“Yes!”
The shock of her sudden consensus caused words to wedge in my throat. But when she broke into the brightest smile, I exhaled a long sigh of contentment. Joy bubbled in her laugh, and we drank in each other’s kisses before I carried her back to bed and took my time showing her just how happy she makes me.
Ezra clinks his glass of whiskey against mine in congratulations, but that isn’t even the biggest surprise I have up my sleeve.
Me
Joey doesn’t suspect anything does she?
Millie
Dude
Cool it
I’m leaving now. She thinks I’m going to Sam’s
The coast is clear. Come get your girl
Joey’s book doesn’t release for another few weeks, but I’m surprising her with a private book launch with her closest friends. She doesn’t want to celebrate, but publishing a book is a huge accomplishment, so Millie and I got to work on a surprise.
She thinks I’m taking her to see a special showing ofSinging in the Rainat a nearby theater tonight, but I have a stop to make first.
I meet Millie at the Black Hole to check in. I find Iris in thekitchen and thank her profusely for closing the café early tonight. In response, she hands me a sign to hang on the door that readsClosed for a private event.
Mark is catering, of course, and from the look of the food setup, he and his wife went overboard. Ari picked up the custom cake I ordered—a confectionary replica of Joey’s book—and is setting it up as the focal point. My parents and Claire arrive as I’m headed out to get tonight’s guest of honor.
Joey looks hot as fuck in black faux-leather leggings, an oversized cream-colored sweater, and spike-heeled boots.
“Ready to go?” she asks, greeting me with a kiss on my cheek.
I brush the loose curls that fall over her shoulder back and take a peek at my watch. “We have some time. I thought we could look at a few apartments I found online first.”
“Um, sure,” she says, tilting her head.
She pulls out her laptop and plops onto the sofa with me.
We look through one after another, but her shoulders are hunched and her lips are turned down just a fraction. Shit. Is she having second thoughts?
I close the laptop and set it on the table, then shift so I’m facing her. “Okay, what’s going on?”
With her head dipped so her hair hangs around her face, she tangles her fingers in the ends. “I don’t think we should look for apartments.”
“What?” My body heat rises.
She grasps my hand and pulls it to her chest and finally looks up at me, her bottom lip trapped between her teeth. “What if we take a year to travel?”
“Travel?”
“Yeah. I can promote my book from anywhere in the world. And you can take on projects anywhere we go. You were so successful these last few months in California, so why not expand to otherplaces?”
“What about all that talk about having a real bed and a place to call home?”
She straddles my lap and captures my face in her hands. “Baby,” she says, “wherever you are, that’s my home.”
About four blocks from her apartment, Joey’s cursing her heels, so I offer her a ride on my back. When I stop outside the Black Hole and set her on her feet, I convince her that we should pop in and grab a coffee on our way. Someone had the foresight to pull the window shades down, and I do my best to keep Joey turned so she can’t see the closed sign.
A collective “surprise!” erupts from inside, startling her. With a jump, she spins to me, her eyes wide and her mouth agape. Grasping her shoulders, I turn her to face our friends, then step out of the way as they all rush her. Every one of them is holding an advanced copy of her book and a Sharpie.
