Page 109 of Off the Wall

An hour later, when the dancing is over and Jerry the caller has left, Keeley comes over to give me a hug. “Wouldyou be all right if Andrew picked me up? He’s getting restless, and you’ve still got some promo stuff to do, and?—”

I throw a hand up. “You’ve done plenty for me tonight already. Seriously. I’m so grateful.”

“You sure you don’t need me here for the final video?”

“I’ve got this.”

“Good.” She winces. “Because Andrew’s already here.”

“Go.” I give her a gentle push toward the parking lot. “And thank you so much.”

“Anytime, friend.” Keeley flashes me a grin. “And let the record show, I’m here. Not Hayden.” She does a little curtsy, then heads off.

At the same time, Dove rushes over to me. “Rex is such a gentleman,” she says. “He’s walking a pack of old ladies to their homes. But once he’s back, we want to get some shots of you two in the garden. Over by the petunias. Maybe with your hats off.” She starts reapplying my lipstick and powdering my sweaty brow. “That man is so gorgeous, we really want to hammer the point home.”

“No problem, Dove.”

Ms. Cooperative. That’s me.

“Do you think you’ll choose him?” she asks. “Or maybe Miles? Wait! Don’t tell me. I want to be surprised.” She lowers her voice. “Personally, I’d go with that baseball player. The one from the wedding? Too bad he’s not a part of the promo.”

Yes. Too bad. Really.

“Anyway, I’ve gotta run to the restroom, but I’ll be back soon to powder Rex.” She wags her eyebrows. “If you don’t choose him, I just might. But don’t tell me. I want to be?—”

“Surprised,” I interrupt with a small smile. “Deal.”

As Dove scurries off, I wander over to Lou, who’s already set up in the garden. The landscaping lights came on about anhour ago, so rows of lamps illuminate the walkway. Smaller lights glow along the flower beds.

Lou’s mouth goes crooked as I approach. “Nice quadrille back there, Nori.”

“Thanks, but I have no idea what a quadrille is.”

“It was the dance where you and Rex and that old couple paired up into a foursome, and?—”

“Oh, right. I remember now.” My mouth tugs up. “Good times.” I glance around, making sure Dove’s officially out of earshot. “So, what’s the plan for the final video? The one where I choose?”

“The team already wrote copy for the caption, and Dove got the go-ahead to upload everything as soon as she approves the edits on the video. All we have to do is plug in the name of your pick. Then we’re posting.”

“Sounds good.” I take off my hat, smooth my hair. “Do you think we could film the video now? Just us, here in the garden?”

“What’s the rush?”

“I just … I don’t want an audience.” A thread of pleading sneaks into my voice. “I’ve had eyes on me every step of this campaign, and I just need this last part to be me. Also”—I flinch—“I’m not picking Rex. So I don’t want things to be awkward for him.”

“Sure thing.” Lou bobs his head. “That’s nice of you.”

I am nice,adeep voice echoes in my head. Weeks ago, Cash said this when I seemed shocked by his kindness.

“How about over here?” Lou asks, positioning me under a garden lamp. Green vines wind their way down the base from top to bottom. Kind of like Cash wound his way around my heart.

“Perfect,” I say.

“All right.” Lou lifts his camera. “Are you ready for your close up?”

“Yes.” I blow out a breath. “Probably.”

The truth is, I may never be completely ready for this. Or for anything in life.

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