Anticipation flows through my veins as I lead her into the party room. We stop so I can introduce her to Poe. He’s sitting on the floor, playing with his niece, but he stands when we approach, and his sister swoops in to watch over the young girl.
“Lu, this is the man who’s been making the Cinderella bit happen on the field.”
Poe rolls his eyes. “About that. Do you think we could do something else? Literally anything else?” He holds out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Lucy.”
“You too,” Lucy says. “Sorry this one roped you into his tomfoolery.”
I pretend to scowl. “That tomfoolery gets eaten up by our fans. I thought you liked it.” I stare down at Lucy.
She shrugs. “It’s not very original.”
“See!” Poe points at me. “We can be done. I’m picking the next routine.”
“Only if you score. That’s the deal. If I score, we’re doing Cinderella. It’s a good luck charm at this point.”
Poe scowls. Lucy surprises me when she pats him on the shoulder. “You’re a good sport for putting up with this one.”
Poe huffs. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
Lucy giggles, and a flash of jealousy pierces my core at the sight of her small hand on Poe’s muscled arm. I know that’s stupid, but it’s like seeing this woman around another man has taken me back to caveman times. Poe smirks in my direction, like he can read my mind, but I don’t even care.
I finally exhale when Lucy drops her hand and twines her fingers with mine again.
Someone calls for Poe from across the room. He looks past me. “I think my sister needs something. Make yourselves at home, and, Lucy, seriously, we all appreciateyouputting up with this guy.” Poe grabs my shoulders and gives me a good-natured shake as he takes his leave.
When he’s out of earshot, Lucy rises up on her tiptoes, and I bend toward her. “For the record,” she whispers, her warm breath against the shell of my ear sending lightning through my veins, “I love the Cinderella routine. Please don’t stop.”
Before I can respond, someone calls out her name, and her attention is drawn to where Rose is standing with Anton near the door to the deck. Since the hot tub is out there, I’m more than happy to move in that direction.
“You’re never going to believe this,” Rose says when we join the pair. “Oh.” She glances at Anton and then motions to Lucy. “Anton, this is Lucy Dupree. Lucy, this is my boyfriend, Anton.”
Lucy’s face turns scarlet again, and I recall her saying that she settled in this part of the country because of Anton and Rose’s love story. The green-eyed monster in my chest roars to life again, but I try to squash it.
“Hi.” Lucy holds out her hand, and at the quiet sound of her voice, I’m immediately reminded of what she told me—about how she considers herself a lone wolf and prefers small groups of people whom she knows. She’s here tonight, making the rounds with me and putting herself out of her comfort zone. My respect and appreciation for her increases tenfold.
“Between Rose and TJ, I feel like we’re already best friends,” Anton says. “They’ve had nothing but good things to say about you, Lucy.”
“Oh.” Lucy laughs a little, shooting me a wide-eyed look. “That’s good, I guess.”
I roll my eyes. “Way to make me sound like I’m obsessed with her, Bates.”
“If the shoe fits,” Anton says with his too-handsome grin. “Sheisyour Cinderella, after all.”
“Dude.” I huff out a laugh. I look over at Lucy to see if he’s freaking her out, but she smiles at me, looking bashful but happy. I squeeze her hand and she squeezes back, and my heart threatens to jackhammer itself out of my chest.
“Okay, as I was saying,” Rose cuts in. “You’re never going to guess the email I just got!”
Lucy tears her gaze from me and cocks her head to the side. “I’m listening.”
“It’s from Philomena Grace’s agent.” Rose is practically vibrating with excitement. She glances at me. “Philomena is one oftheromance author icons of our time. I mean, her and Ava Reese, but Ava doesn’t do interviews. No one knows who she is or where she lives or anything. Anyway, back to Philomena.” Rose sucks in a breath, and I cut a look to Lucy, who bites her lip, and when she catches my eye, she looks away quickly. I fight a smile, committing the name Ava Reese to memory. “Her agent, Cassie, emailed me this morning. She apologized for the holiday email, but she wanted to reach out immediately, because Philomena had an opening in her schedule for April, and she was wondering if Mood Reader would want to host her. Can you even believe that?” Rose squeals. “It’s like a Christmas miracle.”
Anton pulls her to his side and kisses her temple. “I’m so happy for you, Sammy Rose.” He starts to trail a line of kisses down her cheek, but Rose swats him away. He looks offended until she glances over at him and winks.
“That’s incredible,” Lucy says. “You’ll have to let me know when she’s here so I can put it on my calendar. I’d love to come.”
“I absolutely will. It’s going to be huge for Mood Reader. I can’t wait to start planning a giant party.”
“I like parties. Maybe I should tag along,” I put in.
