forty-five | emberly
FORTY-FIVEEmberly
I’ve spent the last twenty-four hours rehearsing what I was going to say to Will. There was an introduction. Bullet points. A final summary.
It all disappears when Will looks at me with those gorgeous blue eyes.
“Hello.”
Yes. That’s what I say.
“Hello?” There’s a question in his voice and what he’s really saying is, “What are you doing here?”
Panicking. Procrastinating. Mustering the courage to tell you how I feel …
“Eating dinner.” Although the way my stomach is turning somersaults, I’m not sure I could keep anything down. “Is Iris here?”
“She’s home with Reeve and Brighton.”
“How are they?”
“Good.”
“Would … do you want to sit down?”
“No.”
I draw in a quick breath. “Okay …”
“I want to talk to you … alone. If that’s okay.”
It’s more than okay. It’s exactly what I want.
I bring my dinner—it’s a brat burger, after all—and climb into Will’s pickup, trusting Knox to keep an eye on Rosie while I’m gone.
Will said he wanted to talk to me, but he doesn’t say a word as we drive back to Pinehart. I’m not sure how alone we’ll be at the resort, but Will turns onto a gravel road before we reach the driveway.
At the end is a county park with a covered pavilion and ancient grills sprouting from the ground.
We’re the only ones here. After we get out of the truck, Will bypasses the pavilion and the lopsided picnic tables and heads toward a wooden bench overlooking the lake. It’s six feet from the water, a front row seat to the crimson sunset.
“This is where my parents came for their date nights.” Will shifts, revealing the initials scratched inside a heart on the back of the bench. “For years, Lexi and Brighton and I thought they were going out for a fancy dinner somewhere.”
I’d choose this place, too. Or the treehouse. Anywhere with Will, really.
“I’m sorry.”
We say the words at the exact same time, like we both knew this was our starting flag. It’s where we’ll end up that I’m still not sure about.
“You heard what I said to Brighton after Cab’s party, didn’t you?”
I nod.
“I didn’t mean for you to find out about your friends like that. I know how much the Sixteens mean to you, but I should have talked to you about it. I wanted to be wrong … and I didn’t want to hurt you.”
I don’t want to talk about the Sixteens right now. Maybe he should have warned me, but other things are more important.
“And I wanted to make Iris’s thirteenth birthday party special. I’d never do anything to hurt her.”
“I know.” Will winces. “I knew it when I was venting to Brighton, but I was jealous. And stupid. I saw you talking to Murphy and all I could think about was you flying off in your private jet together … and it wasn’t like I could ask you to stay.”
I swallow hard. “Why not?”
He stands up, faces the water again as if he’s afraid to look at me.
“Why not?” He repeats. “Because you live on a beach in a state where the sun shines most of the year. Because our grocery store only carries two brands of yogurt and our coffee shop doesn’t serve espresso. We have bears … wolves.”
I knew there were wolves.
Will isn’t done. “Once the tourists leave, it’s quiet. A lot of people go to your state to escape the winters.”
He takes a breath and I cut him off.
“You deal with all those things.”
“Because I’m used to it. I chose it.”
My eyes burn. “If you don’t think we’ll work, just say so.”
Will doesn’t say anything, which gives me hope. Makes me take a risk, the way Nona did.
“You want to give Iris the best life possible. You want her to dream, and grow up, and be happy. Why can’t I be part of that?
Why can’t I love the resort … and your friends and …
pancake Saturdays? Why is it so hard for you to believe that I’m not giving anything up?
Because it feels like I’m getting more. You were the one who said it’s not a sacrifice when you love someone. ”
And I think I just told Will that I love him.
Maybe he didn’t realize …
“Em …” He closes his eyes.
But I don’t regret it. I will never regret giving my heart to Will. I’ve seen how he careful he is with what’s been entrusted to him.
“Too soon?” I try to tease, but it comes out like a whisper.
“Not soon enough.” Will takes my hands and weaves his fingers through mine.
He doesn’t pull me into his arms and kiss me until I can’t breathe, though.
“I want you in my life, Em. You are … everything. Brighton accused me of being afraid to love someone, and I think she might be right. But being with you feels more right. I don’t know what a long-distance relationship will look like, but we’ll figure it out.”
Now he’s kissing me. His hands shape my waist and slide over my back as he pulls me closer. When we finally come up for air, I press a lingering kiss against his jaw.
“Who said anything about a long-distance relationship?”
Will freezes.
“What …”
“Like Nona pointed out, Ivy Gate Designs isn’t an office. It’s me. My homebase can be anywhere. Scott Aberdeen—maybe you know him—left a voicemail. He saw my project ideas for Samantha and wants to hire me for two spec homes he’s building in the area. I’ll be around so much, you’ll get tired of …”
I’m back in his arms again and this time Will’s kiss isn’t slow or simmering. By the time he releases me, my hair is loose around my shoulders. Not only can’t I breathe, I sway on my feet.
Will steadies me. And for the first time, he’s smiling.
“Are you telling me that your grandma approves of this?”
“She was the one who said I had two options. Go on with my life or come back here and have a life with you. She also said if you needed more convincing, I should kiss you.”
“I like her.”
And I have a feeling Nona is going to like Will.
“It’s hard to imagine anyone sweeping Nona off her feet, but she fell in love with my grandfather the night they met.” I trace a finger over Will’s jaw and hear a low rattle in his throat. The freedom to be close to him, touch him, makes me feel giddy. “They even had a meet-cute.”
Will doesn’t ask what that means, another bonus of loving a man with three sisters.
“It was day two for me.”
I tip my head back and stare at him. “No, it wasn’t.”
Will’s hand skates down my bare back. “The Dairy Den. This dress. I knew I was in trouble.”
Goosebumps break out on my arms and I shiver.
“For me, it was when you picked a pine needle out of Iris’s hair.”
Will’s brows shoot up. “When I what?”
“Picked a pine needle out of her hair. It was so natural. So sweet. I knew you had a melty center under all that flannel.”
“Melty?”
“Like a pudgy pie.”
“I take it back. I did fall in love with you the night we met.” Will’s gaze holds me captive.
“You dozed off by the campfire, wearing my flannel shirt, and I thought … it looks like she belongs here.” He takes out his cell phone and holds it up and for one brief but horrifying moment, I’m afraid he took my picture.
Then I see a boarding pass with Will’s name on it. Minneapolis to Sarasota. Departing … tomorrow night.
Tears scald the back of my eyes. “You were coming to see me?”
“To see you. To apologize. To find out if I ruined everything. But don’t tell Brighton and Reeve. Or Cab. They’ll try to take the credit.” He leans over and presses a kiss against the corner of my lips. “I bought the ticket fifteen minutes before their intervention tonight.”
Will was going to leave the resort in the middle of their busiest season.
I snuggle against him. “Now you don’t have to. Because I’m not going anywhere, Will Hartley.”
His lips curl at the corners and he draws me back into the circle of his arms.
“Maybe I need a little more convincing.”
The warmth in Will’s eyes tell me that he doesn’t, but I’m still willing to try.