Chapter Four
N ick arrived at Rett and Sin’s place and slapped palms with his friend. He was greeted by the savory aromas of collard greens, cornbread, and black-eyed peas: the traditional, Southern good-luck trio eaten on New Year’s Day. Most of the feast had been prepared by Sinclair and Rett’s grandmother. Mama Mae had originally owned the lovely little cottage that Rett and Sin called home.
They’d made the space their own, expanding the first and second floors of the cottage. The kitchen was double the size of what the original footprint had been when he, Em, and Dexter had helped Rett demo the place before renovations began. The updated cottage was the perfect space for the couple since Sinclair loved to cook and she and Rett frequently entertained.
Nick shrugged off his black, wool coat, and Rett relieved him of it.
“I’ll throw this on the bed in our room,” Rett said. “There’s beer in the wine fridge and a bottle each of white and red wine floating around here somewhere. Or feel free to help yourself to something from the bar.” He gestured to an antique bar cart set up in the great room.
“Thanks, Rett,” Nick said. “Congrats again on the engagement. I’m really happy for you and Sin.”
“Thanks. Me, too.” Rett beamed, folding Nick’s coat over his arm. They both glanced in the direction of Sinclair, who was holding their goddaughter, Olivia, and singing to her, much to the infant’s delight.
“It’s wild,” Rett said. “A year ago, I couldn’t possibly have imagined that I’d be engaged or that I’d even want to settle down. I sure as hell wouldn’t have dreamed I’d be doing it with Sinclair. But despite years of trying to convince myself otherwise, Sin has always been the one for me. I’m incredibly lucky that she feels the same.”
When Rett turned back toward him, love and pure joy lit his face. The man sincerely meant every glowing word he’d uttered about his fiancée.
Nick felt a twinge of envy.
He didn’t have anything against marriage and family. He just hadn’t had any real reason to consider either. But neither had Rett before returning home and teaming up with Sinclair to plan their mutual best friends’ wedding.
“Make yourself at home. I’ll be right back,” Rett said.
Did Rett know about Em’s confession at the bonfire last night? Was that why he was talking about settling down and finding “the one”?
Perhaps. Or maybe Nick had been so consumed with the conversation that everything made him relive it.
“Nick, hey.” Emerie handed him a beer and offered a tentative smile. “Glad you made it.”
“Hey, Em. It’s good to see you. How are you?” he asked after an awkward pause.
“Yep, not weird at all,” Em deadpanned.
They both laughed nervously.
“Look, about last night…” Nick began.
“Water under the bridge.” Em waved a hand. Her smile broadened, and it alleviated the tension in Nick’s chest. “We honestly don’t need to discuss it again. Like… ever . In fact, I’d really appreciate it if we didn’t.”
“Like I said, it never happened.” He nudged Em’s shoulder, then sipped his beer. “How was brunch with Kassie?”
“Phenomenal. The Foxhole outdid themselves this year. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to eat again so soon. But everything smells so good. Now I’m starving again.”
“Well, my brunch buddy ditched me today.” Nick chuckled. “I had to survive off of whatever I could find in my fridge.”
“My bad.” Em scrunched her nose, her expression apologetic. “That was kind of petty of me.”
Even if he could muster the nerve to be angry with Em for ditching their brunch plans, those big brown eyes and that adorable smile made it impossible for him to stay mad.
“You can make it up to me by treating next time we play cornhole at Blaze of Glory. Not whipping my ass so badly would also be a nice change,” Nick teased.
“Yes, to treating you. In your dreams, pal, to taking it easy on you. If you want my crown, you’ll have to take it. And I’d love to see you try.” Em grinned.
That was his best friend. Kicking ass, taking names, and talking shit the entire time.
Nick heaved a quiet sigh of relief. He’d been worried for nothing. Everything between them was just fine.
After dinner, Nick grabbed another beer, then cruised the dessert bar laid out with delectable, made-from-scratch creations. There was Sinclair’s banana pudding and peach cobbler and Mama Mae’s sweet tea cake and red velvet cake. Nick wasn’t sure where to begin. He only knew that he was happy to be starting off the new year with the people he cared about.
Em especially.
He was relieved to see Em laughing and smiling, surrounded by her family and friends. After last night, he honestly wasn’t sure things would ever be the same between them. The loss of their friendship was a devastating prospect that had kept him up most of the night—especially when Em wouldn’t answer his calls.
He’d lain in bed, tortured by that pained expression on Em’s face playing on a loop in his brain. He’d only seen Em that upset once before: when her parents divorced after she graduated from college. Otherwise, Em had always been a warrior who could handle anything.
Growing up with three older brothers, Em was as tough as nails. She participated in all kinds of sports: basketball, street hockey, softball, rock climbing, and rugby—which was too rough, even for him. She’d been battered and bruised, had sustained cuts, sprains, and the occasional broken bone. But the pain on her face at the bonfire rivaled any physical pain he’d seen her endure.
Seeing Em so broken had cut him to the core. And knowing that he’d been the one who’d caused her that pain was like a kick to his front teeth. Seeing how she’d bounced back today only proved that he’d made the right call.
Nick would always be Em’s ride-or-die road dawg. But he was also a relationship disaster. Which was why he’d given up on relationships years ago.
He’d returned to Holly Grove Island where he could be near friends and family while living his best fuckboy life—mostly hooking up with tourists who would be on the island for a couple weeks at most. Always making it clear he had no interest in a relationship. So how had he missed that his best friend had developed romantic feelings for him?
“I realize that you have a lot of options, but the rest of us are ready to dig in.” Em bumped his shoulder, shaking him from his daze.
“Right. Sorry.” Nick grabbed a slice of Mama Mae’s sweet tea cake.
Em set a dish of peach cobbler and a slice of red velvet cake on a larger plate. She and Kassie followed him to the additional seating in the great room. Card tables were set up in the dining area.
The night was going well, and everything between him and Emerie felt normal with barely a hint of the awkwardness they’d experienced when he’d first arrived. But when Em stood up and said she wanted to tell everyone something, there was a tightening in Nick’s gut and a fluttering in his chest. It felt like a subtle shift in the very fabric of the universe, signaling that his life was about to drastically change.
Emerie stood in front of her friends and family. Their happy, expectant, and slightly inebriated faces smiled back at her. Her heart thumped hard against her rib cage like a basketball thudding on the asphalt courts she and Nick still played on sometimes. Her mouth felt like it was filled with sand, and her stomach was tied in knots.
Em felt a sudden sense of panic. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Maybe telling everyone about the plan is a bad idea.
Puzzled looks started to appear on everyone’s faces. Em looked at Kass, who offered a warm smile and an encouraging nod. She held up one finger and mouthed the words “Step One.”
Sinclair’s grandmother’s words echoed in Em’s head. Closed mouths don’t get fed .
Emerie released a strangled breath, then stood taller.
“Before we go on to the fun and games tonight, there’s something I want to share with all of you…” Em took a deep breath, then amped up the wattage on her smile. “Over the past two years, I’ve watched my brother and cousin reconnect with their soulmates and fall in love. I’m incredibly happy for them, and I’m so grateful for my niece Olivia. But it’s made me realize that kind of love is what’s missing in my life.” Em was surprised by the rise of emotions that made her eyes sting. “I’m ready to step into the next phase of my life. A husband. A family. So I’ve devised a seven-point plan to connect with my soulmate by this time next year.”
“Good for you, sweetheart!” Mama Mae whooped.
“That’s wonderful, baby.” Em’s mother, Marilyn, beamed as she bounced little Olivia on her knee.
“I love when a woman knows what she wants and is determined to go for it. Girl, you already know I’m on board.” Sin nodded approvingly and cast a not-so-subtle side-eye in Nick’s direction.
Dexter and Dakota exchanged worried glances, but neither of them spoke.
Kassie beamed like a proud mother at a ballet recital.
The bronze skin of Nick’s cheeks and forehead was flushed—something she probably hadn’t seen since Nick was in middle school. His eyes were wide, his mouth hung open, and he looked stunned.
Em hated to be petty, but she couldn’t help deriving a tiny sense of satisfaction from Nick’s reaction.
Her smile deepened and some of her earlier nervousness faded in the wake of the encouragement she was receiving from most of the women in the room.
“I’m thrilled that you’re so clear on what you want for your life, Em. And it’s beautiful that seeing how happy we all are has inspired you.” There was a cautious tone in Rett’s voice. He wrapped an arm around Sin who was seated beside him on one of the sofas. “But you’re only thirty—”
“Thirty-one,” Em corrected her cousin. She folded her arms and cocked a hip, preparing herself for whatever Rett had to say.
“Okay… The point is that you’re still young, and you have your entire life ahead of you. Why the rush?”
“Did you not just hear the woman say she wants to have children?” Sinclair nudged Rett with her shoulder.
“There’s that.” Em gestured toward Sinclair. “But also, it’s what I want at this stage in my life.”
Rett glanced over at Nick, who still looked shell-shocked by her announcement. Rett stood and wrapped Em in a hug.
“If this is what you want, you know Sin and I will support you,” he said.
Em sank into her cousin’s hug, her shoulders sagging with relief. “Thank you, Rett.”
“So tell us about this seven-step plan. I can’t wait to hear it,” Em’s mother said.
Em tucked her hair behind her ear and grinned, excited to share the plan she’d devised.
“Step One is putting my intentions out into the universe, which I just did. I want the people closest to me to know my plan and to be a part of it.”
“I love that.” Mama Mae smiled proudly. “What’s Step Two?”
“A makeover,” Em said. “Not because I’m unhappy with who I am, but because I realize that my sense of style is still very much fourteen-year-old tomboy and could use a refresh.” Em turned in a circle, modeling her favorite pair of athletic leggings and an oversize T-shirt that had seen better days.
“Need a volunteer style consultant?” Sin rubbed the ears of her sleepy Havapoo, Stella, who was nuzzled in her lap. She kissed the top of the puppy’s head. “I’m always up for an excuse to go shopping.”
Everyone in the room laughed, including Rett.
“You’re hired.” Em flashed a grateful smile because neither she nor Kassie could be trusted for fashion advice. “That brings us to Step Three…” A shudder ran down her spine. “Joining a few dating sites.”
There were cheers, some commiserating moans, and a few people tossing out recommended sites.
Em glanced at Kassie who was typing the names of the suggested sites into her phone. At brunch earlier, she’d volunteered to help Em set up her dating profiles.
“On it,” Kass said.
Em ticked off the remaining four points: focus on self-improvement and self-care; focus on personal ambitions outside of romance; try something outside of her comfort zone; and travel more.
“That’s a brilliant plan, Emerie.” Mama Mae squeezed her hand. “It’s well-thought-out and focuses mainly on self-improvement so that you attract the kind of person you truly deserve. Don’t you think, Nick?”
The level of tension in the room amped up the moment Mama Mae called Nick’s name. As if everyone was holding their collective breath and expecting Nick to object.
Nick’s eyes widened, and Em was pretty sure he was sweating. He shifted in his seat, his complexion looking a little green.
He cleared his throat and nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Seems like a very well-thought-out plan.”
Sin, Mama Mae, Em’s mother, and a few other older women in the room responded to Nick’s comment with a disbelieving side-eye or a humph .
Em could barely hold back a snicker as Nick shifted in his seat under the women’s collective stare.
“Well, this is exciting, Emerie,” Mama Mae said with a shimmy of her shoulders. “We’ll do everything we can to help you find the right man.” She leaned in and whispered in Em’s ear. “Once you do, I’ll give you a stash of love potion tea. That stuff is too powerful to be using on any old body.”
The older woman whose clothing bore the scent of all of the delicious foods she’d been cooking and baking all day pulled back and winked at her. “Good luck, baby. But I have a feeling you’re not going to need it.”
Em smiled broadly, a sense of pride filling her chest at Mama Mae’s approval.
She’d always adored Rett’s grandmother. She was in her eighties, wise, no-nonsense, and as sweet as could be. Any remaining doubts Em had about her plan disappeared.
The only people in the room who didn’t seem fully on board were her brother, her sister-in-law, and Nick.
She could understand their concern. Making a plan to find the love of her life and announcing it to everyone she cared about wasn’t really Em’s style. But if she wanted different results, it was time to do things differently. Besides, it was her life—not theirs.
One thing she knew for sure: Dex, Dakota, and Nick loved her and only wanted the best for her. Eventually, they’d come around.