This year, however, with Maisie on my arm, I wasn’t about to embarrass myself, nor did I have any interest in getting hammered with the guys or joining the chaos. I didn’t even feel like I was missing out, which was novel for me.
Maybe I really am a new man.
In my defense, she looked unfairly gorgeous in her gown, red and purple sequins catching the strobe lights and the shimmering fabric clinging to her curves. She should’ve been owning it, but instead, it kind of looked like she was bracing for a pop quiz in a language she didn’t speak.
Every time I introduced her as myfiancée, her hand tightened on my arm, like she was holding on for dear life. Meanwhile, every time I saidfiancéein relation to her, I felt about ten feet tall.
Right up until people glanced at her left hand and noticed the very obvious absence of a ring.Nothing like announcing it to the world without the evidence.Genius move, Callum.
We’d just made it past the bar when I heard a familiar voice shout, “Holy shit! Maisie?”
I groaned.Harrison.
I turned to see my youngest brother bounding over, dressed as a cowboy and so committed to the role that he was chewing on a piece of straw. Knowing him, he might’ve actually found it in the parking lot.
“Please don’t let him say anything stupid,” I muttered under my breath.
Maisie chuckled and shot me a sweet smile. “Anything stupid, as in tell me what those things are that you didn’t want me to see or hear about?”
Harrison threw his arms open wide and pulled her into a hug like he’d known her forever. “You’re here! I didn’t think he was going to bring you.”
He probably squeezed her just a little too tight, but as the strange urge to haul him off her started overwhelming me, he stepped away and gave me a shit-eating grin. “I can’t believe you brought her to this party, man. What’d you do? Bribe her with free dental?”
Maisie laughed. “Actually, he just asked. I didn’t know this party had such a reputation until he started getting nervous in the elevator.”
“Don’t you have someone else to annoy?” I interjected, sending him a pointed look he completely ignored.
The asshole grinned at Maisie. “That’s probably because last year, he?—”
I cut him off with a death glare. “Finish that sentence and you’ll be waking up in the hospital tomorrow with that straw someplace very uncomfortable.”
Maisie raised an eyebrow at me, clearly entertained. Harrison just smirked, unfazed. “Relax. I was just going to say that you left early last year.”
Yeah. Sure he was.
“Anyway,” Harrison said, leaning toward Maisie conspiratorially. “Welcome to the family business. If you can survive this, you’re going to fit right in here. Just, uh, a quick pro tip. Don’t let Callum anywhere near the karaoke. He gets emotional when he sings.”
Maisie ducked her head to hide a laugh, and it made my chest swell in a way no party—or antics—ever had. She wasn’t just surviving. She was actually smiling.
Harrison winked at her before he reached out to clap me on the shoulder. “Good job, big brother. I honestly didn’t think you had it in you.”
I wanted to deck him, but Maisie stepped into me and slipped her arm tighter around mine, and strangely, it grounded me. He sauntered away and she looked up at me with amusement sparkling in her eyes.
“You didn’t leave early last year, did you?”
I shook my head and grimaced. “I should have. Does that mean anything?”
She laughed, but then the music shifted into something fast and shameless, and I leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Dance with me.”
Her eyes widened as if I’d asked her to jump out of a plane. “Here? Now?”
“Unless you’d rather wait for a slow song,” I teased, holding out my hand. She hesitated just long enough to make me sweat before she finally slipped her fingers into mine.
I led her to the makeshift dance floor, the lights flashing red, purple, and blue from above, and found a spot for us among the crush of my coworkers. Maisie kept laughing at herself once we started dancing, tripping over my shoes and throwing her arms up like she could shake off the embarrassment if she tried hard enough.
I couldn’t stop grinning. Every time she stumbled, I pulled her closer. By the third song, she wasn’t even trying to dance by herself anymore. She was just hanging onto me, sequins pressed against my shirt, laughing so hard, her cheeks flushed pink.
Eventually, though, duty called. Or rather, Sterling did. I spotted him across the room with Laney, who was visibly pregnant and dressed head to toe as a watermelon. Seeds had been painted on her cheeks, her green tights stretched to their limit. She grimaced when we reached them.
