Chapter 6
SIX
They’d arrived at the Gladstone Hotel with plenty of time to spare. Lucy grabbed the foldable hand trolley from her car trunk (and the donuts from the back seat, not that she’d give Cormac any more of them, the glutton) and pointed herself in the direction of the van, which was backed into a spot on the opposite side of the parking lot exit. Cormac reached over and grabbed the trolley from her, and she decided to pick her battles and let him push it. If he wanted to be a pack mule as well as a bodyguard, she wouldn’t stop him.
Sam scanned the lot while she and Cormac stacked her boxes of samples on the dolly. She also had a tablecloth and two big banners as well as some pretty decor for her booth, along with a large tote bag with food, water, and everything she’d need to make it through the day. By the time they loaded all her supplies, the dolly was stacked higher than its handle.
One of the dolly’s wheels squeaked as Cormac pushed it. Behind them, Sam took the rear. Any sign of laughter was gone from their expressions. Grim, Cormac scanned the lot and the building, then nodded to the door.
This was complete overkill. Lucy was going to a wedding conference, for crying out loud. Why did she think she needed two trained security guards?
Still, she didn’t mind the looming presence of the man beside her and the other at her back. Let Aaron Phillips try anything with these two around! Donuts clutched in her arms, with her tote bag slung over her shoulder, Lucy squared her shoulders and entered the hotel.
Lucy beamed at the lady behind the registration table. She had red hair—dyed a vibrant shade of ruby—and chunky green earrings dangling from her ears. She looked fabulous. Lucy beamed. “Hi! I’m Lucy Barlow from Invitations Etcetera.”
The lady flicked her gaze from Lucy to the two men in black beside her and pasted a wide—if slightly bewildered—smile on her face. “Of course! Let me sign you in.” She pushed her glasses up her nose as she scanned the names on the list in front of her, pausing to glance at Cormac. “You don’t have the look of our usual vendors,” she noted, eyes scanning his broad body before flicking to Sam. “Are you here with Miss”—she checked the sheet of paper in front of her—“Barlow?”
“I needed some help hauling the boxes,” Lucy explained.
The woman’s brow arched, her gaze lingering on Sam’s corded forearms. “I see,” she said, sounding like she didn’t believe Lucy for a moment, and Lucy rolled her lips inward to hide her smile.
It took a few minutes to get organized at the welcome booth. Once Lucy had her name tag, her paperwork, and her booth number, she strode into the main conference room with more confidence than she felt. Her gaze jumped from booth to booth, looking for the Stirling Stationery logo.
Shoulders relaxing when she didn’t spot it, she found her booth and nodded to Cormac. “Thank you. You can leave the trolley right there.”
“Sam, recon.”
“Copy.” Sam stalked away, drawing gazes from more than one Expo attendee.
“You could try less looming and scowling,” Lucy suggested. “Then you might blend in.”
That earned her a full-frontal scowl. “I’m not here to blend in,” Cormac replied.
That was good, Lucy thought, because Cormac wouldn’t blend in anywhere. He was the type of man to draw the eye wherever he went. For a woman who was petrified of the spotlight, his presence was great. Gazes skipped over her to linger on him.
Last year, Lucy hadn’t known what to expect at the Wedding Expo, but this time she was prepared. A thick white tablecloth got draped over the foldable table at the front of her booth before Lucy started displaying her samples. Invitations, menus, save-the-dates, envelopes of different weights displaying different fonts, the works. She unfurled one of the banners she had made for last year’s Wedding Expo, positioning it at an angle behind her so it was clearly visible from the wide walkway, and then she added another for people walking in the opposite direction.
The donuts got tucked under the table, so she’d be in prime position to kick Cormac if he went near them again. When she told him as much, an amused glimmer lit his eyes.
“I thought I was allowed one to make me feel better,” he said.
“That was then; this is now.” She stuck her nose in the air, enjoying the way Cormac studied her.
Unlike the time she approached him at Marlon and Camilla’s wedding, now his gaze made warmth spread through her stomach. He watched her as if she fascinated him, like he wanted to figure her out. Lucy discovered she liked this man’s attention very, very much.
“Lucy!”
Turning, Lucy smiled at the sight of Scarlett sweeping down the wide walkway, pulling a big cart full of flowers behind her. “Hi, Scarlett! Those are gorgeous.”
“Here.” Scarlett stopped in front of Lucy’s booth and plucked a lush arrangement of roses and peonies in various shades of white and soft pink. The flowers were in a delicate but beautiful crystal vase, with a ribbon tied around its narrow neck. “Beautiful,” the other woman proclaimed.
Lucy walked around her table to admire the flowers. They livened up the whole display, almost like a centerpiece on a wedding table. A warm smile bloomed across her face. “Thank you. Want to put a business card next to the flowers so people know where they came from?”
“Cross-promotion,” Scarlett said. “Love it! Give me a stack of your business cards and I’ll talk you up all day.”
They positioned Scarlett’s business card against the vase, then stepped back. Scarlett slung an arm around Lucy’s shoulders and squeezed, then shifted her gaze to Cormac, who stood beside the stacked boxes of samples, scanning the people walking by behind the women.
“You sure he won’t scare potential buyers away?” Scarlett asked quietly.
A puff of breath escaped Lucy’s lips. She shrugged. “I hope not. I just don’t want to lose hundreds of dollars’ worth of samples because I have to leave the booth to go pee.”
“If that twerp comes anywhere near you, I’ll punch him in the neck.”
“Maybe I should have hired you for security instead,” Lucy answered.
A feral light entered Scarlett’s eyes as she grinned, then gave Lucy’s shoulders another squeeze. “Let me know if you need anything. I have to go set up! See you in a few hours.”
“Good luck!”
Scarlett winked, then pulled her cart down the walkway, disappearing around the corner. The big room was set up with booths all around the outer perimeter, with two more aisles of booths in between. Cormac grumbled about Lucy being in one of the internal aisles, since it was apparently more difficult to secure than ones where her back would have been to a solid wall.
Now that she was here, her fear had started to abate. She wasn’t too worried about the Stirling Stationery Man.
“I trust you to do a good job,” she told Cormac, fanning out some business cards on the edge of her table. She glanced over when Cormac didn’t reply.
His jaw was tense, but he gave her a nod. If she’d expected him to loosen up once they got inside the event room, she was wrong. He looked like he was ready for war.
Lucy checked her watch and took a deep breath. Within minutes, the first attendees would be walking through the aisles, and she’d have to put her sales face on. Tightness banded around her chest, and she did her best to breathe through it.
She could do this. It wasn’t a presentation or a sales pitch. It was just being friendly and talking to people. The wedding planners and general population who were attending the Expo wanted to buy her wares. All she had to do was be herself.
Still, sharp pains pierced her stomach. This felt a little too familiar, too close to her old career. She’d been good at it, until she crashed and burned. The memory of her humiliation was like a hulking shadow in the corner of her eye, a patch of darkness hiding hissing monsters.
What if this was a mistake? With Aaron Phillips threatening her, wouldn’t it be better to expand her online business instead? Why was she putting herself through this kind of torture?
“Everything okay?” Cormac’s voice was nearer than she’d expected, just behind her back. “You see Phillips?”
“No, I’m fine,” she answered, blowing out a breath. “I just get nervous, is all. Choking under pressure is kind of my specialty.” Her laugh was thin and reedy, and she cut it off when Cormac didn’t smile back.
Deep blue eyes met hers. “You’ll do great, Lucy.”
Straightening at the sincerity in his voice, Lucy felt the pains in her stomach ease. “You really think so?”
“I know it. And I think you’ve got your first customer.”
Turning, Lucy beamed at the woman scanning her wares. She had an engagement ring on and carried a gigantic binder bursting with magazine clippings. A bride. Lucy greeted the woman, then asked her if she was planning her own wedding. The woman excitedly gushed about their plans—a winter wedding in Stirling, with rich colors of burgundy, emerald, and gold—and Lucy brightened. She dug through her box of samples to show the woman an invitation she’d designed for a holiday wedding two years prior.
The bride gasped, eyes shining. “This is perfect ,” she exclaimed.
When the woman walked away clutching the sample and one of Lucy’s business cards—after having followed Lucy’s business page on social media—Lucy couldn’t help the smile that curled her lips.
First one down. Now she just had to do it a few hundred times over, and the day would be a success.
Unease trickled down Cormac’s spine. The Expo thrummed with people, vendors and clients and lookie-loos milling through the aisles of the huge room. No one had bothered Lucy so far, but Cormac’s instincts twigged. He didn’t like that he hadn’t spotted Phillips yet, though the other man was supposed to be at the event all day.
His earpiece crackled, and Sam spoke. “Confirmed with Rhonda, Stirling Stationery canceled at the last minute.”
“Rhonda?”
“The woman at the check-in desk. Nice lady.”
“Ah. Thanks, Sam.”
“I’m doing one more sweep around the room and then I’ll return to my position. Something feels off.”
“Agreed.”
Lucy let out a gasp and exclaimed, “Gorgeous!” at something a woman was showing her on her phone. She clicked her fingers. “I’ve got just the thing to match your theme.”
The other woman cooed when Lucy presented her with an invitation and menu, but it was Lucy’s beaming smile that caught Cormac’s gaze. Redness flushed over the apples of Lucy’s cheeks, and her eyes shone with excitement.
“You designed this?” The other woman shook her head in awe. “This is beautiful.”
“Thank you. Let me show you the matching envelope and save-the-dates.” She flicked her dark ponytail over her shoulder and headed for her box of samples once more. In a dark tee and black pants that hugged her curves, Lucy looked professional—and delectable. He watched her bend over the box for a few moments too long.
Cormac tore his gaze away from her. Yes, she was luminous. Yes, she was clearly talented. But no—he wouldn’t indulge his interest.
He was here to work. This was a job like any other. He was doing this for Marlon, because he cared about Camilla, who cared about Lucy. The shape of Lucy’s ass in those pants was irrelevant.
Turning around, he scanned the space between the booths on their aisle. The vendor directly behind Lucy was a photographer who had spent the whole day so far sitting behind his table flicking through his phone. Thick power cables snaked between the two booths all the way down the aisle, which was a trip hazard. If they had to make a quick exit, Cormac would haul Lucy over his shoulder, jump the cables, and head for the fire exit directly across from him.
“Pumpkin!”
Cormac turned in time to see an older man spread his arms toward Lucy. Beside him, a woman beamed. The man had a pleasant face, bald head, and thick white beard. The woman’s brown hair was specked with silver and wrapped into a bun on top of her head. Both of them had brown eyes and were a few inches shorter than Cormac.
He knew who they were without having to ask. He could see Lucy’s face in theirs from a mile away.
“Hi, Dad, Mom,” Lucy said, skirting around the table to give them both a hug.
Her father’s gaze landed on Cormac. “This is the bodyguard, is it?”
“One of them. Cormac, these are my parents, Gus and Dolly.”
“Charmed,” Dolly said with a smile that looked just like Lucy’s—warm, with a hint of impish delight. “Everything under control?”
“All good on my end,” Cormac replied. “And as far as I can tell, Lucy is killing it.”
A flush darkened Lucy’s cheeks, and her father wrapped her in a hug so tight it made her squeak. “Of course she is! My little pumpkin can do anything.”
“Father,” she grumbled, “I’m a grown woman.”
“You’re our little girl,” Dolly said, stroking Lucy’s cheeks. She turned to the table and sniffed one of Scarlett’s roses, then leaned over to inspect Lucy’s work. The two ladies fell into conversation while Gus came around to Cormac’s side of the table.
“Have you seen Phillips here?” he asked quietly.
Cormac shook his head. “He canceled at the last minute. Isn’t attending.”
That seemed to ease something in Gus, because his shoulders visibly dropped. “Good. I don’t like that man. Don’t like thinking about our Lucy anywhere near him.”
“I’ll take care of her,” Cormac replied, sounding more solemn than he’d intended.
Gus must have heard the vow in his words too, because he turned to meet Cormac’s gaze. His eyes narrowed slightly as he studied Cormac, and then he glanced thoughtfully at Lucy. “I see,” he said.
Uncomfortable with the other man’s scrutiny, Cormac shifted his stance and nodded. “I need to do a sweep of the area,” he lied. “Enjoy the rest of your day.”
“Will do.”
Cormac walked down the space between the booths and scanned for anything odd, keeping Lucy in his sights. By the time he returned a couple of minutes later, Lucy was saying goodbye to her parents. She joined him behind the table again and gave him a wry smile.
“My dad didn’t do anything embarrassing, did he?”
“Embarrassing how?”
Lucy shrugged, laughing. “I don’t know. They get worried about me and they hover. I think they still think I’m a little girl, and with how my last career ended?—”
When she didn’t finish her sentence, Cormac frowned. “What happened?” Was that why Phillips was after her? Was there something she hadn’t told him?
Tucking a stray tendril of hair back into her ponytail, Lucy shrugged. “It’s nothing. Thanks for being nice to them.”
A potential customer angled for Lucy’s booth, so Cormac couldn’t ask her about her previous career path. He stepped back far enough that he couldn’t catch the scent of her every time she moved. He needed to focus on the job, but all he could think about was Lucy, her past, and what he could do to ease the tension that had made her shoulders clench near her ears.
An older woman, probably in her early fifties, stopped at Lucy’s table and began inspecting her designs. “Beautiful work,” she said. Dyed blond hair—well done, probably expensive—brown eyes, about five foot seven. Cormac catalogued the woman just as he’d scanned every other person approaching the booth, filing their faces away in his mental rolodex in case he needed to remember them in the future.
“Thank you very much,” Lucy answered, politely attentive.
“What’s your design process?”
Cormac half-listened as he took stock of the woman. She wore a gray pantsuit with a black button-down shirt. Her throat was adorned with smooth pearls, and her hair was tied back in a twist. Dark eyes that missed nothing settled on Lucy as she spoke.
“So you draw these yourself?” The woman thumbed one of the invitations on the table.
“The watercolor style and the abstract floral designs, yes,” Lucy answered. “But the rest are put together from various stock images. I do the composition and typography myself, of course.”
“May I?” The woman pointed to one of the watercolor-style thank-you cards, which were splotches of color vaguely reminiscent of flowers. The others were mostly squiggly lines made to look aesthetic on various pieces of paper. They were nice. Even a man without an ounce of artistic talent in his body could see that.
Cormac scanned the Expo attendees again. The tense feeling hadn’t left him, and he wondered if he was losing his touch. Everyone here was hawking their wares and planning weddings. There was a happy buzz in the air—so why did Cormac think it would end badly?
He shook his head and scanned the back of the booth again. Nothing was amiss.
“Nothing to note,” Sam said in his ear. “All appears normal.”
“Same here,” Cormac answered quietly, one eye on the woman in front of Lucy, the other on the throngs of people milling behind her.
“Have you ever considered selling your designs?” the woman asked Lucy.
Lucy straightened. “What do you mean?”
“I’m a buyer for Juniper and Sage.” The woman pulled a business card from her purse. “I’d be interested in having you pitch a few ideas to our corporate team. We’re always looking for new designers.”
Cormac’s ears pricked. That was the company Leo had mentioned when they’d helped him move, the one that had made Lucy gasp. He glanced at Lucy, whose eyes had gone wide. Her fingers trembled slightly as she took the card, jerking her chin down once.
“If you’re interested, I’ll take a few of these samples to the team, and we’ll be in touch to set up a meeting date.”
“Yes—yes!” Lucy nodded vigorously. “Yes, that sounds amazing!”
“We’ll have to move quickly,” the woman continued. “We’re in town for a company retreat, so we’ll have to hear your pitch next week unless you want to travel to Manhattan.”
“I can do next week,” Lucy confirmed.
“Good.”
“Wonderful.” The woman smiled, grabbing a few samples. “I’ll be in touch.”
Cormac watched her walk away. She ambled down the rows of booths, glancing curiously at a few offerings before turning the corner. As soon as she was out of sight, Lucy let out a long, wheezing noise. Then she sucked in a breath, wavering on her feet.
“Are you okay?” Cormac took a step toward her.
He grunted as Lucy launched herself at him. She jumped, landing against his chest like a desperate koala who’d just spotted the only eucalyptus tree for miles. Her arms winched around his neck in a surprisingly strong headlock while her legs clamped around his hips. He wavered, arms circling her on instinct to help catch his balance. She squeezed him as an excited squeal slipped through her lips.
“Juniper and Sage, Cormac! Juniper and Sage! ” She squeaked again, constricting him with her limbs a little bit harder.
He should have been telling her to get down so he could keep scanning the surroundings. He should have put some distance between them.
But he didn’t.
His hand stroked down her spine, the warmth of Lucy’s body soaking through to his frozen core. Slowly, he tightened his hold on her, closing his eyes as her breath tickled the side of his neck. His fingers found their way to the nape of her neck as his other arm clamped around her waist.
She felt perfect in his arms, warm and soft. She smelled even better up close, some indefinable scent that seemed to rise from her skin. Holding her was heaven. He’d never felt anything better. In the very hidden recesses of his soul, a missing piece clicked into place.
Then, as if she realized what she was doing, Lucy’s arms and legs loosened. He let her slide down to the ground, keeping his hands on her waist as she caught her balance. Her palms rested on his chest, warm and delicate.
Her eyes were melted chocolate. Her body wilted toward him, like she couldn’t help but lean into his bulk. Cormac didn’t want to admit to himself that he enjoyed the feeling of her so close. He didn’t want to acknowledge that her tremulous smile and shining eyes were burrowing deep under his armor, making his heart thump a little bit harder.
She was precious, like a rare jewel. She needed to be protected. Cherished.
His thumbs swept over her ribs of their own accord, like even his hands couldn’t get enough of her.
“What’s Juniper and Sage?” he finally asked when the silence between them stretched.
He regretted his question when Lucy dropped her hands from his chest and stepped away. The loss of her touch was an acute ache that nearly made him wince. He recovered quickly, annoyed at himself for being thrown off by the touch of a woman who was meant to be his client and nothing more.
Lucy grabbed the older woman’s business card from the edge of the table where she’d left it and turned it so he could read it. “Oh, only the second-biggest greeting card company in the country, after Hallmark.”
Her smile was pure sunlight—until it dimmed.
That fading smile was a spike to Cormac’s chest. “What?”
She shook her head and tried to curl her lips again, but it didn’t look the same. “Just the thought of pitching my designs to a room full of suits…”
“You’ll do great,” he told her, meaning every word. He wanted that light back in her eyes. Wanted to be the one to put it there. “You’ll blow them away.”
She took a deep breath and slipped the card into her pocket. “Yeah. I’ll just make sure I’m really, really prepared. And if I choke, then I’ll have no one to blame but myself.”
Before he could stop himself, he caught Lucy’s hand. She glanced at him, surprised.
“You’ll do great,” he repeated, running his thumb over her knuckles. Every part of her he’d touched was soft as silk. “She loved your work. You’re amazing at what you do. I’ve watched you all day, Lucy. I know what it looks like when someone has both skill and work ethic.”
The softening of her shoulders told Cormac he’d gotten through to her, at least a little. He didn’t understand why that made him relax in turn. He didn’t know why he cared so much.
“Thank you,” she said quietly, squeezing his fingers. Then another potential client stepped up to her booth, and she got back to work, painting that same sunny smile on her face—the one that made Cormac feel like the earth was wobbling beneath his feet.
He closed his eyes for a beat, trying to wrestle his emotions back into submission.
He didn’t want to get close to a woman. Not now, when things were going well. He didn’t want to invite trouble into his peaceful life, and he especially didn’t want to have another vulnerable person under his protection.
But as the day wore on and he watched Lucy light up with every interaction, he had to admit that he did want her.