Seduction, page 11
“Really? Or is it because it’s the most beautiful spot on the golf course? There’s a reason we stopped here that night. The fireflies lit up the water. Don’t you remember? It was perfect. It was almost magical.”
It really was perfect. And it was a beautiful spot to get married. I nodded. I could easily picture Justin’s vision. Rob and Daphne were going to be so happy here on their wedding day.
“Besides,” James whispered. “We had sex under the tree. And you saved us from having the ceremony right at the spot.”
That was true. This could have been so much worse. Instead I’d just be staring at the tree during the whole wedding, biting my lip, remembering James thrusting inside of me. I swallowed hard.
“About that firepit,” Justin said and walked over to us. “We need to see it. Because if there is already covering on the terrace, it could be a good place for the reception.”
I smiled. “Not too backyard for you?”
“We shall see, won’t we. Oh my, I do see your face turning red.”
What? I touched my cheek. I was pretty sure I was blushing thinking about having sex with James under the willow tree. Sold it!
“Let’s get you away from this tree. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be driving back to the terrace with Rob and Daphne. James’ driving is too rugged for my delicate sensibilities. And yours too, Penny.” He spun around and hurried over to the happy couple’s golf cart.
I laughed. At least he wasn’t calling Daphne a barbarian anymore. I looked up at James. It was so tempting to wait behind and pull him under the tree. But he said we were waiting for sex tonight. So…I stood up on my tiptoes, leaning in for a kiss. But at the very last moment I paused. “Race you back!” I yelled, leaving him hanging. I hopped into his golf cart, thinking that it was faster than mine.
“Who’s the cheater now!” he yelled after me.
***
The weather was perfect today. There wasn’t even a chill in the air as we all sat out on the terrace sampling tray after tray of appetizers. It was like I’d died and gone to pregnancy heaven. All. The. Food. And I was putting it away. I was made for taste-testing right now. I grabbed my second quiche and sighed. If this wasn’t on the menu, I was going to sneak into the kitchen on the wedding day and demand some. So freaking good.
Justin had never experienced Daphne around food before. I was pretty sure he was horrified, but he was being cool about it. Although his eye definitely twitched after she shoved away her twelfth sample.
“So what was wrong with the quiche again?” Justin asked while making rapid-fire notes. “It looked like you liked that one.”
Daphne shook her head. “Well I loved the spinach, but what kind of cheese was in there?”
Justin looked down at the menu. “Swiss.”
“I’m not a fan of Swiss cheese,” Daphne said. “Do you think we can start making substitutions?”
“You can make whatever substitutions you want. But that requires you to actually be able to make a choice about what you’re substituting.”
“I’m making choices. I want there to be cheddar in the quiches. Wait. No! How about provolone? God, I love provolone. But does it pair well with spinach?”
“Swiss and spinach are a perfect pairing. Cheddar or provolone would send the whole quiche off balance. How about we put them down as a maybe?”
Daphne shook her head. “Nope. No to the quiches then.”
Darn. I agreed with Justin. Swiss and spinach were a perfect pairing. For being so particular about her food, Daphne was making terrible choices. Or rather…no choices at all.
“But you’ve said no to everything on the first three trays,” Justin said.
“Let’s hope the fourth tray is better,” Daphne said.
“My girl knows what she likes,” Rob said and wrapped his arm behind her back.
“There is no fourth tray,” Justin said. “That was all the appetizers on the list for your package.”
“Then let’s try the cheaper appetizers,” Daphne said.
“That is highly unusual.”
She shrugged. “Let’s just try those. I didn’t really love any of the expensive ones. Maybe the other list will be better.”
“That’s definitely not how that works.”
Daphne just stared at him.
Justin didn’t look calm anymore. It looked like his head was about to explode. He waved over the waiter that was helping us with this train wreck of a food sampling. “Can we try everything on this menu too?”
“Yeah, I’m sure we can arrange for that. Our chef will need a few minutes though. Are we going for the cheaper package then? I’ll have to notify the chef if we want the other samples for the main course and desserts.”
Justin looked over at Daphne.
“Can we just try all of it?” asked Daphne. “All that you have to offer? Please.”
“Very well,” the waiter said. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll get those other appetizers out for you.”
“Please keep the alcohol coming,” Justin said.
I laughed.
Justin stared daggers at me as the waiter walked away. “Penny, a word?” He set down the menus and walked off.
It seemed like I was in a lot of trouble. I looked over at James. He shrugged. But I could tell he was thinking the same thing I was. That Justin was royally pissed.
Yeah, I was definitely in trouble. I excused myself and followed Justin. He’d walked back inside and was pacing in the restaurant.
“How are you doing?” I asked as the doors closed behind me.
“What the actual hell?!” he shrieked.
“So…not good then?”
“You owe me more than just a few favors, missy. You knew this barbaric woman. You knew she was weird about food. Don’t you lie to me. You knew she’d be a nightmare.” He pointed a sassy finger at me.
I guess he was back to calling Daphne a barbarian. “I’m sorry, Justin. But she’s only weird about food…”
“Food is half the wedding!”
“That’s not true. There’s fancy clothes and dancing and a beautiful ceremony.”
“A ceremony followed by lots of food! We’ve been sampling appetizers for 30 minutes and she hasn’t chosen one. Not a single one!” He grabbed a folded cloth napkin off a nearby table and threw it on the ground.
“Justin…”
“How is she ever going to decide on a band or a DJ? Or when she wants the ceremony to start? Or what kind of flowers she wants for her bouquet or for the arch! There’s a million more decisions to make and she doesn’t like Swiss and spinach together!”
“I get it. I’m with you. Swiss and spinach is a wonderful combination.”
“Then talk some sense into her. We don’t have all day to sample food. I need them to make decisions about more stuff.”
“I’m telling you, she’s only bad with decisions about food. She’s already picked out her dress. And the bridesmaid dresses. And she’s chosen the location. We’re checking things off left and right.”
“We’re going to be talking about appetizers for hours!”
“I’m sure you’ve had bridezillas before.”
“This is not bridezilla behavior. It’s barbarian behavior.”
“Justin…”
“I have more contingencies now.”
“Justin. You already agreed to do the wedding.”
He huffed. “I did not agree to…that.” He pointed to the window. I looked out to see Daphne, her nose scrunched up after she bit into an appetizer that I’m sure was freaking delicious.
I nodded. He had a point. “Okay. What are your new contingencies?”
“Every single person you know that gets engaged…you send them to me. Immediately. Right after you see someone drop to one knee you butt in there and recommend me. You owe me.”
“Okay, done.” I was going to do that anyway. Minus the whole butting into the proposal thing. “What else?”
“Get all the girls to drive back to the city in my car. And let me be chauffeured with the gentleman.” He lifted his chin in the air.
“Um. Okay, I guess I can make that work.” I wasn’t sure how James was going to feel about that. Not just because we didn’t like being apart. But because Justin got handsy the more he drank. And he’d just stolen a glass of something from a passing waiter.
He drank it down in one gulp. “And there’s more contingencies that I haven’t even thought of yet.”
“Okay. If they’re reasonable, I’ll make them happen.”
“Oh, like Daphne is reasonable?”
“Fine, even if they’re unreasonable I’ll make them happen. Come on, let’s go back out there. I’m sure Daphne has found a handful of appetizers she likes and we can move on to soups and salads.”
He groaned. “Thank God it’s my cheat day. Because I’m eating all the carbs. I can’t handle this stress!”
Chapter 14
Sunday
“It’s a tad too spicy, don’t you think?” Daphne said and looked at Rob. She fanned her mouth like she’d just eaten a jalapeno instead of a creamy chowder.
Rob had just lifted another spoonful. “Oh. Um. Yeah, babe. Definitely too spicy.” He plopped his spoon down into the bowl.
I swore I saw Justin’s nostrils flare.
“There’s no spice,” Justin said calmly. “It’s a crab and corn chowder. There’s seriously nothing else in it but cream and a few seasonings.”
Daphne lifted a spoonful and sniffed it. “Are you sure? There is definitely something spicy in there.”
“Garlic perhaps?” Justin asked. “That hardly counts as spicy.”
“That’s probably it. Do you think they could remove that?”
“It’ll be flavorless, but…”
I lightly hit my foot against Justin’s shin.
He yelped at the top of his lungs. “Penny Hunter, I love you to death, but did you just strike me? What in heaven’s name have I done to deserve that?”
James gave me a weird look.
“I…” my voice trailed off. I’d barely tapped him. What was he screaming about? “I was just trying to get your attention because you mentioned to me in the dining area that the chef here is really good at substitutions like that.”
He glared at me. Because he had absolutely not said that to me. But he had promised to be calm.
“Don’t you remember?” I asked.
“Yes.” He turned back to Daphne. “Is that a yes to the chowder if the garlic is removed?” He shook his head like it pained him to ask.
“It’s my favorite of the ten,” Daphne said.
“So…yes?”
“Without all that spice, yes.”
Justin wrote it down, but I didn’t see him write anything about the garlic. “She’ll be too busy on her wedding day to even eat any of this,” he said under his breath.
I didn’t think Daphne heard, so it was fine. And he was right. I barely remembered even sitting down at my own wedding. Daphne probably wouldn’t be eating the soup. She’d be too busy greeting everyone and receiving congratulations. But…it was her day. And she was allowed to have bland soup if she wanted.
“Justin,” I said, using my most authoritative voice.
He looked up at me.
“No garlic,” I said and pointed to his menu that was all crossed out in different colors.
“Right, how could I forget?” He wrote ‘no garlic’ next to the chowder and circled it in bright red. “Happy?”
As a matter of fact, I was. I’d feel personally responsible if this wedding was a disaster. I’d recommended Justin to them. So this had to go seamlessly. I took another spoonful of the delicious chowder, the way it was meant to be. Daphne really was missing out. It was freaking amazing.
Daphne started trying the salads, but I was pretty content with my soup. I looked over at Bee across the table. I needed to trade seats with Mason for a few minutes. Because I was dying to ask her about the sex altar thing again. I needed to know what my husband was planning for me tonight.
I contemplated how to get Mason to move. Maybe I could tell him there was a sex party out by hole 6 or something. I smiled to myself. That would probably work. Although he’d take Bee with him. They were the kinkiest couple I knew. Hell, maybe I should just ask Mason.
I took my last bite of chowder. And then my stomach churned. Damn morning sickness. In the afternoon. I was getting really tired of all the lies I’d been told about pregnancy. I excused myself and hurried off the terrace.
The restaurant was practically empty right now, the afternoon crowd gone and the evening crowd still an hour off. Which was good. Because I wasn’t going to make it to the bathroom.
I pushed through the doors of the private room just in time and threw up right into a bucket filled with champagne and ice.
James didn’t have to say anything. I could feel him as soon as he entered the room. His hands were warm on my neck as they pulled my hair out of my face. He kept my hair in one hand as he rubbed my back with the other.
I leaned over and threw up the rest of the food I’d sampled.
James moved his free hand to my hand. He rubbed my palm in that way that made my stomach feel better. “Maybe the chowder was bad.”
I laughed. “It was delicious.” I grabbed one of the linen napkins and wiped off my mouth before turning to him. “I hate this.”
He sat down in one of the chairs so that he’d be eye-level with my stomach. “Hey, sweet girl,” he said and put his hand on my stomach.
“Boy,” I corrected.
James shook his head and spread his fingers over my belly. “Do you think maybe you could be a little easier on your mom?”
It was the first time James had referred to me as mom. Something about hearing that word made me feel nauseous all over again. I was so excited to be a mom. And yet…a mom? I was too young to be a mom. I still called my own mom mom. Was I supposed to stop that when I became a mom? I didn’t know how any of this worked. I’d only read one of the books that Rob had given us when we found out we were expecting. I had so much research I needed to do.
James leaned forward and placed a kiss on my stomach.
“I’m going to be a mom,” I whispered. The dam broke and tears spilled down my cheeks.
He looked up at me. “Yeah, one of those sexy ones that all the other moms hate.”
I smiled. The nervous energy dissipated as soon as our eyes locked. It wasn’t like I was doing this alone. James was going to be the world’s best dad to our baby. We did everything as a team. And we’d do this together too. “I love you.” I straddled his lap.
He ran his thumbs beneath my eyes, removing my tears. “I love you too. Please don’t cry. You know how much it pains me when you cry.”
I leaned forward and ran the tip of my nose down the length of his. “It’s just the hormones,” I said.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” I wasn’t sad. Honestly, straddling him like this? I was more horny than anything else. “Do you remember the first time we were in this room?”
James didn’t look around, but his hands settled on my waist. “I remember.”
I laughed, remembering how our waiter had almost seen my panties around my ankles. “We were wild.”
“We’re still wild.”
“James, can you please just tell me what a sex altar is?”
“You’ll find out soon.” He looked down at his watch. “Actually, it’s probably almost set up. I wonder how much longer this food tasting will take?”
“What do you mean almost set up? Who’s setting it up?”
James just smiled.
“What are you planning?”
He leaned forward, whispering in my ear. “Sinful things, baby.”
I swallowed hard.
“And if I didn’t have the best night ever planned, I’d take you right here, right now.” He lightly bit down on my earlobe.
God. I take back what I thought earlier– Mason and Bee weren’t the kinkiest couple we knew. We were. But I needed to know what I was walking into. And what kind of setup was he referring to? “We should probably get back. I bet they’ve moved on to the dinner course.”
James groaned. “This is taking forever.”
I climbed off his lap. “We’re halfway through. And Daphne is less particular about desserts.”
“Is she?”
“Mhm. One time when we were out, she took ten minutes ordering dinner. But for dessert she didn’t have any substitutions or anything. She just ordered directly off the menu.”
“Really?”
“Yup.” But that was just one time. I’d seen her eviscerate a dessert menu too. Hopefully this would be more like the former. “Either way, I’m starving.”
James laughed and stood up. “Well, no one’s going to want this now. Might as well make the rest of this afternoon fun.” He pulled out the champagne from the bucket and wiped it off with a napkin.
“Gross.”
“What? It didn’t get inside the bottle.”
“Well, either way, you can’t drink. Because I kinda sorta promised Justin he could ride back with just the guys.”
“Wait, what?”
“And Mason drives too fast and Rob isn’t great at paying attention, so I’d really prefer if you were driving.”
“I’m driving back with you,” he said.
“Unfortunately not. There are a lot of contingencies to Justin planning this last-minute wedding. He’s been very particular.”
“He put driving with us into his contract?”
“Not exactly…we don’t even have a contract.”
James laughed. “So you’ve been negotiating with him just for fun? Because it really seems like he’s committed to this wedding.”
“Yes?” Damn, Justin was tricky. There was no way he was going to pull out of this. He loved a challenge. He’d been playing me. Acting all dramatic and stuff. Although…I don’t think that was acting.
James laughed. “You’re a terrible negotiator.” He grabbed my hand and led us out of the private room. “How about you come get me next time he wants to add a contingency. I’ll take care of it.”
“If you say so. Maybe just give that champagne right to Justin to calm him down.”
“Alcohol does not calm that man down.”
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