"Actually," Liam said, "we're talking about which arrangements we want on the publicity materials. And two people are waiting for us." He opened the door and indicated the hallway with a hand. "Shall we?"
Adam straightened his tie, gave a last pointed look to Dylan and headed out.
"Thanks," Dylan said to Liam.
Liam nodded. "Just don't mess this up and get us into legal problems."
"I'll be careful," Dylan said and followed his brothers out the door, hoping like all hell he was capable of being careful around Faith Crawford.
Six
From the corner of Liam's research lab, Faith watched the three Hawke brothers and Jenna as they walked around the designs she'd been working on all week. She'd been nervous the night she'd made the first arrangement for Dylan, but this was more intense. There was so much more riding on this verdict.
Finally Adam looked up and said, "Is everybody ready to make a decision?" The others nodded, so he continued. "I like number three. It's simple enough to work well in publicity, it keeps the focus on the iris and it's elegant, which will appeal to the public."
"Agreed," Liam said. "It's one of my top two choices as well."
They quickly settled on that arrangement and then had a robust discussion about the second choice, since the vote was split between two options.
As Faith watched the conversation, the excitement began to outweigh her nerves-the four of them were so animated about her designs. Her personal favorite hadn't been mentioned at all, and now that she'd heard the reasoning for their other choices, she could assume that her favorite was too cluttered to be effective in the posters. It was fascinating to hear the opinions of people more experienced than she was in this side of the flower business. In such a short time, she'd learned so much.
Once the decisions were made, all four of the panel members complimented Faith on her work, though it was Dylan's praise that made her heart swell. She tried not to watch him as the others spoke, tried to keep her reaction to him veiled, but there was a charisma that surrounded him, a magnetic force that drew her gaze back against her will.
Then Adam excused himself to rush off to a meeting, and Liam turned to Dylan. "Are you still okay to take them to the photographer's studio?"
"Sure," Dylan said. "I drove here in one of the refrigerated delivery vans. Faith, did you want to come to the photo shoot?"
Faith jerked her head up. She'd known they'd booked the photographer for this afternoon and that the chosen designs would be taken straight to the studio, but she'd been able to concentrate only on her part. She hadn't thought further than the panel arriving and assessing her work. Now, though, she could barely contain her enthusiasm about seeing the two successful designs photographed.
"I'd love to," she said, trying not to bounce on her toes. "If that's okay."
Jenna smiled. "Seems only fair that since you created them, you get to see it through."
"Then I'm in. I'll grab my bag."
While she gathered her things, Liam and Dylan sealed the two chosen arrangements plus a few single stems in boxes-since the new iris was still a secret-and carried them out to the delivery truck.
"What about my car?" Faith asked once the flowers were all loaded.
Dylan's green gaze flicked from her to her car. "Since your place is near the studio, how about I drop you home afterward, then bring you back out here in the morning for work?"
Jenna nodded. "This parking lot is secure overnight-the security gates will be shut and monitored."
"Okay, that sounds good then. Thank you."
"Not a problem," Dylan said as he opened her door for her. Her arm brushed his hand as she climbed in, sending a buzz of awareness through her body. He held her gaze for an instant, showing that he'd felt it, too. She pulled her seat belt over her shoulder and tried to pretend the moment of connection hadn't happened.
Once they'd set off on the road, he flashed her a grin. "So how did your nerves hold out? That must have been trying for you."
She tucked her legs up underneath her on the seat. "I have to admit, I was pretty tense while you were all judging, but it was thrilling, too. Thank you again for this opportunity."
"No, thank you," he said as he changed lanes to overtake a station wagon. "Even Adam liked your work, and he's hard to impress."
Her thoughts drifted back to seeing the three brothers together. They all looked so alike-tall and broad-shouldered, with thick, wavy hair the color of polished mahogany-yet so different at the same time. There was something...more in Dylan. An energy down deep in his soul, a passion for life that shone through in everything he did. In every move he made.
"I found Adam difficult to get a read on."
"That's Adam for you. He's what our mother calls 'self-contained.' Doesn't like sharing parts of himself if he can avoid it."
Curiosity made her turn to face Dylan. "Even with you and Liam?"
"Liam and I have found ways over the years to nudge him until he cracks." Dylan's expression changed-there was a touch of devilish mischief in the way his mouth quirked. "Some less fair than others."
"Like what?" she asked, intrigued.
"Oh, we just know what buttons to push." He grinned. "But we try to use our powers for good instead of evil. Most of the time we succeed."
Faith laughed. "Your powers are truly scary. I think I should be more careful around you."
There was silence for several heartbeats, and she felt the mood in the car-no, between them-change. Deepen.
"Pushing buttons isn't the reason you should be careful around me, Faith," he said, his voice like gravel.
Her skin heated. Even though she knew she shouldn't, she asked, "Why is it, then?"
"Because I start to lose perspective around you." He didn't look at her; his gaze remained focused on the road ahead, but she felt as if he was whispering in her ear. "Sometimes I think you could crook your finger at me and I'd forget the company rules."
The breath caught in her throat. She was on the edge of a precipice, desperately wanting to fall, to let go, but she knew she couldn't. She swallowed hard and tried to make light of his comment. "Don't worry, I've never been able to master whistling, skipping or crooking a finger."
He laughed, but it sounded tight and unnatural. "Then we won't have a problem."
They talked about less loaded topics for the rest of the trip back to LA until they finally pulled up at the studio. They carried the boxes of arrangements and single stems to the front door, where the photographer was waiting for them.
"Come on in," she said. "The others are already here."
Dylan leaned over to whisper to Faith, "A couple of the publicity team members from Adam's office are meeting us here."
Once they were inside, the shoot seemed to move forward like clockwork. Dylan introduced her to the women from Hawke's Blooms' publicity team. Then she found a chair a few feet behind the camera and tried to stay out of the way.
Dylan, however, seemed to be the center of everything. His people management skills were on display, and in a charming, relaxed way, he was in total control of the photo shoot. She couldn't take her eyes off him. He exuded confidence, charisma and power. He raised an arm and everyone turned to see what he was pointing at. He called for assistance with something and several people rushed to help. He looked at her with his simmering gaze, and she practically swooned.
One of the publicity staff members, Amanda, took a seat next to her. "I can't wait to see how the photos turn out. You did some great work with those arrangements."
Faith felt the blush moving its way up her neck and was grateful that Amanda was watching the work in front of them and wouldn't notice. "Thank you. I'm looking forward to the photos as well."
"You're so lucky, getting to work with Dylan. All the girls in our office have a bit of a crush on him."
Faith tensed. Did Amanda know? Was she fishing? But the other woman still hadn't spared her a glance-if she'd been fishing, she would have been watching for a reaction.
Faith drew in an unsteady breath. "You all work for Adam, don't you?"
"Yep, and don't get me wrong. We love Adam, too. He's a great boss. But Dylan? He could charm the pants off just about anyone if he put his mind to it."
Faith felt the blush deepen and creep up to her cheeks. She didn't doubt that assessment in the least. Fortunately, Amanda didn't seem to be waiting for a reply.