Chapter Fourteen
Fourteen
Will wanted to call in sick. He didn’t want to risk another encounter with a book scene in the hospital.
If he was honest with himself, he occasionally found ways to convince himself that he was insane to think he was in a romance novel.
Sometimes he managed to find his way around to believing it was all some kind of joke or…
cosmic coincidence. Then he’d be slapped in the face with a Scene—he thought of them as having capital S’s—like the one with Lamar.
It was like being doused with ice water.
A fierce wakeup call that yanked him out of denial and shoved the truth in his face.
He didn’t call in sick, and he went through his shift the next day constantly on edge, waiting for the next Scene to sneak up on him.
By the end of his shift, he was so exhausted, he didn’t have it in him to feel relieved that there hadn’t been any.
Then he remembered he was going home to Emmy and her silly wind chime.
Something lifted inside of him at the thought of it.
He found himself hoping more than ever that she would somehow find a way to get them both out of the book.
And soon. Emmy was a solid silver lining in the dark gray cloud of his life, but he hated that she was stuck in the book with him.
He wanted to start a life—a real life—with her in it.
“Will.”
He turned to see Nassir approaching him and cursed silently to himself. One more minute and he’d have been out of there.
“What’s up?” he asked, resigning himself to the delay.
“I wanted to check in with you, see if you’re still set on leaving us. I know we already discussed this, but I want to reiterate that a mental health sabbatical is an option.”
“I know, Nassir, but I’m sorry to say that my mind’s made up.”
His supervisor nodded. “Alright, let me try one more tactic. I know working around sick kids can take its toll. Trust me, I’ve seen it happen time and time again. Maybe you’d like to request a transfer?”
Will was already shaking his head. “I’m quitting, Nassir. I appreciate your concern, but I need to take a different direction with my life.”
Nassir sighed. “Okay. Okay.” He slapped Will companionably on the arm. “Go home. Get some rest. And…”
“And?”
Nassir looked like he wasn’t sure he should continue the thought. Then he said, “If you need to talk to someone, I can recommend several counselors who are experienced with working with healthcare professionals. All you have to do is say the word, and I’ll grab you a couple business cards.”
Will worked up a smile. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”
He didn’t realize so much of what he was feeling was on display for all to see. As he made his way to his car, he told himself he was going to have to suck it up. He didn’t need every person he knew offering him therapy recommendations or shoulders to cry on.
When he pulled up to the house and saw Emmy standing outside fiddling with a window box, he realized he already had the only shoulder he needed.
*
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Emmy crooned. “She might be weird, but she sure can pull through when it counts.”
Will glanced over at the wind chime that clanked a bit discordantly where it dangled from Emmy’s hand. “Did you have to take it out in the car?”
“Yes!”
“Okay.”
“I’m going to hang it up right away. I saw the perfect place today. There’s already an eye hook stuck in the overhang.”
Will smiled to himself at her enthusiasm over hanging a wind chime. How could she not see that this could be the calling she’d been searching for? He hoped that working on his yard was slowly opening that door for her.
“I just need a step stool,” Emmy said, studying the eye hook.
“I’ve got one in the laundry room,” Will said. “Or I could hang it for you.”
“Oh. Yeah. You should hang it. It’s your grandfather’s tools and your house.” She looked seriously put out as she held the chime out to him, inciting another series of clanks from the suspended tools.
Will didn’t take the chime from her. “Emmy.”
“What?”
“Do you want to be the one to hang the wind chime?”
“No.” She was looking somewhere off to the side of his head, refusing to make eye contact.
“Emmy.”
“You’re going to think I’m stupid and obsessive.”
“Try me.”
She let out a breath and looked down at the chime where it dangled from her left hand. Absently, she gave it a little swing to make the tools collide and sing in their own unique way.
“It’s like… the finishing touch,” she said quietly, her tone bordering on apologetic.
“I guess I want to be the one to put the cherry on top, so to speak. But you’re right that it doesn’t make sense to go get a step stool when you’re standing right here,” she rushed on.
“I can watch you hang it. That’ll be fine. ”
Will was pretty sure she had no idea how endearing it was that she offered to make this sacrifice for him. Far from finding it stupid, he thought it was incredibly sweet that she was so dedicated to the project.
“I have an idea,” he told her. “A compromise. Go stand under the hook.”
“Okay…” She side-eyed him for a second, then turned to do as he asked.
Will stepped up behind her. “Get ready.”
“Ready for wha—Eep!”
The squeal jumped out of her before Emmy could call it back.
Will’s hands were on her waist, and before she could even begin to process that, she was airborne.
He lifted her straight up, and she didn’t hear a single grunt of effort.
Emmy easily hooked the chime in place, then waited while he slowly—perhaps more slowly than necessary, she thought—lowered her back down.
Her body slid against his in the process, and it sent heat shooting from her toes to the roots of her hair.
The guy had some serious moves. His hands remained on her waist, and he used them to turn her until she faced him.
Her heart pounded as she looked up into those warm hazel eyes.
Slowly, his gaze never leaving hers, his hand traveled up the side of her body before it came to rest on the side of her face.
His skin was warm and rough against her cheek, and she felt her breath catch when he allowed his thumb to slip down and graze her lips in an intimate caress.
When he leaned down, she told herself to step away. She couldn’t let this happen. She couldn’t become entangled with the main character of a romance novel she was trapped in.
Then his lips brushed hers ever so lightly, and she melted.
Her resolve simply slipped away as his mouth caressed and tempted.
He didn’t deepen the kiss, didn’t up the tempo or the intensity.
He simply… lingered on her lips, taking little tastes, changing the angle only slightly to touch one corner of her mouth and then the other.
Emmy was on the brink of begging him for more when he pulled back.
“We got interrupted back in Bright’s shop. I like to finish what I start.”
“Uh huh.”
“You alright there?” he asked.
His self-satisfied grin was enough to snap her out of her lust-induced stupor. “I’m great. I’m uh…” She cleared her throat. “I need to see the wind chime. Um… thanks for the lift.”
“Anytime.” He made that one word sound like a sexual promise, and she felt her throat close for a moment.
Turning away from him, she looked up and saw the garden tools dangling above her head.
They swayed with the breeze, as they were meant to do, and reminded Emmy that she had successfully reinvigorated the landscaping of this house all by herself.
The extent of her accomplishment made her feel warm and fuzzy.
Bright had done a great job cleaning up the tools so they were no longer stained with rust, but they still showed signs of age that gave the piece character.
“Done and done,” Emmy said, the kiss momentarily forgotten amid the warm glow of success.
“I guess all that’s left is to check with the client to see if he likes it.” Will smiled and said apologetically, “I’ve been so far up my own ass lately, I don’t think I’ve even looked at what you’ve done with the place.”
Emmy forced herself not to wring her hands while he stepped back and took in the scene before him. He put his hands on his hips as he scanned the plants, the fresh rock accents, the decorative moss. After a moment that stretched to eternity in Emmy’s mind, he let out a long, low whistle.
“Wow.”
That sounded promising. “Wow” was good, wasn’t it? Unless he meant “Wow, I’ve never seen anyone fuck up this badly.”
“You like it?” she asked.
“I love it, Em. You were right about the birdbath. But even more important to me is, I think my grandfather would have loved it, too. He treasured this house, and you enhanced it without taking away from its charm. He’d have gotten a kick out of the wind chime, too.”
Emmy threw up a hand to ward off further praise and covered her eyes. The grandfather comment had done it. She was choking on unshed tears. After a deep breath, she lowered her hand and looked back at Will.
“You really like it? You’re not just saying that?”
Will walked over to her and pulled her into an unexpected hug.
He didn’t say a thing for a moment, just let her press her face into his chest and breathe in his scent as she tried to regain her composure.
He was so warm. So solid. With his arms around her, she felt safe and cherished.
It was a heady experience. Then he bent down so his lips were near her ear, and goosebumps broke out all over her body.
“I really like it, Emmy,” he murmured to her. “You made it look professional but not stuffy. It’s still open and welcoming. Not everyone would have understood that this house needs that.”
“Thank you,” she told his shirt.
“No, thank you. I know I bullied you into doing this, but I’m grateful to you for letting me.”
“Me, too.”
He pressed his lips against her temple, held them there for a few seconds, allowing both of them to relish the contact.
Then Emmy reminded herself she was not supposed to be embracing him or pursuing anything other than friendship.
With what she considered admirable self-control, she pulled herself together and stepped back from him.
“So… my turn to cook?” she asked.
“Yep.” He was still smiling at her in that way that said he would be more than happy to pick up their earlier kiss where they left off. She pointed a warning finger at him. “Hands off.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I mean it. The last thing I need is a steamy tryst with a romance novel character.”
Because she was walking past him into the house as she spoke, she didn’t see how her words wiped the grin right off of Will’s face.