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“I’m not allowing you to pay for my ticket, Robbie.”
He slices his eyes at me, and his mouth goes firm. Finn looks up at the ceiling and whistles. Neither answers me.
“I’m serious. I’m paying you back.”
“No, you’re not. I invited you. You’re my girlfriend. I take care of you. End of discussion.”
I shake my head and start to argue, but he swoops in and puts his lips against mine. “No arguments.” He kisses me hard and gets up, pulling me with him. “Now, let’s get out of here. Why don’t you follow me to my house and leave your car, so you can drive to my parents’ for the shower tomorrow?”
“I’ll get you back for this, you know? I don’t know when, but I’m not going to let you get away with paying for my ticket.”
“Don’t be stubborn, Ember. Accept it.”
I’ll leave it alone for now, but an idea forms in my mind and I smile to myself. He’s going to have a fit.
“Mom, what happened to your house? We can’t have a party with all this girly shit.” Robbie looks around his parents’ house, horrified.
“Robbie!” I shout. Raven whips her head around to me then looks at her mom.
Jenna’s face fills with surprise then she smiles at me. “Thank you, Ember. I taught my son better than to talk like that.”
Heat fills my cheeks, and I cover my face briefly, unbelieving I just called him out in front of all these people. Robbie greets his mom, and Raven then comes directly to me, pulling me into a hug and kissing my cheek. When I look up, there’s a shine in Jenna’s eyes as she looks between us.
“Hey beautiful,” he whispers in my ear before backing away.
His public display of affection throws me off balance, and I stammer, “Hi.”
He steps back and looks around to greet the others in the room. His dad appears while we’re piling Raven’s gifts in the corner of the room. Robbie winks at me as he disappears into the kitchen, following James. I watch him walk away and appreciate the way his black jeans mold to his hips. The smell of his cologne lingers on me, and my cheek still tingles from where his stubble rubbed against it.
“Someone’s got it bad,” Kendall says quietly so only I can hear.
I think about denying it, but it would be useless. I’m pretty sure my face tells everything. “Yeah, he’s pretty amazing, but we’re taking things slow.”
“You’ve been seeing each other a few weeks, right?”
I nod as Charlie, Abbi, Ella, and Harper join us. Charlie opens her mouth then snaps it shut.
“We all saw the way he looked at you the night of Raven’s shower. And he invited you to the wedding. In all my life, I’ve never seen Robbie date. You may say you’re taking things slow, but his little display a few minutes ago tells me he’s serious.”
“Ummm…” I try to find words to divert the subject. “He has been away for a lot of years. That may be why you didn’t see him date.”
Everyone in the group gives me a ‘you’ve got to be kidding’ look.
Harper breaks the silence. “Ember, we don’t know each other very well, and you seem like a really cool girl. Robbie isn’t your typical guy that dates around and casually lets a girl into his life. The few times I’ve seen you two together, he’s been much more relaxed and more like his old self. He’s been a different guy since the accident. We know it was awful. It almost killed Raven.”
“He told me the whole story. My heart broke for him and Finn.”
“Jimi says he’s finally sleeping through the night,” Abbi says quietly and reaches for my hand, giving it a squeeze. “The guys are thrilled you are in his life.”
“Shit, I’m not sure my budget can handle all these hook-ups. Looks like I need to start saving for another wedding,” Charlie practically yells.
My face flames. “No, no, no. Not—”
“What’s going on in here?” Robbie interrupts, looking at our huddle suspiciously.
“Nothing. We’re chatting. Calm your horses.” Harper pats him on the shoulder as the group breaks up.
Charlie backs away, wiggling her left ring finger and pointing to me. I shake my head rapidly but grin at her.
