Page 81 of Consummation

I force myself not to snicker at Josh’s use of the phrase “lovely meal” to describe what we wound up doing with Bridgette that night.

“And, anyway,” Josh continues, his eyes shifting to me, “I’d only planned all of that stuff so I could tell Kat I love her for the first time—which I did that night, regardless.”

My heart stops.Oh my God.

“Because I realized,” Josh continues, his eyes darkening, “‘Hey, I don’t need violins and a private chef to tell Kat I love her—I can do that anywhere, anytime.’ So that’s exactly what I did.”

Oh my effing God. I just had an orgasm, right here in front of my parents. And, apparently, so did my mother—she literally just made an unmistakable “O” sound, God bless her.

For a brief moment, there’s an awkward pause in the conversation as Mom and I flutter and twitch and coo and then giggle uproariously at how much we’re completely embarrassing ourselves—all while the male members of my family exchange looks that say,They’ve definitely got vaginas.

In the midst of my momentary meltdown, I glance at Dad. He’s smiling at me—a full smile that reaches his eyes.

I glance quickly at Colby and he’s looking at me with twinkling eyes—the first time I’ve seen light dance in his eyes since the accident.

And then I look into Josh’s beautiful eyes mere inches from mine—the eyes of the man who just declared his love for me in front of my entire family (minus Keane, but he doesn’t count), and I’m instantly home—even more so than inside the physical walls of my beloved childhood house. This beautiful man is my safe place. He’s where I belong. Always.

“I love you,” I whisper.

“I love you, too,” Josh whispers back, almost inaudibly.

I kiss him on the cheek, my crotch burning, my heart fluttering, my very soul soaring around the room.

Mom clears her throat. “Well, that was very sweet of you, Josh.” Oh, man, her cheeks are flushed. Get that woman a cigarette. “Very, very sweet.”

There’s another awkward silence, which Colby rescues by redirecting the conversation back to Dax. “That third song blew me away, Dax. By the end, it sounded like you had an entire orchestra playing behind you.”

“That third song’s my favorite of anything you’ve ever done,” Mom says.

“Mine, too,” I say. “And you know how much I love everything you’ve ever done.”

“Hey, I don’t know if Kat’s mentioned it to you,” Josh says to Dax, “but my best friend from college owns an independent record label. I’d be happy to forward your songs to him if you’d like. He’s always scouting new talent.”

Holy fuckburgers.Jackpot.

Dax’s eyes immediately dart to mine, and there’s no mistaking the elation in them. And I’m right there with him. I’m literally jiggling on top of Josh’s lap, unable to contain my excitement. Not only will Dax’s songs find their way to Reed, exactly as we’d hoped and schemed, butJosh, not me, is gonna give them to him.And,best of all, it was completely Josh’s idea, with no prompting by me. This is truly the absolute best-case scenario.

“Wow,” Dax says, somehow managing to keep his composure (sort of). “That’d be amazing, Josh. Thank you.” Oh my God, he’s practically hyperventilating. “You think I should wait ’til I have all ten songs recorded on the album or send these three now?”

Oh God, I can see Dax’s chest constricting from here.

“It’s up to you,” Josh says calmly. “I’ll forward whatever you want, whenever. Just lemme know.”

Dax looks at me, obviously trying to keep his eyes from bugging out. “What do you think, sis?”

“Send these three now,” I say definitively. “Reed won’t need ten songs to know you’re amazing. Strike while the iron is hot.”

Dax’s face lights up. “Awesome. Thanks, Josh. I’ll send you all three MP3s now. What’s your email address?”

Josh gives Dax his email address, just as a timer goes off in the kitchen.

“Oh,” Mom says, hopping up. “Everyone up, up, up. It’s time to eat!”

Twenty-Four

Kat

“Kat didn’t exaggerate, Mrs. Morgan,” Josh says. “This is the best spaghetti sauce I’ve ever had.”

---