I blinked, my attention snapping back to the present. “Sorry. What were you saying?”
“I wanted to see if you had any changes to the run of show,” she said. “I swapped Riley K.’s time slot with the acrobats. She’s flying straight in from her tour in Asia, so I wanted to give her a buffer in case there are any delays.”
“That’s fine,” I said.
We were in her living room, going over the final details for my birthday party, which was coming up in two and a half weeks. I usually loved this part—Cake! Performances! Gifts!—but I couldn’t get my head in the game.
Honestly, I’d been distracted all week. Ever since… Well, ever since I woke up next to Sebastian Laurent and found myself not hating it.
It was so wrong.
We tolerated each other at best, so I shouldn’t be softening toward him. I was pretty sure that was a sign of the apocalypse.
“Good.” Vivian marked something in her notebook. “That’s all I have. I’ll reconfirm with the vendors tomorrow, but other than that, we should be set for the party.”
“Thanks, Viv.”
She smiled. “Any time.”
We’d worked together many times in the past, but thanks to Sloane, our relationship had gradually transitioned from friendly acquaintances to actual friends over the past year.
I’d always liked Vivian. The luxury event planner was competent and patient, and despite coming from—and marryinginto—major money, she remained down to earth. Her husband Dante Russo ran the world’s largest luxury goods conglomerate, which gave her access to some niche, high-powered connections that were invaluable in her line of work.
My phone pinged as Vivian walked me to the door.
SEBASTIAN
See you soon
I’m going to win, you know
I rolled my eyes. I hadn’t seen him in person since our unplanned sleepover. We’d communicated exclusively via emails and texts over the past week, but that hadn’t stopped us from jumping into another competition.
Our first major task for the pop-up was finding the perfect location. We’d agreed we needed something more special than any ol’ New York haunt, but we’d butted heads over what the alternative should be.
After days of research and heated arguments, we’d narrowed down our top choices. I picked a gorgeous rustic venue in Vermont; he was dead set on a lakeside château in North Carolina. I didn’t even know there were châteaux in North Carolina, but it didn’t matter. My option was going to beat his, hands down.
“Have fun in Vermont.” Vivian hugged me. “Try not to kill him, okay? I can speak for Sloaneandmyself when I say a murder charge right before your birthday would not be ideal.”
During one of our more… spirited text threads, Sebastian and I somehow committed to visiting both our top venues together. It was the only way we trusted the other to be honest about their thoughts, and we’d have to do a walkthrough of the final location anyway.
We were visiting Vermont this weekend and North Carolina later in the month, after my birthday.
I was dreading both trips. They meant even closer proximityto Sebastian, but I had no choice. They were a necessary evil.
“I’ll try my best, but no guarantees,” I said. “I might need you to bail me out.”
Vivian laughed as the front door opened. “You got it.”
“Who’s bailing who out?” a deep, lightly accented voice asked. Dante walked in a second later. He was carrying their adorable two-year-old daughter Josephine, affectionately known as Josie, with one arm and holding a picnic basket with his other.
Josie’s face lit up. “Mommy!” She reached for Vivian with chubby little arms, squirming frantically until Vivian took her from her husband.
“Hi, darling.” She planted a giant kiss on the girl’s cheek. “Did you have fun at the park with Daddy?”
Josie giggled. “Yes! We saw doggies!”
“Ooh, welovedoggies.” Vivian turned and gave Dante a softer kiss. “She’s going to make us get her a P-U-P-P-Y when she grows up, isn’t she?” she whispered.
