“What about Vancouver?” He knew she’d been cut from the show she’d been working on, but she’d lived in Vancouver, BC, for a few years. He always figured she’d move upthere again. Five hours away was still close to family. New York was so…far.
“I could never go back there. At least not while they’re still filmingCrimson Creek.” Her joy faltered again. “I’ll wrap up the fundraiser here and move on.” She glanced up at him with an adorable crooked smile that fell short of reaching her eyes. “Look on the bright side, Zeus, you’ll finally be rid of me.”
Yeah, the bright side. He’d been dreaming of the day he didn’t have to babysit Vanessa Barone anymore. Problem was, now that the reality of her absence was looming, there was nothing bright about it.
“Oh, shit.” She glanced at her phone. “I have to run.” Turning to assess the courtyard, she released a long sigh. “I really wanted to get this up tonight.” She chewed her lip thoughtfully. “Maybe I shouldn’t have told her I could video call so soon.” She stared at the screen, brow furrowed. “I’ll call and reschedule.”
She looked so torn, caught between the challenge she’d made for herself and the pull of the call buzzing with possibility.
The solution was obvious. “You know this stage isn’t going anywhere, right? We can work on it tomorrow. I can get the boys in to help.”
She frowned at his suggestion. “I wanted to build my dad’s creation myself.”
And he was damn impressed by that. “Look around you. You’ve done most of it by yourself. Just like you’ve organized most of this event by yourself.” When she still didn’t look convinced, he added, “It’s okay to get a bit of help sometimes. You know, teamwork makes the dream work?”
“Teamwork?” she repeated, like she was testing theword, because hell, when had they ever been able to work together on anything?
“Yeah,” he confirmed. “Teamwork.”
After a long deliberation, she stuck out her hand. Her handshake was freezing but firm. “Okay, see you tomorrow, partner.”
And with that most unexpected word hanging between them, she turned on her heel and left.
Wearing his coat.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Are you sure this is the best time to pack up and move, Ness?” Lucy’s pinched look matched her tone.
“It has to be, Lu.” Vanessa propped her phone on the counter, adjusting it so she could still see her sister while preparing her morning coffee. She’d barely slept, five hours at most. She slida dark roast capsule inside her high-end espresso machine and hit the button. As the machine hummed to life, she rested her chin in her hand, the marble counter cool against her skin. “I can’t hide out here forever. Besides, staying obviously hasn’t made a big difference.”
Lucy’s frown deepened. “Are you still getting weird messages? Any more special deliveries?”
Vanessa hesitated, debating whether to tell Lucy about the flash outside the other night. Until she knew for sure what was going on, if anything, she wasn’t worrying her sister.
“Nothing like that,” she said, avoiding the question with a shrug.
Lucy squinted at her, her voice softening. “You look stressed. Hard to tell under all the gorgeous, though.” Shetilted her head, inspecting. “Have you been doing yoga? You always say the deep breathing helps.”
Vanessa’s shoulders tensed. No, she hadn’t been to yoga. Or anywhere really, except The Link. Part of her had been busy pulling the fashion show together, but the other part was terrified of what she’d find every time she opened her apartment door.
“Not lately,” she said carefully. “Turns out leaving Vancouver didn’t change much after all. I’m still the same mess as always.”
“You arenota mess, Vanessa,” her sister said vehemently. “You’ve been taken advantage of. There’s a difference.”
Vanessa huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, not sure who was being taken advantage of at the club a few weeks ago, but it wasn’t me.”
Lucy raised an eyebrow. “You mean when you kissed Jordan, and it went viral?”
Vanessa ejected the coffee machine’s used capsule and took a sip of the steaming brew. Some people shot their espresso. She savored it, letting the rich flavor linger before swallowing.
“Yeah. That.” A kiss she’d been desperate to re-enact since it happened. The memory of Jordan’s mouth touching hers had been spinning in her head along with their spontaneous hug last night. Not to mention all the other unexpected intimate moments that had been growing between them lately.
“Have things gotten weird between you since that kiss?”
“Not weird exactly.” Only that she now lay awake replaying memories of him. “Unless you count the fact that we’ve kind of been bonding?”
Her sister laughed loudly. “I don’t want to know what bonding looks like between you two.”
