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I cleared my throat. “When’s her birthday? She hasn’t talked about it.”
Finn barked out a laugh when he set his phone down. “Her middle name ought to give you a good hint. Georgana Valentine Reynolds.”
“Her birthday is on fucking Valentine’s Day?” I asked. Of course, it was. It was so her to have a holiday for a birthday.
Everyone laughed.
“It sure is,” Cage said, shaking his head.
“You look stressed. Don’t worry about it; it’s not for two weeks. You’ve got time to plan something.”
I nodded. “But it should be good, right? It’s not only her birthday, but it’s Valentine’s Day. This is something people in relationships celebrate the shit out of. Fuck. I could take her on a trip?” I thought it over. She’d mentioned wanting to go to Paris someday. But then I remembered what the fifteenth was. “Shit. That won’t work. Georgia has a client flying in the next day. It’s an author she loves, and she thinks we should sign her. But the woman has a tight schedule, and that was the only time she could make it to Cottonwood Cove. Tink’s real excited about it, so I can’t ask her to move it.”
“Tink?” Travis raised a brow and chuckled.
Fuck. Had I said it aloud?
“Says the dude who calls his wife, shmoopie.” Hugh gave him shit and then glanced back at me.
“You don’t need to take her anywhere. She’s all about sentiment. Hell, Lila’s favorite place is the cove. It’s our spot. You find a special place and bring some food. Some wine. Some flowers.” Hugh shrugged.
“Who would have ever guessed you’d be such a sappy bastard?” Cage said. “But I agree with him. Women love that romantic shit. And Georgie is pretty tender-hearted. She’ll eat it up.”
We’d go somewhere outside so we could sit under the stars. That much I knew. But we didn’t really have a place outside of my backyard.
“What about that big pond where she used to skate all the time?” Finn asked. “You’d have to drive up the mountain a bit, but no one’s ever out there. It’s pretty dead over there, so that could work. Georgie used to make me go with her all the time so she could show me how good she was on skates.”
“She’s mentioned that place. She likes it there, huh? I guess it’s better than cross-country skiing.” I shrugged.
“I’m glad she has you now because the last time she took me cross-country skiing, we were out there for seven hours. I froze my ass off,” Hugh said.
I laughed. “I hear you. It was a long day. And boring as hell. But seeing her skate sounds a hell of a lot better. And the pond will still be frozen in February?”
They all laughed now.
“Welcome to Cottonwood Cove, brother. It won’t start to warm up until the end of March,” Brax said over a mouthful of pizza rolls.
Okay, so I had a plan. I’d take her at night. Under the stars. A picnic. I’d buy her some new skates. Maybe drive up earlier in the day and set things up. I could do this.
Maybe I wasn’t so bad at this boyfriend shit.
I wasn’t dreading it. I was looking forward to surprising her.
“You’ve got this,” Finn said, holding his bottle up in cheers. “And she’s going to the city with you this weekend for the reception for your dad and his new wife, right?”
My chest squeezed. I was dreading an evening with my dad and my childhood friend who was now knocked up with his child and tied to him for life. They were throwing a reception at the hotel—a party after the vows sort of thing. It was for the public since they’d been rampant in the press. My grandfather thought it would be best to show a united front of support for the newlyweds.
“Yep. We’ll go for the weekend.” I cleared my throat.
“Relax, brother. Georgia loves everyone,” Hugh said.
I didn’t doubt that for a minute. She’d see the good in him. I was looking forward to her meeting my grandmother, and I knew she loved my grandfather and Wyle. But I didn’t like the idea of my father being around Georgia.
Nor did I like the idea of the press finding out we were together and what that would mean for her.
I’d always kept my private life private, but that was easy because I didn’t have anything I cared about before now.
She’d be photographed as we’d already agreed to a red carpet and giving the media a bit of a show. I’d been photographed with women before. But I wasn’t dating them. And once they realized we worked together and she was spending the weekend with me, it would be news for a hot minute.
