
I start to tell him I’m fine like I would everyone else, but he looks at me like he knows I’d be lying.
“I’m a mess,” I admit.
“Is it seeing all those plans? Or is it about before? Us…are you wishing we hadn’t—”
“No…are you?”
He steps in and closes the door behind him, tugging my waist toward him. “I am reliving every moment of what we did in slow motion,” he says, his voice husky. “It’s hard for me to think of anything else.”
I laugh, my hands landing on his chest. He feels so good, so solid.
“Can I do anything to make this easier for you?” he asks.
And I feel that burning sensation under my eyelids that’s been way too present lately.
