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“I’ll let you tend to that...situation.” Keely let out a chuckle. “He is cute, though.”
Cute? Trick was far from “cute.” With his powerful forearm muscles on display, his dark, wavy hair blowing in the hot Texas air and the grin on his face, he was nothing short of gorgeous.
As if drawn in by his sheer magnetism, Rylee approached the car where a handful of people had gathered. Because Trick had put on a show and changed a tire, or because they’d recognized him?
The latter, she soon gathered. The girl wasn’t snapping photos, she was filming. He took his eyes off the girl’s front-facing camera screen when he saw Rylee coming their way.
“There she is.” His grin seemed more real for her. “Mackenzie, this is Rylee Meadows.”
The camera swung around to face Rylee and her steps faltered.
“She’s pretty,” Mackenzie said. “Your girlfriend?”
Trick took the question in stride, but his answer shocked Rylee all the way down to her uncomfortable shoes. “Not yet.”
Mackenzie ended the video after promising her audience she would post more later, and then she pocketed her phone. “Ms. Meadows. Can you sign for this?” She handed off a clipboard that had been tucked under her arm. “I brought the package you requested.”
Trick hefted a sizable box, showing her. “Weighs next to nothing.”
“No, it shouldn’t.” Rylee scribbled her name on the form.
“I was running late because of a flat tire. Trick saved me.” The younger woman’s face glowed with admiration as she turned to face him. “Thanks again. I’ll see you online?”
“You sure will.”
With a delighted little squeal, Mackenzie climbed into her car, waved goodbye and drove out of the club’s driveway.
“I couldn’t say no,” Trick explained as he adjusted the large box in his arms. “She was almost in tears. Reminded me so much of my younger sister, Cassie, my heart broke a little.”
That was sweet, actually.
“She recognized me.” He elbowed the accessibility button to open the automatic door for the side entrance. “Didn’t expect that.”
“I noticed you let her film you.” At the reception hall, Rylee extracted her keycard and opened the door for him. “Are you always so magnanimous?”
“Nothing new about being on camera for me.” He stepped into the darkened room. Rylee flipped on the lights. The venue wasn’t much to look at in the moment, but come Saturday, this room would be transformed into old Hollywood utopia. Right now there were boxes upon boxes, several long tables set up in rows and a fully stocked bar in the corner. “Whoa.”
“Not what you expected?” she asked as he set the large box onto one of the naked tables.
“I’m not used to seeing this stage. My followers are always begging me for behind-the-scenes stuff. They’re going to love this, and it’s all thanks to you.” He set up his tripod and then ran back and forth from light switches to screen in search the perfect lighting.
Rylee was double-checking the other boxes to ensure that they did, in fact, belong here, when one of the sconces in the center of the room flickered and buzzed.
That was no good.
“I’ll be right back,” she called out. Trick gave her the thumbs-up signal. Before she left the room she couldn’t help adding, “And then we’ll talk about that not-yet comment.”
He’d wondered if she was going to mention that. Now he knew. Rylee Meadows was not a woman who would take a comment about her being his girlfriend in stride. Even if she thought he’d said it simply for the public. Which he had, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a nugget of truth to it.
He intended to win her over in the days ahead. By his estimations, and by the way she was checking him out a minute ago, he was closer to kissing those lips than before.
Once he had the lighting right, he swapped the camera out for his cellphone and fired up a live video. He typed the title into the keyboard, which readEarly peek at the Noble-Ramos wedding in Royal!And then hit the record button.
Talking to the camera came naturally to him, so when he addressed his invisible audience, he did so with ease. No longer did he have to practice what he was going to say in the mirror five times before he started. No longer did he suffer heart palpitations before tapping the big red button.
He moved the tripod to the bar and positioned himself behind it. Both hands on the bar top, he announced, “And this is where Ariana and Xavier’s guests will be served, among other libations, the signature cocktail for their wedding. If you want to know what it is, you’ll have to stick around for my interview with them on Friday night.”
He glanced up when Rylee reentered the room, and then did a second take. She was hauling a ladder and a plastic bag. Not a stepladder, either. A full, six-foot-tallladderladder. She was about a mile away from him, so Trick thought fast, grabbed the tripod and continued the tour while moving closer to her.
