Jake raised his brows. “Irony?”
Brandon saluted him with his glass. “Of you, stopping to roll in the hay when you’re only five feet from the finish line you’ve been running toward for twenty years.”
“I’m not sure that’s how irony works,” Jake said distractedly as his stomach twisted into a knot. Hewasworking fewer hours than he ever had in his life, yet he seemed to be closer to his goal than he’d ever been. A year ago, he’d have laughed off the idea that becoming less of a workaholic would win him a partnership, but he was still on course, even if he answered his emails a little more slowly these days. He was still in it for the career, the partnership, the financial stability he’d craved his whole life. He’d just made a little room for Mabel alongside it all.
Still, his expression must’ve betrayed some of that inner turmoil, because Brandon clapped him on the back. “Not fucking with you here. I’m genuinely trying to pay you a compliment. You found your person and fell in love, and you didn’t worry about your self-imposed life schedule. That’s brave. Now”—he drained his drink—“if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to see if I can find a woman or two tonotfall in love with tonight, if you know what I mean.”
With one more hearty back slap, Brandon disappeared into the crowd, leaving Jake frowning into his glass. Something about their conversation itched along the edges of his brain, probably to do with Mabel and his partnership. God, if he could just jump ahead to their Jamaica trip, where he wouldn’t have to think about work or the future or anything he couldn’t control. It’d be just him on a beach with the woman he—
In a flash, he realized what was needling him. He ditched his glass on a vacant high-top table and set out across the room to find her at the WNCB table next to Skip, holding a mic, ready to do her live spot.
“Hi!” She waved him over. “Give me two minutes.”
She slipped the headphone on and raised her voice to be heard over the buzz of the crowd. “Hey there, Beaucoeur! This is Mae Bell, coming to you live from the ballroom at the Samuel Clemens Hotel. I’m here with a couple hundred of my closest friends, ringing in this glorious New Year, and good news, there’s still time for you to join us before we do our final countdown to midnight.” She paused and shot Jake a quick wink before turning her attention back to the mic. “This year I’ve got my somebody special picked out to kiss when the ball drops. And maybe you’ve got somebody picked out too, or maybe you don’t. Either way, get on down here and join us! We’re having a blast.”
He was hit with a surge of joy. Hats-in-public, no-PDA Mabel had mentioned their relationship on air. That was important. That let him know that he was doing the right thing.
Skip signaled her that they were out, and she dropped her equipment on the table. “Thanks, kiddo,” he said. “I’ll pull in Dave for the next one.”
She shot him a thumbs-up, then spun to Jake, who rested his hands on her waist and backed her into the corner behind the station table until they were as alone as they could be in a packed ballroom.
“Did you just announce to the world that you’re a taken woman?”
She laughed breathlessly and pressed a hand to her chest. “Did I?”
“You did.” He tugged her closer. “And I need you to know something too.”
The teasing expression dropped off her face when she noticed how seriously he was studying her. “Oh God. What did Brandon do this time?”
She glared over his shoulder, angry gaze scanning the room until he caught her chin and turned her attention back to him.
“Nothing bad, actually.” He released her and smoothed his hand down her neck. “He said something to me just now, about how brave I am to have…”
She looked up at him expectantly, and he swallowed hard and tried again.
“How brave I am to have fallen in love with you.” He watched her expression, searching for any hint of panic or rejection, but her face only registered surprise. “And the thing is, as soon as he said the words, every part of me knew it was true. And then I got pissed at him.”
She gave a shaky laugh. “Join the club. But why over that?”
He moved his hands down to rest on her hips. “For saying it out loud to me before I could say it to you.”
“Then you’d better officially say it to me,” she whispered, eyes bright.
“I love you.” It felt so good to say that he repeated it, louder this time. “I love you, Mabel.”
Then, thank God, she said it right back. “I love you too. I love you so much that I’m only slightly annoyed that Brandon was involved in this.”
Jake laughed and pressed his forehead to hers. “Does that mean I’m allowed to lay my unworthy hands on you in public now?”
“Oh, absolutely.” She reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. “And you should probably kiss me a couple of times too, just so everybody here knows we’re together.”
Who could resist? He kissed her soundly and offered a silent thank-you to the universe that he’d looked up from his spreadsheets and found her. Now if only the universe could show him the formula for landing his partnership and keeping his girl.
Thirty-Five
Mabel walked into the greenroom and found Dave slumped on the couch with his guitar on his lap.
“It’s Monday,” he said when she dropped on the couch next to him. “The third week in January.”
