Page 178 of Fiery Romance

When I try to stand, my legs give out and I wobble on my feet.

“Whoa!” Amy rushes over to me and grabs my elbows, helping me to stay balanced. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” I mumble.

“Do you want me to go instead?” Amy asks, her eyes filled with concern.

“No, I need you to finalize the guest list and call everyone who hasn’t RSVP’d. I’ll handle the grunt work.”

She eyes me warily and opens her mouth as if she’ll disagree.

I shush her with a look, suck in a deep breath of courage and straighten to my full height.

The women’s shelter and all the children and families we help at the salon mean a lot to me. I’m not going to let my personal life ruin an important night.

Calling on all the strength in my body, I put the morning’s events from my mind.

I’ll only worry about the gala for now.

Then I’ll take it one personal crisis at a time.

* * *

Traffic isinsane and I can’t find any parking around the printers.

“Are you kidding me?” I scream into my car as someone zooms in front of me and takes the only parking spot. Albeit, it’s an illegal one, but there’s no other option unless I want to walk a mile in heels.

My stomach clenches.

I groan and press a hand there. I haven’t eaten anything since last night and my body’s protesting.

Gritting my teeth, I find a parking spot several blocks away and start the slow, painful trek to the printers. By the time I arrive, I’m hobbling like a lame horse.

For all the frenzy ofgettingto the printers, thankfully, the designs are well done and I approve of them quickly.

When I reach out to take the banners from the printer, he holds it back. “We’ll deliver them to the venue for you.”

“Really?” My eyebrows hike.

This is totally unlike them.

“Yes, it’s a new service,” he tells me cheerfully, and we make arrangements for the delivery.

“Where did you park, Miss Hayes?” The shopkeeper glances out the window. “Is it far from here?”

“It is.” I sigh and bend down to massage the heel of my foot. I can already feel blisters forming. Hopefully, it’s not bleeding. These are expensive shoes and I don’t want blood to stain them.

“I’m heading out that way now. Let me give you a ride.”

“Really?”

“Unless you’d prefer to walk?”

“Yeah. Thanks. That would be awesome.”

I leave the printers feeling great and smile as I get in my car and drive to my next stop. It’s in another highly congested area with zero parking but, somehow, the moment I drive close to the shop, someone leaves and frees up a space.

The trend keeps going.

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