"So you didn't fuck someone else?"
"Well, I wouldn't say that. But I broke up with Stephanie before the actual penetration occurred. I'm not a total sleaze."
"Right. Bummer really, she seemed… nice."
He laughs. "Are you judging her by her choice of men or her attire, since you never actually spoke to her."
"I could go Mom on you and ask when you're going to settle down with a nice girl and have babies."
He swats at me, then runs ahead to avoid payback. "Hey, I could throw that right back at ya. Speaking of, Mom called last night while you were with Romeo. She wanted to talk to both of us together."
That's news. She hasn't called in a while. "What did you tell her?"
"That you were out fucking your new husband and wouldn't be home all night."
I nearly choke on another sip of water. "You didn't."
"No, I didn't. I told her you were out with Vi, and I wasn't sure when you'd be home."
"You'd better not tell them shit about this mess I'm in. They would freak."
A car swerves onto the sidewalk, nearly hitting us. I jump to the side and narrowly avoid the bumper. "Watch where you're going, asswipe."
"With such a ladylike demeanor, I'm honestly shocked you don't have more suitors," Tate teases, but I punch him, my heart still thumping in my chest from the near-collision.
"What did mom want?" I ask when I'm recovered enough to keep running. We're on the route back to our house, and my legs and ribs are burning, my lungs are dying, and I need a bath and a cold drink. God, I hate running sometimes.
"She said Grandma Gladys isn't doing well. She's back in the hospital. She wants us to come visit."
I make a very unladylike sound. "I'm not going back to Ohio just so that old nag can berate me for my life choices. Remember how she threatened to remove us from her will if we didn't move back to the country and do the whole family and kids thing?"
Tate nods. "Yeah, I remember. She was always a mean bitch. I can still feel the snap of the belt from her spankings when we were kids, and mom and dad forced us to spend a week of each summer with her."
"Where's social services when you need them?" I ask as we jog into our house, and I collapse into a sweaty mess on the couch. "So what did you tell mom?"
"That we are booked all summer, and we'll try to get out there, but no promises."
I nod in approval. "That should keep her off our backs for a while."
Tate presses the button on our answering machine to play the messages and then ambles into the kitchen and grabs two beers, tossing me one. I can't stand beer usually, but after a run, it's possibly the best thing in the world.
The first message is a telemarketer. I'd delete it, but I don't want to move that far, so we both just listen to the woman blabber on about the price of car insurance. The next message has me sitting up, hands clutching the couch anxiously.
"Ms. Michaels, this is David Melton's assistant. I'm calling to let you know that we received your gift basket and considered your ideas carefully. Mr. Melton was impressed and has asked that Hitched be put on the short list of companies we're considering for his bachelor party. We'll be in touch either way to let you know, but Mr. Melton was very excited by your proposal."
I'm clutching a throw pillow so hard it's about to burst, and once the message ends, I scream into it then jump up and start dancing around the house like a maniac. "I told you!" I tell Tate. "I told you my idea would work. We're a shoe-in!"
Tate smiles at me. "It's good news, but it's not a done deal. Don't count the chickens before they hatch."
"Okay, Mom. Look, he wouldn't have called us like that if it wasn't basically decided. Who else in town can provide what we're suggesting? I just know it's going to be us. Hitched is about to be famous!"
I'm still dancing around with my throw pillow, unwilling to let Tate's negative attitude pull me down, when the doorbell rings. Tate rolls his eyes and gets up to get the door, since I'm clearly not going to.
"Hey sis, I think it's for you." He comes back into the living room carrying a white box with a red ribbon.
I grin like the fool I am as he hands it to me, my energy climbing even higher. I eagerly open it, knowing it's from Sebastian.
Inside are some very sexy lingerie and a card.
A car will arrive to pick you up at 9 p.m.
Wear this under your clothes.
Bring an overnight bag.
Looking forward to “getting to know you better” tonight, Ms. Michaels.
Forever Yours,
Sebastian
Chapter 18
A Leap of Faith
I won't lie. Keeping my mind on work today has been hard. But I'm at least trying. Give me some credit, will ya?