“Behave yourselves,” Gabi whispered.
“It’s all set,” Mason said as they joined us. “Trivia starts at ten. Sam’s excited to add it as a new attraction. And karaoke will be at eleven.”
“That’s a late night.” I grinned at Nick. “You up for that, Geezer?”
He shot me a wicked look that said I’d pay for that later. The form of payment he extracted was one I was always happy to pony up.
“Just in case, we’re signed up to be first for karaoke,” Nick said.
Gabi clapped her hands together. “Tell me the two of you have planned a duet.”
“We have,” Nick confirmed. “It’s a Christmas number.” He fake whispered, “Care’s a little pitchy, but I can carry her.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Keep that up and I’ll make you carry me over to the inn.”
He opened his arms to me. “Climb on up.”
“Where does a man your age get the energy?” I asked.
He arched an eyebrow, ready to tell me.
Gabi cleared her throat to interrupt our conversation, which was about to turn obscene. “We all need to go get ready for the big unveiling. If we’re late, Cara’s mom will kill us.”
Nick shrugged. “Not me. She loves me. But I don’t want Cara to miss a minute of her party.” He reached for Snowy’s carrier.
Summer pushed his hand away and picked up the backpack herself. “No. Snowy is staying with Aunt Summer tonight. The things that poor kitten would probably see, locked in a small hotel room with the two of you.”
Summer walked between Mason and Gabi, and Nick and I fell in behind them.
“If only she knew the things Snowy’s seen us do in every room in our house,” Nick said to me, but not quietly. “Especially that thing you like in the kitchen.”
“Gross!” Gabi said.
“Yeah, we all had dinner at your house last weekend,” Mason said.
Summer glanced over her shoulder and winked at me. “But also, go you!”
An hour later, Nick and I were running late. He was fumbling with his tie and I was rushing to apply mascara without making a smudged mess of it. Neither of us could stop grinning, though, because the reason for our delay was that the thing I loved so much in the kitchen at home was the same thing he’d done to me for the first time a year ago in this very room. This afternoon, the second we’d closed the room door, he’d backed me up against it and had performed a remarkably accurate reenactment.
I stood and put my hands on my hips, waiting for Nick’s assessment.
He whistled. “Wow. You’re stunning, Care. No one man should be as lucky as I am.”
He told me some version of that nearly every day, whether I was spending the day in sweats and a messy ponytail, or putting on my new blue dress that fell just above my knees and had a plunging neckline reminiscent of the dress I’d borrowed last year for the HEAT holiday party.
“Give yourself more credit than that,” I said. “There’s serious skill involved in keeping me as happy as you do.” I sauntered up to him and ran my hand down the smooth material of his suit jacket. “And being a silver fox doesn’t hurt your cause.”
“There’s not that much silver.” He stared at my mouth as he spoke and I could almost see the calculations in his head as he determined whether he had enough time to show me his skills again before we joined the party.
“Down, Tiger.” I backed up a few inches, then touched his temple. “And there’s a little bit of silver. But I love it. Turns out I have a serious kink for zaddies.”
“Plural?” He playfully slapped my ass.
I bit my lower lip. No. No, we did not have enough time to do the things I wanted to do to him right now. “Just one,” I promised. “And we have to leave the room this minute or we’ll miss every event we have scheduled today.”
He pressed his large, warm hand into the small of my back and guided me to the door. “Not a chance. This is your day to shine, and we’re not going to miss a thing.”
By the time we exited the elevator on the lobby level, the large space was filled with a vibrant, noisy crowd. As people recognized me as the woman of the hour, the crowd parted like the Red Sea to let us through. It was more daunting than I’d expected as people shook my hand and hugged me and snapped photos as we passed. I was glad to for the comfort of Nick’s strong hand on my back.
