16. Emma
Emma
My sister, Rosie, bought a bed and breakfast right on Main Street to renovate into the inn of her dreams, so I head over on my way to dinner—Seth is meeting me at the restaurant—and let myself inside.
“Rosie?” I call out, pushing the door open. “You here?”
“Upstairs,” she replies.
My hand slides along the banister as I make my way to the second level. I find her bending over a baseboard in a half-yellow room with a roll of painter’s tape. She’s wearing overalls and her blonde hair is pulled up in a messy bun.
“Love the yellow.”
She gestures around her. “Welcome to the Beauty and the Beast room.”
“This place is going to make you rich when you’re ready to open.” It’s so quaint and chic, and Rosie is going to make it even more adorable with her fairy tale themed rooms.
“Fingers crossed.” She laughs, sitting back and resting her forearms on her bent knees. “I’ll be satisfied if it pays the bills.”
I hand over the ice-cold Dr Pepper I picked up on my way and sit down next to her, leaning my back against the wall.
“Bless your heart!” Rosie takes a deep swig and sighs, ice rattling in the styrofoam cup.
“Being happy is important, too.” I glance around the half-finished room. “What kind of help do you need? I can probably come by tomorrow.”
“You have enough to worry about.” She shakes her head, eyebrows pulling together, and takes another drink before setting the cup on the floor. “Someday you have to actually finish your bathroom.”
“I’ll get to it. Eventually.”
Rosie shakes her head. “I’m good here. Don’t worry about me.”
“I figured since you’re in charge of the entire fall festival, you might have a lot going on.”
Her smile is tight. “I have help. Juliet Monroe is doing so much. Don’t worry.”
“I’m not,” I promise. “Just don’t want you taking on too much.”
Rosie wipes stray hair out of her eyes with the back of her wrist. “I heard you were going out with the new dentist.”
Going out? “I swear, if it was possible to fuel a town on gossip, we’d never have to pay an electric bill.”
“That would be nice.”
“We’re friends.” I shrug. “Carson doesn’t want anything more, which is fine, because I like hanging out with him. I’m dating other people, anyway.”
“Other people?” Rosie raises an eyebrow.
“Fine. Other person.”
“Who?” She draws in a little gasp. “Do not say Seth or I’m kicking you out.”
“He’s changed.”
“How? Does he pick you up for dates now?”
My cheeks warm.
“Does he open your car door? Text you the next day to check on you? Has he become less self-absorbed at all?”
Since I’m en route to a date currently and meeting him there, I don’t answer most of these things. “You know, sometimes it makes sense to meet at the restaurant. There’s nothing wrong with being pragmatic.”
“Oh my gosh.” Rosie sits up. “You’re meeting him now, aren’t you? That’s why you’re in that.” She waves her hand to indicate my date outfit, a particularly flattering sage green romper with fluttery sleeves and a V-neck.
I close my eyes and lean against the wall.
“Am I making a mistake? I want—I mean, I don’t know.
I don’t want to be alone forever. But putting myself out there is terrifying, and Seth is really into it.
He could have changed. I won’t know unless I give him another try, right?
I didn’t break things off last time because of anything crazy or egregious. He just wasn’t the one.”
Rosie looks at me for so long, I regret cracking open my heart for a moment. “How long did it take you to convince yourself of all that?”
“About ten minutes. I went from adamantly against him to open-minded like that.” I snap my fingers. “Desperate much?”
“It’s not desperate to want companionship, Em.” Rosie folds her arms around her bent knees. “Go for it but keep your guard up. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“It’s just Seth.” I try to laugh it off. What does it mean that I’m only half taking this date seriously?
“Hey, this room is almost ready,” a man calls, his tread on the stairs heavy like he’s wearing boots.
What the heck? I mouth to my sister.
She ignores me.
A man pokes his head through the doorway, his eyes snagging on me in surprise. He’s in a navy Henley and paint-speckled pants. “Oh. Hi.”
“Hi,” I say.
The beat of quiet is so heavy, I could swipe my finger through it like icing on a cinnamon roll.
“This is my sister, Emma.” Rosie looks at me. “Dean Alden is staying here.”
He sends me a nod. “I’ll get started, Rosie.” He hooks a thumb over his shoulder and heads back the way he came.
My head whips to her so fast. “What’s that about?” I whisper.
“He’s helping with the renovations.” She pushes to her feet. “Update me about your date later, please. I’ll be crossing my fingers Seth’s turned into a gentleman.”
I don’t push the fact that she wouldn’t accept my help, but she’s willing to let the eligible guy next door assist who isn’t even family. If she wanted to talk about it, she wouldn’t have changed the subject so fast.
“Be careful,” I say. I can’t help but worry. Mom’s gone, so someone needs to.
She rolls her eyes. “See you Sunday.”
I let myself out and walk down the street to the Maple Bar and Grill.
Rosie’s a grown adult, so it’s not really my place to tell her what to do or pry for information she’s not ready to share.
It’s impossible not to care, though. With Dad on his current psycho girlfriend-bender, I feel like the most adulty adult in the family.
Maybe that isn’t fair. Dad’s welcome to whatever relationship he wants to put himself through. But the rest of us still need parents.
I’m the first to arrive, so I’m seated in a booth, sliding onto worn brown vinyl with a lamp hanging directly over the table. Carson’s lights were on when I passed Price Dental, but I didn’t see anyone else in there, so he must be working late.
When Seth still hasn’t arrived five minutes later, I pull out my phone and text Carson.
Emma
How did your first day go? I hope every single one of those chairs was sat in.
Carson
Texting on your date, Emma? He must be terribly boring.
Emma
Date hasn’t started yet.
Carson
And you’re thinking about me? I’m honored.
Emma
Never mind, don’t tell me how your first day was. I’m no longer interested.
Carson
Your chairs were greatly admired by the person who sat in one.
Emma
One! Was it slow?
“Hey,” Seth says, sliding onto the bench opposite me. His dark brown eyes rake over me, and I feel a little twinge of something I can’t name. It’s not unease. I don’t feel unsafe at all. But it doesn’t feel…right.
“Busy afternoon?” I ask.
“No.” He blows out a breath. “Super slow, actually. Carson Price’s mom came in and donated a bunch of money to his Kiss the Pig jug, so that was great.”
“She does know that more money means he’d be kissing the pig, right?”
“Yeah, she wants him to win.”
I laugh, opening my menu. “Poor Carson.”
“How are those plans coming along for Witches’ Night Out?”
“Good.” I read through the entrees and settle on the same cheeseburger I always get, then close my menu.
This is feeling more like a work meeting than a date, but maybe that’s to be expected when dating your coworker.
“I have a few donated prizes for the costume contest. I still need to inventory last year’s decorations and see what can be reused and what needs to be replaced. ”
“Are the flyers finished?”
“They’re already on the board, but I don’t think Maggie has posted them to the socials yet. Demi gets back at the end of next week, so she’ll probably jump in with both feet on the event when she’s home. It’s one of her favorite nights of the year.”
Seth nods, looking at his menu. “She’s good at getting donations for the silent auction.”
My phone buzzes on the table, so I slide away the notification and slip it in my purse.
“Popular lady,” he says, eyeing me curiously. If he’s waiting for me to reveal who I’m talking to, he’s going to be waiting forever. We’re not at that level yet.
When his stare doesn’t relent, I give in. Kind of. “Probably my family chat. We have plans this weekend.”
“Anything fun?”
“Dinner.” I shrug, unsure why I’m not spitting out the truth: we’re honoring my mom’s memory with chicken pot pie.
It’s not weird or a secret that she’s gone.
But what was really easy to share with Carson isn’t easy to say to Seth.
He tends to brush me off, and this isn’t something I can risk being brushed off about.
“I got my hands on that new Hunger Games spin-off the publisher offered us,” he says. “You can read it when I’m finished if you want.”
“Sure.” The server approaches, and we place our orders before she leaves us in silence again. “Who did you have to fight for it? Burlington usually gets those advanced copies.”
Seth gives a noncommittal noise that garners my attention.
My phone vibrates in my purse, and it takes all my self-control not to sneak a peek.
The silence continues as I wait for him to respond, but apparently, he thinks his grunt was enough.
Is he trying to keep something from me? Maybe he doesn’t want to reveal his secret for getting his hands on a book everyone wants…
but this feels like more than that. The slightest pull in my stomach leaves me uncertain.
How much do I know about this guy? When it comes to physical attraction, Seth is perfectly handsome.
His dark eyes are deep and his chocolate-colored hair is rich and wavy.
He’s a little particular about control at work and liking things done a certain way, but who doesn’t have an opinion about the best way to run a library?
I mean, as far as librarians are concerned.
The door opens and Carson walks inside, tightening my stomach on impact. How does he have a right to look that good in a set of scrubs? They fit his shoulders snugly, emphasizing the way they sweep from broad shoulders to a thin waist. His gaze scans the diners before landing on me.