He glanced at his wall calendar.
Time would tell soon—real soon—if it worked.
Two days from now, he was scheduled to meet her at the theater to discuss the project and timeline. With luck, Sophia would treat him with indifference. If not, he’d have no choice but to up the surly factor.
Chapter Five
After spending a day and a half on renderings to include the scene changes Phoebe had added, Sophia worked on ground plans—a bird’s eye view—for each scene. This gave her a good base to start her three-dimensional models for each set.
Using the amazing set design room and all its resources, she managed to complete three and a half before Phoebe arrived ten minutes early for their meeting with Ryder.
“Oh my God, Sophia, these are amazing.” Clapping her hands, the woman practically vibrated as she walked from model to model placed on the table where Sophia was finishing up the final one.
She smiled. “Thanks. I’ve never been able to build them so fast before. I’m seriously in love with this room.”
“The whole building is amazing.” Phoebe grinned. “I’m blessed.”
“How’d rehearsal go?” she asked, rummaging through a bin of doll furniture, looking for a rocking chair and hay bale.
She found both. Perfect.
Phoebe cleared her throat. “That’s actually why I’m here.”
Carrying them back to the table, she eyed her friend. “Something wrong?”
“No. Actually, it’s going good,” Phoebe replied. “The cast wants to stay and rehearse a little longer. But I wanted to stop in first and see what you’ve come up with, and also to ask if you’d mind coordinating the schedule with Ryder? He’s going to basically be working with you, anyhow.”
Sophia’s pulse hiccupped like it always did whenever someone mentioned the guy’s name. “Of course. No problem.” She grabbed the glue and proceeded to affix the rocking chair to the model, holding it in place a few seconds so it would stick.
Now, if she could just get her stupid body under control before the man arrived, that’d be great. She glued the hay bale to the model, and held it in place.
“Thanks. I appreciate it,” Phoebe said. “I’d better get back. See ya later.” With a quick nod, her friend turned and rushed out of the room.
Given Ryder’s track record, he was liable to do the same thing when he discovered they were on their own tonight.
Not her problem.
She released the bale, then stood back to view the finished product, but the model came with her. The bale was stuck to the model and her hand.
“Wow, you really take three-dimensional to a whole new depth,” Ryder said, walking toward her with a grin.
The instant fluttering in her belly momentarily distracted her from the fact she wore her model as a glove. Shaking the fog from her head, she set the model back on the table and returned his grin. “Always looking for a way to stand out.”
He frowned. “I thought you didn’t like to stand out.”
“As a person, no, but as a set designer, yes. Standing out is good.” It was a necessity, in order to succeed. And she needed her hand in order to work. She was such an idiot.
“Ah.” He came up behind her and reached for her hand. “Let me help.”
Even if she’d wanted to tell him no—which she didn’t—it was impossible. The feel of his solid chest brushing her back dried her throat. Damn, he smelled great. Like soap and cedar, with a hint of some kind of spice.
Warm fingers covered hers, and the scrape of calluses on her skin sent a ripple of awareness straight up her arm. Where was his wall of indifference now? It usually sprang up between them before they ever got this close.
“Just relax. Let me do all the work.”
Her mind immediately went to a naughty place, and she had to fight hard to suppress the tremors that threatened.
Back and forth, he gently tugged, until her hand was free. By that time, awareness spread to every blood vessel in her body, and every inch of her was aware of the change in his breathing.
