“That’s the fun,” Nicholas said cheerfully. “I know where this night ended up in my head.”
“Get your mind out of the gutter, Nicky,” Daniel growled. Nicholas hated being called Nicky. But his brother just grinned in delight. “Why are you here?”
“Just needed a chat with my bro.”
Daniel eyed his brother. “What do you want?”
“I want be on the float with you.”
Daniel was so taken aback he could only stare. “You do? Why?”
“Why not? Me dancing on the float would be great advertising for the next season of Celebrity Dance. After all, we’re on the same network. I talked to my bosses, and they will be talking to your bosses.”
Daniel rubbed his temple. “I guess that means you’re going to have to meet with Greer. She has this complex rule about weight and positioning and stuff I would never think about.”
“She thinks like a dancer.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“In my world that’s a good thing,” Nicholas replied. “Explain what happened to you and Logan.” He tapped the magazine.
“I crashed Logan’s date with Greer and I took Melody along to distract him.”
“And you did this why?”
“I didn’t want him going out with Greer.” He sounded childish even to himself.
“You’re not five years old anymore, bro.” Nicholas shook his head.
“He’s just not her type,” Daniel objected.
“And you are?”
“Of course I am. Or at least, I’d like to be.” Daniel realized he deeply admired her. “She’s fascinating. She was a Rose Queen.” He remembered her teasing wave.
“That’s not the only reason you’re interested in her.” Nicholas eyed Daniel with a sparkle in his dark brown eyes.
“Something about her is real. She’s smart and funny, and I’ve always liked smart and funny. Who knew a person could make a living designing and building floats? They’re beautiful.”
Nicholas shrugged. “She’s certainly different from the normal actress/model/singer you ordinarily date.”
“Why are we talking about girls?” Usually Daniel and his brother talked about everything, but for some reason Daniel was reluctant to talk about Greer.
“We talk about girls all the time,” Nicholas said with a short laugh. “You’re just uncomfortable, and I’m enjoying it.”
Daniel ignored the comment and focused on the real reason for his brother’s visit. “Like I said, you’re going to need to talk to Greer, because I don’t know how you’re going to dance with the butterfly.”
“I’m dancing with the butterfly, all right. I’m bringing Michelle Mercer.”
Michelle was one of the other professional dancers on Nicholas’s show. They had danced together before when Nicholas had first started out and landed in a Broadway show. Daniel had met her once and thought she was nice enough, but a bit flighty.
“I’ll set up an appointment, and we’ll head over to the warehouse where Greer works.” Daniel made a note to himself to call her later.
Nicholas let himself out with a small wave and a thank-you.
Daniel sat back in his chair, wondering why he liked Greer so much. Most of the women he dated were beautiful models, or actresses, or in the industry. He dated them to be seen. He saw them as stepping stones for his career. But Greer was different. Different in a way that he liked.
He wanted to explore his feelings more, but a ton of work awaited him on his desk, and he needed to get back to it.
* * *
Greer stood to the side of the skeleton that would be Daniel’s float. The caterpillar was a long piece of plastic tubing, articulated in a dozen sections. The head would move back and forth on its own little motor. The chrysalis hung from a tangle of wire shaped into a branch. And three butterflies flew out the rear of the float. As Chelsea operated the hydraulics, the wings moved in a stately flight pattern, and the butterflies went up and down.
Greer had to figure out where to place the two additional bodies Daniel had told her about. She tried not to be irritated, especially because Daniel had told her that the studio wanted to hire her to design their annual Hollywood Christmas parade float. The lucrative offer tempered her irritation.
“Where are you putting the two other people?” Chelsea asked as she jumped down off the chassis.
“I think if we move the caterpillar back a foot, there’s room to put a small dance floor,” Greer replied. “It’ll be cramped but doable. And Daniel’s brother is a professional dancer. I’m sure he’ll know how work in that small a space.” Daniel had his spot to one side of the driver, and one of his coworkers would occupy the other side. He told her he hadn’t decided yet who that would be.
“I’ve watched Celebrity Dance, and I have to admit, he’s all kinds of yummy,” Chelsea said. “Are you okay with him being all kinds of yummy?”
“A girl has to be flexible.”
“I remember the great axle disaster of 2010.” Chelsea laughed and picked up her clipboard from where she’d placed it before crawling onto the float.
“We were all being flexible that year. Who knew we could tear a float down and put it back together in four days on a completely different chassis?” Greer had just about torn her hair out because the new chassis had been slighter higher and longer, which meant extra surface, more flowers for coverage and a rebalancing of the weight.
Greer shrugged. “I guess after that challenge, this is a piece of cake.”
“I knew you’d say that.” Chelsea had moved to the next float and jumped up on the chassis. Trident Airlines was a longtime customer, and every year their float won a trophy. This year their float was unusually intricate and long. It was actually two flatbeds in length, and getting it around corners had been a problem Greer had eventually solved by installing clamps in the center that could be loosened enough to make the float flexible in the center and then reattached once it was straight again.
“I think I’ve finalized the flower order,” Chelsea said as she walked back to Greer. “Can you look it over and make sure I didn’t forget anything?”
“Here’s hoping a Kodiak bear doesn’t hiccup in Alaska and cause a tsunami somewhere and wipe out the flower harvest.”
“Think good thoughts, girl. If we get into trouble, we’ll do a commando raid on Mrs. Allenworth’s greenhouse. Her orchids are looking spectacular this year. And her roses are so beautiful, I have to pinch myself to keep from stealing some.”
“You criminal you,” Greer said with a laugh. “It’s a good thing she has that bloodthirsty Chihuahua to keep you a law-abiding citizen.” Mrs. Allenworth had been a Rose Queen in the sixties and now donated flowers. Chelsea spread them out over all their floats as a way to honor the elderly woman.
Greer followed Chelsea to the next float. A workman on scaffolding bent over the high end of the float with a blowtorch, adding wire to finish the branches on a metal tree. The float represented the Tree of Life, and Greer was delighted with the final look.
“How was your date with Logan-slash-Daniel?” Chelsea asked as she took out her tape measure to reassess an area that would be covered in grass. She was big about measuring everything twice. “I saw the tabloid with Logan, Daniel