Party Girl

Alyssa was beginning to regret setting her ringtone to the ‘happy birthday’ song. She answered her phone anyway, using her cheeriest voice despite the fact she was stuck in traffic. “You’ve reached the Party Girl!” Nobody wanted to hire a mope to plan their party, and she always kept that in mind. She was, after all, the Party Girl.

“Hi. This is Devin Hall.”

Devin Hall had a deliciously deep, sexy voice. That was all she knew about him. She amped up her cheeriness, excited at the thought of a much-needed new client. “What can I do for you, Devin?”

“I’m looking for a last-minute party coordinator. I just got saddled with party-planning duty for my nephew, and it’s supposed to be tomorrow evening. I know that’s not much notice, but I was hoping-”

“You’re in luck, Devin.” Alyssa smiled into her phone. “I’m available.” She was, but only because one of her clients had cancelled on her. She fought a frown at the memory. This new assignment had fallen right into her lap – maybe it was fate, if fate paid attention to things like her one-woman party planning business.

Devin breathed a heavy sigh of relief. “Great. You don’t know how glad I am to be able to turn this over to a professional. I have no idea how I would’ve gotten everything together in time on my own.”

A challenge – Alyssa loved those. She beamed. “Don’t worry, Devin. I’m going to make sure your nephew’s party is perfect.”

Another grateful sigh. “You do boys’ parties, right?”

“Of course.” Just because she was the Party Girl didn’t mean she only took on female clients. Just last week she’d thrown a spectacular bar mitzvah, if she did say so herself.

“OK. So how do we get started?”

“I need the address of the location where you’ll be hosting the party. I’ll meet you there for an assessment, and then we can get things rolling.”

He gave her his home address. It wasn’t far from where she currently sat, slowly creeping forward. As she snapped her phone shut, the traffic suddenly sped and the highway in front of her cleared. She grinned as she lowered her visor to block the glare of the noon sun. It seemed like this party was just meant to be.

****

West Hollyhock Avenue wasn’t a bad neighborhood. Modest but cute houses lined the street, and 317 was no exception. Alyssa immediately began assessing the one-story home with blue siding and a small front lawn for party potential. It had a nice porch – she could string a banner above the steps. There were plenty of places to tie balloons and secure other decorations. She just needed to find out what this guy Devin’s nephew liked. Superheroes? Those were popular boys’ party themes this summer. Or maybe he was into a certain sport. Either way, she-

The screen door opened with a faint creak, and out stepped a man who Alyssa sincerely hoped was Devin Hall. Tall, dark-haired and too gorgeous for ordinary, suburban West Hollyhock, he certainly wasn’t what she’d expected, even after hearing his voice. If spending so much time answering clients’ calls had taught her anything, it was that voices rarely matched the mental pictures they inspired. If this man was Devin, he certainly lived up to the sexy impression he’d given on the phone. And when he smiled, he blew it out of the water.
She quickly smoothed her shoulder-length sable hair, pushing an errant lock out of her hazel eyes and tucking it behind her ear. “Are you Devin?” She managed to sound normal as he sauntered down the steps, fixing her with a friendly half-grin.

“That’s me. Are you the Party Girl?”

He came to a stop scarcely three feet from her, and her heart flip-flopped. His eyes were the brightest blue she’d ever seen. “Yeah.”
“Nice to meet you.” He extended a hand.

She tried to think professional thoughts as she shook it – if superheroes, balloons and streamers could be considered professional. But there was no denying the rush of heat that began in her fingertips and spread through her body as his hand closed around hers. His grip was just firm enough, and the smile that accompanied it giggle-inducing. She refused to give in to that particular urge, forcing herself to break his gaze and focus instead on the porch. “You have great columns.” Idiot. “I mean, they’re perfect for tying balloons to. What’s your nephew’s favorite color?”

A quizzical expression crossed Devin’s face as he turned to eye the front porch. “I think it might be green, but I’m not sure. Is it important?”

“That’s alright. Why don’t we go inside and you can tell me about what your nephew likes while I take a look at the space I’ve got to work with?”

He nodded and turned back toward the house. She had to suppress another giggle when he held the door open for her. “I’m Alyssa, by the way.” She’d forgotten to tell him her name, and while calling herself ‘the Party Girl’ was a cute gimmick, he was the last person she wanted to think of her as a mere walking business entity.

“Alyssa, huh?” The screen door banged softly shut behind them. She tried to play off the slight quiver that raced through her when he said her name as surprise at the sound.