Page 117 of Wish You Were Mine
Looking around at the crowd gathering in his living room—friends, family, coworkers—he lifted his voice. “Thank you all for coming to my party!”
A round of cheers echoed back, and Theo made his wayinto the mix, offering hugs and high fives as he started making his rounds.
I hung back near the doorway, watching him, then turned to Lucy. She set Charlotte down, who immediately dashed toward the counter with all the food, a determined look in her eye.
“This looks great,” I said, nodding toward the decorations strung from wall to wall, the huge, gold three-and-zero-shaped balloons, and the buffet of catered food taking over the kitchen counters. “You and Nora must have been booking it.”
“We were panicking just a bit.” Lucy chuckled, brushing a loose curl off her cheek. “But Sloan, Ian, and Maddie showed up at the same time as the caterers and jumped in to help. Totally saved our bacon.”
“That’s awesome.” I glanced toward my friends who were chatting with Evan and Addie in the corner and smiled. “It turned out really well.”
“Thanks.” She looked over toward the kitchen area. Gesturing to the spread, she said, “I hope you didn’t stuff yourself at dinner because I’m pretty sure we have enough food in the kitchen to feed an army.”
“I saved a little room.” I patted my stomach.
“Good.”
We stood there quietly for a beat, the hum of the party buzzing around us while I took her in.
At some point between setting the trap for Theo and now, she’d changed outfits. Her dress was light blue and soft-looking, with short, puffed sleeves and a square neckline that dipped just enough to reveal the slightest hint of cleavage.
It was sweet.
Flirty.
Maddeningly sexy in a way that makes it nearly impossible to think straight.
My gaze dipped before I could stop it, drawn to the soft curve just above her neckline—a tease of skin that made my thoughts go places they absolutely shouldn’t. I swallowed hard and dragged my eyes away, praying no one noticed just how much I wanted to keep looking.
Her hair framed her face in gentle waves, catching the light as she moved, and her heels gave her just enough lift that she had to tilt her chin slightly to meet my eyes.
She was dazzling—utterly, stupidly dazzling—and I was painfully aware of how much effort it took not to reach for her. Not to close the distance and say to hell with the consequences.
“You look amazing, by the way,” I said, my voice lower than I meant it to be. “That dress—it looks really nice on you.”
“I’m glad you like it.” Her cheeks flushed the prettiest shade of pink as she glanced down, her fingers brushing the skirt of the dress like she didn’t quite know what to do with herself. “Figured I should probably wear something besides jeans or gym clothes for once.”
“You always look great in those, too,” I said. And my gaze must’ve lingered too long because something flickered in her eyes, like she knew exactly what I was thinking.
That no matter what she was wearing, I always had a hard time not watching her in class.
“Well, that’s good to know,” she said, the flirty glint in her expression impossible to miss. “Wouldn’t want to look like a scrub in front of my favorite professor.”
“So, I’m your favorite professor now?” I lifted a brow, unable to stop the grin tugging at my lips. “Does that mean chemistry’s finally grown on you this semester?”
She laughed under her breath, a warm, teasing sound. “I said you were my favorite professor. Not that you taught my favorite class.”
“Well.” I tilted my head, letting my smile linger. “I guess I can’t win them all.”
Just then, Charlotte came running back over and tugged on the hem of Lucy’s dress. “I want cake,” she said, wide-eyed and very serious.
Lucy crouched beside her, smoothing a hand over her niece’s hair. “We have to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to your daddy before we eat the special cake,” she said gently. “But we can find you something yummy for now, okay?”
Charlotte nodded, already tugging Lucy’s hand toward the kitchen like her tiny stomach was in full control of the evening.
“Guess I’ll see you later.” Lucy glanced up at me as she stood, a soft smile playing on her lips. “Hope you enjoy the party.”
And just like that, she was gone again—swept away by a three-year-old with an agenda and zero patience.
