A Break in Communications

Chapter 20

Anna

Lucy and I didn’t acknowledge that evening the next day we were in the office together—at least, if you didn’t count the sly smiles she sent my way from across the room, even though my heart was counting every one of them.

Still, with the press release tomorrow, we put our heads down and focused—even with everything done ahead of schedule, there was so much nervous energy in the air that none of us could focus on anything but tomorrow, especially since it was Friday before the Christmas weekend. Everything was done until the new year, and I knew the promotion would be decided then too, and I should have been doing everything in my power to keep Lucy out of that office and keep my name on it.

All of a sudden, though, I didn’t care. The problem was that the office door was going to be between us, no matter whose name was on it.

But when the end of the day rolled around and most of the office filtered out, I was thinking of Lucy. Wondering if we could call this our last day to act like there were no problems with us. And when the door cracked open, I got my hopes up, and they sank again when it swung open to Kelcey, striding in with her laptop held close to her chest.

“Hi, Boss Anna.”

“Please do not call me that. What do you need, Kelcey?”

She pouted at me. “This office is getting to your head. You never call me Kelce anymore. I thought we were friends.”

Under normal circumstances, I would have said you thought wrong, we were never friends, you’re my coworker and not even one I like very much. But hey. It was Christmas, basically. I pushed my chair back, leaning back a little. “How are you doing, Kelce? Got through everything okay today? You need any help with anything, don’t be afraid to ask, okay?”

She lit up like a kid offered another piece of cake before bedtime, and she helped herself to the seat across from me. “Work was really good today! Just wanted to say it’s been really good working under you the past few days and I’m sure you’re going to do great in the role.”

Well, wasn’t she sweet? Probably also angling for something. I smiled at her, shutting my laptop and tenting my hands on top of it. “Thanks, Kelce. I’m—”

“You know, unless Lucy gets it. In which case Lucy will probably do great in the role too.”

“Mm. Indeed.”

She shifted, hands in her lap. I sighed.

“Kelcey, go ahead and say it,” I said, fully ready to broach the subject and find a way to give the hard news about my damn sister, but it didn’t go where I expected.

“You know, Lucy really loves you.”

“Ah.” I turned, looking out the window. “I don’t suppose we can keep to professional topics, can we?”

“It’s past five. We’re not coworkers now, we’re friends.”

“That’s not really how it works. Especially not in my office.”

She beamed. “Technically, it’s still Sean’s office.”

It wasn’t often Kelcey had me on a technicality. I let her have it just for the novelty of it all. “Lucy is lovely, and I’m glad to have her in the department, regardless of—”

“God, stop it with the corporation speak. I mean she’s in love with you. You’re in love with her, too, right?”

I smiled politely. “I’m in love with getting my work done. And I’m looking forward to the press release going well tomorrow. Anything else?”

She pursed her lips. “I just think the two of you should get back together… you’re so perfect for each other.”

I sighed, shoulders slumping. “We’re not getting away from this, are we?”

“You dropped everything you had going on in the office and ran to help Lucy as soon as you found out her grandmother was in the hospital.”

I glowered. “You’re the one who told Veronica about that, aren’t you?”

“Um…” She shifted, looking anywhere but at me. “No… nope.”

Hm. Well, consider me convinced. “Didn’t realize you and Lucy were so close.”

She blushed a little under the attention, looking away, wringing her hands. “Ah… um… I guess it’s a bonding experience?”

“What, the… press release?” That was dumb of me to say. Even I should have figured out, and I did, but too late to change the subject before she said it.

“Getting your heart broken by some unattainable Preston girl.”

I sighed. Absolutely unbelievable that I’d be here willingly changing the subject to Kelcey and my sister, but it was better than talking about me and Lucy. “I’m sorry about my sister… being the way she is. I’ve been trying to convince her she owes you an apology, and it should be her telling you this instead of me, but she’s direly short on emotional maturity, so… I guess here we are. If it makes you feel any better, she definitely has feelings for you too, she just doesn’t know how to handle that in general and even less so when it’s with a woman, and she gets out of these things by deliberately driving the other person away.”

She chewed her lip, looking down at the floor. “Do you, uh… do you think so?”

“She told me herself.”

She swallowed awkwardly. “Sorry… I know talking about me and your sister is hardly work conversation.”

My eyebrows shot up off my head and went on a stroll somewhere. “Oh, now that’s a concern, is it?”

“She was just so… it was amazing and then she flipped like a switch. I thought I’d done something wrong.”

“I mean, you kind of did. Developing feelings for my sister is like wandering into a warzone. But within the relationship… I’m sure you didn’t do anything wrong.”

Kelcey sat up taller. “She’s not listening to me anywhere, so can you pass on a message?”

“That’s really not a good idea.”

“It’s not like that. Just tell her that I’m… going to be just fine and that I just want her to go live her best happy life and I’ll live mine. And that she doesn’t need to worry about me, because I’m going to go ahead and move on and be happy.”

Well, that was… surprisingly mature. Since when was Kelcey more mature than I was? “Huh… you know?” I relaxed back in my seat. “I will. I’ll pass that along next time I see her. Oh, and Kelce?”

“Yeah?”

“Sorry I called you dumb the other day. The coffee machine wasn’t even broken in the end.”

She beamed. Guess everything really was water under the bridge immediately with this girl. “And now I know how to operate it! We all grow. Apology accepted.”

“What had you even been doing in the office on a Saturday?”

“I forgot it was the weekend.”

Well, maybe I couldn’t give her too much credit. “Hard worker,” I said. “All right, Kelcey. I’ll pass that message along to Veronica and… I wish you all the luck with your healing journey.”

She laughed. “You have to have a happily-ever-after for all of us. You and Lucy are perfect together.”

Ah… and here we were again. I closed my eyes. “Kelcey… Lucy is my subordinate. Even if things don’t go as I’m hoping, I’ll be Lucy’s subordinate. That’s sort of against company policy.”

“So? Company policy has got nothing on love.”

That was corny. Pity it was also true. “Indeed,” I said airily. “Uh-huh. Well, I’ll see if the power of love prevails.”

She lit up. “So you do love her too?”

“I’ve got a lot of things to be attending to here, Kelcey. Can we wrap this up now?”

Kelcey sprang up to her feet, leaving her laptop on the desk as she spun around. “Sounds like Boss Anna is shy to admit it,” she sang, heading for the door. “I’ll give you your privacy. See you tomorrow—”

“Kelcey, your laptop—”

She spun around and picked it up and spun around again with the fluid grace of someone who had practiced the gesture from forgetting her laptop a million times. “See you tomorrow, Boss Anna!”

“And don’t call me that,” I called after her, but I was shouting at a brick wall as she strolled out, shutting the door behind her. I sank back in the seat with a groan, a hand in my hair.

Company policy had nothing on love, huh? Love had a bad track record winning in these things. Veronica and Kelcey had crashed at the first obstacle. Lucy and I had about a million.

But I couldn’t deny the surge in my chest, the spike of excitement when the door swung open and, as confidently as if I’d explicitly invited her, Lucy stepped into the doorway, leaning there and smiling slyly at me as she knocked on the door.

“Masters,” I said, settling back in my seat, kicking one leg up over the other. “Still haven’t headed home?”

“I know. Something new and different for me. May I come in, Miss Preston, or are you otherwise occupied?”

“When was the last time you cared if I was busy?”

She put a hand to her chest. “Always, Miss Preston. After all, times you’re busy are times your eyes aren’t on me. And how am I supposed to carry on in such a dreadful state of affairs?”

“Hm.” I couldn’t help the smile tugging on my lips, though. “Are you going to come in, or are you going to stand in the doorway all day?”

“Well, with a glowing invitation like that,” she said, stepping inside and shutting the door, and she walked over to my side of the desk, and just like always, she kicked up to a seat on my desk. “Kelcey asking you for help getting through to your sister?”

“Asking for me to pass a message along that she’s going to get over her, actually.”

She raised her eyebrows. “That’s bold. And ambitious. Do we think she’ll pull it off?”

“Ah… eventually. There’s a big club of people out there trying to get over Veronica. Maybe they can meet together, support each other.”

She beamed. “Well, if you believe in her, then I do too. So… any last-minute assignments for me from the boss? Before we have our big moment.”

I sighed, narrowing my eyes, studying her for a while, before I pushed my chair back, resting my hands in my lap. “One thing, actually.”

“Hm?”

“I’m starving. There’s a place in town that does comfort food, and I need a massive pile of mashed potatoes and gravy to get me through to tomorrow. I trust you’ll be able to accompany me.”

She smiled wider, studying me for a long time, before she said, “Preston, have you ever asked anyone on a date, or is it always coached like this?”

I looked away. “I didn’t say a date. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, of course. Well, I’d love to be the serious professional to escort you to a pile of mashed potatoes, Miss Preston. Right now?”

I quirked a smile, but I kept my gaze out the window. “I have a few things I need to finish up…”

“Things that you can finish up at your apartment while I keep your coffee topped up, I’m sure. While I’m around to make sure you can navigate the perils of… mashed potatoes.”

Well. She made a terribly tempting offer. After all, with that level of convenience, how could I say no? I weighed the cost-benefit analysis of it for a while before I gave her a small hm and stood up, picking my laptop up off the desk. “You do make a better coffee than anything I can get in this place,” I said lightly. “I suppose there’s no time to waste.”

She slid off the desk, and my heart caught when she stepped forward, slipping a hand to my hip. “We have a minute or two to waste,” she whispered, and I melted in an instant, softening into her with a soft murmur as she bent in and pressed a kiss to my cheek, and then to my jaw, and then just below the line of my jaw, her lips soft on the top of my neck. “It’s never enough, but… I’m not about to give up what we do have.”

“Mm. God, you’re distracting,” I laughed softly, eyes half-lidded.

“You think I managed to get anything done today thinking about you? And about last night?” she whispered. “Calling me distracting… it’s a good thing we barely had anything to do today, you know.”

“Sounds like you’re letting me get ahead…”

“That’s why I’m in here trying to distract you too,” she breathed, kissing lower, down to the base of my neck and along my collarbone. “Can’t let my mortal enemy get a leg up on me.”

“I’m sure you’d like my leg up on you.”

I’d just been trying to throw her off, see her reaction, but she went with it—hooked her hand around my thigh, and I gasped as she lifted my leg up, pressing my thigh against her side, wrapping me around her as she leaned back against the desk. “Not half-bad,” she said. “Good judgment call, Preston.”

“Okay—do we have a safe word? Because I actually do really need some dinner and we’re never making it out of the office if we do this—”

She laughed, slipping her hand up my thigh for one little thrill that had my heart racing and a kiss just below the center of my collar before she let me go, setting me back on solid ground, which suddenly felt less solid than before. “Well, let’s get you safely to your pile of mashed potatoes,” she said. “And we can discuss the safe word once we get back to your apartment.”

Sounded like a pretty long-term investment. Why would we only now be discussing a safe word if we were done with this after tomorrow?

That was hardly the first thing on my mind. Not after I’d just had a… leg up on Lucy.

∞∞∞

Apparently Kelcey had convinced someone with the event planners to help us unload our Christmas lights, because the press release was… bright. Wasn’t as bad as the office holiday party had been, but it was certainly merry and bright.

We’d booked the event space out at a hotel for the press release, and the events team we’d worked with hadn’t spared a single detail. The place was beautifully decorated, festive without being excessive, thick red curtains strung with lights, a big Christmas tree on either side of the lectern with simple silver decorations, and plenty of smiling faces as everybody involved was following our lead and using this as the last big piece of work before holiday breaks, everyone looking far more cheerful than they otherwise would on a weekday evening.

I got there a good half-hour before it was slated to start, but it was already getting busy, the event staff mixing with our office and the executives from PR and Outreach, and I even got my thrice-a-year sighting of our own company president and CEO Michael Berg, who smiled warmly at me when I met him at the side of the stage, the Christmas tree separating us from the camera crews and first of the business and tech reporters showing up.

“Anna, how are you doing?” he said. “Sean says your trial run as Executive Communications Director has been spotless, and judging by this, I’m inclined to believe him.”

I heard myself idly say the last thing I’d have expected myself to a month ago, and I said, “I wouldn’t have made any of it happen without Lucy Masters.”

“Oh, yes?” He raised his eyebrows, which prompted me to think about what I was saying. Was I supposed to be downplaying my own accomplishments at the last big task to prove myself for the promotion?

I didn’t have any say in the matter. Lucy Masters was across the room from me, looking… well, looking like Lucy Masters, so I couldn’t think of anything else. Just standing there, talking to the Outreach executive lead, looking as flawless as anyone ever had… I guess I was in deep.

“There’s a reason Sean put us on this case together,” I said. “We make a good team.”

He nodded quickly. “Yes… Sean did say how you’re a—dynamic duo.”

“Anna,” a voice said from behind me, and I turned back to where Matthew Gould came up behind me, and I smiled for a second before I saw the worst thing I could have, which was my… mother. Here with Matthew Gould. God, I’d been so distracted at the holiday party that I’d forgotten they’d made friends somehow. I blinked fast, and Gould took advantage of it to step in front of me with a big smile. “Good to see you. Your parents have been so excited to see your event, it’s awfully sweet.”

What, like I was back in grade school and they were excited to see me in the Nativity scene? I smiled woodenly at both of them. “Ah… Matthew. Mom… I didn’t know you were coming today,” I said, my voice pointed in that specific way that subtly said I didn’t know she was coming because she wasn’t invited. Stupid of me, really. She didn’t understand that when I said it directly, so she had no chance of understanding when I implied it.

Mom beamed. “Of course your father and I aren’t ignoring something this big for you. Besides, we’ve both made good friends with Matthew while looking after Miss Charlotte.”

I stopped, blinking fast at Gould. “You’ve, uh—you’ve been looking after Miss Charlotte,” I said. Of all the places I wanted to have this conversation, in front of the company president was pretty far down the list. “That’s awfully… sweet of you.”

Gould put his chest out. “You and your girlfriend have been wonderful to work with and give me a lot of hope for the company relations,” he said. “When Maria said how Lucy’s grandmother was in the hospital and she could use some company, I was happy to take off work and see her.” He paused. “Mostly I wanted to take off work.”

I laughed. Not sure why—nothing was funny, except for everything right now—but I was spinning. “Ah, well… I’m sure she’s loved it,” I said. “In… her own way. Miss Charlotte never saw fit to mention that, but I guess… well, that’s the woman for you. Say, Gould, uh, Mom, shall we—let’s give Mister Berg some room to breathe,” I said, which was the wrong choice, because that brought Michael Berg back into the conversation, and Gould put a hand out towards him.

“Berg—it has been a long time. Haven’t seen you since that first meeting with the company reps, have I? Your communications power couple has been wonderful to work with.”

Gould did not need to be such an ally. Heart in the right place or not, I did not want him to enter every conversation with Anna and Lucy are a couple and that’s a good thing that I support, not when I’d told Sean and the whole promotion committee that we were just a fling who had left it cleanly behind us. I cleared my throat, nodding along to Berg. “Lucy couples up well with anybody for good synergy, but she’s good with leadership,” I blurted, going with the first thing I could think of to change the context of couple, but it backfired when Mom looked at me horrified.

“What? She couples with—Anna, has Lucy been cheating on you?”

“No—Mom—” I felt my face burn, wishing I could just pick her up and haul her out of the damn building. I forced a laugh. “My—my work wife wouldn’t dream of it,” I said, lighthearted. About as lighthearted as a disaster zone.

Mom beamed, immediately relieved. “ Work wife. You’re already finding all the ways you can to call her your wife. You’re going to have the most magical wedding… we’ve already been talking to Eliza and her family and they all agree they’ll be back to the US for the wedding.”

“Mom—” I pinched the bridge of my nose. Berg just looked more and more confused, looking between all of us, and things just got worse when a scuffle came from the side and Kelcey came out from a gaggle of people, wearing a shimmering pale gold dress that probably cost a full paycheck or two, and she lit up at me.

“Boss Anna—hey,” she said.

“Kelcey, don’t—” I started, as useful as asking a bear not to maul me.

“You mean you and Lucy got back together?” she said. “I heard you talking about your wedding—”

“It’s—figurative,” I said, my face so hot I wanted to rip it off. Mom looked at her with a pert frown.

“Back together?” She stopped, lighting up. “Do you mean… do you mean they were together before this, too?”

“Okay, everyone, very funny,” I said, raising my voice, going for a laugh and sounding like a raccoon getting stepped on. “I know Lucy and I are a great team, but we’re not looking to get married any time soon—”

Kelcey ignored me, turning to Mom with a big smile. “Yeah! I mean, Lucy was in love with her from the moment they met—”

“No, she was not,” I said, distantly aware I wasn’t helping at this point but also aware nothing could help me now. Kelcey and my mom laughed, like they shared in some in-joke like old friends.

“Anna’s so shy,” Kelcey said.

“She’s always been like that,” Mom said.

“Anna—” Berg said, looking at me with his brows furrowed. “Can I talk—”

I’d made the mistake of thinking, amongst it all, that the situation couldn’t get any worse, which was a mistake, because it got instantly worse when a figure moved through a doorway and, talking to a man I recognized from Outreach who was absolutely smitten with her, was Veronica Preston, who nearly bumped into the lot of us and stopped, looking up from her drink at us. Once again, she had a flute of champagne before any refreshments had been served. Seduced some poor man in the kitchen, I was sure.

“Oh,” she said. “Anna. Hey. I was wondering why you didn’t answer my text. Didn’t realize you were so popular.”

The man smiled like a lovesick puppy at her. “Oh… do you know Anna Preston, Vern?”

Veronica waved him off. “Yeah, yeah. All right, Dean, nice talking to you, enjoy the event,” she said, and I saw him pass through a good two or three stages of grief with the sudden level of rejection from Veronica. Next to me, I saw Kelcey’s expression tighten, muscles in her arms going taut, and I stepped in between them, at least figuring I could salvage five seconds of Kelcey’s life if not my own.

“Veronica—interesting seeing you here,” I said quickly. “You and our parents dropping something off before the event? I doubt you’ve started a career in specialized equipment transit logistics.”

“Nah, just looking for cute people.”

She was dressed to terrorize again, wearing a slim red dress just long enough to be tasteful, with a daring slit up the thigh, red lipstick and nail polish, high heels and everything. And she was going to have no problem finding people to hurt, including Kelcey. I took a big breath, smiling politely. “You know, this is a special kind of event that’s invitation only, ” I said, and she rolled her eyes.

“You said that about the office holiday party too, and that turned out fine. Got someone cute there too.”

You could lead a horse to water, but you couldn’t convince it not to jump in and drown, because Kelcey pushed through the group of us and came past me to face Veronica, who stopped, doing a double take. “If you’re going to compliment me,” Kelcey said, “you might as well do it to my face.”

“Okay, let’s not do this,” I said, but I was outvoted. At this point, even Berg, standing ashen-faced at the side watching, seemed to be captivated with morbid fascination.

Veronica blinked twice before she relaxed, looking Kelcey over. “Damn. I mean, if you’re dressed like that, I guess I will. You have plans tonight, or what, Kelce?”

“ Veronica, ” I started. “Kelcey—how about—”

Kelcey put her hands on her hips. “Dunno. What would a dumb girl like me be doing making plans?”

Veronica raised an eyebrow. “If you want me to make plans for us, I can. Dinner? Somewhere private so I don’t have to contend with an entire room of people staring at you.”

Kelcey lost her resolution for a second, hunching her shoulders with a half-stifled giggle. “You asshole,” she said, but it didn’t sound like she meant it. “You really think you can take me for dinner again?”

“Sure. You love a chase, don’t you? Sure chased me once already…”

Kelcey swayed, just a little, clearly trying her best not to be charmed. I needed to just pick up Veronica and haul her out of the building, but Mom distracted me by swatting me on the arm rapidly, eyes wide on Kelcey and Veronica.

“Anna—you didn’t tell me Veronica was—”

“Mom, you’re not supposed to be here,” I hissed under my breath. “Please take Veronica and Dad and go—”

Kelcey’s voice cut through with, “I could go chase someone who’s not a jerk instead,” a little too playful for the kind of resistance she was supposed to be giving Veronica right now.

Veronica grinned. “Sure you could. But here you are, talking to me. You want to be the one to fix the bad girl, don’t you? With a face as pretty as yours, you might be able to pull it off.”

Berg cleared his throat. “ Anna, sorry to interrupt, but would you mind—if I could talk to you for just—”

Mom was out of her fucking mind, because she shot Berg a look like she was in charge. “Michael, give us one second,” she said, her voice as stern as if she was talking to a misbehaving child. “My daughter is having an important moment.”

“Oh. Uh. Sorry.” Berg was clearly so unused to being talked to like that that he must have reverted to his childhood behavior, because he stood like a plank, arms by his sides, looking like he wasn’t sure why he was here at his own company’s event.

“An important moment she shouldn’t be having, ” I hissed at Mom, and I tried to speak to Berg, but Kelcey folded her arms and spoke.

“You sure think highly of your chances with me,” she said, and Veronica laughed.

“I’m an ambitious girl.”

Kelcey pinched her lips together, trying not to smile. “You’re a mean girl who likes to break hearts.”

Veronica winked. “I’m a girl who tried to step away but can’t help herself seeing you again.”

“ Veronica. ” I cut in between them, pushing through the group to interrupt, shooting Veronica a look. “Please… leave… Kelcey alone.”

Veronica laughed, stepping back a little, holding her drink up to her lips. “You’ve got your own girlfriend from the office already,” she said. “No need to be jealous. I’ll be at the reception, Kelce,” Veronica said with a wink, turning away, and she raised a hand in a wave to somebody else on her way back towards the entrance, leaving poor Kelcey watching after her like a lovesick puppy. Because of course she was. Veronica collected puppies like Cruella de Vil.

“Kelcey,” I said, pleading, turning back to her. “Please have enough self-respect not to—”

“I will,” she said, puffing her chest out. “I’m not letting her sucker me back in.”

I relaxed, just a little. She seemed like she actually believed herself… strangely enough. “You… you mean that?”

“Yeah. I’m going to show her I’m the catch and she’s missing out. I’m going to go find her.”

“No—no, not that either,” I blurted, turning after her, but it was useless, Kelcey striding after Veronica like her whole life’s purpose was here, marching under an arch that had too many Christmas lights on it. Was it the damn lights? Were they cursed? I’d believe it from something Kelcey was in charge of ordering.

“Anna,” Berg said, his voice strained. “Is this a good moment now to—”

“What’s all this?” Sean’s voice said, and I looked with a heavy, sinking sensation at where he came up wearing that tacky tweed outfit again—Sean Dobbs, the very one I’d told directly that Lucy and I weren’t a thing and that there weren’t any conflicts of interest. At this point it was all just a bad joke, tasteless humor. I needed a Vaudeville cane to slide in from stage right and yank me away from the scene. “Mister Berg, Mister Gould, it’s good to see you both,” he said, and I whirled back to him to make sure I could get to him before Mom did.

“Hi, Sean,” I said. “Don’t worry about the gathering—my mother just decided she should come say hi before the event started, but she’s on her way—”

“Not before I see your girlfriend, I’m not,” Mom said. “Where’s Lucy?”

“Oh. Er.” Sean stopped, shifting awkwardly, exchanging confused looks with Berg. Between that, Kelcey storming away to throw herself into the fire, Mom looking at me like I was trying to stop her from seeing me marry Lucy here and now, and me waiting for the comedy of errors to culminate with a piano falling on my head, the only person who seemed happy in this whole thing right now was Gould, who just smiled broadly taking it all in like he was having the time of his life. This whole thing had started with Gould’s account. If he was some kind of trickster demon, I wouldn’t blink at the revelation.

“Don’t worry about any of this,” I said, with all the conviction of a snowball rolling into hell. “Mom just loves her little games—”

Gould spoke up. “I want to see Lucy too,” he said. “Aren’t you supposed to always be together? You two seemed to be married already.”

“Aren’t they, though?” Mom said, beaming again.

“Mom, please—”

“I don’t want to interrupt this,” Berg said, but he didn’t have to interrupt, because that was when I heard the clicking footfalls of Lucy’s heels, and I looked back at where she strolled towards us, a smile playing on her features as she looked over it all.

“Your sister is making a move on our coworker again, Anna,” she said, and I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose.

“Yeah—I know. Despite my warnings—”

“I think they’re wonderful together,” Mom said, practically beaming. “What did you say her name was? Kelcey? You’ll have to introduce me during the party too.”

“Mom, it’s not a party, it’s a press release, ” I started.

Gould laughed. “You’re going to end up with nothing but daughters as far as the eye can see, too, Maria,” he said, once again going unsubtly towards his go-to of by the way I love my gay daughters, and as much as I loved that for him, did he have to keep bringing me and Lucy into it? Did he have to? Was it part of his demonic contract?

“Yes, Kelcey is her name,” Lucy confirmed. “Veronica already broke her heart once, but seems like she’s going for round two. Ah, well. Preston girls are tricky ones.”

I gave her a helpless look. “Lucy—”

“Anna,” Berg said, and Mom scolded him again.

“Michael!”

He cringed. Gould chuckled. “Maria—”

“Lucy,” Sean said, “why don’t you—”

“Everybody,” Lucy said, raising her voice a little higher. “Can we maybe get ready for the press release? Official start time is in ten minutes.”

“Ah, Jesus,” I blurted, turning away from the commotion that had sucked me in. “Okay—Mom, this has been great, go away,” I said. Mom beamed at Lucy.

“Lucy, it’s so nice to see you—how’s—”

“ Excuse me, ” Berg said. “Can we talk? Just for one minute? Before the event starts?”

Mom gave him an incredulous look. “We’ve been talking already!”

“Well—” It was Sean who spoke this time, shifting awkwardly from one foot to the other. “We should probably discuss some, er—”

“Anna,” Kelcey’s voice sang, coming back into the room, looking happy enough she must have been suckered in and let Veronica kiss her again, and that was when I realized Kelcey had gotten the idea Lucy and I were talking about our wedding, and so in fifteen minutes, everyone—including the reporters, for some reason—would hear about it.

I guess maybe there was a bit of peace there. Never could have pleased Gould and Dobbs at the same event. Nice to be in the eye of the storm and pick one of them to be happy.

Of course, I was just choosing myself to be happy, really. I was selfish like that.

I interrupted the chatter by kissing Lucy, catching her with a hand on her waist and pressing my lips against hers, getting a surprised muffled sound from Lucy as she tensed up under me, just for a second before I pulled back.

Mom looked like she’d just seen the best thing in her life, as if I hadn’t already kissed Lucy a million times with her around. Berg stared blankly, Sean looked at us like he’d misunderstood everything in his life starting from birth, Gould just smiled like this was all normal, and Kelcey stopped and squealed, her hands over her mouth.

But all I cared about was Lucy, looking at me through big eyes, lips parted, and I guess just… damn it, I was in love with her, and that came first.

“Come on, darling,” I said, looping my arm with hers and pulling her away. “Let’s give everyone some space to chatter while we check with the coordinators and make sure everything’s okay.”

“Well… if Anna Preston herself says so,” she laughed nervously, letting me lead her along.

She was cute when she was embarrassed. I’d get another shot at the promotion another time. I’d rather miss that than miss how cute Lucy was when she got embarrassed.