Just Breathe Series (Trilogy Box Set)

by Martha Sweeney

  “No. I’d be breaking my rules,” I remind.

  Wanting more, he consumes my mouth and I completely give in.

  “We should probably break them one at a time then,” he suggests.

  “I can’t break them. Not anymore,” I comment before squeezing my mouth on his.

  His hand slips up my back, grazing my bare skin that isn’t covered by my dress followed by another thrust of his lips. My sex instantly dances with desire.

  “So we are only breaking one right now by kissing?”

  Moaning, I release to answer, “No. I haven't added kissing.”

  “So none are broken . . .” his voice trails exploring my mouth more. “I can live with that for now.”

  Catching my breath momentarily, I report, “Two.”

  Breaking our connection for a split second he contends, “Two?”

  “Mmm hmm,” I mumble locking my lips with his. “Possibly three if I let you stay,” I confirm as he buries his face into my neck, growling.

  “What are your rules?”

  “I think we should say goodnight,” I suggest.

  “Is that what you want?”

  “Joe,” I plea.

  I honestly don’t know what I want at this point. My kissing theory does not seem to be working out right now. I know that I want him more than ever, but I know that I don’t want to break any more of my rules. I’m afraid of what will happen if I do.

  He gives me one long kiss that mirrors our first followed by a peck before saying, “Goodnight, beautiful. Sweet dreams.”

  “Goodnight, Joe.”

  Thirty

  Now home from an eventful vacation, the last three days of the work week find me catching up with my business teams regarding current statuses and needs throughout each day and night. I’m able to avoid seeing Joe in person, but we do talk and text on occasion.

  Joe heads back to the East Coast Friday afternoon to visit his mother for Mother’s Day. I visit with Maggie and her family along with Henry and his parents, who finally find out about the engagement as part of their Mother’s Day gift. Jared goes with Nathan to his parent’s house to see Nathan’s mom.

  Monday morning starts a whirlwind of frenzy for me beyond work and my overzealous itch for sex. As Maggie’s maid of honor, I’m subject to a bunch of unruly tasks I wasn’t aware of or prepared to handle. I’ve never gone to been apart of a wedding, let alone gone to one before, and all of my maid of honor duties are surprising, to say the least. I love Maggie, don’t get me wrong, but having to help plan her wedding before the end of summer is a daunting task, even with a bride who has every last detail planned and a maid of honor, like myself, who knows how to structure, organize and plan. If we can’t find a suitable venue that can accommodate over four hundred people as well as provide privacy, all the remaining arrangements we need to make will be for nothing.

  I’ve created two to-do lists, both with their own hierarchy of priorities that need to work side by side. My fist list is planning and scheduling all tasks pertaining to business, primarily for Naturally Me with Jared, and asking him to take on more responsibility. Maggie’s able to oversee Raven Media while planning her wedding is easy and not as time consuming; there’s a lot less involved and she doesn’t need to oversee the programing that is required for the new software since she doesn’t know coding. For me, with the added work to complete the new Raven software in time for beta testing prior to tweaking and then marketing and advertising, my free time is cut drastically. My second list is all the things that are required to do, organize and get done for Maggie’s wedding.

  Mŭqīn and Henry’s mom, Mrs. Wú, are assisting — well, trying to assist. They both mean well when they keep making suggestions or recommendations, but their added options leave Maggie questioning all of her previous ideas, leaving her indecisive. As long as Maggie makes a decision and sticks with it, my job is much easier.

  On top of work and Maggie’s wedding, there is also the added fact that Jared, Nathan and Maggie have birthdays coming up in May, July and August which just add to the party planning and attending to-do list chaos.

  “I don’t know where to start, Emma,” Maggie says, walking into my apartment.

  “What are you talking about?” I ask, not sure of what topic has captivated her mind.

  “The wedding . . . I thought I knew what I wanted, but now I’m not sure,” she explains.

  “It’s your day, no one else’s. Do what you and Henry want to do. If other’s don’t like it then tough,” I encourage. “What happened to the Maggie from Hawaii who said she doesn’t care what people say about having two out of the five bridesmaids being men?”

  You’re right,” she agrees with some conviction.

  “I love Mŭqīn, you know I do, but this wedding is about you and Henry. That’s it,” I remind.

  “I know. I know,” she acknowledges.

  “First things first, have you and Henry set an engagement party day and time with Mŭqīn and Mrs. Wú?” I direct to get her focused and on track.

  “My head is spinning from them both talking to me this past weekend that I’m not even sure,” she discloses. “Is that one of the first things I need to do? How do you know that?”

  “You’re looking at the queen of research, Mags,” I point out sarcastically.

  “How could I forget a thing like that?!” teases Maggie. “Okay. Give it to me straight. What needs to be done between now and the wedding and can this be done?”

  “It will be very time-consuming and stressful at times, but the key is to stay focused and decided on what you want. It can be done. Others have done it,” I assure.

  “Okay,” she says chugging the rest of my tea. “Let’s do this!”

  Maggie and I go over the different tasks and events that typically make up a twelve month wedding planning time frame that she needs to have completed by the day of her wedding which has yet to be set within the next three months. I instruct her to get on the phone with Mŭqīn and Mrs. Wú to pick a day and location for the engagement party, that needed to happen yesterday, then I start making phone calls to all of the wedding venues she has listed in her binder.

  By the time Maggie gets off the phone, she has success with setting the engagement party to the following Saturday at the Wú Family house in San Marino. I, on the other hand, had to scratch every venue off of her list of options. Six of the eight were too small for a four hundred plus wedding guest list and the other two were booked solid. The two that could fit Maggie’s wedding size did put her on a wait list if there are any last minute cancelations. Maggie was sad to hear about the venues, but is eager to search for other options while waiting to see what Mŭqīn and Mrs. Wú find as well.

  Before dinner time, Maggie and I are able to order her engagement party invitations with all of the necessary details Mrs. Wú gave us which includes additional information about local hotel accommodations for any out of town guests who will be able to attend. The invitations are set to be finished by mid-day tomorrow. For the engagement party alone, one hundred and fifty immediate family members and friends are being invited compared to the four hundred and forty-six who will be invited to the wedding.

  The next day, Maggie and I pick up the engagement party invitations before connecting up with Mŭqīn, Nǎinai, Mrs. Wú and Amy for lunch at the Peking Wok. While we eat, the six of us discuss the save-the-date announcements options that I have on my iPad. We can’t order the cards until we have a date, but we have the design chosen which will correspond with the official wedding invitations and all of the necessary information aside from a few minor details. We also create the list of five different stores for the wedding registry before we all begin prepping the engagement party invitations to be sent out today. Amy and I both suggest sending out an email invite to everyone about the party just in case of timing issues with mail delivery. Mŭqīn and Mrs. Wú mention that they already called and sent notification to family in China.

  Before Maggie and I head out to drop
off the invitations at the post office, Mrs. Wú and Mŭqīn have three people joining us to be interviewed for the job of wedding planner. After some reservations, Maggie chooses a sweet woman named Amelia for the job. On the way to the post office, I mention that having an extra person to help with tasks and phone calls for the venue would be beneficial, which turns Maggie’s anxiety into excitement. I selfishly love the idea of a wedding planner. She’s another person to assist Maggie and me and can help take the burden off of both of us. Plus, I don’t really know the first thing about planning a wedding, so having someone who does this for a living will help make things go smoothly.

  Wednesday, I’m temporarily free from any wedding planning needs since I have a full, pre-scheduled day of filming for Naturally Me with Jared and the crew. After the crew sets up in their usual location, we map out the needed footage that is required to be taken. I head to my bedroom to change for any shots that will include me. When I return to the living room, I find an extra person joining us.

  “Hey, Jared,” I call.

  “Yeah, Kitten?”

  “I need you for a second,” I comment.

  Jared joins me in the bedroom.

  “What is he doing here?” I ask.

  “Who? Joe?”

  “Yeah, Joe.” I establish.

  What the hell is Joe doing in my apartment?!

  “He’s here to watch and see how we do things,” Jared explains nonchalantly. “He’s curious about the behind-the-scenes and all. Why?”

  “I’ve got rules about guys being in my apartment,” I remind him.

  “Joe’s a friend, he’s one of the group. What’s the big deal? Besides, Ian’s been here since day one,” Jared comments.

  “Ian doesn’t count, he’s happily married with a baby on the way. Having Ian here is like having you or Nathan over,” I express maintaining my cool. “Next you’re going to tell me that you invited Chris too.”

  “No. No,” he reassures. “I would never invite Chris. I know where things are with him. Is it really a big deal with Joe here? If it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll ask Joe to leave.”

  “No. It’s fine. He’s here and I don’t want to make a scene,” I reply.

  I guess this was going to happen at some point. I was just hoping that it would be way off in the distant future.

  “Is it because he likes you that makes it weird?” Jared checks.

  “What?! No,” I quickly respond. “Does he really like me?”

  I know Joe likes me, but I’m trying to downplay my awareness of it. No need to lead on to anything.

  “Not to make it more uncomfortable, but yeah, he likes you. A lot,” Jared verifies. “I’m surprised he hasn’t made a move yet, especially after claiming you kissed him that one night in Hawaii.”

  “Thanks,” I sarcastically say.

  If Jared only knew. I’m extremely happy to know that Jared doesn’t seem to know what’s been going on. I don’t want to lie, but I don’t want to tell. This is just so weird and strange for me.

  Back to the group, Jared rounds up the team to start the first video and Joe walks over to greet me. “Hey beautiful,” he says with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

  “Hey,” I return.

  “Is it okay that I’m here? Jared said it wouldn’t be an issue, but if it is I can leave,” he offers politely as if he heard what Jared and I were just talking about.

  “No, it’s fine,” I encourage. “Just as long as I don’t find you snooping in my underwear drawer, you’re good.”

  With a wicked smile, he asks, “What about other drawers?”

  I punch him in the arm. “Very funny.”

  The rest of the day moves fast with shot after shot of video episodes and topics. At one point, I’m able to let the team do their thing and I show Joe the current standings of the new software program for Raven. He seems pretty impressed at the speed with which it’s all moving along and is eager to help in any way he can.

  By five-thirty, our day is finished and we head out to dinner. I always treat the team to a celebration meal after a long day of hard work. Just sitting down at the table, I get a phone call from Maggie freaking out over still not finding a wedding venue even with Amelia’s help. Excusing myself, I head out to the street to calm her. I encourage Maggie to stay focused on the positive and that the engagement party is already planned and everything is going to work out just fine. Reminding her about tomorrow helps too — when we’re to start the adventure of wedding dress hunting.

  For the next few hours, I dine with my crew, a few of their spouses and my friends at the Parkway Grill. Conversations are light and friendly as everyone celebrates a successful day and toast early to Jared’s upcoming birthday which is in just two weeks. My mind gets distracted from some of the conversation by thinking about the to-do lists, but I force myself to stay in the present. Once we have full bellies and there’s less traffic outside, everyone heads home for the night.

  Joe walks me home from dinner and asks, “How’s the wedding planning going?”

  My eyes widen and dart to him, suggesting many different meanings.

  Laughing, Joe replies, “That bad?”

  “Only when you’ve never been to a wedding or been a part of one, have roughly three months to plan what usually is done in twelve months and a date and venue have yet to appear. Yesterday, we just sent out the one hundred and fifty invitations for the engagement party that is taking place next weekend and I’ve got a bride who is getting opinions from everyone on what she should do, causing her to question everything . . . I have three friends with birthdays that will be occurring the entire time on top of my businesses . . .” I answer in one long breath.

  “Wow,” he reflects. “Well, if you need any help, don’t hesitate to let me know.”

  “What do you know about weddings and planning them?” I contend with amusement.

  “Enough. To start, I have three married brothers, remember?!”

  “Touché,” I admit.

  “Sounds like you need some down time already,” he suggests.

  “Yeah right. That won’t happen until Maggie and Henry are on the plane for their honeymoon,” I retort.

  “I can help a little tonight if you’d let me,” he mentions.

  Flattered, I remark, “I’m not sleeping with you. I’m not that desperate to just throw my rules out the window, but thanks for the offer.”

  “I wasn’t offering sex, but it’s good to know you were considering it,” he teases. “I was going to suggest that we get Sadie and head back to my place for a movie and maybe some snuggling.”

  His recommendation gets a smile from me which in turn gets him to do the same. I definitely need a break and Joe could be a really good distraction.

  Twenty minutes later, Sadie, Joe and I are at Joe’s penthouse. “Where’s Anna?” I search.

  “She’s off for the rest of the night. Why?” he questions.

  “Is it just us?”

  “Yes,” he confirms with a boyish grin. “Is that okay?”

  “Yeah,” I say tentatively.

  What have I gotten myself into? Was this a good idea?

  “I promise to behave,” he offers.

  “Yeah . . . that was really convincing and reassuring,” I present in a mocking tone.

  The thought of being alone with Joe makes me edgy. There’s no one here to interrupt or catch us snuggling, but there isn’t anyone her to caution other things from possibly happening.

  Just snuggling, Emma. That’s what he said. Joe said he’d behave. You can just snuggle. You can. Can you?

  After scooping some ice cream for dessert, Joe and I settle in the left corner of his couch. He sits down first and guides me to sit between his legs with my head against his chest. Once Sadie gets settled, Joe covers us with a blanket before handing me the bowl of salted caramel yumminess.

  “This is good, but not as good as my homemade recipe,” I comment.

  “You make your own ice cream?”

  �
��Mmm hmm,” I return with a third mouthful.

  “Do you plan on sharing? You know I made that big bowl for us to share?”

  “And here I thought you were just trying to give me a sugar rush,” I say sarcastically.

  In less than ten minutes, Joe and I finish the huge bowl of ice cream. We play fight over the last few spoonfuls, accusing the other of sneaking some extra bites.

  Joe sweetly caresses his fingers over my bare forearm as I try to watch the movie. My brain bounces between everything that’s going on and the insatiable itch this Sex Kitten has and is having bad for the man behind her. Periodically, Joe kisses me on the top of my head and I’m left wondering if this was a good idea. My kissing theory is a dud so far. All I want to do is to continue kissing him and there are other lustful vision of desire dancing in my head.

  At some point during the movie, I shift to reposition my body and end up looking at Joe. Why am I compelled to look at him?! I have no idea. He immediately makes eye contact before lowering his lips to mine. Joe’s hand leaves my arm to find and hold my neck as he continues to ardently kiss me with only a little tongue on occasion. Joe breaks the embrace each time, but a couple of times he initiates first by repositioning my head for easier access to my lips.

  As the movie comes to an end, Joe squeezes me tight. “Will you stay tonight?”

  “No,” I politely refuse, looking deep into his eyes. Leaning forward, I kiss him fervently.

  “No one is here,” he coaxes before returning the passionate embrace and pulling me onto his lap.

  “All the more reason for me to leave,” I let out in a breathy voice.

  Joe moans his disappointment but doesn’t push.

  Fifteen minutes later, after making out, Joe walks Sadie and me home before we partake in our regular departure ritual.

  After delicately mauling each other’s mouths, Joe bids, “Goodnight, beautiful.”

  “Goodnight Joe,” I return with a smile.

  Thirty One

  Over the course of the rest of the work week and into the weekend, when I’m not tied up with working or personal items, my time is dedicated to Maggie and assisting her with wedding choices and planning. My schedule is booked from sunup to well past sundown.