Page 35 of Building Romance
He looks up quickly and then back at his computer and then back at me. His eyebrows rise slightly. “You clean up well, Tanner,” he says as his eyes peruse my body.
I’m not sure why I feel more naked than I did a few minutes ago when he saw me in only a towel, but somehow I do.
I cross my arms over my breasts because the look he’s giving me makes me feel not only naked but also exposed as if he can see inside my head to my most personal thoughts.
“I’m heading down,” I state, turning to grab my key from the side table in the main hallway of the suite.
“Wait up,” he says and I hear him get up. A second later he’s next to me.
We walk to the door, and when he opens it, he looks around us. “I thought Amber was meeting us here?”
Shit, how did I already forget that. One minute of staring at the man and I forget all the important things. “So…small pickle. Her mom has to go to the emergency room. She won’t know more until the doctors check her. But…uh, yeah,” I say as we begin walking.
He grabs my arm and pulls me into a small alcove in the hallway. “What?” he hisses.
I let out a long breath. “Amber is out for tonight. I won’t know more until later tonight. I can text Adriana. She’s new but she knows some things. If not, I guess I’m doing this solo,” I explain with a frown as I realize what I’m saying. Ugh. I’m going to have to tell Felicity this.
“What?” he says loudly this time.
“You heard me,” I say, my voice rising.
“We can’t compete if you have no assistant. Every other team has two people because the competition is for a team,” he says, emphasizing the last word.
“I know that,” I mutter.
“We’ll figure this out after dinner. I’m sure I can get one of our pastry chefs to help,” he says matter-of-factly.
I roll my eyes. “We’ll cross that bridge later if we need to. No sense worrying about something that might not even be an issue.”
“You know what makes my family’s company successful?” he asks as we begin walking again.
I don’t answer but glance over at him.
He continues. “We constantly are planning for every scenario so when things go awry, and they always do, we’re prepared and not scrambling last minute. You should have had a second person ready to go,” he says sternly.
I stop and he turns to me. Jabbing a finger in his well-muscled chest, I glare up at him. “You can’t plan your way out of every bump in the road that life has to offer. You have to be ready to work through them. And I’m ready. I can do this solo if I have to. I’ll let Felicity know,” I say, my shoulders sagging a little.
“No. Not yet. Let’s wait to see what happens. We can tell her there was a family emergency and we’re waiting to hear. That’s it,” he says angrily as we continue down the stairs and into the dining room.
The other three teams are all standing around. Cameras are rolling and the next two hours are a flurry of introductions, food, drinks, explanations, and awkward small talk. Two of the teams are from bakeries on the other side of the city. One specializes in cakes and the other in cookies. The third team is more similar to my store. They serve coffee and a variety of baked goods. Their number one selling item is their cupcakes, which they also sell online. All three teams have been around much longer than I have. Their businesses are larger and more reputable than mine. By the end of the meal, I already know that my store is the underdog contestant or at least that’s what the show wants to pigeonhole me as. The only thing keeping me calm is my slight buzz from the three glasses of wine I’ve had.
It's as we are opening the suite door that I get the call from Amber. I put it on speaker and look up at Fletcher, who has been quiet during the meal. He spoke a bit with the other sponsors but otherwise seemed very busy on his phone.
“Hey,” she says and I know immediately it’s not good.
“How bad is it?” I ask.
“Bad. She’s going to need surgery. Her gallbladder has a stone that could cause a major issue. It’s what is causing her pain. They want to do it first thing tomorrow and then she’ll need me to stay with her for two weeks. I’m so sorry, Cam,” she says and I can hear how tired she is. I want to be mad, but I don’t have the energy and I know it’s not her fault.
“It’s alright, Amber. We’ll figure it out. Go take care of your mom,” I assure her.
“I will. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do,” she adds before we hang up.
I text Adriana without even looking at Fletcher.
Me: Any chance you could join me at the competition? Amber’s mom is in the hospital.
Adriana: Oh no! I’m so sorry but I can’t. Remember I told you that my brother might be able to visit. He flies in tomorrow. I was going to try to take off one day next week to spend with him.
