“Nothing’s as good as Ivy’s.” Sierra limited herself to two cookies to start with, though she was now famished. She’d been too nervous to eat dinner beforehand. “Thanks again for coming with me,” she told her sister. “I didn’t think I’d be so nervous, but my hands were shaking for the first fifteen minutes.”

“It didn’t show,” Kennedy said. “Champagne?”

Sierra shook her head. “It goes straight to my head, and who has time for a buzz? I’ve got a seven-a.m. interview with a potential foreman.”

“Maybe this one will be the one and you can hire him and inform the panelists it’s taken care of.”

“I can’t decide which fact hurt me more—that I’m a female or that I don’t currently have a foreman.”

“Foreman. The assistant guy—Adam?—was really concerned about that, and he’s the one who works closest to Eldridge if I understand right.”

“You do,” Sierra said with a nervous exhale.

“You addressed it perfectly by detailing your low turnover rates. I think it could even work in your favor after your answer about searching for the right candidate and not just promoting someone on your crew who isn’t ready for the responsibility because you’re in a hurry.”

“Yeah? That came out okay?” Sierra had prepared comprehensively, had even had Hayden role-play with her and throw questions at her, but the foreman question had blindsided her.

“It was a genius answer,” Kennedy told her as she smiled at a couple of the camera guys who’d just come into the room. “What happened to Cole, anyway? I mean, I know he took another job, working for his family’s company, but why now? Did the wedding and reception date scare him off?”

Sierra smiled as she thought back on that night that had been the start of so much. “He did pretty well with that, all things considered. We, um…” She wasn’t sure what to call it, but her sister didn’t know they were involved. “We’re sort of together.”

Kennedy’s hand landed on Sierra’s arm as she steered her over toward the end of the cookie table, giving the appearance that they were deep in discussion and shouldn’t be disturbed right now. “You told everyone he was a fake date!”

“He was, I promise.”

“But now you’re together? And you didn’t tell me?”

“You were honeymooning and then newlywedding,” Sierra said. “And I wouldn’t really say it’s official. Cole is convinced he’s not the relationship type, so we don’t talk about it much. I’m trying not to spook him.”

“Is it serious for you?”

Nonchalantly grabbing another cookie, Sierra thought about her sister’s question, felt the warmth settle in her chest, and nodded as she smiled at one of the servers behind the cookie table.