Daniel said, “is Miss Greer Courtland.” He’d met her father for their initial meetings, but he hadn’t met the woman who’d actually designed the float. He stood and clapped his hands.
The pretty woman appeared on the edge of the stage, looking a little nervous. She smiled at him, and he beckoned her forward. She walked across the set almost daintily.
Greer Courtland was a petite woman, maybe five foot four, with pixie-cut hair. She wore a beige silk sheath that clung to her beautiful curves. Daniel couldn’t help the immediate attraction he felt to her. Her skin was a lovely, warm nutmeg. Dark brown eyes, almost black, dominated her oval face. Her lips were full and inviting. Too inviting. Daniel could hardly look away from her. She was, in a word, exquisite.
“Welcome to my show,” Daniel said, waiting for her to sit.
She perched on the edge of the chair for a second before sliding back and crossing her long, slender legs. “Thank you for inviting me.” Her voice was low and sensual.
“So, you designed the float.” He held up the final drawing showing his choice. The float consisted of a caterpillar, then a chrysalis and finally several full monarch butterflies at the rear to indicate the year’s theme, A Celebration of Life.
She nodded. “I basically work on the engineering to make sure everything runs, twirls and swirls properly and nothing breaks down on Colorado Boulevard.”
The audience laughed in approval.
“Let’s talk a little about you.” He glanced down at the notecards on the small table between them. “You have a degree in structural engineering from Cal Poly Pomona, and you’ve been designing floats since you were...sixteen.” Now, that was impressive. Smart as well as beautiful. He liked that.
“My parents started Courtland Float Designs when I was six years old, and they built it up into what it is today.”
“I’m totally fascinated by your family business. You have made a business out of designing floats for the Rose Parade.” He felt nothing but awe for her and her family. Who knew anyone could make a business out of parade floats?
“Not just the Rose Parade,” Greer said, leaning forward a bit. “We’ve designed floats for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Mardi Gras in New Orleans and Carnival in Rio.”
“You’ve been to Rio. Tell me about Rio.”
She grinned coyly at him. “Sorry, no can do. What happens in Rio stays in Rio.”
Oh, he had to get the answer to that question. He’d been to Rio a time or two himself. “I’m disappointed you won’t share.”
Her grin widened. “Rules are rules.”
He was very captivated by her. He leaned forward and caught a faint scent of her perfume—a warm vanilla musk with an underlying note of lemon. “I understand you were a Rose Queen.”
“Yes, during my senior year in high school. I had a great time that year.”
“A Cal Poly graduate and a Rose Queen. You’re smart and beautiful. What was the hardest part of being the Rose Queen?”
“Number one on the list was how not to look cold. You could be cold, but you could not look like it. Number two was the wave.” She held up her hand and started doing the wave.
“You look like the Queen of England.”
“We had classes. The wave is sort of like screwing in a lightbulb.”
She had the best dimple right next to her mouth when she smiled. The dimple transformed her face, and his gaze was drawn to it. He had a sudden urge to lick that dimple and kiss it. He shook it off and focused on his interview. “What is the hardest part of building a float?”
“Designing something that works and is still beautiful within the boundaries of the rules and regulations of the parade. There’s a lot to balance with a float. You have to consider the weight, height and length. The only thing that stays the same every year is the route. You know where all the turns are.” Her hands fluttered as she talked, echoing her excitement and passion.
A woman with passion. He could work with that. “I can see you love what you do.”
“I get to play in fantasyland all year long, so why not?” Her words came out as a sigh.
“Let’s talk a bit about the first step toward getting a float into the parade.” When he’d first decided to sponsor a float, he’d had a sharp learning curve.
She sat back, her face taking on a serious look. “The theme for the next year is announced the day after the parade. Once you have the theme, the first step is to create a design. Each designer submits to the parade committee two designs for each float they are commissioned to create. Once the design is approved, we move on to materials and construction.”
“Sounds nerve-racking,” Daniel said.
She nodded. “You’d think that after making floats for so many years, it would be easy, but it’s not. It’s like a first date over and over again. You just want to make sure you do everything right and be your best. And hope your underslip doesn’t show.”
The audience roared with laughter.
Daniel nodded in agreement. He understood being the best. At a signal from the director, he wrapped up this week’s interview. “Thank you, Miss Courtland.” He turned to the camera. “We’ll take a commercial break, and when we come back—weather and traffic.” The camera went dark and Daniel stood.
Greer stood with him. “Is it true you and your friend Logan Pierce have a bet on who is going to win the Sweepstakes Trophy?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.”
“You sound disappointed. A little friendly competition never hurts anyone. You compete with all the other floats.”
“I compete with myself. I have seven designs in the parade this year.”
Was that disappointing? It almost felt like she was cheating on him before the first date. Because if he had anything to say about it, there would be a date.
“I don’t know what to say. I’ve never had to share a woman before. It feels like you’re cheating on me.”
She burst into laughter. “Are you serious?”
“I am. I thought I was your one and only.”
“No.” She shook her head. “My babies have to eat.”
The audience roared with laughter. Daniel waved at them. “You have children.” She was married! Darn. He hadn’t seen that coming.
“Yes.”
“Are you married?”
“No.”
“I’m a little confused here.”
“No, my children are the four-legged kind. Though one of them has only three legs. I designed a float for the Humane Society a couple of years ago and couldn’t resist adopting them.”
Suddenly he realized she was teasing him. “I’m a dog person.”
“I have two dogs and a cat. I’m always looking to add to the family.”
His mother would love her. She was smart, beautiful and kind.
“Do you cook?”
She frowned. “What does that have to do with float design?”
“Just some personal information.”
“I like to cook, but I don’t always have time.”
He knew that feeling. If not for his parents occasionally stocking his freezer, he’d have been eating takeout every night of the week. Now in their second careers, his parents owned a restaurant, so the food was always good.
“Well,