“I suppose.” Belle leaned her head closer. “Things look like they’re going well for you and Adam.” She smiled at Joey, and it didn’t seem gossipy or teasing but simply kind. Interested, maybe.
Joey nodded, because things were going well, and shesaw no reason to hide it. After all, she’d just been caught kissing him, and anyone in her family could have seen that.
“He’s amazing,” Joey said.
“You’re amazing, too,” Belle told her.
“Yeah, I know.” Joey grinned at her. “I’m excited to get to know him a lot better this year.”
Joey had never had a boyfriend on New Year’s Eve before, and she wasn’t sure if that was why moving into this new year with Adam felt so significant. But as Adam and Harry, and then Belle and Joey, joined the party again, Joey knew it was more than just having a boyfriend.
It was because of Adam himself.
He turned and reached for her, bringing her right back to his side as they moved over to the mechanical bull.
Jem’s son, Ladd, currently rode it, and he looked every bit the professional bull rider that his daddy had been, with his heels tucked back and his hand in the air as the bull bucked and bucked and bucked.
Joey found a clock ticking up toward the eight seconds directly across from her, and she joined her voice to those cheering for Ladd to make that eight-second ride.
He did, and the family went wild, Joey included. Adam’s voice was as loud as any of them, as he’d easily found his place among her family. Yes, Joey knew this year would be one for the books, and it had everything to do with Adam.
You might even have your own wedding this year, she thought, and the idea made her ridiculously happy—and terribly afraid at the same time. She didn’t like that feeling,and she pushed against it, because love was kind, and it didn’t have room for any fear inside it whatsoever.
So maybe she wasn’t all the way in love with Adam yet, but she knew this year held great possibility for her…and for the two of them.
CHAPTER
FORTY
“No. No, nope,” Adam said right out loud as he peered at the email he just received. “This cannot be happening.” He grabbed his phone and jumped to his feet.
There was only one more concert in only two more days. Today was Saturday—not even a business day—and there wasno wayAdam could replace the lighting that he’d been renting by Monday night. Industrial and commercial rentals like that weren’t evenopenon the weekend.
He tapped to dial Donna, the woman who just sent him the cancellation email, and he tipped his head back toward the ceiling. “Dear God,” he said. “This cannot be happening.”
It had taken him forever to find the lights in the first place, and he’d had to go all the way to Jackson Hole to do it.
“I know what you’re going to say,” Donna said when she answered.
“We just need them for Monday night,” Adam said. “We have a contract.”
“Our roof caved in on the warehouse,” she said. “We have to relocate today, when we’re not even open. There isno waythat I can get anyone to bring you the lights, set them up, and run them on Monday.”
“Then I’ll come pick them up,” Adam said.
She sighed heavily while Adam’s heartbeat blitzed through his body while his mind tried to find a solution that would satisfy them both. “I’ve seen your guys work the lights,” he said. “We know what to do.”
“It is against state regulations to have someone who is not a licensed electrician run our lights,” she said, and she sounded exhausted and tired and stressed—all of the same things Adam was. “This is as bad for me as it is you.”
“Is it?” Adam challenged, letting his temper rise. “We have two-point-sevenmillionpeople signed up to watch Monday’s concert. I can’t show it to them in the dark.”
She sniffled, and Adam’s heart went out to her. “Just give me one guy,” he said. “I will come help you move out today.” He grabbed his keys and headed for the mudroom. “I can bring a whole bunch of people to help you move out today. We’ll get you guys all situated, and I just need your two guys on Monday night. Four hours.”
“Adam,” she said, her voice full of weariness.
“Donna,” he said calmly as he got behind the wheel, “Ihave to have those lights. You know you’re the only commercial lighting business within five hundred miles of Coral Canyon. Trust me, I have tried to get them somewhere else before I found you. Ineedthem. I will do anything to get them.
“So tell me how many people you need me to bring and help you move all your stuff. I will bring your guys home with me. They can stay in my house. I’ve got a big place—six bedrooms—and I’m the only one here. I’ll feed them and take care of them. Ineedthem until Monday at midnight, as we agreed.”
