Page 72 of The Last Saturday In July
Jess met his eyes. How had she never noticed those really long, dark eyelashes? Especially as she’d noticed everything else about him. She really needed to try harder not to. ‘I’m fine.’
‘Jess? Are you still there? Who are you talking to?’
‘I’m sorry, Úna, I have to go. My boss just walked in. I’ll think about what you said.’ She hung up.
‘Your boss?’ Adam smirked.
Jess sighed. ‘That was … it doesn’t matter. I’m kind of glad you came in. And I’m not dizzy, but thanks for asking.’
‘Good to know. Now that I’m here, can I get you anything? A pillow and blanket?’
‘Wow, you’re a regular comedian.’
‘Hang on.’ He stood and took hold of her hands. As he pulled her to her feet, Jess caught a hint of his scent, light, but spicy.
‘I don’t mean to be rude, but have you got shorter?’
A sharp memory of their night together flashed to mind, Jess standing on tiptoe to reach his mouth, Adam slipping his hands under her bottom to lift her into his arms, as she wrapped her legs around him. Flushing hotly, she turned abruptly away, wondering if it was possible to be a masochist and not know it. She stepped into her shoes.
‘Do you want to sit down?’
‘Sure.’ Adam threw himself into the other chair, as Jess took refuge behind her desk.
He studied her for a minute. ‘You seem a bit stressed.’
‘I’m fine, really.’ When he said nothing, she relented. ‘It’s kind of personal.’
Adam gave a brief nod. ‘You’ve been following the latest Leo and Chelsea drama, I assume?’
‘Yes.’ It was almost a relief to worry about work. ‘I saw Leo’s statement this morning.’
He folded his arms. ‘I managed to get hold of Angel yesterday evening. He admitted that there’s been some tension since Leo made Chelsea sign the pre-nup.’
‘But there’s no major problem, is there?’
‘I got the impression there was a lot Angel wasn’t saying. Look, I think we do need to have a plan B, in case this wedding doesn’t go ahead.’
‘You don’t really believe that’s a possibility, do you?’ Jess shook her head. ‘They’ve already spent so much, asked all their guests, and there’s that huge TV deal with Bobbie Grayson.’
‘I agree, it wouldn’t make much sense.’ Adam raised an eyebrow. ‘But things have gone very quiet at their end. Ian Finnegan has heard nothing from Angel and, until yesterday, Angel was phoning or emailing daily with new requests.’
Jess forced herself to think rationally. ‘If the wedding didn’t happen, we’d have to seriously tailor our marketing strategy.’
Adam looked like he was choosing his words. ‘Linford is a big place, lots of potential, we just need to be creative.’
Jess guessed what he was trying not to say. If this wedding fell through, it would take them years to come back from the Linford Curse. In the meantime, she’d have to work ten times as hard on a new campaign, which would probably only have a fraction of the success.
Adam got to his feet. ‘The good news is there was a small problem identified with the electrics in Linford’s south tower, so we’re getting it repaired and the whole place checked. The refurbishment will begin as soon as that’s done.’
Jess nodded, her mind still on the possibility of a wedding falling through. ‘Will it be done in time?’
‘It’ll go down to the wire, but that’s the plan.’
There was a knock on the door, and Kate came in.
‘Oh, hi, Adam. I can come back when you’re free, Jess.’
She seemed a bit edgy, Jess thought. They really needed to clear the air between them.
