Starry-Eyed Love (Spark House)

“Are you serious about this woman?”

“About wanting to date her? Yes.”

“Do you want me to be the lead on the charity event?” He taps on the arm of his chair.

“I don’t know that there’s much of a point with it being so soon.”

He nods once. “I reserve the right to step in if I think it’s necessary, though.”

“I know. And I’d expect nothing less from you.”

“I should’ve seen this coming. You’ve been spending a lot of time with this woman. I’m going to ask you something, and I don’t want you to get all defensive.”

“Shoot.”

“Are you sure she’s genuinely interested and not just playing you? I mean, you’re doing a lot for her and her hotel. More than you’ve done for anyone else who’s involved in this whole sponsorship thing. I’ve been on their social media, and they’re looking at a kitchen expansion so they can take on in-house catering and bigger events, which is great, but also expensive as hell. She has to know that there’s a benefit in working with you, and you seem to be wearing your heart on your sleeve, which … isn’t something you usually do.”

“That’s not how London is.”

“Not that you know of. Remember that Jessica woman? She seemed great until she wasn’t anymore.”

“This isn’t the same.”

“You were sure she wasn’t another one of those gold diggers until all of a sudden she was moving into your place because her lease fell through. I just don’t want you to go through something like that again. Jessica was a legal and social media nightmare.”

He’s not wrong. She seemed great, and stable. Until one night, she was staying at my penthouse and the next, moving all of her things in while I was away on a business trip. That was when I realized she was just looking for a comfy ride.

“She’s not going to turn into a Jessica.”

“How do you know for sure? You’ve known her for what? A couple of months at most? You weren’t dating Jessica much longer than that before things blew up. Are you sure you don’t have blinders on?”

“I’m sure. At least ninety-five percent anyway. I really want to see where this can go, if it can go anywhere.”

“Okay. Then let me take over where I can so there’s less of a chance of you screwing this up. And you should probably mention this to Selene at some point, so she’s not totally in the dark on this one.”

“Selene and I haven’t been involved in anything but a business capacity in a long time.”

He cocks a brow. “What’s a long time? You know what, never mind. That’s not the point. Selene is still your friend, you should give her a heads-up about dating London, just so she’s in the know.”

“I think it’s a non-issue, but if it comes up I’ll mention it.”

“Whatever you think is best. I hope she’s worth it.”

14

WHAT IS THIS GREEN MONSTER?

LONDON

“I don’t know. Should we move that? I think it needs to be over there, where we can make it a focal point.” I motion to the sculpture, donated by a prominent local artist, in the middle of the room. I’ve been amazed by the number of donations, although when people find out the event is being hosted by Holt Media, they tend to want to be part of something special.

“Maybe? But we’ve already moved it three times. Why don’t we wait for Mitchell and his team to get here? They can give us an idea of where things should go,” Harley offers.

“Okay. Yes. That’s a good idea.” And not the first time my sister has made that suggestion. Also, I have a layout for the auction items, but seeing them in three dimensions is different than seeing them on a printout.

It’s a strange-looking piece, but I’ve done my research and I’m very aware that it would most definitely go for a significant sum of money. To be honest, it’s a little overwhelming to have all these silent auction items in here, without a human security guard to watch over them. Or maybe some of those Mission Impossible laser lights that would signal an intruder.

Spark House has an alarm system, but it seems woefully inadequate considering what is likely more than half a million dollars in donations. This event is shaping up to be very exclusive and good for Spark House on more than a publicity level. The initial social media blast that Holt Media initiated has boosted our following by ten percent already.

Their social media manager, Selene, has been in touch a few times, once by phone, but mostly it’s been emails. While our communication has been direct and professional, it hasn’t been particularly warm. But then, she’s in the business of helping grow business, not becoming someone’s best friend. Which I can respect. I’m also a little intimidated by her, and, if I’m completely honest with myself—something I’ve been reluctant to do—I’m also a little … irked by the way she talked about Jackson during our one brief phone conversation. I can’t put my finger on why it bothers me, but it does.