Page 55 of Trouble Walked In

Lizzie grimaced. “I stayed talking with Carrie last night. There was wine.”

“Uh-huh.” Renic grinned. “And what were we discussing?”

“It was girl talk.” Her cheeks reddened. “None of your business.”

“Right.” So she’d been talking to her girlfriend about himand drank too much wine. He chose to take that as a good sign. “What can I do to help?”

Lizzie looked around at the ballroom. “This room needs the most work. We’re behind because the DJ decided to be an ass, and I wasn’t here to give direction.”

Renic held out a hand. “I’ve set up more than a few parties. Just show me the layout I know you have in there somewhere.”

Lizzie pulled out a piece of graph paper with the intended layout of the ballroom drawn on it to scale and handed it to him.

He studied it with amusement. “You’re more organized than an army general, and twice as scary.”

Lizzie gave him a tired smile. “Communication is key in events, you know that.”

“Leave this to me.” He wiggled the paper for emphasis. “You get some coffee.”

She looked relieved. “Thanks. I really appreciate it.”

Renic leaned forward and kissed her cheek before speaking low into her ear. “I meant what I said last night, Lizzie. Whatever you need, whenever you need it. Just ask.”

She shivered, and his pulse kicked up a notch.

“Lizzie?” Della appeared in the doorway with two big mugs of coffee. Her eyes widened when she saw Renic, and she stopped too fast. She hissed as hot liquid sloshed onto her hands.

Lizzie moved away from Renic. “Yes?”

Della gestured delicately with one of the mugs. “Carrie says she needs your approval on the toast thingies before she makes a ton of them.”

“Right.” Lizzie snapped her notebook shut. “I’ll be back.”

“But…” Della glanced from Lizzie to Renic and back again. “I’ll go with you.”

“No. You stay and help Renic with the setup.” Lizzie rushed to the door, then glanced back over her shoulder. “You two, play nice.”

Della stared after her sister with a mixture of panic and rebellion on her face.

Renic couldn't have manufactured better timing. He'd love to know if it was Lizzie or Carrie who had arranged to deliver Della to him along with the coffee. “Mind if I take one of those off your hands?”

Della stared at him.

“I like it black if you have it.” He gestured at the mugs.

“This one’s yours, I guess.” Della put down one of the mugs on a nearby table. “How did you get Lizzie to switch sides?”

“I didn’t.” Renic picked up the mug and took a cautious sip. “Lizzie’s always on your side.”

“If she was on my side, she wouldn’t have set me up like this.” Della clutched her mug in both hands. “I suppose this is some sort of intervention, right?”

“No.” Renic returned his mug to the table and spread out the map Lizzie had given him next to it. “But it’s about time we talked, don’t you think?”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Della stared down at her mug.

“Now, you know that’s not true.” He studied the layout. She'd made excellent use of the space. Ten round tables would seat six each, plus the long table for the wedding party that would stretch along one wall. “This house is amazing. I see why you and Lizzie like it so much. It feels like a whole other world.”

He pulled a table from the cluster near the door over to the far right corner. “Is that what you wanted? Another world?”

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