Cat rolled her shoulders and dragged her mind out of her bed where Noah had ranged over her and driven her to madness. She slapped a smile on her face. “Just didn’t get enough coffee this morning.” Lies. She’d had three cups so far. Nothing was dragging her mind away from last night… and this morning.

She felt like she was reliving some life-altering experience, and that terrified her down to her pretty pink toenails. Fun. It was supposed to be fun.

“Can someone get Cat a coffee so we can wrap this before midnight?” Paige called into her headset.

An espresso magically appeared in front of her moments later, and Cat took a swig.

“Sorry, guys. I’m good. I swear. Where were we?”

“Drake is explaining to you why he chose stainless steel for the diner counter and the backsplash,” Paige reminded her, settling back in her chair behind the camera.

“Right, right. Okay. I’m good.”

“Rolling.”

They started over from the mark, and this time Cat nailed the required interest in Drake’s explanation. It was a bit of TV magic. Drake hadn’t picked the counters. Cat had. But it would be more entertaining for the viewers if they split up the projects and ribbed each other along the way. Drake was used to having a team of high-end designers on hand to help shape projects on his show. Cat, on the other hand, was a veritable control freak. Her vision was law. It required an exhausting amount of prep and research before shooting started, but until someone else proved they could do it better, Cat was happy to hang on to the responsibility.

Reggie’s diner was coming together in a wild melding of traditional diner architecture and Jamaican flavor. She’d kept things simple and modern with the stainless counter and open kitchen. Part of the charm of Reggie’s was listening to the reggae that blared from his radio by the grill. And hearing the waitresses shout at the cooks. The booths and stools were new and boasted turquoise cushions. She’d squeezed in one extra table and two stools at the counter. Room for more paying customers.

The second register and sales system were cordoned off in the old storage corner. The metal exterior had held up well to the mud and water, but the innards had been a disaster. New black and white checkered flooring had gone down two days ago, and the tile workers were finishing the wall the booths butted against.