Chapter 2
TWO
It was ridiculous to be nervous about a business meeting. Completely absurd. Still, Lucy couldn’t help the way her pulse jumped, couldn’t stop the sweat from gathering between her shoulder blades.
“Deep breaths, honey,” her mother crooned over her phone’s speaker. The device was in the cradle clipped to her old car’s dash. “I can feel your tension from all the way over here. When was the last time you went outside barefoot?”
“I don’t need to reinforce my connection with the earth, Mother,” she said, staring at the offices of Elite Security through her windshield.
“Of course you do. You’re chained to your computer all day, Lucy. You need to feel the grass beneath your feet. Listen to the whispering of the wind. Feel the wealth of the universe filling your lungs.”
Lucy rubbed her temples. “Okay. Thanks, Mom. Will do.”
“Love you to pieces! And remember, you can always come back and live with us. This whole business with the Wedding Expo gives me the heebie-jeebies. I’ve got a bad feeling about it.”
Dolly Barlow was convinced she was a prescient psychic, which had been inconvenient for Lucy growing up, especially when Dolly happened to be right about Lucy sneaking out to go to parties or meet friends. It was inconvenient now, when Lucy happened to agree with her mother’s apprehension no matter how hard she tried to ignore it.
The Wedding Expo was trouble. Lucy knew it, but she also realized that she couldn’t expand her business without putting herself out there. She needed to attend.
“You need to meditate on what you want, honey,” Dolly continued. “Search deep inside your heart.”
Lucy loved her mother. She really did. But a bit of practical advice about business and bodyguards wouldn’t have gone amiss in this particular moment instead of directives to feel the grass between her toes and advice on searching the depths of her heart. “Okay. Bye, Mom.”
They hung up. Ten seconds later, the phone rang. She sighed and swiped to answer. “Hi, Dad.”
“Pumpkin, you’ve got your mother twisted into knots. She’s gone to meditate by the stream and said not to wait for her for dinner.”
Lucy glanced at the time. It was barely ten o’clock in the morning. “She’s going to meditate for eight hours?”
“You know your mother,” Gus Barlow replied. Augustus Montgomery Barlow the Third had come from a long line of esteemed lawyers, prosecutors, and judges who were horrified that he’d turned his back on the family legacy to grow tomatoes in his backyard with the love of his life at his side. They shuddered every time Dolly mentioned the words “energy,” but they’d accepted her. Along with both sets of grandparents, Dolly and Gus had given Lucy a loving, warm upbringing that had left her wholly unprepared for the real world.
Still, she was unable to resent them for it. They were too good.
“Make sure she eats,” was all that Lucy said.
“Are you sure you need to do this Wedding Expo thing?” Gus asked, an edge of desperation in his voice. “If you need actual security, it can’t be worth the risk. Is this a money thing? Why don’t you come back home, pumpkin? We’d love to have you.”
Lucy’s heart sank. She knew she was lucky to have parents who were so ready to catch her when she tumbled, but as the years went by, she began to wonder if they expected it. Were they offering to help because they knew she was destined to fail? She’d done it once, after all. She couldn’t blame them for expecting it to happen again.
Feeling lost, all Lucy could answer was, “I have to do this. I can’t let Aaron Phillips shove me around.”
Her father’s sigh ruffled through the phone. “Be careful. Are you sure these security people know what they’re doing?”
“You’ve met Marlon,” she said. They’d had a birthday barbecue for Lucy last summer where she’d had the pleasure of watching big, burly, protective Marlon try to understand what her mother meant when she described his aura in great detail.
“Right, right,” Gus replied. “I have to go check on your mother. Love you, pumpkin.”
“Okay, Dad. Love you too.”
“You can always move back in with us, you know,” he reminded her.
“Yep,” Lucy said. “Bye-bye now!” She hung up before he could answer.
Her doubts ceded to a hot burst of anger.
She was in her mid-thirties and was absolutely not going to move back in with her parents, no matter how loving they were. It had taken her five years to build her business to the point where it sustained her. She’d fought for her independence after blowing up her previous career, and she wasn’t going to take a step back now.
That’s why she was here.
She wasn’t going to let some scrawny, greasy-haired paper salesman push her around. This was her livelihood . Her business was her life. It was everything she was proud of—all the good parts of her character on display for everyone to see. She wasn’t too hot at public speaking, and she got nervous whenever too much attention was on her, but Lucy was good at what she did. People’s weddings were better because of her, and that was something to be proud of.
With that thought buoying her spirits, she exited her car and squared her shoulders. Stomping up to the door, she pushed her way inside with all the delicacy of a bull seeing red.
Crashing to a stop in front of a curved reception desk, she drew in a long breath as the woman behind the counter looked up.
The woman appeared to be in her fifties, with cat-eye glasses and expertly highlighted hair. Her lipstick was brick red, and her gaze was sharp. “Yes?”
“Lucy Barlow. I have an appointment at ten o’clock with Cormac McKenna.”
The lady tapped on her screen, then gestured to a leather sofa on the opposite side of the room. “Have a seat. Won’t be long.”
Lucy looked around the room as she waited. The front of the office was lined with tall, tinted windows. The furniture was simple but expensive-looking, and the curved metal of the desk gave an impression of strength and solidity. The Elite Security logo was all simplicity and clean lines, and it fit with the rest of the decor.
A coffee table sat in front of her, with a bouquet of fresh flowers the only element brightening the space up. To Lucy’s left, a water cooler buzzed gently. She leaned over, took one of the cone-shaped cups, and had a drink. The cool water soothed her parched throat, so she filled the cone again and gulped another mouthful down in one go. Crisp, cold, and perfect. She felt a little better.
After she’d dropped the cup in the waiting trash can beside the cooler, she heard quiet footsteps moving toward her. Cormac appeared a moment later, wearing black pants, a black leather belt, and a fitted black polo shirt with the Elite Security logo on the breast.
Unlike the tuxedo, these clothes definitely did not downplay the power of his muscular body. He looked ready for action, all corded strength and calm confidence. Nothing could ruffle him. Nothing could stop him.
He was the opposite of the nervous energy that made up Lucy’s entire being. He was terrifying.
But just as Lucy wasn’t going to move back in with her parents, she also wasn’t going to let some big, macho, muscular bodyguard intimidate her. She had a rival to intimidate and a Wedding Expo to attend. This year, she would find new clients and grow her business. That was a promise to herself, and a promise to the universe. Dolly would be proud.
Lucy sprang to her feet and stuck out her hand. “Hello.”
Cormac considered the outstretched palm for a moment, then slowly lifted his own palm to meet hers. Warm fingers wrapped around her hand, and Lucy’s body temperature cranked up a few degrees. “Good to see you, Lucy.”
“You as well,” she said, pulling her hand back. She resisted the urge to wipe her palm on her pants, because that would be rude. It’s not that she thought his touch was disgusting, it’s that the heat of his palm lingered. She needed more water.
“This way,” he said, stepping aside to gesture down the hall. “Thanks, Karin.”
Karin, the receptionist, watched Lucy with a raised brow. “Holler if you need anything. Marlon just called, said he got caught up. He’ll be in later to talk about the Hampstead job. Said it’s a doozy.”
“Roger,” Cormac replied, and he nodded for Lucy to lead the way down the hallway.
Lucy’s legs had transformed into the unsteady stilts of a baby giraffe. She used the straight lines of the wood flooring to guide her down the hallway as she walked, feeling Cormac’s presence at her back.
The walls began to close in on her. This was a corporate space. A business. She was about to enter a conference room, which was one of the more horrible spaces mankind had ever dreamed up. All sterile and cheap, with fluorescent lighting and no windows. It was going to be horrible.
Breathe , she reminded herself.
This wasn’t like before. This time, she was the client. She wasn’t going to mess it up—she couldn’t. She was hiring him .
A few more steps, and the hallway opened up to reveal the office kitchen, with conference rooms visible just across the hall. It was militantly neat. The sink gleamed silver, free of dishes and even droplets of water. Mugs were lined up with handles facing at exactly the same angle. The coffee machine was open and prepped with dry grounds, ready to be filled with water and flicked on.
“You want a drink before we go into the meeting room? Coffee? Water?”
“Water, please,” Lucy croaked through her parched throat.
Cormac angled toward the sink. Passing the cabinets along the way, he paused for a moment to flip open the lid of the only item that marred the clean countertop: a box of donuts. She recognized the logo of Camilla’s bakery and saw the rings of frosting and glaze left behind by the donuts that had once filled the space inside. Based on the barest twitch of Cormac’s eyebrows and the disappointed huff he let out as he dropped the lid, the box was empty.
Lucy found herself endeared by that little huff, the tiny frown. This big, burly, muscular, slightly scary man had a sweet tooth. He liked donuts. She tucked the piece of information away, grateful that something had humanized Cormac before she had to enter the conference room with him.
He couldn’t be terrifying; he liked Camilla’s creations.
With two glasses of water in his hands, Cormac motioned to the nearest meeting room with his chin. Lucy took another deep breath.
The last time she’d been in a room like this—one with white walls, creaky office chairs, a long rectangular table with a conference phone in the middle, and a whiteboard on the wall—her career had fallen apart, and it had been entirely her own fault. Overhead, the fluorescent lights flickered to life as Cormac hit the switch with his elbow. Lucy jumped.
“I’m not going to bite you,” he drawled, noticing her reaction.
“Ah. Ha-ha,” she forced, taking a seat on the far side of the table.
Cormac placed her water down on the table and sat across from her. A laptop waited on the end of the table, and he pulled it in front of him. He had to stretch to reach it, and his shirt bunched a little at his shoulder when he straightened, exposing more of his bicep. He had a tan line on his upper arm, and even sitting at rest, there was a vein that ran down the thickest part of his muscle. These were things Lucy noticed, which were not very helpful for her stress levels.
“So,” he said, “I reviewed the information you sent in. I think one man would be enough to suit your needs, but due to the sheer number of Expo attendees, as well as the many entries and exits, two people would be best. I’ve put together a quote, which I emailed this morning.”
“I reviewed it,” Lucy confirmed, picking her water glass up to take a sip. She set it down again. “It seems reasonable.”
Cormac nodded. “Good. Here’s our standard contract. I’ll walk you through it and if you agree, we can go from there.”
There was no warmth in Cormac’s tone, but his steadiness settled Lucy. The trembling in her fingertips eased as she nodded, and they got to work. An hour later, she signed and initialed the contract, officially hiring Elite Security to provide two bodyguards for her to attend the Wedding Expo.
The conference room hadn’t defeated her. She’d sat here and slain that particular dragon, pathetic as it may have been.
“Now,” Cormac said, tapping the edges of the contract on the table before setting it aside, the paper lined up exactly with the table’s edge. “Let’s talk logistics. I’ve procured the plans of the Gladstone Hotel, where the Expo will be held. Do you know the location of your booth yet?”
Lucy’s brows crept up when Cormac tapped on his computer, causing engineering drawings to appear on the projector screen. He’d marked exits already and also had photos of previous years’ Wedding Expo booths. The man was thorough. He’d done this before she even hired him.
“Um, yes,” Lucy said, “I’ll email it through right now.”
She tapped on her phone until his laptop chimed, and he pulled up the map the Expo organizers had sent through. A few taps, and the map was overlaid on the plans Cormac had already prepared. Wow. That was impressive.
“We’ll have one man stationed here, with you.” He pointed to the booth with the cursor. “The other will be stationed here.” He pointed to a spot near the main entry. “If you need to leave your booth for any reason, the man at the door will move to the booth to watch over your products and gear, and the man at the booth will come with you. I’ve scheduled Sam and Luke, who are two of my more experienced employees. Between them, they have nearly twenty years of bodyguard experience, and I know for a fact that they will keep you safe. You can meet them today when we’re done in here.”
Two bodyguards for a wedding conference. Second thoughts rose as the reality of the contract she’d signed dawned on her. She’d just hired two men to follow her around at the Stirling Wedding Expo to protect her against a guy who sold wedding invitations. Lucy inhaled sharply.
“Is there a problem?” Cormac’s dark-blue eyes had moved from the screen to meet her gaze.
“I, um, no,” she stammered. “It just… I feel a little ridiculous, is all. It’s a wedding conference. It seems a bit over-the-top to do all this.”
“You’re the one who wanted to hire us. Are you saying you don’t want us to do our jobs?”
“No! Of course not. I just…” Lucy stopped talking. For a moment, the room spun. She was in one of these horrible corporate spaces, having to defend herself. Again.
Then Cormac leaned forward. “Lucy?” he asked quietly.
She focused on the roughness of his voice, the slight furrow of his brow. Even across this horrible fake wood melamine table, she caught a faint wisp of his clean, male scent. He loomed there, even though he was sitting down, but it didn’t scare her.
This man was prepared to send two men to the Wedding Expo with her. He had it all planned out, every position and exit.
Cormac would help her.
She’d spent so much time making her life smaller. After her failure in Corporate America, Lucy had focused on building a small, quaint business that could meet all her needs. She’d liked the slow pace of her growth and how little pressure the business exerted on her shoulders. No one expected anything of her. She could work at her own pace, doing something she enjoyed, with no expectations and no deadlines other than the ones she set for herself. When she took on a new client, she did it with plenty of buffer time added in.
For a long time, she was happy to scratch out a living by keeping her business small.
But now, things had changed.
The humiliation of her career failure had faded, and Lucy found herself wanting more. She wanted to be able to take vacations. She wanted to buy a house one day, have a family, retire. She wanted to be able to say yes to every dinner invitation with the girls, no matter what restaurant they were going to.
She wasn’t happy to scratch out a living anymore. She wanted a life .
Not only that, but Lucy had been threatened . She’d had her booth sabotaged. She couldn’t hide in her home office, sitting at her computer, without standing up for herself. She was a nervous wreck, but she wasn’t weak.
Straightening, she shook her head and spoke to the table. “I don’t want Aaron Phillips bullying me anymore. I don’t want to lose months’ worth of work because someone dumps water on my boxes of samples. I’m not going to let some pathetic bully push me around. I’m hiring Elite Security because I deserve to feel safe, and I deserve to be able to sell wedding invitations just as much as anyone else in this town.”
She’d said it mostly for her own benefit, but when she lifted her head, Cormac nodded as if she’d been answering a question he’d asked. “Good. Should I continue?”
She huffed. “Yes. Please do.”
An hour later, Lucy left the Elite Security offices with her head held high. The Wedding Expo would be a success. Lucy would make sure of it.