I slid my arms into the sleeves of the jacket before looking down at myself. “Is this from a tuxedo?”
Anton adjusted the collar of the borrowed coat. “We have a reputation to uphold. Someone on this team has to bring the glam.” He shot a pointed look at Karen before grabbing my ponytail and pulling it over my shoulder for closer inspection.
“Are you checking for split ends?”
“I’m thinking about making a hairpiece. You have enough for both of us.” One of the great sorrows of Anton’s life was his hairline, which he monitored obsessively for signs of thinning. “You’ve been conditioning,” he said approvingly, running the ends of my hair against his palm.
A floorboard creaked. “Time to work,” Anton said, releasing my hair. He pressed a tape measure into my unresisting hand before spinning me around.
I froze, staring at the new arrival. “What are you doing here?”
“What areyoudoing here?” Alex Ritter countered.
I opened my mouth to protest before remembering that heknewI was here to help my sisters; he’d heard Cam asking me about auditions last night. And I’d stupidly announced they were happening today, which meant his presence was my fault.
“Did you sign in?” I was hoping for some clue as to whether he’d already spotted Terry. I assumed she was his main reason for being here. Unless he intended to flirtandtry out for the play, so as to wreak maximum havoc. The twins did occasionally cast upper-level students from Millville High, though surely they’d learned their lesson in his case.
“Darling, let’s do our job. He can worry about the paperwork later.” Anton had resumed his seat, leaning back at an angle with his long legs crossed in front of him. He picked up a notebook and pencil from an adjacent side table. “Ready when you are.”
I took a deep breath. Just because Alex Ritter was an agent of chaos didn’t mean I had to let him throw me off my stride. “Hold your arms out,” I instructed. “Like a scarecrow.”
The request seemed to take him by surprise, but after a moment’s hesitation he complied. I stepped closer, wishing for the first time that I had opted to assist Karen. Pictures could be taken from a safe distance. Getting someone’s measurements was a different story.
Holding my breath, I reached around him with the tape measure in one hand. My goal had been to minimize physical contact, but the plan backfired when I left too large a space between us, causing me to stumble forward as I tried to wrap the tape around his waist.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, removing my face from the pocket of his shirt before calling out the number for Anton to write down.
“It’s my cologne,” Alex Ritter replied. “It has that effect on people.”
It’s a well-known fact that as soon as someone mentions a smell, it’s impossible not to sniff. I thought I’d inhaled stealthily, until Anton weighed in.
“How is it, Mary? Spicy? Piquant? More of a musk?”
“He smells like syrup,” I said tightly.
“Pancake Saturday,” Alex confirmed. “Best day of the week.” He sniffed the back of his hand,hmming appreciatively. “My blood is probably twenty percent Log Cabin right now.”
I cleared my throat. “Where was I?”
“You’re just getting warmed up,” Anton quipped from the comfort of his chair. “Better double-check that chest measurement. Once more unto the breach, and all that. Let me know if you need an extra pair of hands.”
I reached around Alex again, careful to keep my balance this time. This was a job, no different from painting scenery—?although plywood and canvas didn’t give off body heat or stare back at you when you were doing your very best to avoid eye contact.
“I’m flexing,” he said, as I brought the ends of the tape measure together over the buttons of his shirt. “Can you tell?”
I shook my head, meaningI’m not going to answer that.
“Ouch,” said Alex. “Stone cold.”
“Bulging pecs are overrated,” Anton volunteered.
Ignoring both of them, I wrapped the tape measure around Alex’s neck. He shivered when my fingers brushed his nape. “That tickles.”
My embarrassment was now at such a critical level that my body seemed to move independently of my mind. Shoulder to wrist. Armpit to hip. The length of his back. Even so, the part of me watching the scene from the outside couldn’t help noting how often it looked as though we were caught in a torrid embrace.
“I do remember you,” he whispered, during one such moment.
“From last night? Impressive.”
