Devotion - Chapter 9
Friday
My friends had been doing a fantastic job decorating.
But when I stepped back into our apartment, my jaw dropped.
Justin's assistants had rearranged all the furniture so that there was room for long tables with elegant tablecloths and huge flowery centerpieces.
The caterers were all set up and the food smelled amazing.
Everyone was bustling around, doing last minute preparations.
"Told you I'd make it beautiful," Justin said. "What do you kids think?"
James smiled at me, only caring about what I had to say.
"It's perfect, Justin. Thank you."
"Does that mean I get an A?" he said with a wink to James.
James laughed. "Absolutely."
Justin clapped his hands. "Okay, people! Everyone not in the bridal party will be arriving in fifteen minutes! Places everyone! Places!"
We had originally wanted to keep our rehearsal dinner small.
Just the people that were a part of the wedding.
But with so many people coming in from out of town, we decided to make it a bigger thing.
Mostly James' friends that I had never met.
I was a little nervous to meet them. I wanted to hear their stories.
I wanted to know what James was like in college.
Bee looped her arm in mine. "I feel like I just got completely schooled in party decorating."
I laughed. "I like the streamers. It's exactly what I would have done."
She smiled. "We'll learn how to step up our party throwing game together. Sometimes I still feel so out of place in all," she gestured with her hand, "this."
"Yeah, I know what you mean." I looked over at James. He was standing with my mom, introducing himself to the caterer. No matter the situation, he always looked so in his element. I looked back at Bee. "I'm glad I have you to figure it out with."
"Here's to that. God, I need a drink. These shoes are killing me. I have no idea what I was thinking, they just looked so cute with this dress."
Her shoes matched her dress perfectly. But they were also at least 7 inches tall. "They are really cute."
She laughed. "Thank you. Can I get you something?"
"No, I'm good." Ever since James had kicked me out, my stomach had felt uneasy. I knew it was probably just nerves now, but I didn't want to add alcohol to the mix.
"Penny! Come over here for a second," my mom said and waved her arm toward the caterer. She had been very insistent on hiring the catering staff by herself. Whoever she had chosen, it smelled amazing. I walked over toward her and James.
"Remember La Patisserie? Your favorite restaurant in Philly?"
"Of course."
"This is Rory, he used to work there."
"Oh yeah? You're an amazing chef." I tried not to look directly at him.
I used to love going to La Patisserie because he was as mouth watering as his food.
I had never even had a boyfriend in high school.
I may have daydreamed quite a lot about Rory.
It had been a few years since I had seen him, but he looked exactly the same.
"Thank you. It's nice to meet you, Penny," he said and stuck out his hand for me.
I quickly shook it.
"James, this is a funny story," my mom said and lightly touched his arm. "In high school, Penny always wanted to go to that restaurant. The food was really good. But I have to say, I was completely convinced that she had a crush on Rory."
"Oh my God. Mom." I was completely mortified. "That's not...the food was just..."
Rory and James both laughed.
"I never really thought about it before, but I guess she's always had a thing for older men.
" My mom shrugged. "But, either way, you did love his food, so.
..here he is. The chef himself! And James, you've had his food before too.
The first time you came to our house. You know, when you told us who you really were.
Oh, Peter was so angry that day." She laughed.
"Anyway, I'm going to go try some of the appetizers. " She walked toward one of the servers.
"I am so sorry," I said to Rory and James.
James laughed and put his arm around my shoulders. "Such great memories."
"Geez, parents can be so embarrassing sometimes," Rory said with a smile.
"You have no idea," I said.
Rory laughed.
"So, you started your own catering company?"
"Yeah. We only just opened a couple weeks ago, but your mom sought us out. I actually just have my friends helping me out tonight because I haven't had time to find staff." He pointed them out to us. "Connor, Jackson, and my wife, Keira."
Keira glanced over and smiled at Rory when she heard her name. She was arranging some delicious looking appetizers on a serving tray.
"Well, everything looks amazing," James said. "Hopefully tonight will go better than the first time I ate at her parents' house. Because that was pretty much a disaster."
Rory laughed. "If not, hopefully it won't be due to a mistake on my part. Actually, if you'll excuse me for one second. I promise they'll all be professional by the time the rest of the guests get here." Rory rushed past us to go talk to his friends.
I glanced over my shoulder. It looked like Jackson and Justin were arguing heatedly over decorations. And Conner was sitting down across from Melissa at one of the tables talking to her. I laughed.
"So, you had a crush on him, huh?" James asked.
"That was a long time ago."
"Any traces of that remaining?"
"No," I said and placed my fingers behind his neck. "Not one lingering trace."
"Why did we invite all these people over to our house again?" he whispered in my ear.
"Wishing we were alone right now?"
"So badly. About not sharing a room tonight...I think we should discuss that."
"You're not excited to have a slumber party with all your friends tonight?"
He laughed. "Not in the least."
"Talk about an upgrade," someone said from behind us. I hadn't even realized that guests had started arriving. "She's stunning."
James let go of my waist. "Luke. Geez, how many years has it been?"
Luke embraced him in a huge bear hug. "Too many, man."
"So, you must be Penny," he said and put his hand out for me.
I recognized him from the one picture James had of him and his frat brothers. "It's so nice to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine," he said.
"You knew James in college, huh? I would love to hear some stories."
"Just you wait till Benny and Mike get here and the beers start flowing. There will be plenty of stories."
I couldn't help but notice that James looked a little uncomfortable. "I can't wait," I said.
"Definitely a keeper," he said to James as he pointed at me. "Are any of the guys here yet?"
"Mason is here somewhere." James looked around the room.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of my oldest friends walk in. "If you'll excuse me, it was great meeting you," I said to Luke and gravitated toward the door. "Mila!"
"Penny! It's so great to see you!" She gave me a huge hug. "Oh my God, this place is amazing. Do you seriously live here?"
"We just moved in, yeah."
"Geez, I'm so sorry, I'm being incredibly rude. This is my boyfriend, J.J.," she said and gestured to the guy smiling beside her. He was so tan it looked like he spent all his time on the beach. "J.J., this is Penny."
"It's so nice to meet you," I said and shook his hand. "It's so funny, Mila, the last time I saw you, we were both boyfriend-less. It was actually your going away party. Before you left me and moved to Cali."
"I know. I'm sorry I've been missing in action the last few years. Geez, time flies, doesn't it?"
"It does. I'm just really, really glad you could make it."
"I wouldn't have missed your wedding for anything in the world. I'm so happy for you, Penny. I've really missed you."
I was getting teary eyed again. God, what was wrong with me tonight? "Are you moving back to the east coast anytime soon?"
"We're actually thinking about it," J.J. said. "We both grew up on the east coast. We're just waiting to hear back on some job offers."
"Who are your friends?" James asked as he slid his arm around my waist.
"Mila was my best friend growing up. She went to UCLA and dropped off the face of the earth for awhile."
Mila laughed.
"And this is her boyfriend, J.J."
"It's great to meet both of you," James said and shook their hands. "That means you were the neighbor growing up, right?"
"Yes, that's me. What terrible things has Penny been telling people about me?"
"Only good things. Mrs. Bennett on the other hand..."
"You've met Mrs. Bennett? She was the nosiest neighbor in the history of nosey neighbors. Please tell me she's not behind me right now?"
I laughed. "No. Mrs. Bennett is surely patrolling the neighborhood as we speak."
"I feel so out of the loop right now," J.J. said with a laugh.
"Trust me, you don't want to be in the loop on this," I said. "Mila, my parents were looking forward to seeing you."
"I can't wait to see them either. I need to stop disappearing for years. I'll go say hi to them. Congrats, Penny," she said as she passed me and squeezed my shoulder.
"Did you two get in all sorts of trouble growing up?" James asked.
"If by trouble you mean staying in and watching movies and eating popcorn in pajamas? Or catching fireflies? Or playing with Barbie dolls? Then yes, we were in trouble constantly."
He kissed my temple. "I'm envious of your childhood."
When he said things like that, my chest actually ached. "You know, whenever I picture your childhood, I see little you locked in your room being denied anything good."
"It wasn't quite that bad."
"What was a normal day like in the summer? Didn't you do anything fun? I bet you were probably holed up in your tree house terrorizing Jen."
"Hey, Daphne's here."
I knew he was purposely trying to distract me. But I was dying to meet Rob's girlfriend. Or friend that was a girl. I wasn't going to throw out terms and freak them out. I just couldn't believe that Rob was actually dating someone. "Which one is she?"