Page 89 of Party Favors

“I still can’t believe you got her mother-in-law to invite men to the shower.”

“She was easy enough to convince.”

I believed that he’d had zero issues on that front. I was surprised she hadn’t signed over the deed to that palatial apartment of hers to him, too.

He was going to be gone for only a few days, but I hated the thought that he wouldn’t be around. I still had an actual mountain of work to do, but I liked knowing that if I wanted to see him, I could.

I realized that I was going to miss him. “You’re not going to find another tour guide out there, are you?”

He moved closer to me. “There’s only one tour guide for me.”

That made my heart feel sparkly and light and I didn’t care if I was reading into it. If he flirted with every woman with a pulse. All I cared about was being with him.

“Then let me show you something.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

“I’ve seen the Empire State Building before,” Max said as we stood on the sidewalk, looking up toward the top.

“From the main deck observatory?” I asked. “It is my duty as your official New York City tour guide to take you up there. I’ll lose my fake license if I don’t. Come on.”

“Isn’t it closed?”

It was well after midnight, so it was a good question. “It’s okay. I know a guy.”

“Of course you do,” he said with an amused grin.

We went into the lobby and were greeted by my friend Hollis. “Hey, Hollis!”

He whooped and then wrapped me into a big bear hug. We were little more than acquaintances if I was being honest, but our common geographical background had bonded us.

“How are you, Everly-darlin’?”

“I’m good.” He put me down and shook hands with Max as they introduced themselves.

“How did you two meet?” Max asked, and was it my imagination, or did I detect a tiny note of jealousy?

“At a corporate event where Hollis was working security,” I said. “I heard his accent and asked where he was from. He grew up about halfan hour away from my hometown and so this made us instant friends. We’ve kept in touch.”

“I’m lucky that I get to call her a friend. Everly is the sweetest girl east of the Mississippi,” Hollis said, grinning at me.

“Don’t I know it,” Max said, his hand tightening around mine.

“Thank you for letting us in after hours,” I said to Hollis, telling the part of me that was thrilled by Max’s little display of possessiveness to knock it off.

It didn’t listen.

“My pleasure, Everly-darlin’.” He handed me a key and told me it would open the door to the observation deck.

“Thank you!”

Max and I went over to the elevator and I pushed the button for the eighty-sixth floor.

“Your accent’s back,” he said.

“Hollis brings it out in me.” The security guard’s accent was so thick that I couldn’t keep my own from emerging.

As the elevator climbed, I remembered earlier, when Max had told me he wanted to talk to me after the party. I wondered if he still did and what he would say. It concerned me because I knew that if we had The Talk, this would all end, and I wasn’t ready to lose him.

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