Page 76 of Fumbled Beginning

He’s been out of town, and our messages have been short. The only silver lining was he was coming home tonight, and I planned on surprising him.

Aw, are you worried about me?

JP

I’m always worried about you and thinking about you…

There was a goofy smile on my face that would not go away.

“Why are your cheeks so red?” Stephanie leaned in close to peek at my screen.

I stuffed my phone away. “My cheeks aren’t red.”

“That was him, I know it.” She pointed her finger. “You’re smiling and you never smile.”

I laughed. She sounded just like JP.

Lucy shook her head. “So, Rylee, how does it feel to be official? Are you worried at all about being in the public eye?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Kind of late to start second-guessing myself now that I’m in love with the guy. I’m already all in.”

Lucy opened her mouth and closed it.

“What?” I asked as they both stared at me.

Stephanie cleared her throat. “You just said you’re in love with him.”

“Oh, my God.” Lucy’s hand went to her mouth. “This is amazing. He must be the one.”

I did a slow blink and wished my head wasn’t so fuzzy so I had better control over what came out of my mouth. I had a good buzz going and wanted to keep it that way. “Let’s not read too much into that statement.”

It’s only been a few days since the fundraiser, and I still felt a little protective of him. As much as I’d like to believe I could trust these two, I needed to be careful about what I said.

Lucy clapped her hands as the server placed a tray of drinks on our table. “Okay, you’re obviously keeping some details close to the vest, but there has to be something you can share.”

“Yeah.” Stephanie sat back in her seat and crossed one leg over the other. “Throw us a bone here.”

I arched an eyebrow at my friend. “Why is my relationship the only one in the spotlight?”

“Because her husband is an architect, and my boyfriend sells cars at the local Kia dealership,” Lucy said in a bored tone. “Not all of us are lucky enough to snag Atlanta’s most eligible bachelor.”

I groaned like I needed a reminder of how much competition I had.

Stephanie leaned her arms along the table. “Does he have a six-pack or an eight-pack? I can’t tell under that padded uniform.”

I scrubbed a hand over my face. “I don’t have enough alcohol flowing through my system to handle this conversation.”

“You know what,” Stephanie stood from her chair, “I think you’re right. We need to order some shots.”

I groaned and stared up at the ceiling. “This is last call for me. After this, you ladies are on your own.”

An hour later, the table was covered with empty glasses and half-eaten plates of food. I took my credit card out of the binder and checked the airline app to confirm that JP’s flight was on time. The margaritas I consumed had definitely hit my system; I was feeling good but not too drunk to where I couldn’t follow through with my plan tonight.

* * *

The sound of the wheels of JP’s luggage rolling against the floor had me jumping off the bed. I took a deep breath when he pushed his bedroom door open.

He lifted his eyes to mine. “Rylee. What are you doing here?”

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