Page 67 of Bad Luck Club

“Whatever.” He went into the living room and grabbed his bag. He could hear the murmurs of his sister and Blue talking, and when he walked back into the room Adalia looked slightly chastened, which had to be a first for her.

“Lee,” Blue said. “I don’t expect you to help me. I had no idea Addy was planning this.”

“We were both ambushed.” He shifted his gaze to his sister. “Don’t you need to get to the studio? The shipping company is coming tomorrow, and I’m sure you still have some nitpicking to do on your last piece.”

“But I was the one to set this up,” she protested. “I didn’t mean to put it on your shoulders.”

“Look,” Lee said, “I love that you want to help your friend, and while you’ve built an amazing social media campaign for Buchanan, right now, your time is better served at the studio while Blue and I hammer out a business plan. It’s the foundation of everything. Your involvement—should Blue choose to accept it, because itisher choice—comes later.”

Adalia glanced at Blue, seeking her input.

“I think he’s right,” Blue said carefully. “You’re a nervous wreck about the show, and while I want your help, I think we need to create a firmer foundation first.”

That wordfirmersent a shiver through him, and he thought of the press of her against him, of her soft curves and heat. But he shoved those memories away because she needed him in a different way right now, and to be needed by this woman, in any way, was something he inexplicably wanted. He’d been in the business of lying to himself for a long time now, but he couldn’t lie about that. Not after a week and a half of pining for her.

Adalia studied them both for a long moment. “Okay. If you’re sure.”

Lee lifted his brow. “Go.”

Adalia paused, a grin playing on her lips, then lifted her phone and snapped a picture of them. Neither had been prepared, which meant it likely wasn’t agoodpicture, but it surprised him how much it pleased him to think a picture of the two of them existed.

“Candids are the best,” Adalia said merrily. “I assume you’re okay with me posting this on our socials?”

“Can we see it first?” Lee asked, glancing at Blue. She looked a little taken aback, but she leaned in with him when Adalia showed him the photo. He and Blue sat next to each other, leaning in toward the laptop. He hadn’t realized they’d been that close together. It was like they were two magnets, seeking closeness without necessarily meaning to. The smile on his face…he looked happy, and Blue was watching him with something like admiration.

It took him a moment to remember Adalia was waiting for a response. He cleared his throat, glanced at Blue, whose cheeks looked slightly pink, and said, “I’m not sure what it has to do with beer, but yeah, go ahead.”

“It shows that our sales manager is human,” Adalia said with a grin. “Plus, you look a lot less fearsome when you smile.” Then she called Tyrion and headed out the front door.

Lee waited a few seconds to be certain she wasn’t coming back, then said, “You didn’t know I was going to be here, so now that Addie’s gone and it’s just you and me, I need to ask you this: do you really want my help?”

She opened her mouth to say something, then stopped.

“To be clear,” he said, resting his forearms on the table and leaning closer. “I want to do this.” His voice thickened. “Iwantto help you.”

“That’s all I wanted to do for you the other week too.”

She was right, and the realization pounded into him as he took in her long, dark lashes and her deep blue eyes. There was nothing cultivated about her beauty—if she wore makeup, it was a minimal amount, nothing like the careful control Victoria took over every aspect of her appearance. Blue’s beauty was a wild thing, uncontrolled, and while he’d always thought he liked the cool, collected appearance of the women in his circle in New York, he’d never been this drawn to anyone. This enraptured. He’d been looking for all the wrong things, for all the wrong reasons.

“I think we’ve established that I’m an idiot,” he said softly. “But I know that people have forced things on you in the past. I don’t want to be one of them. So if you decide you don’t want my help, I’ll understand and leave you alone. This has to be on your terms, Blue.”

Her cheeks flushed and she slowly shook her head. “While I’m not crazy about the idea of you knowing I’m an utter failure, a business plan makes sense. And since I have no idea how to make one, I would appreciate your input.”

“You’re not an utter failure.” He understood that feeling all too well. If he could take it from her, or at least ease some of her discomfort, he had to try. “You’re an artist, not a businesswoman. I couldn’t do what you do if my life depended on it. So let’s make a deal: I’ll help you create a business and marketing plan, and in exchange, if I’m ever in a crafting emergency, you’re the first person I’ll call.”

She released a startled laugh. “Crafting emergency?”

He grinned. “I realize it’s insulting to compare what you do to crafting, but it’s far more likely that I’ll find myself gluing glitter to popsicle sticks, trying to make them into a ring of Saturn, than that I’ll ever create something worthy of being called art.”

Her eyes twinkled. “There are so many things to pick apart in that statement, but the popsicle situation sounds like experience talking.”

“Sixth-grade science project, but that’s beside the point. Do we have a deal or not?”

She lifted a brow in amusement. “We have a deal.”

“Good. Now, first we need to come up with a business statement for you.”

She scrunched her nose. “I make art.”

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