“Seriously, James,” I added softly. “Mitchell’s not going to forget that. He’s like an elephant. Perfect memory, and grudges that never die.”
James ignored the sudden tension and simply shrugged.
“I slipped.”
“You didn’t slip!” Nick exclaimed, lowering his voice hastily, lest anyone hear. It wasn’t often that I’d seen him look more agitated, but at the same time, he was having a hell of a hard time trying not to smile. James tended to have that effect on people. “You did not slip.”
“Fine,” James grinned, “I didn’t slip. But the man had it coming. I mean, for fuck’s sake Nick—when did you get so docile around him? That isn’t you.”
No one else on the planet could say such a thing and get away with it, but the two men had always adhered to a policy of strict honesty. It was their responsibility to deliver those hard truths the other didn’t want to hear, and they did so on a regular basis.
A muscle flexed angrily in Nick’s jaw, and he looked away.
“I’m doing it to protect Abby. You know that.”
James glanced my way, softening the slightest degree, before turning back to Nick.
“I understand that, and I admire it. But you don’t have to do it lying down.”
A stab of dread tightened my stomach, as Nick’s eyes alit with sudden curiosity.
No, no, no—this was how one of their crazy schemes got started...
You see, most people would automatically assume that, between the two of them, Nick was the trouble-maker. But half the time, James was the one calling the shots. It was one of the things they had bonded over in the beginning. Their shared disregard for the rules.
“You guys,” I tried to preemptively stall their momentum, “why don’t we just—”
“Why?” Nick took a step forward. “What did you have in mind?”
James opened his mouth to answer, but I stepped hastily in between.
“No—whatever you lunatics have planned, I am putting my foot down. “We are so, so close to pulling this thing off, and James—Mitch Hunter just put you on an assassin’s to-do list somewhere. Let’s just go back to the party, and ride it out.”
“No can do, gorgeous.” James winked and flicked me under the chin. “And anyway, I didn’t fly all this way to go to your damn party. I came to get you out of it.”
As if on cue, the breeze around us started to pick up speed. A distant humming was getting louder by second, vibrating the very floor beneath our feet, and before I knew what was happening,
my dress was dancing up around us in the air.
“What the hell—”
A second later, I got the answer to that question.
As if it was the most casual thing in the world, a sleek little helicopter dropped down out of the sky—landing with a graceful thud on the elevated stage of the ship. The DJ had obviously been given some kind of prior warning, because the place was cleared out, and even as Nick and I stared on in amazement at the spinning blades, James turned around with a smile.
“I thought we might finish out the real party somewhere a little better suited.” His dark hair danced across his face, as he cocked his head toward our million dollar life-raft. “What do you say? Up for a little spin?”
Nick stayed frozen for a split second, before that sparkle of excitement I loved and feared, lit up his face. The two men shared a matching grin, before he turned back to me.
“Abby?”
I didn’t know what to say. What would Harold say? What would the press? (Actually, the press might rather enjoy it. It was a quintessential ‘Nick’ way to end the night.)
“Are we...can we...is that even...” My voice dropped a few octaves, as I leaned forward with concern. “Tell me that James isn’t going to try to fly that thing himself.”
“Not if you don’t want me to,” James conceded.
Nick stepped in between us with a twinkling smile, then offered out his hand.