I wanted Melissa and Tyler to be happy. Why did she think I’d be upset about them dating? I looked down at my lap. My first thought had been that they weren’t a good fit. Maybe she was right for not telling me.
“I think you’re right,” I whispered to James.
“About what?” Matt asked.
I looked over my shoulder. Tyler and Melissa were gone. “Am I terrible at whispering or something?” I asked.
“You’re always really loud,” Rob said with a wink.
I felt my face turning red.
“She was talking about how Melissa and Tyler are sleeping together,” James said.
Matt laughed. “There’s no way those two are banging. Don’t you see the way he looks at you, Penny? He probably wants you even more than Rob does.”
I felt James’ arms tense around me. Damn it, Matt. “Tyler and I are just friends.”
“And I don’t want Penny,” Rob said. “She wants me.”
I laughed. “Yeah, right.”
“You’re all in denial,” Matt said. He stood up and yawned. “Okay, I think I’m going to head out too. Are you crashing here?” he asked Rob.
Rob looked over at me. “Well, that depends on if Penny wants me to stay.”
I sighed. “I think maybe you should spend the night at Matt’s. You’ve gotten me all wound up from that cocktail, so now I have to do super inappropriate things to your brother. And we don’t want to keep you up all night.”
James laughed. “That sounds fantastic.” His body seemed to relax at my words.
“Yuck. Okay, let’s get out of here,” Rob said and slapped Matt on the back.
“Congrats, Penny,” Matt said. “My parents wanted me to give this to you.” He handed me an envelope.
“What is it?”
He shrugged. “A gift I guess. Later, James,” he said as they did one of their weird handshakes.
“Are you going to open it?” James asked as Rob and Matt left our apartment.
“Do you know what it is?”
He shook his head.
I ripped open the envelope and pulled out the card.
Penny,
We have known James his whole life. He was at our house growing up almost as much as Mason and Matthew were. He’s like a son to us. And we can’t think of someone more perfect for him than you, Penny. We would be honored if you’d let us throw you a late engagement party at our house. Just something small, to officially welcome you to the family. Call us so we can arrange a date. And congratulations on your graduation!
-Mr. & Mrs. Caldwell
I could feel the tears welling in my eyes. James’ parents didn’t want to meet me. But I already knew the Caldwells. I had spent a lot of time with them since moving to New York. Every time they saw me they always asked if I had gotten to meet Mr. and Mrs. Hunter yet. I tried to act as optimistic as I could, but everyone knew I was upset about it. Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell clearly cared about me and James. Maybe it was okay that James’ parents didn’t want me to be a part of their family. Maybe everything I had was enough.
I looked up at James. “That’s really sweet, isn’t it?”
“I didn’t know they thought of me like that.” He had a weird look on his face. It wasn’t confusion exactly. He almost looked sad.
I moved so that I was straddling him. “James, I love you so much. You are the sweetest man I have ever met. But you are just terrible at telling when people care about you.”
He smiled at me. “I know that you care about me.”
“Mhm. And all the people that came tonight. And Mason and Matt’s parents,” I said and held up the letter.
“I think everyone just likes you.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”
“Like Tyler.”
I laughed. “Oh God. You know that’s not true.”
He shrugged. “Now that I’m friends with him, I don’t think it matters one way or the other. He’s a good guy. He won’t try to steal you away now.”
“Apparently he likes Melissa. So you have nothing to worry about.”
“I wasn’t worried.” He kissed my cheek and then the side of my neck. “Let me go get your present.”
I reluctantly moved off his lap. I had only been half joking when I was talking to Rob earlier. I was definitely planning on enjoying James tonight. When he disappeared into his office, I looked back down at the note. They wanted to welcome me to the family. My body felt warm, and not just because of the mixed drink Rob had made me. I had tried so hard to fit in here in New York. But at first I had really missed the suburbs. I had missed passing strangers on the sidewalk that were nice, having grass everywhere, and not being worried I was going to be mugged if I stepped outside at night. It was a hard adjustment. I wasn’t sure when it had happened, but suddenly I fit. James’ friends had become my new family. And New York had become my home. James’ parents not wanting to meet me was the last thing that made me feel like I shouldn’t be here, like I didn’t belong in this new life.
But this could be enough. I stared at the note in my hands. It was going to have to be.
Saturday
James sat down on the rug in front of the chair I was in and handed me a manila envelope. He put his hand on my knee, rubbing the inside of my knee with his thumb, not looking at my face.
I had gotten pretty good at reading him. Whenever he did something he knew I wouldn’t like, he rarely ever looked me in the eyes. Whatever was in the envelope, he thought I wasn’t going to like it. My heart started to beat faster. “What is this?”
“Your present.” He tore his eyes away from my knee and looked up at me. “Open it.” He leaned down and kissed my kneecap.
I moved my leg away from his hand. Now he was just trying to distract me. I tore open the top of the envelope and pulled out a small stack of photos. They were pictures of really beautiful rooms. Really beautiful, huge rooms. Each room was elegant, yet modern at the same time. It was exactly James’ style. Which had become my preference as well. I let my eyes meet his.
“Now, before you say anything…”