Vegas Baby

“Granted, the two of us might be biased?”

“What, me?” I gasped as I walked over to him. “I assure you that I am the most objective person here on this planet.”

“Sure, you are,” he laughed before reaching over to steal one of my grilled cheese halves. I pulled it away from him, raising my eyebrows to the sky. “Excuse me, if you wanted some, you should have said so when I asked.”

“Well I didn’t want any then, but I do now.”

“Too bad for you,” I countered, sticking my tongue out at him. But before I could withdraw it back into my mouth, his lips were against mine.

I sat there in shock for a moment, completely surprised, and James pulled back just as quickly, smirking like he thought he was real clever. While I was still trying to decide what the hell had just happened, he swiped half of my sandwich from my plate and bit into the hot cheese and carbs.

Well two could play that game.

I leaned forward as well, swooping in like I was going to kiss in, only to grab the sandwich half in my teeth and yank it backwards.

He was so surprised that it allowed me to drape myself over the arm of the couch and hurriedly shove all of it into my mouth.

“Tricky tricky,” he laughed, shaking his head at me. “I guess I’ll go make my own. They’re just never as good as yours.”

“That’s because you’re rich.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” He stood, shifting Kireina to his hip. But he should have known better to mention the kitchen because my mother came shuffling down the hall at an impressive speed considering her hip.

“I’ll take her,” she said eagerly, holding her hands out for her granddaughter. I understood her eagerness to get in as much time as she could, not only was Kireina the prettiest baby ever, but she also was fairly lightweight since she was a preemie. Soon she would be too heavy for mom to carry on her own.

James handed her over reluctantly then headed to the kitchen, allowing me to finish my sandwich then go join him. My mother took little Kireina back to the bedroom, where she no doubt had the playpen already set up for our precious little bean.

“You never answered my question,” he said, giving me some side eye as I approached him with my empty plate.

“What question?”

“What being rich has to do with me not making grilled cheese as good as you.”

“Oh!” I laughed. “Because you never had to. I imagine, if you and your parents ever made grilled cheese at home, they were on fancy bread with some sort of reduced butter and filled with fancy cheese, maybe some succulent meat cuts.

“When I was a kid, we had ninety-nine cent bread, pasteurized cheese and margarine together. I had to learn how to make those terrible ingredients taste the best they could given the circumstances. You never had that struggle.”

“I…see. I guess there is a certain resourcefulness that I will never quite have that you’ve had to live with your whole life.”

“Huh, I guess.” Suddenly I was feeling a bit bashful. Way to put him on the spot about a silly food item. “Sorry I’m being so serious over a sandwich.”

He laughed lightly and leaned over to kiss the top of my head. “It’s alright. Its one of the things that makes you so charming.”

“Oh, so I’m charming now, am I?”

“You always have been.”

A strange moment passed between us again and then we were leaning towards each other. Goodness, I wanted to kiss him more than I had ever wanted to kiss anyone in my entire life. I just needed to feel him against me, to have the thrill rush between us like it always did. I needed something to anchor me, lest I drift off into oblivion.

“Since you two are already in there, any chance you want to make Grandma a sandwich?”

The two of us jolted apart, more than a little surprised by my mother coming back into the sitting area. The moment was disrupted, and I nodded a little too enthusiastically.

“Sure, give me about ten minutes.”

“Thank you, sweetie.”

She sat on the couch, rattling one of the ring-toys we had for Kireina, and James and I pretended like whatever had happened between us hadn’t happened at all, which was more than a little confusing. But all I could think of, as I buttered the bread and got the pan hot enough, was that the man I loved would be leaving tomorrow.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

~Nicole~

James’ hands pressed down on my shoulders, his fingers stroking as his palms applied pressure, causing me to sink even farther into the seat of the SUV he had rented. A simple look out the window showed that the sun had just set, leaving the sky a breathtaking blend of twilight purple down into midnight black. I could also see the faintest glimmer of water stretching out before us, pinpricks of starlight reflecting off its rippling surface.