She licks her lips. “I will.”
Seth reaches for a lock of her hair and she lets him take it. She holds her breath as he runs the long blond strand through his palm, like he’s considering something. Then he tucks it behind her ear and lopes off toward the interns.
Lacey lets out a breath, a nervous excitement settling in her heart.
Tonight, she reminds herself, they’ll figure this out tonight.
Whatever this is.
An hour later, setup is complete. The black carpet ready to be walked. The llamas humming in the courtyard. A pink neon sign screams GIVE ME DEATH OR GIVE ME A DRINK.
Seth hangs back and dusts off his hands. He watches Lacey hand out granola bars to hungry staffers as she sidles through the space, evaluating with a keen eye and making final adjustments.
The house looks amazing. Lacey is amazing. Today, he saw a person full of life. A machine. She’s spent hours ironing linens, helping her interns, making sure the details on the cake match Colin’s drawing.
At least she’s finally on the ground.
He scowls. Damn girl. He saw her scaling that ladder and it nearly gave him a heart attack. He doesn’t know why he’s supporting this bullshit but knows she’d do it anyway, so he might as well babysit.
But it’s not babysitting. He’s here because he cares. He cares about Lacey. And now he’s paying the price. Thinking about her every goddamn second of the day. He can’t take much more of this.
They gotta figure this out. Soon.
As she’s on her way over to Seth, Lacey pauses in front of Autumn. The glum redhead is snapping commands at a flustered intern who’s trying to even out a coffin.
“Excuse me, Autumn,” Lacey says, her eyes narrowed, her tone cool. No malice or cattiness in her voice, just a commanding of the room. “If you’re going to stand there and complain to Trent that he’s doing it wrong, then get down in the shit and help him.”
Autumn kind of sags back like she’s been expertly filleted, and Seth hides a smirk.
Lacey in her element has got to be the hottest thing he’s ever seen. Barking orders. Competent. Confident. It’s sexy as hell.
Lacey walks Seth’s way, the smile breaking over her face like a gift.
“I gotta admit,” he says as Lacey approaches him, her cheeks red and flushed, “it looks terrific, Lace.”
She nods, eyes bright. “Thanks. It really does.”
Seth scours the crowd. “Your boss here?”
He can’t help it. He wants to meet the asshole who’s putting Lacey through the wringer. He’s not saying he’s going to give the guy a piece of his mind, but he ain’t exactly going to be friendly.
“No. He only shows up when everything’s done.” She picks a piece of hay out of her hair. “He trusts me on that at least.”
Seth gives her a quick side-eye. Her tone is bitter, her face gloomy. He slings an arm around her shoulder, wanting to cheer her up. “Well, princess. What now?”
She looks up at him and grins. “We get ready.”
Upstairs, Lacey and Seth stand outside two majestic suites where their clothes have been brought up. “Fancy,” Seth drawls, feeling as if they’re in a whole other world. Already the swell of music has begun downstairs. Some synth-pop beat that has Seth internally cringing.
Lacey claps her hands together. She’s practically twitching to get into hair and makeup. “Okay, get ready and I’ll meet you out here in—”
“Ten.”
She quirks a brow, unamused. “I was going to say an hour.”
He laughs. “Guess I could splash around in the shower.”
She blushes and turns away, but he snags her arm, pulling her close until she’s inches from him. “Hey.” Their gazes lock. “You did good today.”