Chapter 15 Emilia
EMILIA
It was tough focusing the rest of the day after the kiss, but thankfully I had plenty to do.
By the time I finally checked the last task off my list, I was rushing, not wanting to be late to visit my grandfather.
By now Clementine’s Restaurant knew to have the slices of chocolate cake ready and waiting for me.
Spending so much time at the resort made it easy to become a regularly scheduled twice-a-week customer.
My phone rang and I was surprised to see that it was Drew.
“Do you ever text?” I asked him as my way of answering.
“I hate texting. I have fat fingers.”
I doubted he had a fat anything.
Well, okay. Maybe one thing.
“Where are you? I’m leaving for the day. Or should I say we’re leaving?”
I was confused for a beat before I remembered that we’d driven in together, which meant that he was my ride home as well.
“Whoops, I totally forgot to tell you that I’m going to see my grandfather tonight. I can Uber there and then back home, so just go without me.”
“Whoa, hold up. You’re going to visit Winston’s dad?”
I snorted out a laugh. “Yeah, I guess I am.”
“Then I’m coming, too.”
I frowned at the thought of it. “Uh, why?”
“His son is now living with me, I feel like it’s common courtesy to introduce myself,” Drew answered. “Meet me out front.”
He disconnected before I could say anything. I wasn’t quite sure how my grandfather would react to an unexpected guest, but the thought of Drew reassuring him that Winston was in good hands was so charming, I couldn’t resist it.
I walked outside clutching my precious bag of cake to find Drew already waiting, idling in his ridiculous sports car.
I opened the door and practically bent in half so I could crouch down enough to fold myself into the leather seat. I tucked myself in the car that felt more Indy car than regular commuting vehicle.
“Just don’t get us killed,” I said as I fastened the seatbelt.
Drew laughed, gunned the engine and took off. But it was all for effect, he slowed to a reasonable speed as we hit the highway.
We arrived at the assisted living facility in record time and Drew deftly tucked his ridiculously expensive car into a single space instead of taking up two or three.
That caught me by surprise and while I could appreciate his desire not to be that person, I worried about how I was going to get in and out of the car without creating a door ding.
“Huh.”
“What?”
“Nothing. I just—” I opened the door and stepped out, careful not to hit the car parked inches from his. “—I guess I expected you to take up an extra parking space to protect the car,” I said realizing how ridiculous it sounded once it came out of my mouth.
Drew stared at me as if he were trying to figure out what the hell I was talking about and I could feel my cheeks heat up.
“You know what? That was dumb. Forget I said anything.” I reached into the car to grab my bag and the door bumped the car next to us making me cringe.
“Shit,” I muttered and leaned over to check both cars only to hit the car again.
For fuck’s sake! There were two dings now. How much did it cost to get those buffed out, a grand per scratch? I should’ve come here alone. Panic was setting in and I needed to get it under control before we went inside.
I felt Drew’s hand on my arm and he guided me out from between the cars and left me standing at the back while he grabbed both bags and shut the car door.
I noticed that he didn’t spare a glance to what I was sure were huge scratches.
He handed me my purse but kept the white bag with the chocolate cake slices in it.
“Which way?” I pointed to the main entrance and we headed for it.
“For the record, scratches happen and the car’s insured.
Now, I can’t say the same about my brother when it comes to his McLaren.
He’d take up the whole damn parking lot if he thought it’d keep his precious car safe from any exterior damage. ”
“Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say because that car was way beyond my paycheck.
“What’s his name?” Drew asked as we entered the facility.
“Charles Randolph Marino, but everyone calls him Charlie.”
“Charlie,” Drew repeated softly. “I like that.”
I signed us in, then led him down the maze of halls to my grandfather’s room.
“Poppy? Are you awake?” I pushed the door open.
“Course I’m awake! I’m over here baking in the sun like a turtle on a log. Can’t reach the damn cord on the blinds and I’m too lazy to haul my ass outta this goddamn chair.”
I was laughing before he even finished his diatribe. The man was all bluster. If you didn’t know better you’d assume he was a true curmudgeon. Fortunately, I’d always known better.
“I can help with that,” Drew said, blasting past me.
He walked directly to the window and pulled the blind down.
“Who the hell are you? You look too damn fancy to be a nurse or attendant, and you’re too young to be a resident.”
“Pop, this is my …” The words faltered. His vision wasn’t super sharp these days, and if I flipped the diamond on the ring to the inside of my hand he wouldn’t notice it. I figured the whole fake fiancé reality TV show would confuse him, so I opted to keep it simple.
“This is my colleague, Drew. We’re working on, uh, a special project together.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Marino.” Drew stuck out his hand.
“Charlie.” He frowned as he regarded the hand, then finally shook it.
We all went quiet, because the whole set-up felt weird.
“I’ve got your cake!” I exclaimed.
“You better,” my grandfather fake glowered. “Put it over there—I’ll have it later. I’m not hungry after all of that gruel they force fed me at dinner. And why do they even call it dinner? They make us eat at four o’clock! That’s lunch.”
I glanced at Drew and noticed that he was trying not to laugh at the commentary.
“Well? Are you two going to sit down, or are you going to keep staring at me like I’m a goddamn zoo animal?”
We both quickly pulled up chairs.
“So I was lucky enough to meet Winston,” Drew said. “What a special guy.”
I hoped he knew not to mention the surgery. I tried to catch his eye to telepathically communicate not to.
My grandfather’s face transformed when he smiled. “You like him? Great little guy, my Winston. Emilia takes such good care of him.”
Minus that one time I accidentally let him eat construction debris.
“She does,” Drew agreed. “It seems like Winston adores her.”
“How could he not? My granddaughter has the biggest heart.” He leaned closer to Drew. “She’s also a knockout, if you happen to be looking for a sweetheart.”
Drew glanced at me. “Oh? I hadn’t noticed.”
“Excuse me, young man, how dare you—” He paused when he realized that Drew was laughing.
“Of course I’ve noticed,” Drew said. “How could I not? And pardon me for saying it, but it looks like she got her beautiful eyes from you.”
If he hadn’t already been killing my grandfather with kindness, that would have been the fatal blow. Our shared eyes had always been a source of pride and connection between the two of us.
“She did!” he crowed. “And you know what else she got from me?”
Drew shook his head.
“Her stubbornness!”
They both cracked up like it was the funniest thing ever while I pretended to be offended.
From that point on it was the Charlie and Drew show.
It was almost annoying how well they got along.
When the time came to leave the both of them put up a fuss.
It wasn’t until I agreed that we would both come back to visit that they reluctantly said their goodbyes.
I rolled my eyes at the melodrama. You would think that it was the nineteenth century and Drew was headed off to war and leaving behind his family with the way the two carried on.
When we got home, Drew went straight to the habitat in the yard.
“Win, buddy, you’ll never guess who I met!”
I giggled to myself as he climbed into the enclosure.
“Oh wow, look at you, munching on that flower!” Drew exclaimed. “Are you having dinner? Is that your salad?”
For someone who had been so thoroughly confused by the concept of a pet tortoise, he’d certainly taken to Winston quickly. Drew sat down on the ground in front of him.
“Anyway, as I was saying, I met Charlie and he told me all about what you were like when you were a tiny hatchling. He said you were barely bigger than a silver dollar back then. Look at you now! Such a big strong guy. Right?”
My heart warmed as I watched them. Who knew that Drew could be so sweet?
“How’s that surgery scar? You seem like you’re feeling better.”
Drew reached out to scratch Winston like I’d demonstrated. He must’ve felt me watching, because he turned abruptly.
“What?”
“Nothing, I’m enjoying the bonding, that’s all.”
“He said you should join us,” Drew insisted.
“Well, okay then.”
I hopped the low fence and plopped down beside Drew, and for the next thirty minutes we laughed about every single thing Winston did.
“We should probably eat,” Drew said. “With all of the excitement, I sort of forgot. What are you in the mood for?”
“Anything. I didn’t realize how hungry I was. What’s fast? Pizza?”
“You’re speaking my language—I’m on it.”
Drew got busy placing the order and I excused myself to change out of my work clothing. My room was ridiculous, and every time I walked in I couldn’t quite believe that it was mine for … well, however long the charade continued.
It wasn’t over-the-top, but I shouldn’t have been surprised about his aesthetic given how elegant his resorts were. It had an airy vibe, with pale sky blue and white accents, plus a little balcony that I swore I was going to use every morning when I drank my coffee.
I changed into shorts and a swingy white t-shirt and followed the sound of Drew’s voice echoing through the massive place.
I laughed to myself that he actually called in the order instead of doing it online.
“Okay, pizza ordered. Should we get comfy?”
I paused, because I hadn’t connected the idea of sharing a meal with sharing the evening. But of course we were going to hang out. It wasn’t like I could snag a slice and hide in my room.
And I found I wanted to continue the night together.
“Sure, what’s the best spot in your palace to kick back?” I asked.
“You’re ridiculous,” he shook his head at me. “Media room for sure. This way.”
I padded behind him, taking it all in.
If I could design my dream house it would look exactly like the one I was in.
The place was impressive as hell, but not in a show-off way—just in a good-taste-meets-deep-pockets way.
Every element flowed together, and the effect was calming serenity, like a spa.
I felt my shoulders relax, which I was sure was the intended effect.
Come home and forget about the chaos in the world.
Even the media room felt like an oasis. I’d seen photos of ones that looked like old timey movie theaters, but Drew’s continued the Zen vibes with a neutral palate, oversized cream colored furniture, including loungers and a large sofa, and a ceiling that twinkled with tiny stars.
“Incredible,” I sighed.
“Thanks. I’m not in here as much as I’d like. I guess I should say thanks for making me actually enjoy my house and yard!”
“My pleasure,” I said as I hopped onto the sofa. “What are we watching?”
“I was thinking we should watch the last season of Wedding Madness, to get more intel on Dorian. It was his last show before he was brought on to produce Carter’s show. Watching it’ll give us a better sense of his style. It’s like what Sun Tzu said about knowing your enemy.”
I laughed. “You’re using the wisdom of a Chinese military strategist to deal with reality TV?”
“Hey, you’ve seen how cutthroat that guy is! I consider watching his show battle prep, so we’re not caught off guard. Even though he’s totally behind-the-scenes on the show his fingerprints are all over it. We can watch for patterns and pitfalls.”
“Okay,” I conceded. “Good strategy.”
Drew stood in front of me holding an iPad. “Now give me a second here.”
He tapped the pad then stared at the wall-sized screen.
“Damn it.”
He pounded on the tablet a little harder and nothing happened.
“I can never figure out …” Drew said as he continued iPad punching, “… how to get this damn …”
“Want me to give it a try?” I asked.
“Hold on,” he sighed, sounding peevish. “I think I’ve nearly got it.”
I stared at his back as he got more and more frustrated.
He’d changed out of his work clothing as well, into black sweatpants and a t-shirt with a faded surf shop logo.
Of course he looked amazing in business clothing, but I really liked the relaxed version of him.
It helped that the sweatpants highlighted his ass in a way no dress pants could, and the t-shirt was so thin and well-loved that it clung to him.
Yeah, based on what I could see, he worked out. A lot.
Drew turned abruptly and caught me staring. “Okay, I surrender. Can you try? I think it might be broken.”
I refrained from saying it was probably operator error as I took the iPad.
“Damn, this looks like mission control,” I said.
“Right? It’s ridiculously complicated.”
I realized that Drew had accidentally navigated to a settings page and not the controls section. I backed out and within a few seconds, the Wedding Madness theme music echoed around the room.
“How did you do that?”
“It’s not that complicated,” I began. “All you have to do it find the section that says ‘primary device control’ and then navigate to the dropdown with the different input options listed—”
“Please stop,” Drew closed his eyes like he was in pain. “You sound just like the guy who installed everything. ‘It’s so easy’ he said, meanwhile I can’t figure out the damn thing no matter how hard I try.”
“Well, if you give me a chance I can teach you,” I said tentatively.
He shook his head. “Nope. From now on, you’re my entertainment help desk.”
“No pressure,” I laughed. I sat down again and pulled my feet up underneath me. “Okay, ready for some totally fake reality?”
“So ready,” he agreed.
We settled in, and even though the show was a slow motion car crash that was hard to look away from, all I could think about was the enigma sitting beside me.