Page 50 of Designs on You

Then he cupped his hand behind her neck and pulled her down for a kiss, and she was once against lost in him.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The best part of game design was having an opportunity to test drive, so to speak, a new creation. Only this time it wasn’t a new game, but a ride, which wasn’t close to being ready. It would take the better part of a year and a half—maybe longer—to make it ready. But they had the schematics and had designed preliminary routes and all the thrills. So right now they could at least do a virtual ride to make sure they were on the right track.

Eugene and his team went into the game room, got into their chairs, and put on the VR headsets.

“Okay, gang,” he said. “Why don’t we see how much of this we’ve gotten right so far. Let’s hit it.”

They ran through the entire ride about fifteen times. Eugene made voice notes about what looked good, and, more importantly, what wasn’t working and needed fine-tuning. Fortunately he had an excellent team who also threw out comments and suggestions, so he added those to his notes.

The ride needed a lot of tweaking, which wasn’t unexpected at this phase of the project. But, all in all, they were right on track, which was awesome.

After the test, he went back to his office and wrote up his notes, making design changes based on what they had seen on the VR run.

They still had so much to do, but now Eugene could visualize the way this ride would operate.

It was going to be kick-ass once it was done. This was where Eugene got excited like a child, already visualizing how much kids were going to love this ride. He had always felt the same way whenever he designed a game.

A ride, though? To be able to be there to watch families experience it? It was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime event. So much action, adventure, and nonstop thrills.

He couldn’t wait. But, for now, there was more work to be done.

His phone pinged. He picked it up, smiling as he saw a text from Natalie. He’d told her he was going to have an intense next several days, but they’d been in touch via text and video chat.

Busy day?

He replied:Yeah. All good stuff. How about you?

She replied with a pic of herself with the kids and their new dog, Grizelda.Picked her up yesterday. Utter madness and joy at our house.

He laughed at the looks of love and happiness on all their faces. He texted back with:She looks like she’s always been yours. You all needed a dog.

She replied a few minutes later:That’s still up for debate. Can’t deny she’s very cute and cuddly. Come see her.

How could he pass up that invitation? He replied back:How about pizza tonight?

Sounds perfect. See you tonight.

She finished off with a heart emoji, making his own heart do a weird tumble in his chest.

Okay, yeah, he could just calm down. Sure, they definitely had fun together. And, as he learned the other night, the sex was outstanding. Plus, he really liked her kids.

So the problem was…

He frowned, refusing to work that problem through to its logical conclusion.

Or maybe he just wasn’t ready yet.

So he’d just focus on pizza night and meeting the new dog.

That, he could handle.

• • •

Hazel had called Natalie three times a day for the past two days, and had insisted on video calls as well, all to check on Grizelda.

“The pup is fine, Hazel,” Natalie said. “She goes outside regularly, she has toys and food and water, and the kids play with her when they get home from school. We go for walks every morning and the kids run around with her nonstop. And then she takes a lot of naps in the bed we got for her. I’ve told the kids not to bother her when she’s sleeping, and they’re very good about respecting her sleep.”

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