Her wince turned into a moan when the “young man” answered, “I run a movie studio.”
Grandma Tessa’s gaze narrowed. Katie braced herself to perform some kind of intervention when her grandmother went off on a tirade on R-rated movies with too much sex and bad language.
Instead she leaned across the counter and smiled. “So tell me. Why aren’t there any stars like Sophia Loren anymore? She is such a beauty, even now. These kids today-they’re nothing like her.”
The studio executive slid onto a stool in front of the counter and nodded earnestly. “I agree. The stars from the old days had something really special.”
Grandma Tessa used a pair of tongs to slide several fried raviolis onto a plate, then scooped up marinara sauce into a small bowl. She handed the man both.
“I remember the first time I saw her in a movie. Or Cary Grant. He was really something. Not Italian, of course, but still a very nice-looking man.”
Zach drew Katie back out of the tent. “She’s been doing that all night,” he murmured in her ear. “It doesn’t matter if the guests are part of the cleaning staff or billionaires. She has something to say and they love her. It gets better over here.”
They walked toward one of the dessert tents. Katie had nearly relaxed when a very loud, very drunk-sounding chorus of “Irish Rover” drifted through the night. She swallowed hard.
“Grammy M’s been serving whiskey, hasn’t she?” she asked in a whisper, already knowing the answer.
“For at least the last hour.” Zach grinned. “Everyone’s plastered. They’re having a terrific time.”
Before she could figure out what she wanted to do, Zach led her away. “There’s someone who wants to meet you,” he said.
“I’m not sure I can take any more.”
Which was true. The combination of no sleep and tremendous stress was catching up with her. Even as they walked down one of the twinkle-light-lit paths, she could feel her brain dissolving.
“Just over here,” he said.
They entered one of the private spaces created by trimmed hedges and trees. Several couples sat around a large table. When Zach and Katie appeared, a man stood, then turned to help his very pregnant wife to her feet.
“Hello,” the woman said as she waddled over. “You must be Katie. I’m Sara.” She patted her stomach. “As you can tell, I wasn’t faking the whole baby thing to get out of doing the work.”
Katie may have murmured a greeting, but she couldn’t remember exactly what. The woman looked pregnant enough to be having an entire basketball team. Were there really only two babies in there?
John shook her head. “Wonderful job,” he said. “Simply wonderful. We’ve heard nothing but compliments.”
“It’s true,” Sara said. “I loved all the grilled food and that fried ravioli. I don’t want to think about the calories, but you must get me the recipe. It was divine.”
She nodded at her husband, who led Zach away. Sara slipped her arm through Katie’s and drew her close. “I was wondering,” she said confidentially. “Do you arrange smaller events? John and I would like to host a couple’s shower for the babies, and I would very much like you to plan it.”
19
It looked way too large, so she did the math again. The results didn’t change. If her weary eyes were reading things correctly, the fund-raiser had exceeded expectation by more than thirty percent.
“Wow,” she said, exhausted but pleased. She had a feeling that the auction for the extra prizes might have been what pushed them over the edge. Well, the auction taking place
To cap off the evening, she had fourteen business cards in her small but tasteful satin clutch. She’d been asked about planning everything from a wedding to a restaurant grand opening. Organization Central had arrived in the big league.
She allowed herself a brief fantasy about a larger staff, new quarters, and an on-site day-care center when she realized her feet didn’t just hurt, they throbbed. She shifted so she could ease off her shoes. Unfortunately the pain didn’t go away, which wasn’t a surprise. What she needed was to get to her car and drive home. Once there she could collapse.
Of course, that meant actually walking out of the hotel, not something she wanted to do. But before she could whip herself into a frenzy and try to move, Zach stepped into the ballroom and headed toward her.
“Do you ever plan on leaving?” he asked.
“Sure. Right now.” She handed him the paper with her scrawled figures. “If I can still add correctly, the fund- raiser was a success.”
“I already know it was. Come on.”
He collected her papers, her shoes, and her purse, then pulled her to her feet. She winced and they headed for the door.
“You’re too tired to drive,” he said. “I’ll take you home. We’ll deal with getting your car tomorrow.”
“Okay,” she murmured, because it was too much trouble to argue. “It was really nice of the hotel manager to put up my family for the night.”
“I’m sure he’s going to regret it. Last I saw, he and Granny M were drinking in the bar. I suspect come morning, he’s going to wish he was dead, while Grammy M will chuckle all the way home.”
Katie smiled at the visual. “I do have a great family.”
“Yes, you do.” He glanced at her. “They came through for you.”
“I know.”
“Were you surprised?”
She thought about the phone call she’d made and that her mother hadn’t hesitated. “When I was dialing the number, I would have told you I was terrified. But the second I heard my mother’s voice, I knew she’d do anything she could. They’re my family.” She glanced at Zach. “Like you and David are family.”
“Only yours is louder.”
They made it to the front of the hotel, where the valet had Zach’s car waiting. Katie climbed inside, secured the seat belt, then curled up in the seat and rested her head against the window.
“I think the party was really good,” she said sleepily. “I did a good job.”
Zach laughed as he started the car. “I agree. I’m happy to write you any recommendation you’d like.”
“Okay.” She sighed. “I’d never done a job that big before. I was a little scared, but then I got the hang of it. But when Jerome called me, I thought I was going to die. I could see my whole career going up in flames.”
“You don’t have to worry about that now.”
“I guess not.”
She didn’t know if they continued talking, nor could she remember what was said if they had. One minute they’d been pulling out of the hotel; the next they were turning into her driveway.
Before she could open her door herself (when exactly had door handles gotten so tricky?), Zach came around and helped her out. But instead of letting her walk to the front door, he picked her up and carried her.
The combination of floating and sleepiness made her head spin. Katie wrapped her arms around his neck and breathed in the scent of him. The man was clever enough to have fished her key out of her purse, because the door opened without her having to do anything.
She smiled to herself. She liked that Zach was clever. She liked many things about him. She-
“Thank you,” he said as he bumped the front door closed with his hip, then slowly lowered her to the floor.
“What?”
“You said I’m clever.”
