Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
Good Ideas Abound
GHOST
I t took a few minutes, but once Emily overcame whatever shock she felt at seeing me at her parents’ house, she seemed happy that I was there. It had been a gamble, coming here without telling her, but I knew that confirming my feelings for her was only one part of what I had to do in San Diego.
I wouldn’t have been able to move forward without formally apologizing to Jake’s family. And hearing them accept it. I’d apologized in the letter, the one Gabe told me he’d read for the first time just a few days ago. But seeing Jake’s parents’ faces, being able to speak directly to them, to try to communicate the depth of my sorrow for their loss—it was different.
The navy had done its part and moved on. But I knew that moving on wasn’t as easy for humans as for organizations. We needed more than facts and findings. We needed time and conversation, words and feelings to help knit together the disparate elements of tragedy.
Emily gave me that.
And I owed it to her family.
I’d been scared. But I also knew that if I could get through whatever emotions her parents had to offer me—even if they were rage and fury—it would clear the path for me to talk to her again. To tell her I wasn’t angry, that I understood why she hadn’t told me right away who she was. To tell her that I wanted to know her. To love her. If she’d have me.
Dinner was wonderful.
The food was every bit as Emily had advertised—I guess that’s what you got when you had Thanksgiving cooked by a professional chef. But the best part of the night was seeing Emily’s family together. In a lot of ways, it was like spending time with Shazz, having him back for a minute. Emily looked a little bit like him—the same dark eyes and quick smile. Jake’s father had the same calculating mind, coming up with questions I didn’t expect and keeping the conversation interesting at all times. And his mom had the same warmth and charm I’d come to know with Jake. Plus, there were pictures of him in the hallway on the way to the bathroom, and one in the living room over the couch.
When dinner was over and the plates had been cleared and washed, I stood to say my goodbyes, not at all certain what came next. I hoped it would be time alone with Emily, time to talk, maybe to plan. I knew I needed to explain to her what was in my heart, but I didn’t want to do it in front of her parents.
“Thank you so much for having me, Mr. and Mrs. Schaeffer. It was really wonderful to meet you, and the food was incredible.”
“We’re so glad you came by,” Mrs. Schaeffer said.
“Thank you,” Mr. Schaeffer said. He hung back for a moment, as if deciding something, and then ignored my outstretched hand, pulling me in for a hug. He sniffed as we moved apart, and his eyes shone, but he smiled widely at me. “It really meant a lot.”
Emotion welled in my throat and I struggled to keep it inside, to end the evening without devolving into tears. I turned to look at Emily, not at all sure what the right thing to do might be, hope burning fiercely inside me.
“Where are you staying?” she asked.
“I figured I’d head back toward the airport and find a hotel there.”
A strange look came over her face, a half-smile that had her blushing as she glanced to her parents and then back at me. “I’m pretty tired anyway, I can walk you out.”
My heart lifted. I’d take even a few more minutes with Emily. I glanced back at the Schaeffers. They both smiled, and Mrs. Schaeffer guided her husband back inside. “We hope to see you again soon, Archie,” she said, pulling the front door shut behind them.
Emily turned to face me, stepping closer. “You’re not staying at a hotel by the airport.”
“I’m not?” My heart stuttered with hope.
“Of course not. Come stay with me.” She smiled widely, and it felt like the dipping sun gleamed just a little brighter over the horizon of the Pacific, warming my skin to match my heart.
“I’d love to stay with you,” I said. “There are a lot of things I hoped we could talk about.”
Emily smiled and then glanced around. “Do you even have a car here?”
“Uber.”
“Then I guess you’ll ride with me,” she said. Her smile was wide and full of promise as she got into the driver side of the little sedan parked in the driveway.
“Where do you live?” I asked.
“Downtown.”
“Cool.”
We didn’t talk much as Emily guided the car down the crowded freeway south, and I looked around the area, which was familiar and foreign all at once. I’d been here a few times, but was never stationed here. I liked it—the low rolling hills, the warmth and sunshine. It was an interesting contrast to Colorado. As I gazed out the window, my mind worked through all the things I hoped to say—the things I hoped we might do when we finished talking. But I didn’t want to assume anything, so I forced myself to be patient.
As Emily pulled off the freeway and drove between the tall buildings, finally pausing to open a parking garage beneath an apartment building, I glanced at her from time to time. She was every bit as beautiful as she was in my dreams. But here, in her element, there was something even more attractive about her. She was confident and sure, capable and sexy.
And I was more certain than ever that coming here had been the right choice.
“Come on up,” Emily said, leading me to an elevator.
Inside, we shared a look that told me we were both thinking of how we’d met.
On the third floor, we exited and headed for a door at the end of an exterior hallway.
Throughout the entire journey from her parents’ house, Emily hadn’t said much. I sensed that she had something to say—I knew I had a lot of things to say. But I also got the feeling she was still processing somehow. I decided to follow her lead.
I set my backpack down just inside her door and slipped off my shoes. “This is a great apartment.” It really was—airy and bright, clean and simple. A small kitchen that opened into a comfortable living room with a wide patio just out glass doors. There was a hallway that I assumed led to her bedroom.
“Thanks,” she said, moving across the living room and then turning to face me. “It’s kind of weird to see you in it.” She looked hesitant, her hands twisting in front of her as she stood in the middle of the room.
“Yeah?”
“Nothing like the weird of seeing you on my parents’ patio.”
“I bet. Sorry about the shock . . .”
She smiled and moved to the couch, sitting and waving to the spot at her side. “It was a good shock. I guess, I’m just recalibrating. I spent the last few days figuring out how I was going to make myself forget about you, about how I felt.”
“Did you come up with a plan?” I asked.
She looked at me then, really met my eyes, and that jolt of fierce attraction went through me. I reached for her hand, and she laid it in mine between us on the couch. “Kind of. Mostly it was to get really busy so I wouldn’t have time to think. Or feel.”
“Busy doing what?”
“First, the trip to Costa Rica I told everyone about at dinner.” Emily told me more about a trip to Costa Rica that the editor of the travel magazine had assigned her, about her excitement over finally being sent somewhere outside of Southern California. It sounded incredible. And the idea of an adventure—of escaping into the unknown—it was something I knew I wanted too.
“That sounds really incredible,” I told her.
“It is,” she said, but she sounded hesitant. I watched her take a deep breath and then raise her eyes to meet mine again. “Archie, you coming here like this...what does it mean?”
“It means I want to know you better. It means I don’t like being apart. It means I think we might have a future and that I want to do whatever I can to find out what that looks like. It means I was stuck—for years—and you came into my life and made me realize it, and you set me free.” I paused, gathering my courage. “It means I love you, Emily.”
Her eyes squeezed shut and then popped back open, filled with tears. “I love you too.”
I reached for her, and Emily shifted closer, wrapping her arms around me as I pulled her into my chest, my lips finding hers. The kiss we shared was soft, sweet. It was a kiss of relief and joy, of celebrating an end to uncertainty and sadness. Of moving forward.
“What do we do now?” she whispered, breaking apart.
“I have a few ideas,” I said, nudging her onto my lap so she was straddling me.
She laughed as she looked down into my face, her long dark hair framing her pretty features perfectly. “Oh, that’s a given. I meant besides that.”
“Well,” I said, reaching up to pull her mouth to mine again. “Let’s start there and see what happens next.”