Stuck On You by Cheryl Harper Page A

of her T-shirt as she rounded the corner into Viva Las Vegas. Her jeans were a little tighter than she’d like but they were the best pair she had. It went a little against the grain for her to show up to work in jeans and running shoes, but she didn’t want to put up with KT and his teasing all night. Those “funeral clothes” that she’d worn today presented a very business-like persona. Or she hoped they did. She’d been wearing the same pants and jacket on every interview she’d been on since she lost her job. She hadn’t bought new clothes since the layoff. And now she wore a satin showgirl uniform so she just didn’t see the point. Except somehow, in that magic way of shrinking closets, her jeans had gotten tighter. The T-shirt better do a good job of hiding it.
    She stopped near the bar and took stock of the changes. Normally, Viva Las Vegas sat fifty or so people comfortably in a wide variety of table configurations. Now, it appeared to be set up to seat twice that many and there were tall tables along the walls where people could stand. And drink, of course. Laura had a bad feeling that every waiting skill she’d picked up since she started would be put to the test by the Almost Famous crowd.
    She shuffled out of the way as KT and Mike walked by carrying the judging table. She followed them. “What can I do to help?”
    KT motioned with his head. “Mandy and Shane are working on the curtains and hanging the stars. See what they need.”
    She veered off to join the two women on the stage. Mandy was at the top of the ladder cursing under her breath as she tried to hook the curtains over the temporary rods hung from the ceiling. She was barely tall enough to reach the bar. Laura would be no help and Shane held up both hands as Laura opened her mouth to suggest she climb up. “I don’t do heights.”
    An efficient assistant learns very quickly to assess the situation and determine the best solution. “Hey, KT, we need somebody a little taller over here.” He waved and after the last stand was set in place, he trotted over.
    As Mandy stepped down onto the stage with a relieved sigh, KT scrambled up and hooked the curtain on quickly. “Hand me the stars. Let’s do that while I’m up here.” Each of the stars had wires attached. Shane handed them up to KT while they all bickered over the correct length for each staggered star. After taking entirely too long to get them hung, KT hopped off the ladder and ruffled Shane’s hair. “Go ahead and breathe again, fraidy cat.”
    She gave him a blank stare and he did it again before he looked over at Laura. “Why don’t the three of you go check on the styling and green rooms? I think we’ve got just about everything in place here, but we need to do lighting and sound checks and make sure we’re all ready for tomorrow night’s dress rehearsal. Then on Saturday we can fine tune before we tape the show.”
    Laura pulled the key cards out of her too-tight pocket and nodded. She motioned at Mandy and Shane and said, “Follow me.” As she maneuvered through the tight tables, she could feel KT watching. Just before she left the bar, she glanced over her shoulder. He stood on the stage while the rest of the crew bustled around him. His hands were propped on his hips and even across the room she could see the heat in his eyes. She stumbled over a nonexistent wrinkle in the carpet runner and whipped her head around before Shane or Mandy could give her too much grief.
    Until she made it into the first room, the one set up for makeup.
    Mandy stopped in the middle and slowly turned to survey the four desks and lamps set up and the bright vanity. When she made one full revolution, she nodded. “So, are you going to tell us what’s up between you and KT?” She waggled an imaginary cigar. “Or is ‘up’ the wrong word?”
    Shane nodded and they both looked at Laura. “Nothing’s up. I’ve been working with him today to get his budget caught up and I had a