Chapter 16
Liam
The smell of barbeque filled the air as I wheeled Emma’s mom over to the giant tent that had been raised in my parents’ backyard. A handful of people lingered around, but I didn’t see anyone from my family.
I was hoping Wyatt would at least make an appearance at the wedding tomorrow since he had sent me a corny congratulations GIF when I’d texted him the news the other day, but I had no idea where my other siblings were. None of them deemed their youngest brother’s marriage to be of any importance, I guessed.
My parents were apparently on a Hawaiian cruise and couldn’t be bothered to come home early for their son’s wedding, even after Bridget did her best to convince them to cut their trip short.
I wanted to feel hurt, and maybe part of me was, but it wasn’t really that surprising to me that they hadn’t shown up. I’d come to expect nothing else from them.
Bridget had hired a whole crew of chefs to prepare dinner—a traditional Midwest summer feast. There was barbeque chicken and burgers on the grill with roasted sweet corn, pasta salad, and all the homemade kettle chips your heart could desire.
Why she felt the need to make grilling so fancy was beyond me. But at the little rumble my stomach did, I was suddenly grateful.
I parked Emma’s mom at one of the tables beneath the white tent Bridget had rented for the event and planted a kiss on her cheek. She grabbed onto my hand before I could get away.
I knelt so I was at eye level with her. “Yes, Miss Maggie?” I’d always called her that, ever since Emma and I were kids, even though she had always felt like more of a mom to me than my own.
I had a special place in my heart for Mrs. Beck.
She gripped my hands in hers. “Be good to her, Liam.”
I forced a smile onto my face, hoping she couldn’t see the anxiety swirling behind my eyes. “I will,” I promised. “Your daughter is very important to me. I’d do anything for her.”
She gave me a gentle pat on my cheek. “I know, dear. It’s clear how much you love her. Just don’t let your career get in the way of what you two have.”
It’s clear that I love her? Sure, I love Emma as a friend, but I don’t think that’s what she means.
At a loss for words and wanting to respect Emma’s wishes of keeping her mom out of this sham, I could only smile and nod again. “I’ll grab you some food, Maggie.”
Her hand squeezed mine, stopping me. “You can call me Mom,” she offered. “If you want to.”
A swell of affection filled me to the brim. Maggie knew that my family situation was strained, though I wasn’t sure to what extent Emma had told her about how I was treated by them. The fact that she would offer…it had me biting my cheek to keep away the tears.
I didn’t know if I was ready to call her Mom, but I appreciated the offer more than she knew.
“Thank you,” I whispered before kissing the top of her head. “I’ll be back.”
I made my way toward the food and had just spotted Emma coming out of the house when my manager’s voice rang out.
“Bride and groom get to go first!” Bridget called, and everyone simultaneously froze midstep.
Emma also stopped, staring at me with those big hazel eyes that for some reason made my stomach give a strange squeeze. What was my problem? I’d never had these types of reactions to her before.
Swallowing down the odd feeling, I grabbed her hand and led her to the food table, gesturing for her to go first.
“Fill ’er up, Em.” I handed her a plate.
If there was one thing I knew about Emma, it was that she loved food. She would literally eat anything, and could pack away more food than most guys I knew, and no one would ever know. She was tall and thin, though she had a healthy dose of muscle. No one would ever guess she could inhale more food than an elephant and still look like a daisy.
Was that weird? Did I just inadvertently call Emma an elephant?
Giving my head a little shake, I forced my weird thoughts away.
I squeezed my own plate as I watched her add both chicken and a burger to hers, throwing every topping available onto the beef patty, before grabbing an ear of corn and not a handful but a pile of kettle chips that filled up the rest of the plate.
“Why are you staring at my plate?” Emma asked, arching a brow.
Crap. I hadn’t realized how intently I’d been watching her.
“Just admiring your appetite,” I said with a playful nudge to her shoulder. She rolled her eyes at me, though the corners of her lips twitched.
That was one thing I had always liked about Emma. She had never been self-conscious around me. While other girls would eat like birds and barely nibble on dainty lettuce leaves, Emma would happily eat the messiest of foods and not spare a second thought.
It wasn’t until now, after returning from California and seeing how other girls were, that I realized how much I missed the way Emma was.
She was a breath of fresh air.
Or more like, I felt like I could breathe again when I was with her.
What is happening to me?
Clearing my throat, I reached for the tongs and piled enough food on my plate to rival Emma’s, knowing full well that I wouldn’t be able to finish it all, and Emma would pick off my leftovers. Then I scooped a more appropriate portion of food for Maggie before we headed to the table.
Next to the house, a large white canopy tent was set up with tables and chairs for the wedding party to sit at and eat. I dropped the plate off for Maggie before taking a seat next to Emma. She didn’t even wait for me before shoving a burger into her mouth.
“Some things never change,” I murmured, chuckling as I handed her a napkin.
Her cheeks turned pink as she took it from me and wiped her face. A breeze blew through the tent, and I breathed a sigh of relief as it lifted my shirt from the sweat sliding down my spine. I plopped into the seat next to her and took a bite of chicken, wincing as sweat dripped down my temple.
Bridget, why did you have to plan an outdoor wedding in June?
As soon as I sat down, Emma gripped the sides of her chair and scooted a solid foot away from me. I felt the distance between us like a kick to the gut. Though we had always been only friends, we had never shied away from being in close physical proximity. It was just the nature of our relationship.
I wasn’t sure why the sudden space between us felt so big…and wrong.
Emma’s cousin Maya sat down across from her, glancing at us—and the space between us—through narrowed eyes. Another girl with dark-blonde hair sat down next to Maya.
“Long time no see, Walker,” Maya said. “Still strumming away at that banjo?”
My eye twitched, but I didn’t correct her. She knew very well that I didn’t play the banjo; she just liked to make fun of my choice in music.
“Still meddling in everyone else’s lives?” I retorted, holding her gaze. Maya had always been protective of Emma, just like I had, and it often felt like we were battling over who could do it the best.
A tense moment passed as we had a stare down before Emma snarked through a mouthful of food, “The mud pit is over there if you two need to get this little cat fight out of your system.”
And just like usual, Emma easily broke the tension, and we all dissolved into chuckles, the rivalry between Maya and me momentarily forgotten.
“This is Elsie,” Maya explained to me a minute later, waving at the girl next to her. “Jameson’s fiancée.”
Elsie nodded hello, smiling sheepishly with bulging cheeks.
When she’d swallowed, she asked Emma, “Isn’t that fancy weather thing coming up soon? The one Jameson and your mom got you tickets for?”
Emma’s face lit up like Times Square. I hadn’t seen that much excitement on her face since I’d been back in Meridel.
“The Storm Chasing Convention, yeah,” she replied, bouncing in her seat. “I’m so excited, I can’t wait.”
Elsie and Emma gushed over the nerd convention—err, weather convention—but Maya’s gaze was fixed on me.
“So, how have you been?” Maya asked me, her eyes running over me in a way that made me feel like I was lacking. “It’s been a while.”
“Great,” I said before taking a bite of my burger. It was an automatic response drilled into me during my time in Cali. No one actually cared how anyone was doing—especially in the music scene. It only made it uncomfortable and felt pathetic to admit to someone if you were doing less than great.
Maya arched a brow but didn’t question my answer.
The other two fell silent, a strange tension falling among all of us, and I couldn’t quite figure out what the cause was. The three of them kept exchanging looks, some sort of silent conversation passing between them, and I found myself desperately wishing I knew what they were saying.
By the time I finished my food, my anxiety was about to explode from the quiet and tension. Emma’s chair crushed the grass as she suddenly stood.
“Going to the bathroom.” Then she was gone, those long legs carrying her faster than they ought to, my eyes lingering on her longer than they ought to.
I thought about getting up too and finding something else to do. Maya and Elsie weren’t my friends and sitting here with their eyes constantly on me made my skin crawl. Since the rehearsal part of the night was over, perhaps I could sneak away and head inside without anyone noticing.
It was never a problem in the past. Invisibility was kind of my thing.
“So,” Maya started, and Elsie looked at her in alarm.
“Maya, don’t start,” Elsie said quietly.
“Shh.”
“Haven’t you learned your lesson about meddling yet?” Elsie whispered, though it was loud enough that I was sure the table behind her could hear it too.
Maya simply rolled her eyes. “It’s not your life I’m meddling with, Els.”
“I still don’t think Emma would like—”
“So, Liam,” Maya repeated, ignoring her friend. “When are you going to wake up and see what’s right in front of you?”
Elsie put her face in her hands. “Oh boy.”
I blinked at her for a second. “I beg your pardon?”
“Emma.”
It was one word—one name—and yet it both eased something in me while making all my muscles clench tight.
“What about her?”
“You guys have been friends your whole lives.”
“Um, yes?” Thank you, Captain Obvious.
“And you’re telling me in all these years you’ve never—”
“Maya, I really think you should—” Elsie tried to interrupt.
“—had feelings for Emma?”
My stomach plummeted into the grass beneath my feet. “What?”
I glanced around, hoping there would be someone to take me away from this conversation, but Emma wasn’t back yet, and Maggie had wheeled herself to another table, talking with a couple from town.
Maya cocked her head. “In two decades of friendship, you’ve never thought of Emma in a more than friends way?”
Heat rushed into my cheeks. No, I hadn’t let myself. She was the one person I felt I could be myself around, the one person who always saw me. She meant too much to me to ever risk something as fleeting as feelings. Even if, lately, there were…stirrings of something that definitely felt more than friendly.
I cleared my throat. “She’s my best friend, Maya.”
“Exactly.”
“I don’t think I’m following.”
“You’re best friends. You two know everything about each other. You’ve stuck by each other’s sides through a lot of crap over the years—and a lot of romantic relationships don’t even have that. It would be simple for you two to take a step and give it a try.”
Date Emma? For real? Why is she suggesting this? Other than the occasional person in town joking with us about us getting married one day, we’d never paid it any attention. Neither of us had ever considered it or broached such a subject.
I’d admit—to myself only—that lately I’d started noticing things about Emma that I hadn’t ever before, like the way her eyes sparkled when the sunlight hit them just right, or the way she looked in her dress tonight. Emma had worn a lot of dresses in the last twenty years, but none of them had made my heart skip a beat like it did tonight.
But that was nothing. Just me appreciating that my best friend was beautiful. That was all.
It didn’t mean I had feelings for her, nor did it mean I was developing them either.
“Emma’s my best friend,” I repeated, lowering my voice so no one else would overhear us. “I don’t see her that way, and I’m sure she doesn’t see me that way either.” I can’t see her as more than a friend. I can’t risk our friendship.
Maya’s lips spread into a devious grin, and Elsie shot her a worried look.
“Are you sure about that?”
“Boy, Emma’s been gone a while. We should go check on her, don’t you think, Maya?” Elsie said, pulling Maya to her feet.
“Don’t be so quick to assume how Emma feels, Liam,” Maya said before Elsie finally succeeded in pulling her away, throwing over her shoulder, “Maybe you should ask her how she feels.”
What did that mean? Was she hinting that Emma…had feelings for me? Surely, I would have picked up on it at some point if that were true. It was Emma, after all. I knew her better than anyone.
Didn’t I?
What if I’m wrong?
A strange feeling settled into me. In the past such a thought might have made me panic because it meant there was a chance of losing her. But now…now the thought made my chest swell—just a little—and my heart stutter.
What is happening to me?
Maya had to be wrong. Emma had never given me so much as a hint that she felt like that for me. Not once had I ever questioned whether she liked me in that way. Either Emma was a really good actress, Maya was lying, or I was just completely oblivious.
But even if Emma liked me…that didn’t mean I returned those feelings…Right?
Of all people, I would know if I’d developed romantic feelings for my best friend.
Maya and Maggie were wrong. I’d know if I was in love with her.
The sunlight was quickly fading, offering blessed relief from the scorching sun as I walked around to clear my head. I found Emma with Maya and Elsie over by the gazebo. They appeared to be arguing, and it took every ounce of self-control I had to not sneak over there and eavesdrop.
If Emma did like me, what did she really think about marrying me tomorrow?
Was she secretly happy because we were going to be forced together? Was she hopeful that this would make me fall for her? Or was she dreading this because I didn’t feel anything for her? Maybe she felt like I was a giant piece of chocolate pie that she was being shackled to but could never eat.
Okay, maybe I was thinking a little too highly of myself, but still.
Now that Maya had planted the notion in my head, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. My mind was spinning, and I couldn’t make sense of what was real or a lie, and above all, I couldn’t help but wonder…
Was marrying Emma a huge mistake?