These past couple of weeks, Dean had loved walking into their new kitchen and finding her sketching in the breakfast nook, loved the excitement shining in her eyes whenever she spoke of her new designs. The racy Fire and Ice garments were a thing of the past—Emma was all about the girlie stuff now, and Dean’s heart squeezed each time she showed him one of her new creations. She planned on launching the new label in the summer, and as much as he wanted to help with the details, it turned out he knew shit-all about fashion. Luckily, Emma’s assistant Stella had relocated to the West Coast, and the two women seemed to have everything under control.
As for Emma’s former partner, the bastard had managed to buy his way out of a DUI charge, but Fire and Ice was no longer, and Lorenzo had been shunned by the fashion world. He’d tried calling Emma several times since the lawyers had sent him the dissolution papers. He’d even threatened to take it to court, but with Emma listed as the owner, he hadn’t had a leg to stand on, and last they’d heard he’d gone back to Italy.
“Anytime now…”
Dean jerked back to the present, to the gorgeous woman beside him, who was still holding her glass and waiting for his toast.
“Sorry. I was trying to come up with the perfect thing to say. Something about how proud I am of you, and how successful your new label will be, and how much I love you.”
Her lips twitched. “Um, well, you just said all those things, so…should we toast to that?”
“Yup.”
They clinked their glasses, and he waited for her to take a dainty sip of the sparkling liquid before grabbing her glass and setting it next to his on the granite counter. “No toast is official until it’s been sealed with a kiss,” he drawled.
“Is that so? I’ve never heard that rule before.”
“Made it up right now.” He grinned. “Now come here and kiss me.”
She leaned in close, tipping her head as she licked her lips. Dean chuckled and touched her cheek, dipping his head to bring their lips together. First the kisses, followed by whatever else came to mind until the apartment was rocking. It was time for the best kind of celebration—a party for two.
Parties that were finally able to last longer than a minute or two. Fuck, she still made him lose control too quickly. He figured sometime after fifty years together he might actually be able to pull an all-nighter with her.
Then again—nah. They were always going to be on fire for each other.
A shrill whistle sounded from the balcony, and Dean and Emma jerked apart like two teens caught necking behind the bleachers. Outside the wall of windows of their fifth-floor apartment, Jack Hunter stood leering at them, a climbing rope dangling at his side.
“I’m going to kill him,” Dean vowed, stomping toward the sliding door.
“Don’t get blood on the hardwood,” Emma warned. “It might stain.”
He yanked open the door and the doorbell rang. While Emma rushed off to answer it, Dean glared menacingly at his partner. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Winning a bet. I’m the first to arrive, right?” Jack slipped past him into the living room, glancing around before throwing his fists in the air in triumph. “Score!”
“You’re not the first. I’ve been here for ages.” Parker’s voice, coming from the back of the apartment. He marched out of the guest bedroom, a bottle in one hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other. He took one look at Jack before shaking his head. “What? Empty hands? Dude, you didn’t just lose, you lost like a pathetic pansy-ass pussy.”
Dean took a deep breath and fought for calm. More noise and excitement carried from the front door, where a crowd of people was pouring into the apartment, bottles and bags full of delicious scents in hand. “Did we get our dates mixed up? Is this invade-Dean-and-Emma’s-place day and no one told us?”
Jack smacked him on the shoulder. “Didn’t you check your e-mail? Pepper thought you needed a housewarming party.”
Dean didn’t know why he’d bothered asking. Of course it was Pepper’s idea.
“Oooh! I love what you’ve done with the place,” Pepper squealed as she stepped into the living room. She smacked a kiss on Emma’s cheek before wandering over to do the same to Dean.
Suz came up next, green eyes sparkling as she handed him a small gift bag overflowing with tissue paper. She winked. “Make sure you open this one later, Colter. It’s for the after-party I’m sure you two are going to have.”
“We were about to have that after-party now,” he grumbled. “Before all these unwanted intruders showed up.”
But he was smiling, because truth was, he loved each and every one of his friends, and he was thrilled they’d all welcomed Emma into the fold so easily. They greeted him one by one, giving him kisses or macho backslaps, and they showered Emma with the same attention. Lynn. Colby. Gillian. Even Didi and her husband Teddy had shown up to welcome Dean and Emma to their new home.
Someone turned on the television and loaded the Internet radio channel, and music rolled from the speakers as champagne was poured and laughter rang around them.
Emma slipped up beside him and brought her lips close to his ear. “Confession: I knew about the party,” she whispered.
“Traitor,” he whispered back.
“Hey, I was pretty sure you’d be all grumpy about it if I told you. Figured I’d leave it as a surprise.”
“You guessed right,” he mumbled against her neck, momentarily distracted by the warmth of her in his arms. “You want to go hide in the bathroom and fool around?”