“Aw, come on now, Josh—don’t go changin’ to try to please ’em. You just doyou, baby.” I pause. I really shouldn’t say what I’m thinking. But I can’t help myself. “So are you thinking you might wanna meet my family one of these days?”
Josh’s cheeks flush. He swallows hard. “Um. Yeah.” He busies himself with our drinks again, his body language suddenly verging on robotic. “Maybe.”
I laugh out loud. This man is a raging head case.
“No pressure, Josh,” I say, genuinely amused by his suddenly anxious body language. The man is visibly twitching. “I brought it up just to watch you squirm. No worries.” I should leave it at that. I really should. But, no. When it comes to Joshua William Faraday, I simply can’t help myself. “But, um, actually,” I begin, trying really, really hard to sound easy-breezy-Cover-Girl. “Colby’s birthday is next weekend. My mom’s gonna make her famous spaghetti and Dax is gonna make carrot cake—Colby’s favorite meal.” I clear my throat. “Super chill. Just the fam. You’d be welcome to join us for dinner, ifyou... happen to be... in Seattle. But if not, then no pressure, of course.” Oh shit. What am I doing? Even as the words tumble out of my mouth, I know they’re a horrifically bad idea. I should know by now: Josh is perfectly fine when we’re enjoying each other in the here and now, but the minute I start talking about the future, he breaks into a frickin’ cold sweat. I quickly wave at the air like what I’ve just said is the stupidest thing I’ve ever said. “Actually, pretend I never said any of that,” I mumble. “I’m just kidding. Again.”
Josh remains focused on the drinks he’s making. Notably, he doesn’t turn around andsay, “Don’t be silly, Kat—that’s a great idea!” He just continues silently mixing our drinks, his back to me.
Holy hell, this is awkward. Why did I say all that? I really should know by now that pinning Josh down to anything even remotely relating to the future is a nonstarter.
“A twist of lime?” Josh finally says, his back still facing me.
I look down at my hands, heat rising in my cheeks. After everything I just said,that’swhat Josh asks me? If I want a lime in my drink? I really should have known. I’m such an idiot.
“Um. Sure,” I say. “A twist oflimewould beamazing.” Oh boy, that last bit came out way bitchier than I’d intended.
But Josh seems to be unfazed by my bitchiness (which seems to be par for the course with him, thankfully). He turns to face me and clears his throat. “Colby’s birthday dinner sounds great,” he says, his jaw muscles tight. “Thanks for the invitation. I’d love to go.” He tries to smile. He’s not successful, but he’s trying.
My heart leaps into my mouth.
Holy I Think I Just Harpooned a Whale, Batman.
“Tell the truth,” I say. “The only reason you wanna come is Dax’s carrot cake.”
Josh laughs. “How did you know? Yeah, I’ve always had a soft spot for carrot cake.”
“And cheesecake,” I say, remembering our scarf-out the night we helped Henn in Las Vegas.
“You remember.”
“Of course. I remember everything you’ve told me, Josh.”
There’s a long beat.
“Actually, Daxy makes a great cheesecake, too. It’s just as good as his carrot cake. I’ll see if he’ll do both.”
Josh’s blue eyes darken to sapphire. “No, don’t. I’ll bring one from a bakery. No reason to make him think I’m a pain in the ass right from the get-go.” He bites his lip. “So, hey, now that I’m coming up to Seattle next weekend, how about we check off one of your fantasies while I’m there? There’s one specifically I think I could pull off better in Seattle than here.”
My heart is absolutely racing. “Great,” I squeak out, trying not to sound as thrilled as I feel. “Sounds good.” I cross my arms over my chest and quickly uncross them. Crap. I suddenly don’t know what to do with my hands.
“Cool,” Josh says. He turns back around to face the drinks on the counter. “Just let me know the date so I can put it on my calendar.”
“Yeah, I will,” I say, my heart pounding in my ears. “Colby’s birthday is the fourth. Not sure if we’re doing it on his actual birthday or another night. I’ll let you know.”
“Cool. Sounds good. Assuming I don’t have a work commitment that night, of course.”
“Oh, of course.”
Josh lets out a long exhale and then glides across the kitchen and hands me my drink. “Here you go, Party Girl.” He flashes a megawatt grin, relieved of his earlier inability to maneuver his mouth into a smile. “I added just atouchof cranberry to the soda for you. Hope that’s okay.”
“Great.” I take a sip. “Yummalicious. What else is in there?”
“The tiniest splash of grapefruit juice, just to take the edge off the cranberry.”
“Oh, kinda like a Sea Breeze plus soda.”
“Exactly.”
