Page 39 of Party Favors

There was silence and I worried he might ask me to leave his stuff with Vella so that he could just pick it up.

“If you want to meet me there, I could give you the address,” I said hopefully. I didn’t want to pressure him or anything, but if this was going to be the last chance I had to talk to him in person, I should take it so that I could appreciate his extremely symmetrical face one more time.

“Sure, why don’t you ...” His voice trailed off and he laughed. “I was about to say ‘Why don’t you text me the address,’ but that’s not going to be possible. And I don’t have a notebook and pen at the ready like some people, so hang on a second.”

I nodded and then immediately felt stupid because he couldn’t see me. “Okay.”

While I waited, I tried not to grin too hard. It had been only a couple of hours since I’d come up with my list of ways that I could be more like Kat and it was already paying off.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Seeing Max again was going to be the perfect opportunity to practice my new resolutions. Asking myself WWKD, I changed into her blue-and-white dress I’d worn to the pitch meeting. I figured it would be a good visual reminder to myself that I was trying to do things differently.

Walking into Adrian’s apartment didn’t feel the way it used to. There had always been this little thrill about being in his home, his private sanctuary. I’d sometimes imagined myself living there, married to a prince of New York society, wearing ball gowns and tiaras.

Today was different. It was just an apartment, and what I currently felt was panic and annoyance.

Annoyed that I had to be there instead of being able to have lunch with Max, and panicked that he was going to show up any minute and I wasn’t sure exactly when to expect him as he hadn’t given me a specific time. The waiting was driving me to distraction.

I tried to work but felt too jittery and unable to concentrate. I attempted to water Adrian’s plants, but I ended up making a huge mess by knocking the watering can over in the kitchen. After I cleaned up the spill, I decided to sit on the couch, where I couldn’t do any more damage.

The electrician had arrived right after I did, and now he was coming into the living room to tell me that he had finished up. He had me signsome paperwork and then gathered up his tools. I walked him out and thanked him for coming.

Right as I opened the front door, I had to stifle a gasp because Max was standing there with his hand lifted, as if he’d just been about to knock. All the cells in my body jumped with joy at seeing him again and I couldn’t quite catch my breath.

Max was every bit as gorgeous as I’d remembered. If anything, my memory had failed to do him justice.

With the bright sunlight streaming in, I noticed that his eyes were an icy, light blue. Sharp and piercing, but beautiful.

I wanted to sigh.

He and the electrician nodded at each other as the electrician left. Max let himself into the apartment while I stood there with the doorknob in my hand, not able to move.

“Nice place,” he said, taking it all in.

Okay, time to get myself together.WWKD, remember?I needed to act with some decorum, to be regal and elegant like Kat, but it wasn’t happening.

Instead I was a bumbling mess.

“Thanks,” I said, finally managing to shut the door. Then I realized how stupid I probably sounded, given that it wasn’t my apartment. “I mean, it’s my boss’s place.”

“The same boss that you have the crush on?” he asked as he walked over to the glass doors to the balcony, taking in the view.

Now I was regretting that I’d spilled my guts so easily to Max. “That’s him. The same one that’s getting engaged.”

I wasn’t really sure why I felt compelled to tack on that last part—I’d already shared that information with him.

Okay, that was a lie. I knew why I had said it. A not-very-bright part of me wanted to oh-so-subtly let Max know that Adrian was not an option for me. It was not a great inclination, given that I’d already had many talks with myself to not get swept away in an impossible romantic fantasy.

But then I noticed Max’s expression had turned into a mixture of distaste and terror when I’d said Adrian was going to get married.

“What is that face for?” I asked.

His eyebrows flew up his forehead, as if he were surprised that I’d caught him. “What face?”

“The one you made when I said he was getting engaged.”

He made the expression again, and this time I laughed. “Just the mere mention of the word is enough to freak you out? Marriage is not an epidemic. You’re not going to catch the commitment flu and find yourself at an altar against your will.”

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