“Don’t be so dramatic,” Kate scolds.
“Anyway…” Jon gets the conversation back on track before it descends into a full-blown Jones face-off. “When are you looking to retire?”
“The end of October.” Kate confirms.
Jon holds up a hand. “That’s Halloween.”
Kate nods. “It sure is. I want a Halloween-themed retirement party, and I need the best of the best to pull it off.” She drums her manicured fingernails on the table. “So are you in, or not?”
Jon opens his mouth to reply, but Kate holds up a finger. “Oh, and one other detail before you agree to take things further. “We’re going to hold it at June’s new place. She should close on it in the next four weeks so there will be plenty of time between now and then. It’s going to double as a house-warming party.”
Jon considers Kate’s offer for a moment, lips twisting in thought. “How many guests?”
“With all Morgan, Jones & Richards employees plus friends and family I count around two hundred fifty guests.”
Jon swallow thickly. “Christ. How many staff do you guys have these days?”
Kate just smiles, proud of the legal empire she and Felicity have built from nothing. “Just over one hundred twenty.”
Jon folds his arms across his chest. “Why don’t we make this interesting?”
“Go on,” Kate prompts, one brow raised.
“Since it would be Morgan’s Magical Marriages assisting with the organization. How about we ask guests to attend as their twisted version of a bride and groom?”
Kate looks intrigued, and I can already envision this whole thing descending into absolute chaos. “Like a bridezilla and her monstrous groom idea?”
“Oh my god.” Jensen pinches the bridge of his nose. “Where did my classy princess go?”
She balks at her husband’s statement. “Oh, trust me, Jensen, this will be epic.” She pushes back her chair and stands. Jon follows her, both of them deep in conversation about ballrooms and champagne towers as Kate makes her way over to the bar.
Jensen and I just stare at each other. Totally speechless.
After a moment, Vesper’s shadow draws my attention, and I register the panicked look strewn across her face. “Is everything okay with your boss?”
Jensen is already on his feet and calling out for Kate.
“I think the baby might be coming,” she whispers, and my eyes drop to her soaked black jeans. The wetness wouldn’t be immediately evident if it weren’t for the puddle of water surrounding her feet.
She’s in my arms in seconds as Kate instructs Jensen to pull their car around to the front of the restaurant, and we start taking slow steps toward the exit.
“Listen, I love babies and everything, but I have no idea how to deliver them.”
Something I’ve discovered in the past five minutes? Ninety-nine per cent of the time, Jensen Jones is the King of Cool. Apart from when he’s faced with a woman in labor riding in his backseat while his wife barks instructions at him as she drives like a maniac through the streets of Seattle.
“Why am I not driving?” he asks as I talk Vesper through her contractions, pretending I have a clue what giving birth is like.
Maybe one day I will.
My best friend seems to appreciate my efforts though as she smiles at me through gritted teeth, and Jensen begins dialing Silas on her cell.
“Shit, no answer,” he confirms after a few seconds.
“He’ll be taking a shower after his gym session,” Vesper grinds out, arching her back into the car seat. “Silas never leaves his phone unless he’s forced to.”
Jensen hits End on the call. “Should I have left a message?”
Kate rolls her eyes at him in the rearview mirror. “No need. I heard that Silas has mastered the art of reading minds.”
