grabbed her around the waist and lifted her feet off the ground. Celeste giggled and he set her back on her feet.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, slowly kissing the back of her neck. The sensation of his hot lips on her skin made Celeste shiver.
“Nothing,” she said, turning toward him. Her voice echoed against the flat, empty walls. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he kissed her as she ran her hands up and down his back. Suddenly, he stooped and swung her up into his arms. Celeste squealed and Travis carried her over to the vast living room. She closed her eyes as he put her down on the thick carpet and then lay down next to her, pressing himself up against her.
A little while later, Celeste took a deep breath. Travis, now minus his shirt, dropped back on the carpet and wriggled his shoulder blades against the scratchy rug.
“So, the boys are talking about going out tonight. You want to go? We haven’t been out together in forever.”
“Sure,” Celeste said automatically. Then she stopped.
“What?” Travis asked.
“Nothing—it’s just that I forgot I have a planning meeting with, um, Nick, tonight.” She tried to swallow the word Nick in hopes that Travis would somehow miss it. No such luck.
He sat up on the rug, a flush darkening his cheeks.
“Are you kidding? You spend all your time with him these days,” he said, his voice rising. “Now he gets nights too?”
Celeste sat up too. That’s what I get for mentioning Nick.
“Look, I’ve told you a million times—it’s my job. What do you want me to do?”
Travis pouted. “I’ve been really patient the last few weeks—”
“You have!” Celeste reassured him.
“But I’m getting sick of this. Do you actually like hanging out with this guy or what?”
“No! I mean, I don’t mind him when he’s not being a jerk, but I’m just trying to make this an amazing party.
I mean, maybe if I prove I can do this, Dad’ll let me off the hook next summer. Besides”—she put her hand on Travis’s—“I really want to drive up to Tempe with you next month, and he’ll totally let me once he sees how great everything is.”
“Yeah,” Travis agreed reluctantly.
“I mean, maybe they’d even let me spend fall break with you!”
To her surprise, Travis didn’t look quite as excited at this thought as she’d thought he would. He got to his feet. “Um, yeah, that would be great,” he said. He offered Celeste his hand and pulled her to her feet.
“Look, if you’re that worried, why don’t you just come with me to the meeting tonight? You can see all the stuff we’re planning.”
“Fine,” Travis said, reaching for his polo shirt. “We should get back to work.”
Chapter Twenty
Nick!” Celeste called later that evening, poking her head into the silent dining room. All the tables were made up for breakfast the next morning—all except for one, where Nick sat, surrounded by papers and folders. There were several glasses and some plates sitting in a stack in front of him, and he was scribbling furiously on a legal pad. He looked up and grinned, but Celeste could see the grin fade as he spied Travis coming in behind her.
“Travis wanted to come and see how the plans are going,” Celeste said, pulling out a chair. “That’s cool, right?”
Nick shrugged. “Whatever,” he said briefly, looking right through Travis as if he weren’t even there. He shoved the legal pad toward Celeste. “I just finished making up a master list of all the stuff we still need to do.”
Travis sat down and ostentatiously put an arm
around Celeste’s shoulders. He pulled her into him and started rubbing the side of her neck. Celeste glanced at Nick. He was watching the display with his lip slightly curled. Oh, this was not going to be the most relaxing night of her life. She resisted the urge to shrug off Travis’s massaging fingers and pulled Nick’s legal pad toward her instead. She scanned the list. “Vendors, tast-ings—” She pulled away from Travis slightly. “Um, thanks, Travis, I’m good now.” He stared at her resent-fully for a second and then dropped his arm, rocking back in his chair and aiming a challenging glare at Nick, who narrowed his eyes and glared back.
“Don’t worry, babe, I’ll give you a better massage later,” Travis said to Celeste, although he was still staring straight at Nick.
Nick shuffled a few papers around. His face was cool and bland. “I’m impressed you know a big word like massage, Travis. I guess all that mowing out in the sun hasn’t fried too many brain cells after all,” he said smoothly.
Travis’s fist clenched convulsively on the tablecloth and Celeste grabbed his arm to head off the impending train wreck.
“Wow, you’re so organized,” she said to Nick, still hanging on to Travis’s arm. She felt the muscles relax under her hand and gingerly let go, ready to grab it again if Travis pounced. “Who would have guessed?” To her relief, Nick grinned.
“I’m full of surprises,” he said, aiming his comment directly at Travis. Travis frowned and dug his phone out of his pocket. Celeste glanced over as he started checking his messages.
She squashed down a little thread of irritation and examined the list again. “Okay, you want to do the table settings?” she asked Nick. He was staring at Travis and seemed on the verge of speaking but closed his mouth with a snap.
“Yeah. Here, I got some samples from the stock-
room.” He unstacked the different plates in front of him and started matching them up with glasses.
“Hmm.” Celeste considered the five different arrangements in front of them. “What do you think, Travis?” she asked. She glanced over when he didn’t answer. He was rapidly typing on his phone. “Who are you texting?” she asked, squashing the worm of irritation again.
He looked up. “What? Oh, the guys are getting ready to go out.”
Celeste blew air out of her nose and glanced at Nick.
He arched one eyebrow. “Where are
