Her small gasp would satisfy me for far longer than I cared to admit. It took her a second to catch up to me, but the flush in her cheeks and the way she downed her champagne before we left the room said more than her silence.
Once we were on the street with the summer evening air warm around us, she finally spoke. “Where’s your damn car?”
Shrugging, I put my hands in my pockets. “I walked, but the Royal Gardens is only a few blocks from here.”
“Fine. Let’s walk.” She started down the sidewalk, her heels clicking against the pavement.
I matched her pace, slow as it was, and struggled to focus on the venue issue instead of the way her dress moved when she walked.
“Nice dress,” I finally said, because the silence was becoming unbearable.
“Stop staring at my ass.”
“As if,” I muttered.
She glanced at me, one eyebrow raised. “Excuse me?”
“I wasn’t staring at your ass.” I totally was.
“You’re right. You weredroolingover my ass.”
“Sweetheart, if I wanted your ass, you’d hand it to me on a golden platter in exchange for another orgasm.” I shot back.
“No, I wouldn’t.” She stopped walking and crossed her arms. It did wonders for her breasts in that low neckline. “I can handle those myself.”
I tilted my head, glancing her up and down. “Not the way I can.”
“You’re full of yourself.”
“Tell me I’m wrong then, and I wasn’t the best fuck you’ve ever had.”
Mari opened her mouth, and I expected her to wreck my ego just as I’d suggested, but instead, she closed it again.
“Fucking asshole,” she muttered under her breath, spinning around and continuing on the walk.
I chuckled, biting my lower lip before following behind her. Yeah, she had a nice ass.
We arrived at the Royal Gardens, where Penelope was waiting at the side entrance, looking apologetic.
“Thank you both for coming on such short notice,” she said, ushering us inside. “We just got word that the venue is double-booked for the setup day before the wedding. The previous event won’t be out until noon, which cuts your setup time in half.”
“That’s completely unacceptable. We need the full day for installation, especially for complex elements like the lighting and projection setup,” I said, shaking the walk and the conversation out of my head.
Mari nodded. “Half a day isn’t enough for what we have planned. The Kussikov-Martin wedding has specific technical requirements that can’t be rushed.”
“I understand,” Penelope said, wringing her hands. “But the other event is a corporate gala for one of our biggest clients. We can’t move them.”
“Then you need to find us an alternative solution,” I insisted. “Additional staff, overnight access, something.”
“I might be able to get you in the night before, after the previous event ends,” Penelope offered. “Around midnight? You’d have until 6 AM when the cleaning crew arrives, and then could continue after they leave.”
Mari and I exchanged a glance.
“That could work,” I conceded. “We’d need to adjust the vendor schedules, but it’s better than losing the time completely.”
“I’ll need to check with the installation team for the projection equipment,” Mari added. “They rarely work overnight shifts. I think I left my vendor contact binder here. Do you have it by any chance?”
“I put it in my office,” Penelope said. “Let me get it for you.”
