Page 37 of Come A Little Closer

I arched an eyebrow at her, but my chest puffed out when she slid her hand into the crook of my elbow. “That might be what you think right now, but just wait. I’m willing to bet you’re about to get at least three. One of my associates has already asked me who the party planner was and whether you’re available at Christmas.”

She grinned up at me. “Will I be? Available at Christmas, I mean?”

“Absolutely not,” I said immediately, stepping closer to her side as I started leading her around the room. “I’ve already told Jake that we’re making it permanent, so the paperwork should be ready. All that remains is for you to accept.”

The slow smile that graced her lips made my heart and cock compete over who needed her attention more. “Unfortunately, I just promised I wouldn’t accept any of the job offers I received tonight.”

I groaned. “I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”

Her nose wrinkled as she nodded, trying and failing to hide an adorable smile. “I’m afraid you did, but it’s too late to take it back now.”

“What do you want me to do?” I asked immediately. “We need you to stay. I’ll get on my knees and beg if that’s what it takes.”

Heat flared to life in her eyes and my heart started pounding in my chest when she shot me a coy smile. “I wouldn’t make you get on your knees in front of all these people, but maybe later.”

Surprised at the direction in which the conversation was suddenly going, I leaned a little closer to her. “Your wish is my command, Tallulah Pruette. I’ve never actually gone on my knees for a woman, but for you, I’d beg like a puppy for a treat.”

Her lips were parted when I pulled away and looked at her again, and I had the sudden urge to toss her over my shoulder and carry her upstairs like a caveman. In the end, however, that look on her face when I’d complimented her was what made me decide against it.

Every partygoer I’d spoken to had been eager to meet her, and I felt like it was important for her to hear what they had to say. She really had outdone herself tonight and I wasn’t so selfish that I’d let my own needs deprive her of the opportunity to hear how incredibly talented she was.

As I led her around the room, I introduced her to neighbors, business associates, and a few people who formed part of my extended group of friends. Every last one of them praised her for the magnificent party, and it was like I was seeing her come to life as they drove it home that she really was exceptional at her job.

Her eyes lit up and she smiled more radiantly than she ever had before. Miss Jenny smirked at me when I finally introduced Tallulah to her. “I’m looking forward to seeing your work at the Hallow’s Eve Festival this year, child. If it’s anything like the mini haunted house upstairs, it’s going to be the best one this city has ever seen.”

Tallulah seemed absolutely giddy about the compliment. “Thank you, ma’am. I haven’t actually been up there since it was completed, but I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“Oh, I loved it, but I’ll tell you what I’d love more,” Miss Jenny said, glancing at me.

I sighed. “She’s going to say that she’d love to see those rooms filled with babies instead of decorations.”

Tallulah chuckled. “Wouldn’t that be something?”

“It really would,” Miss Jenny agreed, her gaze flicking between the two of us before she finally smiled at me. “You picked a good one, Niall. Treat her well.”

“You know I will,” I said, covering Tallulah’s hand on my arm with my own as I led her away from my flamboyant neighbor. “I’m sorry about that. I swear, I’m not expecting you to have a house full of my children, but the neighborhood biddies were going to try setting me up tonight. I think they called it off when they heard I’d invited someone all by myself.”

She chuckled. “Miss Jenny seems like a sweet lady. You’re lucky to have someone like her who cares about you.”

“Fair enough,” I conceded. My own mother sure wouldn’t be considered to be a sweet lady, nor did she care about much more than the continuation of our family name. “Have you really not seen the mini haunted house since it was completed?”

“There was too much left to do down here,” she explained. “Are you too scared, or will you come check it out with me?”

Immediately turning toward the staircase to take her up there, I leaned closer again to speak against her ear. “If I get scared, you’ll have to promise to protect me.”

She giggled. “Cross my heart.”

When we got up there, I was terrified. The part of my house that had been transformed for this felt totally changed. “I doubt I’m ever coming to this wing again.”

Tallulah, on the other hand, was laughing and smiling as we navigated our way through it, grabbing my arm to keep dragging me along whenever I thought we were done. She’d covered the framework of my windows and doors with black plastic sheeting to create dark corridors and rooms. The spookiness of the spaces had been enhanced with eerie decorations like spider webs, hanging bats, and creepy skeletons while fog machines added to the overall effect.

Tallulah and I went from room to room before rejoining the party downstairs, and as the evening progressed, I felt like I was beginning to see her for who she really was. Playful and fun, she was somehow so very confident but so very vulnerable all wrapped into one gorgeous package. It seemed to me like she wanted to please people so badly that it was ingrained in her, that playful side being reserved only for people she fully trusted.

In that sense, she was exactly like me.

The realization did something to me I couldn’t explain, and once the party finally started drawing to a close hours later, I still wasn’t ready to let her go home. “You should stay here tonight. It’s nearly three a.m.”

“I couldn’t possibly,” she countered, sitting down at one of the tables in the now empty main room. “It’s not a good idea, Niall.”