Page 39 of Not Part of the Plan
“Suck it up and be a big girl. There’ll be a ton of booze.”
Joey brightened. “Well, I do love my mother-in-law. What are you guys doing while we’re partying it up?” she asked Jax.
“Babysitting all of the little people and playing poker. You in?” he asked Niko. “You’d better be because it’s at Carter’s.”
Niko laughed. “Count me in. Wait, can we drink while we’re in charge of children?”
“It’s required,” Emma, Joey, and Jax said in unison.
“So, then it’s okay if I put you in charge of a couple of desserts since you’re so bad ass with sugar and baked goods?” Emma clarified with Joey.
“Ugh. Fine. Sure. Just let me know how much I owe you for the…” Joey trailed off and looked at Jax.
“Entertainment?” Emma filled in.
“Yeah. That.”
“Cool. Awesome. Great. Uh, if you two will excuse me, I need to take my husband into the tack room and do some… inventory,” Joey said, curling her fingers into the neck of Jax’s shirt and dragging him down the corridor.
“Inventory, huh?” Niko said, watching them go.
“If I start hearing screams of ecstasy, I’m leaving.” Emma wrinkled her nose.
“You must be feeling better,” Niko said. “I mean, you look better. Not that you ever don’t look good…”Shut up, asshole. Just shut the fuck up.God, he’d turned himself into a gawky teenage loser who was too stupid to live.
“I assume you couldn’t possibly be referring to the Situation That Shall Not Be Referred To Ever Again, and therefore, I will state for the record that I feel just fine. And I look amazing,” Emma said, tentatively stroking Calypso’s velvety nose.
“Glad you’re done curling around the toilet in the fetal position,” Niko said, stepping in on her. If he was going to act like a child, he might as well call on playground etiquette and pull some pigtails.
“If we were talking about it—which we aren’t—I’d say thank you for being so… helpful.” Emma swallowed hard.
“I feel like you just took my gold star and turned it into a shitty ‘good job, champ.’”
“I’ll get you a gold star if you promise to never bring this up again,” Emma bargained.
“Deal.”
Calypso nudged Emma’s shoulder with her nose. “I’d better get out of here before I’m covered in horse slobber,” she said, taking a step back.
Niko followed her and reached for her hand. “Hang on a second. I talked to Phoebe today.”
She turned back to him, dust motes floating on the afternoon sunshine between them. “And?”
“And I’m shooting the wedding.”
He didn’t know how badly he’d wanted to say yes to her until Emma was squealing and throwing her arms around his neck. “I knew it! You’re going to be amazing. and they’ll love what you do.”
She didn’t pull back, and he didn’t move his hands from where they’d settled on her hips.
“I’m glad you’re happy,” he said huskily.
“You didn’t say yes just to make me happy, did you?” she accused.
“Not only for that. Though, at the moment, I’d have to say it was worth it.”
“Niko.” She unwound her arms from his neck and rested her palms flat on his chest. Yet, she didn’t push him back.
He tucked a curl behind her ear and let his fingers thread through her fiery hair.
