Page 78 of Moonstruck Kiss

“Good!” Emory gives me back the mic. “Carry on.”

I grin. “Thanks, Emory.”

Joey holds my hand holding the mic. “Yes, thank you, Emory. On that note, I think whatever else Brax and I need to say to each other, we can say in private later.”

While there are a few groans, most clap their hands.

I take a peep at my family. They’re sporting happy smiles—except for Ollie, who’s too busy eating the coloured sprinkles on top of a chocolate cupcake and probably didn’t listen to anything that was said.

“Mum, Dad, Liss,” I say, “thank you for arranging this party. I’m sorry that my decision to stay happened after you’ve already set this all up.”

They wave away my apology.

“All’s well that ends well,” Liss quips.

“Wait!” Mum says. “It’s Cutie’s birthday in two days. Let’s make this her birthday party!”

Everyone starts cheering for Cutie, and Joey and I leave the “stage.”

“Do you think they’ll notice if we take a breather outside for a little while?” I whisper in Joey’s ear.

“Why don’t we find out?” she says.

Hand-in-hand, we walk towards the exit. No one tries to stop us…except Voovoo.

“Make sure she takes this,” Voovoo says, handing me a brown paper bag.

“What is it?”

“It’s for her diarrhoea. I think she’s too embarrassed to admit she needs it.”

“Thank you, Voovoo,” Joey says, glancing around furtively. “I appreciate your concern.”

“Just remember it’ll make you sleepy.” He turns to me. “Keep that in mind if she falls asleep on you during sex.”

I swallow my laugh. “Thanks for the warning.”

Joey tugs my hand and we trot out of the room. “I don’t have diarrhoea. I just pretended I did so I could get out of this party. But, thankfully, I’m here.”

I press a kiss on her temple. “I’m glad, too. But does this really work?” I inspect the bag before stuffing it in my pocket.

She shrugs. “Others have sworn that Voovoo’s herbal concoctions are the real deal.”

“This town is full of colourful characters, isn’t it?”

“It certainly is.”

“I’m so thrilled that you and Ollie are staying,” Joey says as we stroll towards the far end of the garden. “Two months is not a long time, but it’s better than nothing. And…” She hesitates. “It feels way too early to be talking about where we might live in the future, but I think it’s important to be open to the discussion now because if we’re both not willing to budge, then…”

“I know. I meant it when I said that if we decide to be together for the long term, we’ll discuss our options and take those that will work for the both of us and Ollie.”

She nods. “I hope that you’ll consider living here. Maybe fully immerse yourself in the Moonstruck Cove lifestyle for the next two months to see how you like it?”

“That’s my intention. And maybe you can come with me and Ollie back to New York, stay for a few weeks, and see how you like it there?”

“That sounds fair,” Joey says after a pause. “You already said your preference is New York—because of your job, obviously.”

“And you prefer Moonstruck Cove.”

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