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Reaching up, she caressed his fingers resting on her shoulder. “The media won’t get past the gates at Cliff House, so I’m not worried about them bothering us. And if Uncle Warren or Aunt Elizabeth make it, there will be Secret Service all around too.”
Usually, she considered the extra security a downside to having an uncle who also happened to be the President of the United States. In this instance, it might prove to be beneficial.
“I know Mom and Dad plan to attend Leah’s wedding.” Jake pulled his ringing cell phone from his pocket and glanced at the screen. “It’s Sean.”
Conversation stopped while he greeted his brother-in-law. Earlier in the evening, Jake had mentioned Sean and Mia were watching his and Charlie’s son, Garrett, tonight. Other than to let Jake and Charlie know their son was sick, she couldn’t think of a good reason he’d be calling.
“Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll talk to Charlie and see what she wants to do and get back to you.”
“Is everything okay?” Charlie asked before Jake could share any details.
“Sean wanted to let us know the roads are already nasty and there is a multicar accident on 128. He suggested we stay here tonight.”
She hadn’t thought about the weather or paid any attention to what was going on outside since they arrived. The snow wasn’t supposed to start for a few more hours, giving them more than enough time to get home before road conditions deteriorated. But she should’ve. She’d lived in New England all her life and knew how quickly the weather could change. Given the time of night, she wasn’t likely to see much, but she looked toward the windows anyway.
“If it’s snowing, I’d feel better if you and Charlie stayed,” Marilyn said before glancing in Courtney’s direction. “The same goes for you and Josh. You have an even longer drive home.”
On the rare occasion she spent the night, she stayed in her old bedroom. But stay here tonight? With Josh. In the same room. It might be safer to brave the nasty roads.
Jake didn’t hesitate to accept her mom’s invitation. “I’ll call Sean back and let him know we’ll be back in the morning.”
“What about you two?” her mom asked, looking first at Courtney and then Josh.
“Whatever Courtney wants is fine with me,” Josh answered, leaving the ball squarely in her court.
Jeopardizing their safety so they didn’t have to share a bedroom made no sense whatsoever. “I guess it might be better if we stay too.”
With her question answered, Marilyn turned her attention toward her brother Mark and Abby. They were the only other people in the room who had more than a five-minute drive ahead of them, since Jonathan and his wife lived in the same neighborhood.
If they stayed down here visiting long enough, perhaps she’d be so exhausted by the time they went upstairs that she’d fall asleep immediately and not even notice Josh was in the same room. One can hope.
“Courtney and Charlie, I should have something you can sleep in,” Juliette said.
She didn’t doubt it. Although her sister had an apartment in New York City, she spent a lot of time here, and her closet upstairs proved it.
Courtney snuggled into Josh’s side while her parents finished saying goodnight to the occupants in the room. While Uncle Jonathan and his wife had left shortly after Jake’s phone call, Uncle Mark and Abby had decided to stay the night. They’d retired upstairs at least a half an hour ago. Paige, who’d been struggling to keep her eyes open, had followed not long after them.
“I don’t have much time to plan a bachelorette party.” Juliette waited until their mother left the room before bringing up the topic. Courtney didn’t think it was a coincidence either. Following Jake’s phone call, the conversation moved away from Courtney’s wedding. The mention of a bachelorette party would only bring it back to the forefront of their mom’s thoughts and thus back to the center of their conversation. Her sister knew she’d prefer it if everyone’s attention was focused on something else.
“I know you didn’t have one, but do you have any ideas, Charlie?” Juliette asked.
“We took my sister-in-law to play laser tag for her bachelorette party,” Charlie answered. “When my friend Jessie got married, we went into Boston for a show and dinner.”
Not surprisingly, Juliette made a face at the suggestions. She found theatrical productions boring. As for laser tag, she might break a nail.
“No bachelorette party,” Courtney said before her sister could get invested in the idea.
Many of the people she’d want there didn’t live locally. No way did she want her family members coming to the area for a bachelorette party and then again taking time out of their schedules to travel here so they could help celebrate a temporary wedding.
“C’mon. It’ll be fun. We can keep it small and do it the weekend before the wedding,” her sister said. “I’m sure Evan is throwing Josh a bachelor party.”
Josh’s brother knew the truth about their upcoming wedding, but it didn’t mean he wouldn’t throw Josh one hell of a party. More than likely it’d be at some so-called gentlemen’s club in Manhattan where he’d be surrounded by beautiful barely dressed women—women who’d be more than happy to give Josh all the extra attention he wanted, both inside and outside the club.
“Is Evan throwing you one?” Could she sound any more like a jealous shrew? Probably not.
“No. I told him I didn’t want one.”
Or he’s not bothering because he knows the truth about the wedding. Either way, relief flared in her chest. Once they went their separate ways, Josh might spend his free nights with naked women, but for now, he’d be hanging out at her place watching old black-and-white sitcoms.
