Now that it finally seemed like it was happening, I wasn’t sure why I felt so hesitant. “What are the odds that they’ll cancel a whole party?”
“It wouldn’t look good. So, not very high.”
“Does that mean they’re coming to the wedding?”
“She didn’t say. She just said we have a lot to talk about.”
“You don’t look very excited.”
“Because you don’t look very happy.”
“I’m sorry.” I took a deep breath. “They’ve just canceled plans with us so many times that…”
“She sounded serious this time. I think they’re finally coming around. She said she was excited to meet you. She’s never said that before.”
I bit my lip.
“And she said to tell you congratulations on graduating.”
“That was nice of her.” I tried to dismiss all my negative thoughts from earlier. “I’m so disappointed that my parents won’t be there. They were really looking forward to meeting your parents.”
“They can’t change their plans?”
“My parents aren’t their own bosses like you.” I smiled at him. “I guess they’ll just have to meet your parents at the rehearsal dinner.”
“It’s probably best if you meet my parents by yourself first anyway. They can be rather intimidating.”
“Do you think they’re going to try to scare me away?” I laughed.
He lowered his eyebrows for a second. But the worried look was fleeting. “No, they wouldn’t do that. We should have set Jen on them awhile ago. They rarely ever say no to her.”
“I should have known she’d interfere when she told me she wouldn’t.”
He laughed.
“Does this mean I get to see where you grew up?”
“You can make fun of my old bedroom.” He smiled and pulled me back into his arms. “But like I told you before, there really aren’t tons of embarrassing photos of me or anything. My parents aren’t like your parents.”
I closed my eyes as I pressed my face against his chest. I knew he didn’t mean that as an insult. He meant that his parents didn’t care for him like my parents cared about me. I didn’t want to go into meeting them feeling like this. But I wasn’t sure if I could ever like them. Not after everything they had put James through.
Chapter 6
Thursday
We had almost moved everything in and I was completely exhausted. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail as I looked around at all the boxes. The living room and kitchen were a complete disaster. Luckily Ellen was going to help me organize everything in the morning.
“Your ass looks amazing when you do that,” James said.
I laughed and turned around as I finished putting the elastic in my hair. “You think?” I arched my back slightly before letting go of my hair.
He smiled at me as he dropped a box down next to my feet. “Why was it again that you wouldn’t let me hire movers?” He was wearing athletic shorts and a fitted t-shirt. There was a v-shaped sweat stain down the front of his shirt, and I found it unbelievably sexy.
“Because I love how you look when you’re all sweaty.”
“Is that so?”
“Mhm.” I traced my finger down his chest. “So hot.”
He gave me that smile that always made me feel overheated. It was playful and sexy and I knew exactly what was on his mind. “It actually is a little hot in here, don’t you think?” He grabbed his shirt by the collar and pulled it off over his head. His abs glistened from sweat.
“Scorching.”
He smiled. “That’s better. Are you ready for a break?”
I had gotten the perfect idea. “I’m going to give you to the count of ten, James.”
“To get you into bed with me? Done.” He leaned forward to kiss me, but I put my hand on his chest.
God. Seeing him like this always turned me on. “To hide.” I ran my fingers down his muscular stomach.
“What?”
“Let’s play hide and go seek.”
“I’d rather christen the new…”
“Ten. Nine.”
“Shit.”
I put my hand over my eyes as James jumped over a box and sprinted out of the living room. When I finished counting down from ten I opened my eyes. I had only walked around the apartment a few times. But there was barely any furniture in any of the rooms. He’d only be able to hide behind doors and other fixtures.
I wove my way through the boxes on the floor in the living room and through the kitchen. I hadn’t heard him run upstairs, so I assumed he wasn’t in any of the bedrooms. My eyes gravitated toward the balcony above me, just to check. This place really was amazing. It was an apartment that was probably designed for a big family, not just two people. It must have cost him a fortune. I didn’t even know apartments in New York could have an upstairs.
A creaking noise made me turn my head. I peered around the column into the dining room. Nothing. The downstairs was mostly an open floor plan. There weren’t that many places he could hide. I walked toward the bathroom. The reflection in the mirror made it easy to tell that he wasn’t hiding behind the door.
Another creaking noise made me jump.
“James?” I whispered. The sun was beginning to set, casting eerie shadows in the room. I tried not to think about it as I made my way through the archway toward a few of the closed off rooms. There was an office and a small library back here. I turned into the library. The blinds were all drawn, and it was almost pitch black. I switched on the light and looked around. The built-in shelves were all empty. Soon they’d be filled with all of James’ books. I thought about my bookshelf back at home, filled with Harry Potter novels. They didn’t seem sophisticated enough to be in here. But there was something charming about the idea.
There was a grand stone fireplace in the center of the wall. I could just imagine curling up in front of it with a good book. This apartment was amazing. I’d have to tell James whenever I found him. It could be awhile. I still had a lot of rooms to check. I turned around just as the lights cut out.
I made a small squealing noise as the door slammed shut. “James?” I couldn’t see anything. “James?” I said a little louder.
A clicking noise made me turn around again. A small blue flame had spread across the fireplace.
“James?” My eyes were still adjusting to the lack of light.
His arms wrapped around me before he said anything and I screamed again. His laugh in my ear calmed me right down, though. “I found you,” he whispered in my ear, as he wrapped his arms even tighter around me, pressing his chest against my back.
“I was the one that was supposed to be finding you.”
He kissed the side of my neck and trailed his fingers down the sides of my torso. “You were taking too long.” His fingers skimmed the bottom of my tank top as he lightly pushed it up. His palms were hot against my stomach. He smelled like sweat and that wonderful scent that was all his own.