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Recognizing that she wasn’t interested in telling him about her passion for design, he studied the artistic pages anyway. The depth of detail on each page made him feel like he was walking into each scene.
“I like this idea of a palm tree maze and an aloha theme,” Conner said before turning to find her at his shoulder studying her own handiwork. Their faces were so close he could see the little flecks of gold in her eyes and long, peachy lashes free of mascara. She was a natural beauty with a sprinkle of freckles along the bridge of her straight nose. The stunning part was the combination of red hair and freckles with bronze skin. Like the Irish and Italian sides of her family swirling together to make the most enticing combination.
“Why don’t you do this full-time?”
“This isn’t a social call, Sergeant, and we need to review several other items before my shift starts. As I see it, the biggest issue is budget.”
He picked up a notebook with figures on it as she tucked away the drawings.
Grabbing her notebook from him, she flipped through the pages and gave him another opportunity to study her. Would her lips feel as lush to touch as they looked?
“Conner.”
“What?” she said, still not meeting his gaze.
“You can call me Conner, although I do enjoy the sound of my new title.”
He offered her a big smile when she finally looked up at him. How long would it take him to wear down her defenses? Just one smile? She was trying awfully hard not to like him. And he knew his falling out with her brother was her motivation, but a smirk pulled at her mouth even now.
She liked him but didn’t want to.
“Okay, budget. My impression is there is no budget. By that, I mean we have no money. So we need to come up with several fundraisers if we want to throw any kind of a gala,” Conner said.
“Correct. Have you come up with any ideas?” she asked.
“Yes, although I’ve only been assigned this task for the better part of an hour, I have several ideas to contribute.” He knew she didn’t expect him to say that.
“I feel like I’m going to regret this, but let’s hear it. Tell me your thoughts,” she said.
“Okay, we could charge everyone to enter the gala, but obviously, that doesn’t give a guarantee we’ll raise enough to fund the event. And we could have all of the classic neighborhood backyard picnic festivities, but that’s only going to get the older community involved. We need to liven things up and make this about everyone: single folks, couples with children, and the young single crowd who still want to party. We need to think bigger. Instead of a gala, how about we throw a street party for the entire community?”
“That sounds fun, but we need some local heavy hitters to attend the gala and make large donations to the community center. Rich people like to dress up, walk a red carpet, and cut a check.”
“Fair point. What if we do one of those old-school calendars with the women of the different forces? People will pay top dollar for that.”
“Male chauvinist much? How about a hunky calendar with firemen, police officers, and some of the hot paramedics?”
Conner couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, sure, I’ll be in your calendar for a good cause. What are your ideas, if you’re so good at this?”
Her eyes lit up, and she pulled out another plan.
“Oh, I see you were only being sarcastic when you asked for my opinion. That was just supposed to make me feel like I was part of the brainstorming.”
Finally, she laughed and handed over her notebook so he could look over the plans she mapped out. Several events each weekend that culminated in the gala under festive strings of lights.
“Leading up to the swanky gala, we’ll have tons of family activities bringing the community together.” She smiled with enthusiasm.
Conner nodded. “And what about the young, hot, no-kids crowd? Maybe one evening with a beer garden, barbecue pit, and a kissing booth.”
“Those aren’t terrible ideas, but I don’t think a kissing booth is very sanitary. A dunking booth or pie throwing could work.”
“See, we already make a great team.” He was working hard to get her to admit she didn’t hate him. For some reason, even after all this time, he needed to know she didn’t believe the lie that ruined his friendship with her brother.
“I do like the idea of catering an event to a younger party crowd and the calendar idea. We’ll need to recruit some cocky first responders who are willing to pose for the calendar.”
She ignored him and jotted down a few notes.
“Obviously, I’m happy to fall on that sword and would probably make a great cover model, but yes, we’ll need more volunteers,” he said, attempting to strike a pose with his arms crossed over his chest.
