Decidedly with Wishes - Stina Lindenblatt Page 0,1
ranging from ages five to nine years old were hanging out on the other side of the room, waiting for the game to begin. The air was thick with excitement.
“I need to go now.” I hugged Sarina goodbye. “Your mommy will send me a video of you playing, okay?”
“Okay, Auntie Nala. I love you.”
I grinned the smile reserved for my favorite girl. “I love you, too.” Then I watched as she and her mother walked toward the awaiting kids and their parents.
The opening notes of the song I’d programmed on my phone for Bibi played in my purse.
I removed it and accepted the call. “Hi, Bibi,” I said at the same time as I turned around and walked into a brick wall. A brick wall I could’ve sworn wasn’t there a moment ago. “Ugh!”
I ricocheted back a step, almost losing my footing, thanks to my heels. And I would have if the tall, blond wall hadn’t grabbed my arm first, steadying me. My bare skin tingled at his touch.
His skin was that light-golden tan that came from being out in the sun for short periods of time—paler than the summer tan surfers often wore. His eyes were the deep blue of the sky just after sunrise, the perfect accompaniment to his crisp, pine-forest scent. And for a second, I was lost in them both.
He released my arm, much to the limb’s dismay, as my grandmother asked if I was returning soon. Marketing needed me to discuss a photo layout with them.
“Sorry about that,” the man, who looked vaguely familiar, said.
I covered the phone receiver with my palm. “No, that was completely my fault.”
Was he one of the models we had used?
Maybe.
Even though Ayanna’s target market was women, having a hot guy in the fashion layouts never hurt sales.
And you had to agree that this man was definitely the type women could easily imagine as their date if they wore one of our dresses.
His lips curved into a soft smile, and my heart thumped unexpectedly in my chest.
“Hey, Lawson.” Another tall, good-looking man walked past us, pulling my attention away from the blond wall. “Are you playing with us or just here to pick up pretty women?”
That was when I noticed both men were wearing San Francisco Rock jerseys. They must’ve been the hockey players Sarina had told me about.
Lawson glowered at his teammate. “Lay off it, Mathews.”
“Maybe she’ll be your date for your cousin’s wedding.” The other dark-haired man chuckled at his teammate’s expense.
My grandmother mentioned something else in my ear.
Smiling politely, I nodded at Lawson. To Bibi, I said, “I’m heading to the office now.”
“Perfect. I’ll see you shortly.” And with that, she ended the call as I walked toward the exit.
My heels clicked against the concrete steps and echoed in the empty stairwell. My mind whirled a mile a minute as I went over my mental checklist of things I needed to do after speaking with my grandmother.
And then I revisited a different mental checklist as I prepared for the presentation she didn’t know about.
I stopped at my office first and jotted a few items in the notebook I kept on my desk. The pink pages with floral edging happily accepted my new list of things I needed to accomplish prior to leaving for the day.
Okay, it’s now or never, I told myself as I tucked my portfolio under my arm.
Bibi’s office door was open when I arrived. Judy, her assistant, glanced up from her computer. “Hi, Nala. She’s ready for you.”
“Thanks, Judy. Oh, in case I don’t have a chance to tell you before you leave, give Owen my congratulations on his kindergarten graduation tonight.”
She smiled warmly. “I’ll be sure to tell him that.”
I lifted my chin, and with a slow cleansing exhale, I cleared my brain of everything not related to the presentation I was about to make.
I’ve got this.
It wasn’t like I was a woman who was new to the industry, hoping for a chance to prove herself. I’d been creating dresses since I was seven years old, when my parents gave me a toy sewing machine. From the first moment I put needle to fabric, I’d experienced the exhilaration of creating something with my own hands.
Sure, the sewing machine hadn’t been all that great. The stitches unraveled faster than a pelican took flight if I was unlucky. They lasted a little longer if good fortune was shining on me.
But that hadn’t stopped me from sewing dresses for all my dolls and stuffed animals.