A groan rolls out of me. “Stop tempting me and get inside. I’ve made plans that’ll be our reward after the party. We can pick up where we left off.” My stomach tightens anxiously. “That is, if you’re still amenable to—”

“If you ask me one more time if I’m up for this party, I’m going to get offended. I am going, James. I am going for the fancy, tiny tapas, and the bougie bubbles, and the chance to step on your toes in front of two hundred strangers. I even got a new dress.” She adds coyly, “It comes just past my butt.”

“Not funny.”

“It’s a little funny. So—” She sashays closer and drops her voice. “You’ve got plans, you say?”

“Yes, you imp.” I nudge her into the vestibule, swatting her softly on the bum. “Plans. Now, up you get.”

Bea spins, then kisses me hard on the mouth. “I knew you’d be a spanker.”

“Beatrice!” My cheeks turn red. “That was not a spank. That was a . . . a love tap.”

She cackles as she jogs up the stairs, tripping halfway on the first flight. “It was a spank!” she yells. “And I liked it!”

My head falls back as I stare up at the sky. “God help me.”

—

I’m running late. Of course I am. Because today is my father’s birthday party and Bea’s waiting for me to pick her up at six sharp, and since I have somewhere to be, the universe dumped the longest line of folks needing care at the shelter that I’ve seen in months. Cold and flu season is ramping up, so it’s not entirely unexpected to have an uptick in patients, but it was still an unprecedentedly busy day. And now I’m behind schedule.

“West.” Jean-Claude tsks, making a show of glancing at his watch. “You’re late.”

I sprint by him toward my room, peeling off my sweater, unbuttoning my shirt. “Thank you for that astute observation.”

His laughter’s drowned out as I turn on the water, tear off the rest of my clothes, then step into the shower and scrub myself clean under near-scalding water. After a quick but thorough shave and applying the usual pomade to tame my hair, I’m in my tux, hopping into my shoe as I reenter the living room. Jean-Claude’s pocketing his keys.

“Where are you going?” I ask him.

“Eh?” He frowns my way. “To the same party as you. Where do you think I’m going?”

I nod toward his keys, stepping into the other dress shoe and tying it. “We’re riding together, with Juliet and Beatrice.”

“You offered. I said maybe. I’ve changed my mind.”

I straighten from bending over my shoe. “Why?”

“Because I’ll be sharing my beautiful fiancée all night, and I want her to myself until then.”