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With Mom in town and willing to babysit the girls, Charlie jumped at the chance to go out for the night. Both Charlie and Kate went into “wardrobe meltdown” as they called it, spending a good hour in Charlie’s closet trying to figure out what to wear.
Morgan left with her dad, apologizing to everyone that she had to be at an event. Max was kind enough to say goodbye. Morgan chose to ignore me, without a goodbye, taking her stubborn and childish ass along with her.
We arrive at the party in separate cars, Charlie taking it upon herself to invite Haden and Presley. I don’t mind so much, it just put Kate and me in an awkward position being surrounded by married couples.
The room’s large, a big event space that’s decked out like a nightclub. Dimly lit with a stream of neon lights. The bar area takes the whole back wall, each barstool occupied with guests. The music is playing loudly in the background, making it difficult to hear each other.
“I think I just saw Zac Efron,” Kate squeals into my ear, squeezing my arm tight.
I roll my eyes then lean in. “Isn’t he young enough to be your son?”
She slaps my chest instantly, knocking me back slightly. “You had no problem with my age prior to our beach incident.”
“That’s before I knew you were a grandma,” I joke lightly.
Kate’s only a couple of years older than me but has a youthful glow easily mistaking her for being younger.
“By the way…” I add, “… you look hot tonight.”
She’s wearing one of Charlie’s dresses, a sheer black dress that sits short with tall black pumps, making the top of her head sit just below my eyes.
“Why thank you.” She grins happily. “You scrub up pretty good yourself. Nine out of ten.”
“Nine out of ten? Where did I lose the point?”
“I’m not sure,” she says playfully. “But if I rated you ten then I’d have to take you home and shag ya. So you can see the bind I’m in.”
I keep my opinion to myself, distracted by chaos at the door. Scarlett has walked in, wearing a long silver gown that sparkles, almost blinding me. With her signature red lips, she’s tied up her hair into a sleek ponytail, posing with guests who are taking selfies.
She’s gorgeous, no doubt, but my entire body comes to a complete still the moment my eyes land on Morgan. She’s standing a few steps behind Scarlett, carefully camouflaging herself. The second Scarlett steps away, she’s in full view.
The room slows down, the music sounds distant. My eyes are fixated on her, and only her. She looks angelic, the white dress only accentuating her natural beauty. She’s wearing her hair out, pushed to one side, flowing down the side of her body and stopping just above her hips.
My body gravitates toward her, long steps in sync with the loud thump banging in my chest. With just the tilt of her beautiful face, her eyes meet mine.
“Noah,” she mouths, smiling.
“I’m glad you’re happy to see me. After this afternoon’s little tantrum, I thought you might banish me to the corner of this room.”
She moves closer, careful to keep a reasonable distance between us. “I couldn’t banish someone so hot to the corner. Unless, of course, I’m there riding you.”
I can only respond with a wide smirk. Keeping my head down as I try to compose myself. God, I fucking love her. The way she makes me laugh even when we’re in the middle of a petty argument.
“Noah!” Scarlett calls, leaning in and kissing me hello. The cameras flash everywhere around us, and I’m not sure what to do. I follow her lead, posing along with her while scanning the area looking for Morgan.
“So, who did you come here with?” she asks, pulling me aside.
“My cousin, her husband, and a friend. Oh, and Haden and Presley.”
“Great,” she says with enthusiasm. “I’d love to say hello.”
I look around again and can’t find Morgan, so I begin to move through the crowd to where everyone’s sitting. Charlie’s the first to react, her eyes spinning with stars. Kate’s no different, squealing like an overly hormonal teenager. Lex is more reserved, keeping his expression to nothing more than a polite smile. I know him well enough to know he wouldn’t react with enthusiasm in front of Charlie or she’ll drag him by the balls back home.
Scarlett says hello to everyone, keeping her conversation friendly and laid back. Haden and Presley can’t help themselves, talking about work and the progress of the book. I haven’t found Morgan again, pulling Scarlett to the side.
“Where’s Morgan?”
“Probably doing business somewhere,” she brushes off.
