“Do tell,” he said, looking delighted.
“If you must know, I was thinking about asking her out after filming wraps tomorrow.”
He tapped his beer bottle against hers. “To your love life. May it flourish, and your new bar too.”
15
Josie was going to have a nervous breakdown. She gasped against the tightness in her chest, gripping the bar as she waited for the whooshing noise in her ears to recede.
“Breathe.” Adam’s hand landed on the small of her back, rubbing up and down.
She nodded, sucking in a shaky breath. “What if no one comes?”
“They’ll come,” he said. “Even if they don’t give a shit about Dragonfly, they’ll come tonight because of theDo Overtaping. If anything, we’ll be turning people away at the door to keep from going over capacity.”
“You’re right,” she said, forcing another slow, deep breath into her lungs.
“Everyone wants their fifteen minutes of fame, especially in this town. Tonight’s going to be fabulous. There’s really no way around it,” he told her, completely sincere.
She turned to fling her arms around him. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me too.” He squeezed her back. “We’re going to make an awesome team. Basically, you made the best decision ever by hiring me.” He pulled back with an exaggerated wink.
“You better not make me regret it.” She gave him a playful shove. “Itisgoing to go well tonight, right?”
“It is. I mean, look at us?” He waved his hand dramatically between them. They both wore black T-shirts with the new logo—a lavender dragonfly identical to Josie’s tattoo—on them. Adam’s hair was carefully styled with so much gel, it probably wouldn’t budge if he stood outside in a hurricane. He’d let theDo Overteam go a little crazy on his makeup too, but he looked fantastic, and his enthusiasm was sure to keep the customers happy.
Eve had been here earlier but had left a little while ago to go home and change. Doors opened to the public in forty-five minutes, and the camera crew had been milling around all afternoon, getting ready. The anticipation was slowly getting to Josie. She just needed to get on with things. Once the bar was full and she was busy pouring drinks, she’d relax. Hopefully.
Kaia pushed through the front door, wearing black leather pants and a purple top with a matching streak through her hair. She crossed to the bar, looking around wide-eyed. “Holy shit, Jo. It looks amazing in here!”
“It does. Eve and her team did a great job.” Josie swept her gaze around the room.
“And here you are behind the bar looking all official,” Kaia said, leaning over to kiss Adam’s cheek.
“That’s because Iamofficial,” he said proudly, patting the logo on his chest.
The front door opened again, and Eve walked in. She had on a knee-length black sheath dress with a gold zipper running down the front, extending the entire length of the dress. Its tab nestled between her breasts, just begging for someone to tug it down and unzip her.
Josie swallowed roughly. “Fuck me.”
Adam choked on a laugh. “No, thanks, but it’s obvious you want to fuckher.”
“That dress,” she muttered.
“It’s hot,” Kaia agreed. “And you should make sure she knows it, just saying.”
“Oh, I think she knows it,” Adam said, waving as Eve glanced in their direction.
She walked over to stand beside Kaia, her brown eyes meeting Josie’s, as calm and steady as Josie was frazzled. “Ready?”
Josie nodded. “As I’ll ever be.”
Eve’s lips quirked with the hint of a smile. Her hair was down tonight, glistening beneath the track lighting overhead. Her lips were painted a deep red, eyes highlighted with a bronze eye shadow that shimmered when she blinked. “You’ll be fine,” she said softly, resting her hand momentarily over Josie’s on the bar.
A bold move, coming from Eve. Josie sucked in a breath, trying to play it cool in front of her friends before she realized Adam and Kaia were no longer there. Apparently, they’d made themselves scarce to give her a moment alone with Eve, something she’d have to thank them for later.
Grinning, Josie leaned forward, gaze dropping to the gold zipper tag dangling between Eve’s breasts. “You look ridiculously gorgeous tonight,” she whispered. “That dress ishot.”
