When we settle into the back of the SUV, I ask her if Logan is coming along, and there must be a whole lot of magic in their mating bond, because her worry lines melt into a soft smile. “He’s gone to check on things at the gym.”
“So I get you all to myself?”
“Until Bloomer turns up and decides to shower us in slobbery affection.”
Which, in a roundabout kind of way, reminds me of Otley promising to lick every inch of my greedy person.
Hmm.Why is it so easy to imagine Lily as part of that scenario?
If I’m honest with myself, Lily fits neatly into every one of my fantasies. While Otley and Ellis are my forever mates, we didn’t exactly snap together like long lost puzzle pieces. The attraction was there from day one – because, hello, I have eyes – but wegrew up too differently, and for a long time I felt like an imposter in their world. They’ve never made me feel anything less than cherished, but being loved and knowing that youdeservethat love, are not the same thing. There were a lot of mental obstacles for me to overcome during their courtship, whereas with Lily, it feels like she’s always just been waiting around the corner from me.
Being with her, I realize, is so easy that walking away is now an impossibility.
And maybe she feels the same way, because her fingers inch forward until they tentatively thread through mine. “Um, is this okay? We don’t have to do it in public, but I feel better when you’re close.”
“There is no time or place where I won’t be one hundred percent into holding your hand,” I tell her with such sincerity, she relaxes back into the seat with another of those soft smiles. “Now, is it okay if I walk Della through the potential shoot today? I’ve got everything detailed in a storyboard, but he’ll want to see the actual locations himself.”
“Of course.”
“That’s great.” I give her hand a relieved squeeze. “If you’re happy with what we come up with, we can sign the contract, and you’ll get your first payment either today or tomorrow.”
She blinks at me, something complicated moving behind her eyes. “That’s fine. Like I said, I’m not going to turn down an opportunity as good as this one.”
I’m relieved to hear it, even if I’m still carrying a lot of guilt from her panic attack the other day. Thankfully, when we arrive at the farm, Della has parked his balloon in someone else’s yard and is standing beside a shiny black Mercedes. His gaze skips over our clasped hands before landing on Lily, and my hackles rise as he steps forward to greet her. He might look like chocolate won’t melt in his mouth, but when a VanityFair reporter once asked him about his playboy reputation, he famously said that he simply has a nose for sniffing out sweet things.
Well, Lily sure as shit isn’t here to be sniffed, and I find myself muscling between them as he extends a hand in her direction.
“Della,” I say in a voice as gruff as Otley at his most insufferable. “Lily is just here to sign the contract, assuming she’s happy with what we come up with. Everything else goes through me.”
He cocks a brow at my sharp tone, the ghost of a smile playing over his lips as he tucks his hand back in his pocket. “Of course. Hopefully everything gets the Lily Percy kiss of approval.”
I grind my teeth at the teasing response, but Lily just rolls her eyes and leans in to give me a quick hug. “I’ll be back after I’ve checked in with Marion and Bloomer.”
She gives Della a polite nod, then heads towards the porch while I grab my work tablet from my satchel. I might be alittleaggressive as I pull up his file, because he gives a soft chuckle. “You know, I’ve met junkyard dogs with less hackles.”
“Because there are so many junkyards in Beverley Hills?”
He rubs the side of his prominent nose with a laugh. “Good point, but the observation still stands.” When I shoot him an irritated look, he holds up his hands, surrender-style. “It’s okay. I’m backing off. But if your pack is really interested in her, you should do something about scaring off those vultures.”
I follow his gaze to the farm’s parking lot, where our security team is holding the perimeter. The crowd has thinned out a little, but a news crew is already filming, with our meeting as the reporter’s backdrop. “Come on,” I tell Della. “I can point out the locations as we go.”
He nods, and for the next half hour we walk through each frame of the storyboard as I explain the vision I have for the campaign. It centers around a cute-as-a-button girl in pigtailsand overalls doing her morning chores and finding chocolates in the strangest places. In the henhouse, she finds gold-wrapped Eros Kisses instead of eggs; in the veggie patch, she unearths Eros Bounty Bars instead of green beans; and in the barn, instead of milk in the pail, it’s filled with an assortment of Della’s sweetest treats.
“I love it,” Della says, just as Lily joins us in the barn, an ecstatic Bloomer at her side. She looks curiously at my tablet, and I’m just starting to show her what I’ve come up with, when Della adds, “Of course, it would be even better with a little extra something at the end. Maybe she takes her bounty to Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, who’s standing on a sun-dappled rise, like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. That would sell a ton of chocolate, don’t you think?”
I frown at him, but he’s already plucking one of Lily’s bows off the wall and handing it to her. “I saw this in one of the pictures Tristan showed me. Do you think you could give me a demonstration?”
As Lily takes the bow, she looks at me, and I give a rueful shrug. It was a great picture, but it never occurred to me that Della would seize on it, which is kind of stupid in hindsight.
“I’m not an actress,” she says warily. “And I really don't want my face plastered all over the television.”
“Oh, this is going to be much bigger than that,” Della says with a cocky grin. “Movie screens, billboards, Times Square. Hell, we might even buy a Super Bowl slot if it turns out as good as I think it will.”
Lily gapes at him, already shaking her head. “You’re kidding, right?”
But Della waves off her concern. “We can use a double. Your prowess matched with some actress’ face. No one will ever know it’s you.” Lily looks at me again, but Della steps between us, blocking my view. “I’ll double your fee.”
“I don’t think...”
