by Dylann Crush
“That’s right.” Alex’s lips quirked up into a half grin. Zina waited for the fallout. Surely he didn’t think he’d charmed the banshee solely with his baritone?
“We’ve got a problem. My client wants to move up the wedding.”
Lacey cleared her throat. “I’ve been explaining to Chyna that we need more time than what she’s proposing. Surely we can find some common ground . . . a compromise?”
Alex’s shoulders rolled. “I’m sure we can figure something out. The bride is entitled to her special day, isn’t she? Whatever you and Ms. Munyon need. We’ll make it happen.”
“That’s more like it. I knew there had to be someone reasonable in town. Why don’t you give me a call later, Mr. Sanders, and we’ll work out the particulars?” Chyna suggested.
Alex beamed.
But Lacey looked like she wanted to reach across the desk and smack that smile right off his face. “I’m not sure you understand, Alex. Ms. Munyon wants to move the date up quite a bit, she’s asking for—”
“Whatever it is, we’ll make it work.” He shrugged.
Lacey leaned against the back of her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. She shook her head. “All right then. The two of you seem to have things under control.”
“I think we do,” Chyna said. “I’ve got to go. Big meeting with another bride this afternoon. Of course I can’t say who it is, but do the initials O. W. mean anything to you?”
Alex treated them to a deep chuckle. “You go take care of your business in LA. I’ve got it all under control here.”
“Please text my assistant to arrange a call for later. I’m looking forward to meeting you in person, Alex.”
Lacey bit her lip while Alex glanced between them, a smug grin on his face. “Will do. You have a nice day now.”
The call disconnected and Lacey eyed Alex like he was public enemy numero uno. “What the hell was that?”
“What?” He glanced from Lacey to Zina.
Zina felt a sliver of pity for the man because she knew what was coming. Lacey was about to go WWE on him. She might not drop Alex into a gutwrench powerbomb but she was about to give his ego a badly needed bruising. For a moment Zina wished for popcorn and a longneck so she could further her enjoyment of the show that was about to go down.
“Not only did you undermine my authority, but you just made a promise to someone regarding my town.” Lacey rose to her full height, her movements slow and deliberate.
“You said we needed to do whatever we could to keep Ms. Munyon happy. Based on the way the conversation was going it seemed like you were about to lose us both a very valuable client.” Alex crossed his arms over that broad chest of his, totally unaware of the verbal thrashing headed his way.
Lacey rounded the large desk and then stopped in front of him. “You sure you want to stick around for this, Zina? It’s about to get gory.”
Zina scooted to the edge of her seat. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
With a nod, Lacey turned her attention back to Mr. Smug and Stupid. “Do you have any idea what you just promised?”
Alex shrugged. “She wants to move the date up a bit. No big deal.”
“A bit.” Lacey leaned against the desk and crossed one foot over the other. She might look calm and cool on the outside, but Zina could tell there was an internal volcano about to erupt.
“What’s the problem? I’m meeting with the contractor today. He’ll probably only need six to eight weeks to install everything. I just need a month or two after that to get them trained and we’ll be fine.”
“So that’s two months to get the dome installed, say, another two months to train them, and then you’ll be ready?” She held up four fingers.
“Yeah. Sounds about right.”
“Well according to what you just committed us to with Chyna, the wedding will be happening in a little over six weeks.” Her eyes narrowed. She was going in for the kill.
Alex sputtered. “What? I didn’t say we’d be ready that soon.”
“Unfortunately, you did. Now, can you answer one question for me?”
Alex looked to Zina, his eyes sending an obvious silent cry for help. She gave him a sweet smile, then turned her gaze to the bulletin board behind Lacey’s desk. Tons of images from magazines, printouts, and photos covered the large surface. Looked like the wedding business was becoming the mayor’s sole focus.
“What’s that?” Alex leaned over, his forearms on his knees.
“How are you going to make it all happen?”
“Me?” Alex exploded out of his chair, his hands raking through his hair. “That would be impossible. There’s no way—”
“I have every bit of faith that you’ll figure it out. Because that’s what you just promised Chyna.”
“I said no such thing.” He paced the small confines of Lacey’s office. “I’d never agree to that.”
“Yes, you did. And now it’s going to be up to you to make this happen.”
Zina couldn’t help the smug grin from spreading across her face. But as her smile grew, a tiny thought chipped away at her mind. Six weeks until the wedding meant she needed to get the dogs moved out as soon as possible.
“Wait a sec.” She leaned forward and met Lacey’s gaze.
“Yeah, I was waiting for you to realize what this means for the dogs. We’re going to need to move them. There’s no way Alex can get his penguin habitat built and bring in the birds if you’ve got a ton of dogs living there.” Lacey shuffled a few papers together. “I printed up listings for some alternate places. Unfortunately none of them look ideal, but we’ll have to figure something out.”
Zina took the pages and riffled through them. “These are all over the place. Swynton . . . Bellsview . . . even Beaumont.”
“Like I said, we’re going to have to figure something out.” Lacey took in a deep breath and lifted her gaze to meet Zina’s. “There’s something else, too. Something I need to ask you to do for me.”
“What?” Whatever it was, Zina would have her back. Lacey ought to know that. They’d always been there for each other.
“The doctor’s putting me on bed rest. I fainted again last night and he wants me to take it easy, at least until I get through the first trimester.”
Zina’s heart raced at the news. With everything Lacey had going on, how could she afford to take time off? “How long will that be?”
Lacey glanced from Alex, who seemed to have gone mute at the talk of pregnancy, to Zina, who clenched her hands together so hard they hurt. “Oh, about six weeks.”
Alex groaned, his hands clasping behind his neck. “This isn’t good. Dammit. How are we going to make this work?”
“That’s where Zina comes in.” Lacey’s lips shifted into an encouraging smile. The same kind of smile she’d used when she tried to teach Zina how to ride a horse. It was her you can do it and just keep going smile that was supposed to inspire confidence. It didn’t work then and it wasn’t going to work now.
Zina’s knees bumped together, and her hands began to shake. “Oh no.”
Lacey reached out. “Give me your hand, Z. You’ve got this.”
“No, no, no.” If she said it enough times, she’d wake up. All of this would be a bad dream. The shelter roof collapsing, Alex Sanders coming to town . . . she’d close her eyes and wake up in her own bed with Buster the farting dog next to her. In an attempt to make it happen, she clenched her eyes shut tight.
“That’s not going to work, sweetie.” Lacey’s voice pulled her back.
“I can’t.” Zina opened her eyes.
“You have to. For the dogs, for the town. We don’t have a choice. There’s no one else.”
Alex must have realized if she didn’t say yes, he’d be on his own to face the formidable Chyna and her unrealistic demands. He sat back down and leaned forward, his elbows on his t
highs. “I’ll help. We’ll work as a team. That’s the only way we can turn this around.”
A team. Her and Alex? She’d never heard such an awful idea in her life. The no balanced on the tip of her tongue. Hovered there, just waiting for her to open her mouth. But then Alex hit her with that dreamy blue-green gaze. She shifted her glance to catch a ridiculously hopeful expression on Lacey’s face.
Somehow the no fell away. “Fine.”
Her stomach clenched as she spoke, already regretting her agreement. It wasn’t fine. It was a horrible, awful, terrible idea. They’d never be able to pull this off.
* * *
* * *
Alex rode the rest of the way back to the warehouse in a state of shock. For someone who rarely made commitments to anything, much less anyone, he sure had wedged himself into a jam.
“You okay?” Zina glanced over, and he could feel her gaze settle on him.
His cheeks burned. How could he have let himself be so cocky, so sure? All he’d wanted to do was make things right for Lacey. But she had to step down. He and Zina were in this together now. For better or for worse.
“I’m not sure what happened in there,” he admitted.
“I do. You overpromised something you’re going to underdeliver. And not just you, now it’s ‘we’ since you pulled me into it.”
She made it sound so simple, so final. “How can I fix it?” He turned to face her as best he could in the front seat of the truck.
“I guess you’ve got two options.”
Good, she was willing to help. He’d do whatever she told him. “Go on.”
“Number one.” She held up her pointer finger and cast a quick glance his way. “You call Miss High-and-Mighty and tell her you made a mistake. That after considering everything, you realized that there’s no way you can give the bride the wedding of her dreams on such short notice.”
“You think that’s what I need to do?” His stomach clenched at the thought of backing out on the infamous wedding planner. “What kind of fallout do you think we’d get if I went that route?”
Zina shrugged. “I’m not sure. She might decide you’re telling the truth and convince the bride that she needs to wait.”
“Or?”
“Or she could cancel the whole thing, which puts all of us in a bit of a crisis, don’t you think?”
He groaned. “What am I supposed to do?”
“There’s always option two.”
“Which is?”
“Get your ass in gear, beg everyone you know, everyone you’ve ever met, and every stranger you come across on the street to help you make this happen.”
He groaned louder. “I have no idea what to do.”
“I’ll tell you what you shouldn’t have done.” She looked over again, no hint of humor in her eyes.
“What’s that?”
“You shouldn’t have put your foot in your mouth. You shouldn’t have undermined Lacey. You shouldn’t have made a promise before you knew what you were getting yourself into.”
He bit back the sharp retort that threatened to fly out of his mouth and took a deep breath instead. “That’s great advice. But it’s about ten minutes too late. How about we focus on the future instead of dwelling on the past?”
“Can you pull over here? I have dog food to pick up.” She pointed up ahead.
He brought the truck to a stop in front of the feed store, then got out and followed her inside. The building looked like an old barn that could collapse at any moment. An older man with a grizzled beard sat behind the counter. One strap of his overalls fell across his chest. Zina didn’t hesitate; she wrapped the man in a hug, the smile on her face genuine.
“Hi there, Coop. You said you’ve got some dog food to donate to the shelter?”
“I heard you were in a bind. Figured a few bags of food might help.”
“It always helps. But I don’t want to take anything you can make money on. You need to keep your own rescue going.”
He grinned, revealing a smile that was missing a front tooth. “You’ve got a good heart, girl. We’ve got to look out for each other, us animal lovers.”
“You’re right about that.” She ran her hand over the back of an orange tabby cat that hopped up on the counter. “Coop runs a cat rescue.”
Alex didn’t think she was still speaking to him after the exchange they’d had in the truck. “That explains the cats.” He glanced around. Cats in all ages, sizes, and colors roamed the store.
Coop rounded the counter and shuffled toward the back. “Got it saved over here for you.”
Zina motioned for Alex to follow. “He saves any bags that pass the expiration date or break open during delivery.”
“That’s nice of him.”
“Sure is. Like he said, we look out for each other around here.”
Alex wondered what she meant by that. Sure seemed like a jab at him in some form. They reached the back of the store, where a tall pile of dog food bags were stacked against the wall.
“Now, Coop. What’s wrong with those bags?” She leaned closer, looking at a label. “They’re not expired and don’t have any holes. You can’t donate those, you should put them out on the floor.”
“Would you just take ’em off my hands? I want to help.” The older man reached for the bag on top.
“I can’t. I appreciate your willingness to pitch in, but you need the sales.”
Alex didn’t wonder for a moment who would win that battle. His money would be on Zina. All of it. Every single time.
The older man pulled something out of his pocket and sank it into the bag of dog food. “Well, will you look at that? Seems this one’s got a hole in it. I can’t sell that one. You’d better take it.”
“Coop.” Zina’s voice came out low, threatening. “Cut that out now.”
“This one, too.” He stabbed another bag. “Am I going to have to attack the whole stack or would you do me the favor of taking these off my hands?”
Zina’s expression changed. Alex watched the glow spread across her face. “You know I don’t appreciate it when you self-sabotage to help me out.”
“Just this once. You were such a help to me when I was about to lose it all, and I heard about what happened at the shelter.” He turned to Alex. “You should have seen what she did when my building was on the line. They wanted to shut me down but Zina helped me file to become a nonprofit rescue for these poor kitties. She’s an angel, don’t you think?”
Alex studied the “angel” next to him. For someone who projected such a tough exterior, she appeared to have a whole lot more going on inside than what she wanted the world to see. “I agree.”
“You two stop it.” Zina’s cheeks flushed. “I’ll take it. Just this once though. For the pups.”
“For the pups,” Coop agreed.
“Can I help you get this loaded?” Alex asked.
“That would be great.” Zina hefted the top bag into her arms, being careful not to lose any kibble through the hole Coop had cut into it.
Alex grabbed a bag under his arm and tossed one over his shoulder, then followed her out to the truck. “He seems like a nice guy.”
“He is. Too nice. The man would give you the shirt off his back if you asked him for it.”
Alex didn’t need the shirt off anyone’s back, but he did need to rally the people of Ido if he wanted to make good on his promise to be ready in time for the Munyon wedding. “Is he any good at wrangling penguins?”
Zina scoffed. “You can’t be serious about trying to make that date.”
“What’s the alternative? You said yourself that if I back out now, I risk them pulling out of the wedding. I can’t afford to have that happen.” He hung his head. “Not to mention y’all are counting on me.”
“Wait. What’s that?” Zina cocked her head to one side as she set t
he bag down on the tailgate.
“What?” He let the bags fall from his grip and slid them to the front of the bed.
“Is that the sound of a heartbeat? I wasn’t sure you had one in there.” She poked at his chest.
He captured her hand in his. “I’m not some heartless money-grubber who’s only out to make a buck, you know.”
“Good.” She squeezed his hand. “Then you’d better start recruiting. Coop’s devotion can be bought pretty easily. He’s a sucker for a good fried catfish dinner down at the Burger Bonanza.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“What are you a sucker for?” He caught her other hand in his and held them both together. “You’re the one who can make or break this.”
Her chest rose and fell as she took in a slow breath. “You’re giving me too much credit.”
“Don’t kid yourself. I’ve seen the way you get things done. Folks around town notice it, too. They’ve got nothing but praise for you.”
Her jaw clenched. “You’ve been asking around about me?”
“Nothing bad. Just wanted to know who I was getting involved with.”
“Oh, now we’re involved?” She eyed him through those long lashes and he wondered what they’d feel like fluttering against his cheek. Or better yet, his chest.
He took a half step closer until only a few inches separated them. “Would you like to be?”
The moment stretched, his heartbeat pounding through his ears.
Her gaze lingered on his lips and she opened her mouth like she wanted to say something but then closed it just as fast.
Every part of him screamed not to fuck up the fragile alliance he had going with the one woman he needed to help him succeed. Every part of him but one.
“I’d like to kiss you now. Would that be okay?” He couldn’t believe he had the nerve to utter the words.
Zina lifted her gaze to meet his. She nodded, the movement so slight, he wasn’t sure if she meant it.
Only one way to find out. He leaned in, brushing his nose against hers. His breath caught at the contact.