He probably knows it and thinks he's god’s gift to women.
Yeah? Two weeks ago, your vagina thought he was a gift from God as well.
Ugh… shut up, you hussy!
“You look pretty,” Della compliments me as she leans in for a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“Nothing compared to how beautiful you look,” I reply and take a second to place my hand on her growing belly. “How’s my nephew doing?”
“He’s kicking the hell out of my bladder,” she says with a loving smile around her lips.
“Just like Christopher did,” I remind her of her previous pregnancy.
Carter stood up while I was greeting Della, and taking hold of my shoulders, he pulls me into a brotherly hug. “Thanks for coming.”
“Of course.”
When he pulls back, he asks, “Did you get settled in, okay?”
“Yes, I even got myself a mini-fridge for my smoothies.”
I wave at the rest of our family and friends then ask Della, “Did you get a sitter for Danny and Christopher?”
“Yes, and let me tell you, Danny was not happy,” Della chuckles.
I take the open seat to Della’s right, which unfortunately places me directly opposite Julian.
I greet all the other members of CRC first before I bring my eyes back to Julian. “It’s nice seeing you again, Mr. Reyes.”
“Likewise.” At least he’s polite, and it makes my shoulders relax a little.
I pay attention to the conversation Miss Sebastian is having with Lake and Rhett, and soon, I’m chuckling.
“Let me tell you,” she says to Lake, “My chunk-of-hunk is not as good at golf as he’d like you to believe. Just last week, he almost wacked a ball right at my poor hubby.”
“Ryan walked in front of me just as I took the swing,” Rhett defends himself.
Slowly my eyes drift to Julian, and I find myself staring at him.
The man might have made me angry, but he’s still handsome.
Julian smiles at something Falcon says, then he turns his head toward Carter and catches me looking at him. I quickly drop my eyes to the menu in front of me.
“Carter, you’re flying back tomorrow, right?”
“Yes, first thing in the morning. An unexpected meeting popped up,” Carter explains. “Logan will stay behind for a month to help finalize all the paperwork for the partnership.”
“I appreciate that,” Julian replies.
A waiter comes to take our order, and I decide to only have a starter, not having much of an appetite.
When they bring the food out, and a plate is placed in front of Rhett, he says, “Shit, this looks good.”
“Ten dollars.” The words automatically pop from my mouth.
Widening his eyes, Rhett looks at me. “It used to be five.”
“Inflation,” I shrug, smiling at him.
Rhett digs the note from his wallet and then hands it to me, which has Mason asking, “What just happened?”
Rhett lets out a chuckle. “Jamie has a swear jar. She doesn’t like cursing and has been making money off us for years.”
“Oh.” Mason lets out a chuckle.
“I should do something like that,” Kingsley adds. “I’d be stinking rich in no time.”
“Don’t you dare.” Mason playfully scowls at her.
With the food being served, it grows quiet around the table as we all eat.
Every couple of bites, I find my eyes drifting to Julian, and with a slight shake of my head, I do my best to keep them locked on my plate.Chapter 6JulianThe dinner went much better than I anticipated, and I’m glad to see that Jamie kept her word.
Rhett, Marcus, Jaxson, and Miss Sebastian were the first to leave, having to drive back to Los Angeles.
“We should get back to the kids, and there’s still some last-minute packing to do,” Carter says as he rises to his feet. He helps Della stand then moves around the table toward me.
I quickly push back my chair and take Carter’s outstretched hand. “Thank you for joining us for dinner.”
“Pleasure was ours,” he replies.
“Jamie, are you leaving, too?” Layla asks which has Carter and myself glancing at Jamie.
It once again strikes me how beautiful she looks in a dress.
With all those heavenly curves in all the right places, she certainly doesn’t look like a nineteen-year-old.
“Ah… yeah,” Jamie answers while she picks up her purse, then she explains, “Carter arranged a driver for me.”
“Noooo, stay a little longer. You can drive back with us,” Kingsley offers, making a cute face to try and sway Jamie.
“You should stay,” Carter adds.
Jamie looks uncomfortable for a moment, then she smiles at Kingsley and Layla. “Thanks for offering me a ride.”
“I’ll make sure she gets back to the dorm safely,” Mason says as he moves closer to shake Carter’s hand.
“Thank you, I appreciate it.” Carter walks back to Della’s side.
I watch them hug Jamie. “Call if you need anything,” Della says, a worried look on her face.
“The guys are just an hour away,” Carter adds.
“We’ll take good care of her,” Mason offers some comfort as they seem very worried about leaving Jamie on her own.