Chapter 9 #2
She became acutely aware of how close they were standing, the warmth of his arm nearly touching hers. The setting sun cast his face in a golden glow that softened his features and brought out flecks of amber in his blue eyes.
For a breathless moment, the entire venue seemed to fade away. There was just Zach, looking at her with an intensity that made her usual defenses falter. Made her want to lean in and take a taste.
He glanced briefly to her lips.
"Piper..."
Before she could reply, a sharp voice cut through their conversation, "The social media optics are excellent," Tess announced, heading for Babushka and the breadbasket.
"I'm sure the hotel will be thrilled." Piper scribbled a note on her clipboard.
"Zachary, come try bread." Babushka called from across the space where she served Drake a big slice of brown bread with butter.
"Duty calls," Zach sighed. "Somebody better save me if she tries to perform a blessing ritual with vodka like she did at Jase's wedding. I smelled like a distillery when we left."
The easy way Zach interacted with his family and the sincere affection behind his teasing increased his attractive quotient by a solid 20. Piper's focus lingered on him longer than strictly necessary as he strode toward his grandmother and Tess hustled behind.
"I think he likes you, you know," Anna said beside Piper, a knowing smile playing at her lips.
"I… that's not…" Piper fumbled.
"Of course," Anna agreed smoothly. "I just thought you should know. As his sister, I feel obligated to mention he hasn't stopped talking about 'the wedding planner with the impressive organizational skills' to anyone who will listen."
"Oh." Piper wasn't sure what else to say. "That's professional of him to notice."
Anna's laugh was gentle. "Sure, let's call it business interest. I haven't seen him this 'professionally interested' in anyone… before… ever."
Zach seemed to be attempting to translate between Babushka and Tess about something that involved a great deal of hand motions and frowning that even got Drake's attention away from the butter.
"I'm going to go… help Drake." Anna beamed as she walked toward her fiancé.
Piper moved to the quietest corner of the terrace to compile some notes, but it took no time for Tess to grab her attention and pull her from one corner to another with increasingly specific questions.
Every time she tried to rejoin Anna and Drake to get their unfiltered opinion on the various aspects of the venue, Tess intercepted with another concern about lighting, acoustics, media positioning, or how Babushka wanted the tables to be rounds while Tess preferred rectangles.
Tablitsa Sud'by didn't work with rectangles, apparently. Tess didn't work with rounds.
So, there they were, at a stalemate of shapes.
Tess's phone rang.
"Legal needs me," she said, already walking away to take the call. "You've got this under control, Piper?"
Piper nodded. Of course, she had this.
Zach caught Piper's eye and gave a subtle nod toward a quiet spot by the potted palms.
The setting sun cast his profile in golden light. For a moment, she allowed herself to appreciate that view before clearing her throat.
"Rescue mission?" she asked.
"Something like that." He shifted to make room for her beside him. "I figured you might need a breather from Tess the Taskmaster."
"Is it that obvious?"
"Only to someone who's been watching you try to escape for the last…" He checked his watch. "Twenty-seven minutes."
The casual admission that he'd been observing her sent an unexpected flutter through her chest. "I need to get honest feedback from Anna and Drake," she explained. "Without Tess's industrial-strength filter."
Before he could respond, Anna and Drake made their way across the room toward them. Piper straightened. With Tess nowhere to be found—probably plotting world domination with legal—this was her shot.
"So, what do we think?" Piper asked.
"I like it," Anna said with a quick glance to Drake. "I think this is it."
"If Anna says this is it, then this is it," he replied staring at Anna in that gentle way of couples in love.
They seemed so real together. The kind of real Piper was terrified of breaking.
"Fabulous," Piper grinned huge instead of thinking more on that. "Then I think we should sit and go through the rest of the binder."
Drake and Anna exchanged glances that screamed "emergency exit strategy."
"Right, yes. We have that thing we have to get to," Anna said, already stepping toward the door.
Probably best that they took off before Tess got back with more ideas and more to-dos.
"I'll join you," Diana added, with a pointed look to Babushka.
"Don't vant to be late," Babushka agreed.
"Late for what?" Zach asked.
"Anything," Babushka answered with a wave of her hand.
The four of them made a hasty exit, leaving Piper and Zach alone.
"You can take off if you need." Piper shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "I still need to check out the audiovisual setup."
"Want company?" Zach asked, hands in his pockets. His casual stance did nothing to diminish the intensity of his attention as it rested on her.
The silence stretched between them uncomfortably.
"Don't you have underwear to design or something?" she asked, but there was no bite to her words.
"I'm multitasking. Besides, I'm good with tech stuff.
" He moved to stand beside her. "I'll have you know I once built a custom inventory management system for my family's flower shop and installed new sound systems in all the shops.
Before I found my true calling in men's supportive undergarments, of course. "
Piper rolled her eyes but couldn't suppress a small laugh. "Fine. You can help me check the AV closet." She pointed toward a discreet door near the bar area.
They crossed the space together, an evening breeze beginning to stir. The door was tucked almost invisibly into the wall's paneling. Piper tested the handle as Zach snagged the basket Babushka left behind.
The door turned smoothly, revealing a small, climate-controlled room lined with equipment racks. The space was cramped but efficiently organized, with digital mixers, amplifiers, and various control panels mounted in neat rows.
Zach followed her inside, pulling the door shut behind them.
"Impressive setup," Zach said, tracing his fingertip along a touchscreen controller.
Piper nodded, making notes on her clipboard. "Good capacity, state-of-the-art equipment. If Anna wants music during the ceremony, we'll need to run tests for sound bleed, but—"
A sharp click interrupted her mid-sentence.
They both turned toward the door.
"Did that...?" Zach asked, already moving toward the handle.
"It couldn't have," Piper said, but the sinking feeling in her stomach told her otherwise.
Zach tried the handle, then tried again with more force. It didn't budge.
"We're locked in," he confirmed, giving the door another futile tug.
Piper stared at him; clipboard clutched to her chest. "That's impossible. These doors don't automatically lock from the outside."
"And yet..." Zach stared down at the door handle.
"This is ridiculous. There has to be another way out."
"No windows, no second exit," Zach observed, running his hands along the walls as if hoping to discover a secret passage. "Just us and about a million dollars' worth of sound equipment."
"No signal in here," Zach said, checking his phone.
"Mine, either," Piper sank down onto the only chair in the small room. "How did this even happen? These doors are designed specifically not to lock people inside. It's a safety hazard."
Zach rested his shoulder against the equipment rack, a suspicious frown forming on his face. "Unless someone deliberately locked it from outside."
Their eyes met in sudden understanding.
"Babushka," they said in unison.