“Noted. We’ll get it done.” And then I hang up before Tim can give me any more assignments.
Bree must notice the grit to my voice because her head rises from her phone for the first time, haunting eyes knocking into me. “What will we get done?”
I’m not ready to tell her yet so I sidestep. “Hey, I’m sorry I’ve been on the phone so much. It’s not always like this, but being in the middle of playoffs means my time is—”
She laughs and holds up a hand. “Nathan, please. It’s me—you don’t have to explain to me how busy you are in the playoffs. I’ve actually been thankful for the time to myself on this ride.”
“Yeah?” I smile and nod toward her phone. “What’ve you been doing?”
She bites her full bottom lip, and I wonder if it would be too much if I did that during our first kiss.
“Nothing.” Her cheeks go pink.
I laugh at the way she immediately tilts her phone so I can’t see the screen. “That pretty much means you’re absolutely up to something then. Come on, hand it over.”
“No!” Her long dark eyelashes practically touch her eyebrows with how wide she opens her eyes. “You’ll laugh at me.”
“Of course I will,” I say with a grin. “But that’s nothing new, so let me see it.”
She lets out a disgruntled sigh then hands her phone over. I’m now looking at a Google search page full of images of “celebrities on the red carpet”。
I don’t laugh because I can see she’s genuinely embarrassed. “Why are you looking at this?”
“Because! I need to get ideas for how to pose. You’re so used to all of this, but…I’m over here trying not to have a freak-out because in like two minutes I’m going to be ON A RED CARPET FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE!”
I feel bad now. I completely forgot to run her through what the red carpet is like. Of course she’s nervous. I remember feeling totally sure I would faceplant during my first photo op, and I wasn’t even wearing four-inch heels like she is. Probably not the best time to tell her we also have to publicly kiss for the first time on that same red carpet.
“You have nothing to worry about. I’ll be there the whole time, and I’ll make sure you don’t trip or fall. As for posing, you want everyone to have a chance at a good angle. Keep your shoulders back and chest proud, and then pretend you’re trying to set up facial recognition on your iPhone.”
She sputters a laugh and her shoulders relax. “What does that mean?”
“You know, when it makes you turn your face every which way so it can learn every detail of your face to unlock it. Do that with the cameras. Look left, right, tilt your chin up slightly in one direction, and then repeat on the other side.”
She nods, focusing on my instructions. “Okay, and what do I do with my hands?”
“You’ll be holding my hand with your left, and the other hand can go to your hip. Don’t worry about knowing when to walk and when to stop. I’ll guide you the whole way.”
She takes in a deep breath, and I don’t let my eyes fall to the part of her cleavage that’s showing under that sheer piece of sparkly fabric. But I want to.
“Thank you. Is it…is it bad that I’m looking forward to this a little?”
Something about those words eases the constriction in my chest. She’s excited? Bree has always made it a point to tell me how much she would hate to be involved in this part of my life. I lick my lips in lieu of pouncing on her statement. “I’m happy you are. Because I like you here with me.”
Her bright eyes shift to me, and suddenly, this SUV feels small. Like a gloriously teeny tiny box.