Josh hangs up and looks at me mournfully. “Well, Party Girl, I’ve got some bad news. I gotta hop a flight to New York tomorrow morning, first thing.”
“Oh,” I say, the wind completely knocked out of my sails. I was really looking forward to spending a few days (and nights) alone with Josh in Vegas, just the two of us living out our sick-fuck fantasiestogether before being forced to leave this bizarre bubble and return to real life (and our separate cities). I don’t know if this thing with Josh (whatever it is) is going to carry over into the real world or not—and if not, I don’t feel ready to find that out. “Why do you have to go to New York?” I ask, trying to keep my voice from sounding too hurt.
“Jonas and I have to talk to our uncle about something important,” Josh continues, “and Jonas insists we do it as soon as humanly possible.” He twists his mouth. “And, unfortunately, Jonas is one hundred percent right about that. It’s not something that should wait.”
“I’ll be heading off tomorrow, too,” Henn says. “Jonas said the feds want me to meet with them in D.C. to help them sort through the database. But, hey, that still leaves us tonight to celebrate, right guys? It’s not every day a guy (or girl) saves the world, huh? And especially not with his best friends.”
Josh and I exchange a look. What have we been thinking? We went on and on about launching into our sick-fuck fantasy fulfillment the minute our mission was complete—but, clearly, that’s a nonstarter. There’s no way in hell either of us would ever let our beloved Henny celebrate this incredible victory all by his little, brilliant, quirky self. I make a face at Josh and he smiles wistfully, obviously resigned to our sudden change of plans for tonight.
“Of course, we’re gonna celebrate, Henny,” I say.
“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” Josh says, fist-bumping him. “And we’re gonna do it in style, my man. Leave it all to me—I’m gonna make sure we have the night of our fucking lives.”
Henn flashes Josh a look of appreciation and excitement that’s so freaking adorable, I want to throw a little rhinestone vest on him and toss him into my brand new Gucci purse.
“Hey, I’ve got a brilliant idea,” I say. “How ’bout we fly Hannah Banana Montana Millikin into Vegas on the next flight to celebrate with us?” I look at my watch. “There’s still plenty of time to get her here in time for dinner, isn’t there?”
Josh looks at his watch. “There sure is. Great idea. I suddenly feel like we need some additional staffing on that PR campaign.” He winks.
“What do you think, Henny?” I ask. “You up for letting Hannah Banana Montana Millikin crash our party?”
Henn grins. “Awesome.” He raises one eyebrow. “As long as you tell her to wear her glasses.”
“I’ll tell her,” I say.
“You know,” Josh begins, his wheels obviously turning. “As long as Hannah Banana Montana Milliken is gonna come all the way out here, it’d be a crying shame to send her back home tomorrow. How ’bout you two girls hang out for a few days and have some fun? We’ve still got Jonas and Sarah’s penthouse suite—I forgot to check out of it like Jonas asked me to.” He makes a face that says,Yeah, I’m a fuck-up.“When Henn and I leave, you and Hannah can stay a couple days in the penthouse like a couple ofmill-i-on-aires. Have yourselves a mini-vacay, on me.”
“Really?” I squeal.
“Sure. Book spa appointments, go shopping, seeThunder from Down Underor whatever.” He laughs. “Order drinks by the pool, dine like queens, get pedicures and massages, do whatever the hell you girls wanna do for however long and I’ll pick up the tab. Go crazy, all of it completely on me.”
I’m trying to contain myself, but a strange noise erupts from my throat.
Josh laughs. “You’ve earned it, babe—you kicked ass today. Weliterallycouldn’t have done it without you. And there’s no rush going back to Seattle, right?—you’re still on my dime for the PR campaign for another couple weeks.”
I’m giddy; I’m not gonna lie. But this seems too much to accept, even for me. “It’s too generous,” I say. “I’d love to hang out with Hannah for a few days, but I can certainly foot the bill myself, you know. If you haven’t heard by now, I’m gonna be amill-i-on-aire.”
Josh swats at the air. “Fuck no. You can’t piss away your finder’s fee money on debauchery—you’re gonna need every dime for Party Girl PR, remember?” He winks. “If anyone’s gonna piss away their money on debauchery, it’s gonna be me. It’s kinda my specialty.”
I throw my arms around Josh’s neck again, and for a second, I’m in serious danger of bawling again. “Thank you, Josh,” I breathe.
Josh kisses my cheek and squeezes me tight. “I’ll be counting the days ’til I see you again,” he says softly into my ear, his voice low and sexy. “I can’t wait to get started on what we talked about.”
“I can’t wait, either,” I say into his neck, inhaling his cologne.
We break apart from our clinch and I move on to Henn, wrapping him in a tight hug. “This is gonna be the best night ever in the history of the world, Henny. You’re gonna absolutely adore Hannah.”
“Hey, when it comes to celebrating victory over the Evil Empire, the more the merrier, I always say.”
“Well, duh,” I say. “Isn’t that what everyone always says after a long day of saving the world? ‘The more the merrier.’”
“It’s what they always say,” Henn agrees.
“Tell Hannah I’ll book the three o’clock flight for her on Alaska,” Josh says, looking at something on his phone.
“Okay, I’ll call her now. Thank you so much, Josh. She’s gonna be thrilled.”
Josh pulls me into him and kisses me gently. “It’s my pleasure, Kat.” He pushes himself into me and his erection juts against my hip. He presses his lips into my ear. “Have fun with your girlfriend—but make no mistake about it: the minute I get back from New York, you’re all mine.”
