She’d read the amusement on his face, but now her ignorance and question took on a whole other level of embarrassment.
And today? The photos?
Standing next to him with every breath bringing with it the tantalizing scent of his cologne, feeling the way she fit against his side, his arm around her shoulders tugging her closer. And then closer.
She’d struggled to smile, to breathe normally. Because that man?
There was a reason he’d made the sexiest-man list repeatedly. Men like him could get whatever they wanted. Whomever they wanted.
So why her? He’d flirted with her despite the stupid costumes and—why? She knew her number. She was a solid six on a good day. And that was being generous. Rhys was a fifteen on that same scale of ten. Seemingly a nice guy but so far out of her farm-girl league. She was a deeply rooted Christmas pine while he was a shooting star in the galaxy above. Something to be seen and admired from a distance.
She’d done some research after working on the story design she’d started a few weeks ago. Read the articles about his ex and their breakup. She’d even watched the video of Quinley Andershangingover a penthouse balcony to make her escape on her wedding day.
Yet they still worked together on projects, like today, and Quinley’s fiancé’s restaurant was housedinsideRhys’s hotel?
It was…odd. Like, seriously weird. Wasn’t it?
Or was it an endgame play by Rhys to take his power away when and how he wanted to bring Quinley and her ex down? A power play he waited to deploy to destroy them at the most opportune moment? Because the uber-rich did things like that, didn’t they?
Her phone rang, and she lowered her arms to see who called, body tensing even more as she answered. “Hey, Dad. How’s Mom?”
“She’s doing great. Every day is a little better,” her father said. “Saralyn, what’s with the bank deposit? Is that a mistake? And Buck said you called to get more trees delivered?”
“It’s not a mistake, and I did call about more trees. I didn’t say anything last night because I wasn’t sure the customer would return today, but—I had a buyer come in last night and take every tree.”
“Allof them?”
“Yeah. And this morning he even brought help to load them, so all I had to do was drive the truck to deliver them to the hotel. They’re going to be displayed. I was about to call you, to check in and ask about visiting Mom since Buck said it would be a few days before he could get here.”
Her father relayed the news to her mother, and Sara could hear her mother’s groggy response in the background.
“And they’re for a hotel?” he asked next.
“Yeah, the big new one. They had someone there to take pictures when I got there and… Actually they asked me to return tonight once some of them are decorated to do more photos, for social media. They…mentioned it would be good exposure for the farm.”
“I’d say it would be by the looks of that deposit. You’re going to go back, right?”
She glanced at the clock and frowned. “I thought I might cancel, actually. I just think it would be better if you were in the photos. Since Buck’s going to be a few days, I could lock up and come stay with Mom while you take a break and come do the PR stuff.”
“Ah, sweetheart, I know you want to see her, but that makes no sense. Besides, it’s too expensive to do all that. I don’t want to leave your mama either. I want you to go. If the lot’s empty, you should get out and have some fun before you’re tied down by the trees again.”
She wrinkled her nose and rubbed a palm against her eyes. “It doesn’t feel right. To have fun while you’re both stuck in a hospital.”
“Nothing will make me budge from your mama’s side right now, and no one wants to see my old mug when they could see a pretty girl like you. Buck’ll be working all weekend at the farm for the big Christmas event there, but I’ll get him on the road as soon as it’s over. Probably Tuesday or Wednesday. Thursday at the latest, but he’ll be there before the weekend rush.”
“That’s fine, but are you sure I can’t take the time to come visit Mama?”
“Booking a flight this late would cost the world, Sara. You can’t afford it and neither can we. Wait until Christmas. When she’s not sleeping due to the pain medicine, they’ve got her doing physical therapy or running more tests. Just wait until the season is over. She might be in the rehab place by then and up for company.”
She hated that Mom was so far away but knew her father was right. She would be sitting around the hospital climbing the walls, or she could pitch in and do her part to actually help. “Okay, I’ll wait. I guess I should go get ready for tonight. Give Mama a kiss for me.”
“What costume you wearing for this one?” her father asked.
She bit back a groan. “No costume this time. Just regular clothes.”
“Well, you’ll represent us well either way,” her dad said.
They hung up, and she pressed the button on her computer to save her work.
