wouldn’t leave if she didn’t know you could handle it, right?”
“That’s what she said,” I told him, thinking of how much I was really biting off here. “And she did say she’d bring in an intern for me, so that’ll help.”
“Nice! Moving on up,” he exclaimed, humming the tune from The Jeffersons .
“Yeah, the president of the design firm is bopping around Europe for who knows how long, but I’ve got a twenty-year-old intern to help me make copies, so it’ll be fine,” I snapped, reaching for the door to the restaurant. A strong hand reached over mine, stalling the door.
“Hey, it’ll work out. Don’t worry so much,” he said, gently nudging my chin up with his fingers to meet his eyes. My frustration that had flared so suddenly melted away when those sapphire eyes starting spinning their voodoo.
“You’re probably right.” I sighed, letting him open the door for me and guide me inside, one hand on the small of my back.
“Of course I’m right,” he teased.
Once we were seated, I pulled out my calendar.
“Okay, you get back two days before the wedding, right? I want to make sure you have time to settle in before the festivities start.”
“Yep, I’ll be back in time and ready for all best-man duties.”
“Cutting it pretty close, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know what I was thinking when I said I’d do this shoot, but it’ll be fine. I can sleep during the vows, right? They don’t need me for that,” he joked.
I turned his palm up on the table, tracing the lines with my fingertips. I glanced up at him, noticing his gaze had turned dark under his lashes. “You can’t sleep during the ceremony, babe. Besides, there’ll be a bridesmaid across from you thinking the dirtiest thoughts imaginable.”
“Dirty, huh?”
“Oh my, yes; I’m not sure I’ll be able to control myself. You? In a tux? Deadly,” I purred, raising his hand to press a quick kiss to his fingers.
As the waiter came over to get our drink order I winked, dropped his hand, and mouthed “later.”
While Simon looked over the wine list, I looked out the large picture window at San Francisco. The sun had finally set, and the light from the city bounced back across the water. I smiled, considering myself one of the very lucky to call my favorite city home.
chapter four
I sat across from Max Camden, my designs tacked up on boards around the room and my formal presentation in my hand. On a disk. And in a folder. And backed up to a thumb drive in my purse. And a thumb drive in Jillian’s purse. And after a midnight run to Sophia’s apartment, a thumb drive in her jewelry box.
I had thumbs all over town. But would I get the thumbs-up from Camden?
Nerves gave Backbone a high five for punning in the face of life-changing moments.
I had circled the room for an hour, laying out my ideas, bolstered by pictures, charts, and more graphs than high school geometry. Jillian had interjected occasionally, but she let me take the lead. The vision I had conceptualized for the Claremont was clean and simple, with a nod to the boutique hotels that used to line the California coast.
While Camden’s hotels were known for their modernistic design, there was a reason that he wasn’t going with his usual design team. He was looking for something new, whether he knew it or not. Would he be swayed by what I had to say?
His gray eyes flickered back to me, his gaze narrow and sharp. This guy was intimidating, and he knew it.
As I had presented, he had stopped me only a few times, asking very clear and concise questions that were exactly the right ones. I was ready, though. I was as prepared as I could be with the limited time I’d been given, and I thought I held my own. Now it came down to whom else he was seeing, and whether their vision matched his own.
It was time for me to bring it home.
I slid one more picture across the table toward him, a photocopy from an old San Francisco Chronicle article about the town of
“That’s what she said,” I told him, thinking of how much I was really biting off here. “And she did say she’d bring in an intern for me, so that’ll help.”
“Nice! Moving on up,” he exclaimed, humming the tune from The Jeffersons .
“Yeah, the president of the design firm is bopping around Europe for who knows how long, but I’ve got a twenty-year-old intern to help me make copies, so it’ll be fine,” I snapped, reaching for the door to the restaurant. A strong hand reached over mine, stalling the door.
“Hey, it’ll work out. Don’t worry so much,” he said, gently nudging my chin up with his fingers to meet his eyes. My frustration that had flared so suddenly melted away when those sapphire eyes starting spinning their voodoo.
“You’re probably right.” I sighed, letting him open the door for me and guide me inside, one hand on the small of my back.
“Of course I’m right,” he teased.
Once we were seated, I pulled out my calendar.
“Okay, you get back two days before the wedding, right? I want to make sure you have time to settle in before the festivities start.”
“Yep, I’ll be back in time and ready for all best-man duties.”
“Cutting it pretty close, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know what I was thinking when I said I’d do this shoot, but it’ll be fine. I can sleep during the vows, right? They don’t need me for that,” he joked.
I turned his palm up on the table, tracing the lines with my fingertips. I glanced up at him, noticing his gaze had turned dark under his lashes. “You can’t sleep during the ceremony, babe. Besides, there’ll be a bridesmaid across from you thinking the dirtiest thoughts imaginable.”
“Dirty, huh?”
“Oh my, yes; I’m not sure I’ll be able to control myself. You? In a tux? Deadly,” I purred, raising his hand to press a quick kiss to his fingers.
As the waiter came over to get our drink order I winked, dropped his hand, and mouthed “later.”
While Simon looked over the wine list, I looked out the large picture window at San Francisco. The sun had finally set, and the light from the city bounced back across the water. I smiled, considering myself one of the very lucky to call my favorite city home.
chapter four
I sat across from Max Camden, my designs tacked up on boards around the room and my formal presentation in my hand. On a disk. And in a folder. And backed up to a thumb drive in my purse. And a thumb drive in Jillian’s purse. And after a midnight run to Sophia’s apartment, a thumb drive in her jewelry box.
I had thumbs all over town. But would I get the thumbs-up from Camden?
Nerves gave Backbone a high five for punning in the face of life-changing moments.
I had circled the room for an hour, laying out my ideas, bolstered by pictures, charts, and more graphs than high school geometry. Jillian had interjected occasionally, but she let me take the lead. The vision I had conceptualized for the Claremont was clean and simple, with a nod to the boutique hotels that used to line the California coast.
While Camden’s hotels were known for their modernistic design, there was a reason that he wasn’t going with his usual design team. He was looking for something new, whether he knew it or not. Would he be swayed by what I had to say?
His gray eyes flickered back to me, his gaze narrow and sharp. This guy was intimidating, and he knew it.
As I had presented, he had stopped me only a few times, asking very clear and concise questions that were exactly the right ones. I was ready, though. I was as prepared as I could be with the limited time I’d been given, and I thought I held my own. Now it came down to whom else he was seeing, and whether their vision matched his own.
It was time for me to bring it home.
I slid one more picture across the table toward him, a photocopy from an old San Francisco Chronicle article about the town of
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