Chapter 12
CHAPTER 12
“Why did I think that a party was a good idea?” I wailed from the kitchen. Fifty people were about to descend into my space in a matter of hours. I hated parties. I knew no greater punishment than to host a party.
Jackson stood shirtless at the door, drinking from a water bottle. The man liked to grind his body through the most intense, insane workouts imaginable and this afternoon was no different. Did people even realize that a body that looked photoshopped was the result of ruthless determination and constant work? No wonder the dad bod was coming back in style.
“I think you wanted me to have more selection than just Julie.”
I pointed a knife at him. “After this, you and your sex life are completely on your own. You're the last person that needs help in that department.”
He grinned. “Tell me what to do.”
“I don’t know.”
“Where’s your list?”
“What makes you think I have a list?”
“You have an entire binder for your wedding. You're the queen of lists. Cough it up.” He grabbed his t-shirt from the back of the chair and pulled it on. I worked to not watch.
I grabbed my notebook and stared unseeing at my scrawl. I suppressed a deep shiver when he came around and leaned over me.
“Clean back rooms,” he read.
“That says bathrooms.”
He leaned closer, so close I could feel the heat off his body. “You get an F in handwriting.”
“I’m left-handed.”
“Why do left-handed people always use that excuse for messy writing?”
“It’s not an excuse. It’s a fact.”
“Is that why your car is so messy? Because you’re left-handed?”
I started to laugh. “Life is too short to be a neat freak.”
“You do realize that the average messy person wastes more time looking for stuff than a neat freak spends tidying up.”
“You can’t just make stuff up and act like it’s a fact.”
He grinned. “It’s a scientific study. Look it up.”
“I don’t have time. I'm too busy looking for things.”
We stood there smiling at each other.
“Okay, I'll do the bathrooms.”
I snorted. “Please.”
His gaze held mine. I noticed flicks of gold in his green eyes. “You think a sailor doesn’t know how to clean?”
“I'm sure you can clean. But I can’t ask you to clean the bathrooms.”
“I’m on it.”
Jackson vacuumed, dusted, set up chairs and cleaned the bathrooms to a state I’d never seen them before. I cooked a tremendous amount of appetizers. He stepped out to get ice while I changed. I worked to create ambiance with lights, candles, and music while he showered.
I almost choked on my wine, when he came downstairs after his shower. A black, short-sleeved buttoned shirt showed off his arms, and his jeans hugged his butt. I struggled not to stare. His sex appeal rocked off the charts. I envisioned my worldly, ultra-hip New York girlfriend’s reactions as they laid their eyes on him.
“What’s left?” He interrupted my thoughts.
“I think we’re pretty much done.”
He looked around. “Looks good.”
“Thanks for your help. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
His eyes tracked to my mouth. “All this effort to get me laid.”
“Yeah.” I inwardly winced.
My heart fluttered when a smile slowly spread across his face.
“What’s so funny?”
“You just get this look on your face when we talk about my sex life.”
“Your sex life is none of my business.”
“How old are you?”
“24. How old are you?”
“29.” His eyes traced my face. “So what made you want to abstain from all things in the bedroom?”
My mouth dropped open. “Are you serious?”
He nodded. Completely serious. “Yeah.”
My breath stuck in my ribs. “It took a few years to recover from losing my parents. My grandma was pretty liberal, but she was old-fashioned when it came to boys.”
“What about when you went to college?”
I lifted my hands. “It isn’t like guys were beating down my bedroom door. I had crushes on guys.”
“What kind of guys?” his eyes narrowed.
“I seemed to gravitate towards big, athletic guys. At parties, I was the shy redhead, who stared at them from across the room. And I was incapable of talking to a single one of them. I would watch them go home with my friends.”
“You’re killing me.”
“They never saw me. Not when there was someone like Julie in the room. ”
“She’s average.”
If he thought someone like Julie was average, I couldn’t imagine the caliber of women he dated. “She’s a catch.”
He crossed his thick arms. “So, if the hunky quarterback had found the balls to put the moves on you, would he have been able to have you?”
My mind raced, uncertain of my answer. “I don’t know.”
“Matt doesn’t protest your vow of celibacy?”
I rubbed my forehead. Matt rarely attempted to touch me. Since we had become engaged, I had hoped we would fool around a bit more, but he seemed uninterested in taking things further. “He seems okay with it.”
Jackson tilted his head and paused. “He’s either an idiot or he’s a better guy than me.”
My head jerked up. “What? Why do you say that?”
“I don’t think I would be okay with it.”
My heart bounced in my chest. “What about all your navy trained self-discipline?”
“SEALs have discipline, but they thrive on challenges. If you and I were engaged, I wouldn’t pay attention to any of this waiting-for-marriage bullshit.”
My eyes widened in shock. The thought of being engaged to Jackson did weird things to my stomach. Something forbidden hung between us. Decadent, sinful images flashed wildly before my eyes. I imagined him crawling up the bed, laughing with that smile, teasing me, kissing my neck. My entire body reacted to his statement.
“You can’t say that.”
“I just did.”
He watched my face with interest.
“All of my friends are going to go bananas over you, but to be honest, you scare me.”
The intensity of his stare whipped shivers up my spine. “You’re the one who scares me. ”
I struggled to bring air into my lungs. Why did I scare him? How was that even possible? “I thought you didn’t feel fear.”
“I feel it. I just manage it.”
Our eyes stayed locked.
“Hello?” A voice intruded from the door.
I tore myself away from his gaze. Julie walked in, carrying two bottles of wine.
“Hi,” I scrambled towards her, part grateful and part resentful for the interruption.
We hugged.
She peeked around me. “Hi, Jackson.”
He raised his hand and waved.
She looked back at me, and a smile stuck on her face. She whispered through her smile. “I thought I told you that I wanted it to be a quiet evening?”
I had texted Julie a couple of days ago, telling her that we had upgraded the dinner to a party.
I cleared my throat. “I thought it would be a good chance for Jackson to meet people.”
“I wanted him to myself,” she hissed. “You have everything. Why couldn’t you help me out on this one thing?”
I glanced back at Jackson who watched our whispery exchange from the kitchen. “More alcohol and more chances to flirt than a boring old dinner.”
She pushed her arm into mine. “Good point. I forgive you.”
She spoke in a normal voice. “Where’s Matt?”
We walked to the island, and I checked my watch. “He should be home soon.”
She shifted her attention to Jackson. “Hi, Jackson. How are you?”
“Good, how are you?”
His friendly smile stunned Julie into an uncustomary silence. Her arm squeezed mine tight in response. Geez, he needed to keep that thing on a leash. Yup. I sensed a feeding frenzy in our near future .
“So what brings you to New York, Jackson?” Julie vibrated with energy.
I uncorked the wine and poured Julie a glass.
“I'm stateside for a few months.”
“Stateside? Are you in the military?”
“The Navy.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Like a real sailor?”
“Navy SEAL.”
Her hands danced to her chest. “Oh, my God.”
I looked down at her wine and decided to take a big sip before passing it to her.
“Julie has a thing for guys in uniforms.” I paused, thoughtful. “And guns.”
“Emily doesn’t lie.” Julie batted her eyelashes like she had something in both eyes. I inwardly sighed. Julie’s behavior was reminiscent of our University days. But this time, I would not be at the party alone. This time I was engaged.
I stepped away and dialed Matt’s number.
A female voice purred. “Hello?”
I looked at the face of my phone. I confirmed that I had dialed Matt’s number. “Is Matt there?”
“Sure. One moment.”
The phone fumbled and then Matt’s voice was on the line. His voice sounded too whispery. “Hey.”
I swallowed an awful feeling down my throat and let it sink into my stomach. “Who was that?”
“That was Katherine. We’re all working overtime on this brief, and there must be ten cell phones on the boardroom table. I think she just thought my cell was hers.”
“There are other people there?”
A short laugh punched out of him. “Of course. Honestly, we’re up to our eyeballs here.”
I placed my hand on my forehead. “Do you know what day it is? ”
“It’s either Saturday or Sunday. I'm hoping it’s Saturday because if it’s Sunday, we’re fucked.”
“Matt,” I whispered, looking up. Jackson watched me from across the room. Julie was talking at him, a mile a minute. “The party for Jackson? Remember?”
“Oh crap,” he said. “Emily.”
“We have over 50 people arriving here in less than half an hour. You have to come home.”
“I'll make it up to you.”
“Matt.” I heard the pleading tone in my voice.
“Emily. You know I’d be there if I could, but it’s just not going to happen. Not this weekend.”
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Well Jackson is there, isn’t he?”
I focused on the ceiling in despair. Why could Matt never make me his priority? He promised me repeatedly that he would come home, but lately, he was a ghost. He pushed me to spend time with Jackson. My emotions confused me. “He’s here. But he isn’t my fiancé whom I want to spend time with.”
“Have fun for me, okay?”
I remained silent on the phone, my hand pressed against my throat. I suppressed the anger that threatened to bubble out of me. Why could Matt never stick to his word? How would I survive this party on my own? I hated parties. For the hundredth time, I questioned my sanity in planning this event.
Matt sounded short. “Emily, you can’t be like this. I have to go.”
“Fine.”
“Love you.”
I sighed and clicked off the phone without replying.