Page 497 of Manhattan Bossholes

“Maybe.” I stuck my tongue out at him and ran to the bathroom to clean up.

Before I left, I turned to look at my smarting butt in the mirror and spotted a massive pink handprint on it. I stormed out.

“James! You left a handprint on me when you smacked my ass! Look,” I shouted, then immediately froze when I saw that he was on the phone.

His eyes went wide and he grimaced. “Yeah, Bernie, that’s Natalie,” he said sheepishly. “Oh, uh…we’re just hanging out.”

My face burned as I realized what was going on. His grandmother just discovered that we were fucking!

James listened for a few seconds, his eyes cutting to me. “I’m not sure what she’s up to this weekend.” A pause. “You think? Okay, I’ll ask her.” He listened again. “I mean, I’ll tell her. You’re right, no one can say no to you, Bern. You got it. Love you, bye.”

He tossed the phone on the bed with a sigh.

“I hope you don’t have plans for this weekend, because Bernie has just laid claim to it.”

My heartbeat sped up. What in the world was happening?

“I just have the usual boring stuff planned—laundry, grocery shopping, stuff like that. Why?”

“It’s her eightieth birthday, and she’s having a huge blowout in the Hamptons. She said, and I quote, ‘now that you and Natalie are a couple, she must come.’ What could I say to her? That we’re just fucking for fun?” He chuckled. “If you really don’t want to come and pretend to be a couple in front of my family, then I’ll find a way to get you out of it.”

I felt a splinter pierce the joy I’d been experiencing. Fucking for fun? Pretend couple? Yeah, what we had was still brand new, but it meant something to me. What did it mean to him? Was he really as casual about it as he sounded?

I took a deep breath and reminded myself that we hadn’t made any promises to one another. Besides, Christopher had told me during one of our planning meetings that his brother had experienced his own share of relationship challenges. Maybe James wasn’t ready to put a label on whatever it was that we were doing now. It wasn’t like we really needed to have the whole commitment talk twenty minutes after our first fuck.

“Knowing Bernie, she’s probably already sent a group text to the rest of the family saying we’re engaged,” James continued.

I shook off my concerns and plopped down on the edge of the bed. “Well, if that’s the case, you better get the ring right.”

He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Is that a fact?”

“Yup.” I nodded. “Emerald-cut diamond with a diamond-encrusted platinum band, or I walk. I saw it in the window at Tiffany’s.”

“Tiffany’s is for tourists,” he answered, eyeing me critically. “Do you have a carat requirement, or is that up to me?”

“I’ll let you make that decision. Doesn’t have to be huge or anything.” I fiddled with the bedsheet.

“Well, you should know by now I’m a ‘go big or go home’ kind of guy.”

I lifted the sheet and peeked underneath. “That’s very true.”

He laughed and dragged me closer to him, circling his arms around me. “You’re ridiculous.”

We snuggled together for a few seconds until I sat up with a start. “I don’t have anything to wear. Like, not a stitch of clothing that could be considered Hamptons-appropriate. I don’t even know what people wear in the Hamptons. Blazers with ascots? Riding pants? Gowns?”

“I can take care of that,” he said gently. “Leave it to me.”

“No, I’m seriously stressing out. What will we do all weekend? Play croquet?”

He laughed at me. “Not quite, but honestly, you’re close. Bernie likes to celebrate, and we want to make sure that this event is a big one. It starts Friday night with a welcome cocktail party for just the family. Then we have brunch on Saturday morning, followed by a day on the beach. Big volleyball game, if you’re up for it. Then we have time to relax in the afternoon and get ready for the main event Saturday night. It’ll be a gigantic outdoor party on the grounds, and everybody who’s anybody will be there. Prepare to be impressed when you hear the guest list. Oh, and there’s one more VIP you’ll have to meet.”

My nerves kicked into overdrive. “Who?”

“My mother and her boytoy. I mean, her boyfriend.”

I felt my mouth drop open. James had never even mentioned his mother, and now I was going to be spending the weekend with her?

“Stop worrying, she’s harmless. Plus, you’ve already got the Bernie seal of approval, so you’re golden.”