Seduction - Chapter 8 #2
He sighed when I lifted half of the stuff out of his arms, then he kicked the door closed with his foot. “Where. Is. She?” He sounded furious.
“Don’t freak out. But Daphne hasn’t answered my calls yet.”
“Stop telling me not to freak out! It’s too late! This is chaos!” He shook his head and took a deep breath. “Sorry. Two weeks isn’t enough time. But enough about the barbarian for a moment. Penny, you’re glowing. Pregnancy looks good on you.” He kissed each of my cheeks.
“Thanks, Justin.” I walked through the foyer, balancing the binders in my arms before depositing them on the dining room table.
“Is it a boy or a girl?” Justin asked.
“We want it to be a surprise.”
“You’re just full of surprises, recently, aren’t you? Speaking of which….call the barbarian woman again.”
“Justin, stop calling her that,” I hissed.
He pressed his lips together in a thin line.
“Be nice.”
“I’m stressed! I need a mimosa!”
“Um…how about some coffee? There’s a fresh pot in the kitchen.” I regretted the offer as soon as it came out of my mouth. Justin was already acting insane. He definitely did not need any caffeine.
I pulled out my phone to call the barbarian again. I shook my head. Daphne, not the barbarian. Justin was getting to me. I was just about to click on Daphne’s name when she started calling me.
“Hey, Daphne,” I said. “Remember last night when I said I’d ask Justin to help with the planning? Well…he’s here. Can you come over? I really think we should start tackling the planning right away.”
“Yes! You’re a lifesaver. Rob and I can be there in…twenty minutes.”
“Okay, great.”
“Really, Penny. This means the world to me.”
“It’s not a problem at all. He’s the best.”
“I know, your wedding was beautiful. Okay, gotta go get ready. See you soon!”
I hung up and smiled at Justin as he walked into the room with a coffee cup filled to the brim. “Rob and Daphne will be here in twenty minutes.”
“They better be. I have a wedding I need to get to in…” he looked down at his watch and his eyes grew round.
“We have two hours. To plan this whole thing. Because if I don’t start booking things right this second you can call the whole thing off.
As it is the only venues left are probably prison yards and whore houses.
Or worse…city hall.” Justin gasped. “There isn’t time! We can’t…”
“We can do it in two hours. Don’t panic.”
“You don’t panic!”
I just stared at him. I wasn’t panicking. He was.
He huffed and sat down at the dining room table. “I take it back. This woman isn’t a barbarian. She’s a sadist. The devil herself!”
“Would you quit it.” I lightly shoved his shoulder.
“Fine. I’ll behave. But…” his voice trailed off as he steepled his fingers together on the table. He cocked his eyebrows up. “But I need a few things in return.”
“Whatever you want,” I said, sitting across from him.
He smiled for the first time since arriving. And then leaned in like he was about to launch into a ton of negotiations. “I want three things.”
“Okay.”
“First, I want double my normal rate.”
“Done.” That was a low ball ask. Even if Rob didn’t want to foot the bill, James would take care of it.
“Second, I get to plan your baby shower.”
“I thought you wanted to focus on weddings?
He took a sip of his coffee. “I do. But I make exceptions for the people I actually like. And you and James are lovely. I’ll probably like the little one too, I guess.”
I smiled. When I said Justin hated children ringbearers, I meant he just hated all children. “I’d love it if you planned my baby shower, Justin.”
“Good. Besides, your maid of honor was flaky and I don’t trust her to throw you a good one. You need me.”
He just had to add the sass to his previous compliment. “Melissa and I were going through some stuff. She’ll be there for me now. But of course I need you.”
“You really do. Regardless of Miss Flaky, it’s now my duty. And that’s all you need to know about that. Because obviously it’s going to be a surprise. And it’s going to be beyond fabulous.”
That sounded fun. I smiled to myself. So far these negotiations had been easy. I was just nodding along. “And what’s the third thing?”
“My favorite of the three. I get to come to the bachelorette party.”
“Why would you want to come to the bachelorette party? You don’t even like Daphne.”
“Because I need a break!”
“Okay…”
“And who said I didn’t like her?” he asked.
“Um… you . A bunch of times. You keep calling her a barbarian. And the devil.”
He waved his hand through the air. “I’m just frazzled. I’m sure she’s lovely. So I can come to the bachelorette party?”
Honestly that was kind of up to Daphne. Or one of her bridesmaids that was throwing it for her.
And as James had so kindly pointed out…Daphne hadn’t actually asked me to be a bridesmaid.
But I wasn’t really good at negotiating anything.
I had no practice. So instead I just nodded.
“Of course. We have a deal.” I stuck out my hand.
Instead of shaking it, he grabbed it and lifted it up to his lips, placing a kiss on the back of my hand.
“Good.” He dropped my hand with a flourish and stood up a little straighter.
“Now let’s plan this thing. Just because it’s a shotgun wedding doesn’t mean it can’t be beautiful. How far along is she?”
“It’s not a shotgun wedding.”
“Don’t even with me, honey. If this Daphne woman isn’t a barbarian, then she must be pregnant. It’s the only thing holding me together. Because that means I get to plan two baby showers. Just added a fourth thing. You’ll have to let her know the contingencies at your earliest convenience.”
I just shrugged. Daphne wasn’t pregnant. But at this rate, she was probably going to have to promise her firstborn to Justin in order for him to pull all this off. “Sounds good, Justin.”
He spread out an array of color palettes, bridal magazines, pictures of designer gowns, pulled out miniature tables to depict seating arrangements, and somehow managed to get sparkles all over the dining room table.
“Shouldn’t we wait for Daphne?” I asked.
“No. I don’t like her.”
I gave him a pointed stare. “We just talked about this.”
“I’m joking. Ha. Ha. Oh, James, you’re here too! Yay!” Justin stood up just as James walked into the room. “And yay for gray sweatpants season,” he added. “I’m a lucky man.”
I looked down at the sweatpants James had pulled on. He should have known better when Justin was around. I commented on them enough. Seriously…you could see every outline. Everything. I bit the inside of my lip.
Justin gave James a big hug and kissed both his cheeks. And then he giggled. “Your scruff tickles my lips. Best shave that for the wedding, yes?” He patted James’ cheek. And then the patting turned into more of a gentle stroking.
James just laughed. “For the pictures or for you?”
“Both.”
“It’s good to see you, Justin. Where are Daphne and Rob?”
“Who cares,” Justin said. “This is a great threesome right here. Come, sit next to me.” He sat down and patted the seat next to him. And when James didn’t move, Justin crossed his legs as he waited, drumming his fingers on his knee.
“Did you say something about breakfast, Penny?” James asked, ignoring the offer to cozy up next to Justin.
“Yeah, I almost forgot. The plates are in the kitchen. Could you grab mine for me?” I turned back to Justin. “Did you want a waffle too?”
He gasped and put his hand to his chest. “Do I look like I eat carbs? How do you think I fit into this number?”
His suit was indeed very fitted. I wasn’t sure anything was worth giving up carbs for though. What was life without hot bread?
“Coffee is fine for me. Another cup?” He handed James his empty cup.
Wow, he seriously downed that coffee. He was going to be very hyper during this wedding consultation. I hoped Daphne and Rob were prepared because they were in for… a lot.
Justin blew some of the sparkles off his binders and right into my face.
I coughed and waved my hand through the air.
“Sorry about that,” Justin said. “But everything in life is better with sparkles.”