Chapter 21
Emily managed to stay busy all day and avoid being alone with Jake. She swept the plein air area, took more photos of the
orchard and posted them, and taught two painting classes—each including only two students. She spotted a grand total of ten
customers in the orchard all day long, which wasn’t much of an improvement. Still, she was grateful some more people had decided
to come.
Yet Emily had spent the entire day on the verge of tears. She couldn’t wipe the vision of Jake and Claire kissing in the driveway
out of her mind and fought the urge to pack up her things, climb into her Jeep, and drive to Charlotte. That way she could
leave Jake, his family, the orchard, and Splendid Lake in her rearview mirror for good. But she’d promised to help with the
orchard. She couldn’t back away now, especially when so many vendors had done that themselves. So she stayed cemented in place
despite her agony.
She’d hoped that she could unload all of her burdens on Andi, but Andi had texted her earlier in the day to say that she and Seth had to sort out some issues with their lawn care business.
Her friend promised that they’d be back at the orchard as soon as everything was settled.
It couldn’t be soon enough. Emily needed a friend’s shoulder to cry on, but for now, she’d stay strong and keep her tears at bay.
Emily was closing up the plein air painting area when Diane approached her.
“Pack up, sweetheart. We have plans tonight.”
After stowing her paints, she pushed her thick ponytail over her shoulder. “What plans?”
“Claire’s mother called me, and we’re all invited to their house for supper. Sherry was very excited and said that it’s going
to be fun.”
Claire Chapman and her unfiltered mother were the last people on the planet Emily wanted to see. Emily worked to keep her
expression blank despite the irritation nipping at her. “Oh, no thanks. You all go and have fun. I’m pretty tired, so I just
want to—”
“Nonsense,” Diane declared. “Claire wants you to come too.”
She does, huh? That can’t be good. “I appreciate it, but I’m happy to just rest tonight. This is a family thing.”
Diane rubbed Emily’s arm. “You are family. You’re my second daughter.”
Oh boy! Now Emily had to work extra hard to hold back the tears building in her eyes. If Diane started talking about how much Emily
meant to her, then she’d really lose it. Leaving Splendid Lake was going to be even more difficult than she imagined, since
she’d have to leave Diane and Leon behind. They were the only surrogate parents she had left.
Emily had to come up with an excuse to avoid the supper before she burst into tears and wound up telling Diane that her son
had completely annihilated her heart.
“You go on without me. I have so much to do before the anniversary celebration on Saturday. We’re running out of time, so I really need to be here, but you have fun. And if there’s cake, save me a piece, okay? You know I’m a cake fiend.” Emily tried to laugh, but it came out as a squeak.
Diane shook her head. “I’m not gonna hear it. You deserve a break from all the work you’ve done. We’re leaving at six, so
be ready.”
While Diane headed back to the house, Emily sagged against her stool and rubbed her forehead. Now she was forced into going
to supper with Claire and her parents—the day after she realized Jake was cheating with Claire. Could this day get any worse?
“Emily!” Jake called as he darted over to her. “I’ve been trying to get you alone all day.”
Yup. Unfortunately it can get worse.
Squaring her shoulders, Emily faced him. “Jake, I don’t feel like talking. Just—just leave me alone.” She shouldered her bag
of painting supplies, and he took it in his hands.
“Let me carry this for you.”
Ugh. Why is he always so nice?
They started down the path side by side toward his parents’ house, and the sound of their feet seemed to echo off the trees.
Emily couldn’t remember a time when she and Jake had run out of words, and the silence between them tore at her soul.
When they reached the driveway, he spun, facing her. “Why are you ghosting me in person?” His striking blue eyes seemed to
beg her. “What did I do? Tell me so I can fix it. It’s killing me, babe.”
Her lip trembled. Oh no. Keep it together, Em!
She swallowed back her threatening tears. “Things have come into clear focus in my mind.”
“What does that mean?” he asked.
“It means I understand how things stand, and it’s okay.” She hated the vibration in her voice, and she fought to keep her
emotions under control.
He studied her. “Are you talking about us?” He motioned between them.
“I’m talking about a lot of things.”
“Emily . . .” He drew out her name.
Diane appeared on the porch. “We have to leave in ten minutes, so you need to get ready now. Chop-chop!” she sang before disappearing
into the house.
Emily reached for her bag, and he captured her hands in his. “Promise me that we’ll talk later.”
“If I promise you, will you give me my bag?” she asked.
He nodded, and the pain in his expression sent a knife slicing through her chest. She couldn’t stand hurting him, but hadn’t
he done the same to her when he kissed Claire?
Her eyes snapped to his lips, and she recalled how he’d tasted like those delicious candy apples. That had been the most romantic,
intimate, exhilarating experience of her life. Had those candy apple kisses meant anything to him?
The lump in her throat doubled in size, and tears filled her eyes.
Stay strong, Emily. He cheated on you! He deserves your silence.
“Please,” he said, his words rasping from his throat. “I can’t take this. We need to talk later. It’s tearing me apart.”
“Fine. Sure. Whatever.” She tried to sound like she didn’t care, but she cared so much that she was ripping apart at the seams.
Jake released her hands, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. “Don’t give up on me. Promise me.”
She grabbed her bag and ran up the porch steps as her tears broke free and raced down her cheeks.
Jake gripped the wheel of his mother’s Camry while he drove his parents to the Chapmans’ house. His mother’s discussions about
the weather and the orchard were background noise while he steered down the road.
He peeked in the rearview mirror and spotted Emily following in her Jeep. He’d tried to convince her to ride with them, but
once again, she’d given him the cold shoulder and muttered something about having to get back to the house to prepare for
Saturday. He had no clue what she had to do, and when he’d asked, she’d ignored him and climbed into her vehicle. She was
still ghosting him in person—completely blowing him off—and the pain in her eyes was slowly chipping away at his heart.
His world had been turned upside down, and he wasn’t sure which end was up anymore. He’d gone from wanting to confess his
love to Emily to begging her to talk to him. He couldn’t figure out how everything had gone sideways in the past twenty-four
hours.
And this is why you shouldn’t have ever kissed her. All you did was ruin your friendship!
Jake tried to convince his mother that it wasn’t a good night for them to go to supper, but his mother wouldn’t concede. No
matter what he said, Mom insisted that they had to go. He was determined to get it over with and get out of there as quickly
as possible.
At a red light, he studied the reflection in his rearview mirror. Emily’s face was masked by her sunglasses, but her mouth was fixed in that same glower he’d seen since that morning. He tried to rack his brain and analyze what he’d done to hurt her, but he came up empty.
“Did you hear what I said, Jake?”
“Huh?” He shifted to face his mother in the back seat. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
Mom’s expression turned worried. “Are you okay, sweetie? You’ve been acting strange all day.” She tapped her chin. “Come to
think of it, so has Emily. Did you two have an argument?”
Jake hesitated. “We have some things we need to discuss.” He paused. “That’s why I didn’t want to go to the Chapmans’ tonight.”
“Oh. Well, I’m sure you two will work it out later. You always do.” She brightened. “Sherry sounded so excited when she called
and invited us. She said she has some news. I can’t wait to find out what it is. Do you have any idea?”
He shook his head and turned his attention back to the windshield. He had no clue what Sherry had planned, but he was certain
he knew who was behind it.
The light turned green, and Jake continued the short journey to the Chapmans’ sprawling brick colonial on the other side of
Splendid Lake. He parked in the driveway behind their BMW SUV and then helped his father out of the passenger seat and up
the stairs.
As soon as they reached the top step, the door opened and Sherry greeted them. “Come on in!” She beckoned them into her fancy
foyer, which ended at a sweeping open staircase that Jake knew led up to a gallery of expansive bedrooms. “We’re ready for
you in the dining room.” She pointed toward the hallway.
Dad waved off Jake’s help, and Mom took his arm and guided him toward the dining room.
Jake lingered in the foyer and shoved his hands in his pockets. Emily finally emerged through the front door, and she stopped short of him. “You can’t avoid me forever.”
Her golden eyes challenged him.
“My goal is to get us out of here early, and then you and I can go to my place and talk. Deal?”
Her hand flew to her neck, and her fingers began absently moving her mother’s rings back and forth on her necklace while she
stared at him.
“Em, say something to me, please.”
“I hope you two are hungry.”
Jake turned toward the end of the hallway, where Claire stood dressed to the nines in a little black dress, silver high heels,
and more makeup than he’d ever seen her wear. Her blonde hair was done up in a fancy-looking twist, and she posed as if she
were a model awaiting her turn to strut down a runway.
His eyes flitted to Emily beside him. She wore a pair of jeans and a purple hoodie. Her face was makeup free, and her hair
was arranged in a long thick braid. At that moment, he was certain she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
Why had it taken him so many years to appreciate her as more than a friend?
“Well?” Claire asked, dramatically tapping her foot. “Are you coming to the dining room or what?”
Jake held his hand out to Emily. “Take my hand.”
She stared at it, and he sucked in a breath as the moments ticked by.
Please, Em. Whatever I did, please just forgive me.
Finally, her eyes met his, and she hesitated before doing as he asked.
Some of the tension slid out of his body as he threaded his fingers with hers. “Thank you,” he whispered before guiding her down the hallway.
They reached the enormous dining room, and the long table was set with the fancy china Jake had seen only during holidays
and special events. The scent of steak and freshly baked rolls wafted out of the nearby kitchen.
Claire pointed to an empty chair beside Jake’s mom. “You can sit there, Emily.”
Emily released Jake’s hand and sat where she was told.
Jake felt a muscle jump in his jaw as he looked at Claire. “What’s going on?”
“You’ll see,” she sang before she began distributing champagne flutes.
When she gave one to Jake, he studied her. “Tell me now.”
Her smile was coy, and his blood began to boil.
“Stop playing games,” he grumbled. “I want to know why we’re here.”
His ex pointed to her mother. “You’re about to find out.”
Just then Sherry tapped her fork against her glass. “I’m so glad you’re all here tonight.” She beamed in the direction of
her daughter. “Now, I believe Claire and Jake have an announcement.”
At that very moment, Jake noticed a sparkle of light glinting off a large antique diamond ring on Claire’s finger—that finger.
Huh?
Claire rested her left hand on Jake’s arm, and his eyes widened.
“Last night Jake and I did some soul-searching, and we realized that it was time to move on to the next stage of our relationship.”
She looked up at him and gave him the phoniest adoring smile he’d ever seen in his life.
Wait. What?
Then she took a deep breath and angled her left hand toward the group of people at the table. “He proposed! We’re getting
married in Nashville on New Year’s Eve!”
The world stopped, and everything seemed to move in slow motion as Claire’s words registered in Jake’s brain.
Proposed? Getting married?
What on earth?
And then Jake’s head began to spin.
Mom gasped. “Oh my goodness! My prayers have been answered!”
“Isn’t this wonderful?” Sherry asked Mom. “We knew it would happen eventually.”
The two mothers began talking at once while the walls slowly closed in on Jake. He tried to make sense of it all, but nothing
made sense at that moment.
Jake glared at Claire. “What are you talking about?” he demanded. “I never asked you to marry me!”
But his words were lost in the chaos.
The two mothers’ voices grew louder—discussing plans, what they would wear, where they would stay, and how many guests they
would invite to their children’s wedding.
His mother was so happy—stunningly so.
Jake turned to Emily. Her eyes were rounder than two saucers, and her mouth hung wide open in shock.
Panic built in his chest. He couldn’t allow Claire to hurt Emily like this. He opened his mouth to protest, but Claire cut
him off.
“Emily!” Claire called, and the room instantly went silent. “You can be Jake’s best man. You could wear a dress—or even a
tux.” She sneered. “What do you think?”
“What a great idea,” Sherry exclaimed. “Oh, that would be so cute!”
Emily looked physically ill. She pushed back from the table as tears collected in her eyes.
Jake’s stomach twisted. “Emily! Wait!” he called, but she had already fled the room. “No! I didn’t—!”
He started after her, but Claire blocked the exit.
He glared at Claire. “How could you do this?”
Claire was too busy staring at her ring to respond to him. “Jake knows I’ve always adored my great-grandmother’s ring, so
there was no need to buy me one.” She leaned over the table, and Mom began to examine it. “Isn’t it lovely?”
“Oh yes, sweetheart. It’s perfect!” Mom popped up from her chair and pulled Claire in for a hug. “I’ve been waiting for this
day. This is just what we need after Leon’s health troubles. Tell me you’ll make us grandparents soon.”
Sherry started clapping. “I can’t wait to be a grandmother. Children are the best blessing there is.”
Mom moved over to Jake and swept him into a hug. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going to propose? No wonder you’ve been
acting so strange all day. How did you manage to keep this a secret?”
“Mom, I didn’t—” he began, but his words were cut off when Sherry hauled him in for a hug.
“Oh, Jake,” Sherry gushed. “You’ve made us so happy!”
Jake peeked out the dining room window toward the driveway, hoping for a glimpse of Emily, but her Jeep was already gone.
He had to go after her and tell her that this was all a horrible lie. He couldn’t let her believe that he was actually going
to marry Claire. He moved toward the door, but Claire and her mother pulled him into a corner while they continued to discuss
plans for their imaginary wedding.