Chapter Twenty-Six
N ick parked in the parking lot of The Foxhole and hopped out of his car. He smoothed down his tie and straightened his light jacket before opening the passenger door and extending his hand.
Em placed her hand in Nick’s and let him pull her to her feet, clad in a pair of Mary Janes with platform heels. Her short, white top revealed a hint of her toned abs and the peekaboo cutouts showed off her strong shoulders. Her yoga-inspired, wide-leg, black dress pants hugged her firm bottom. The look was topped off by a menswear-inspired jacket and a woven black pearl statement necklace shaped like a man’s tie.
She looked beautiful, but the style was very much her own. Classic Em with an edge. A little sexier and a little more polished but still the sporty, tomboy style she’d always felt most comfortable in.
“You look fantastic.” Nick grinned.
Em’s smile widened. She leaned in and pressed a hand to his chest. Her slow, sweet kiss managed to undo him every single time. Em seemed to be well aware of her power over him, and she was enjoying it.
“Remind me to thank my stylist properly when we get back home.” She wiped her sparkly lip gloss from his mouth with her thumb.
“As much as I’d like to take credit for this look, I don’t really think taking you to a couple of stores, holding your bags, and saying yes or no while you model clothing qualifies me as a stylist.” Nick chuckled.
“You found a lot of these pieces,” Em reminded him. “You have an eye for—”
“ You .” Nick pulled Em into his arms for another kiss. He didn’t give a damn about the lip gloss or about who might see them in the parking lot. He only knew that he would never be able to get enough of Em’s kisses. Of holding her in his arms each night. Or making love to her.
And the fact that she’d just said when we get back home had made his heart leap in his chest.
They’d only gotten back from New York yesterday evening, but they’d gone back to her place and spent the night there.
He’d spent the last few days going to bed with Em in his arms and then waking up to her. At the hotel, they’d gotten up and gone to breakfast each morning or had it delivered to their room. That morning, they’d made breakfast together, and it had felt so… right. It was something he wanted to do every day.
Nick pulled back and lifted her chin, studying the eyes he’d spent the past few days drowning in. “Look, I know this is going to seem rash given the journey that it took to get us to this point… but I’ve been thinking about this since we checked out of the hotel yesterday…”
“Okay.” Em tilted her head as she studied his face. There was a hint of worry in her dark eyes. “What is it?”
“I was thinking that you should move in with me.” His mouth curved in a soft grin at the look of surprise on Em’s face.
“Wait… you’re serious? After having to share a bed with me and waking up to me for the past few days, you actually want to do it on purpose?” she teased.
Em was a wild sleeper, and he’d caught a stray elbow or two. Then there was her early morning routine which involved her waking up at 5:30 in the morning to “Get On Up” by Jodeci and dancing to the entire song, followed by a morning workout.
That last morning, she’d teased that he was probably going to be glad to get back to his own Jodeci-free routine each morning. But when they’d returned to Holly Grove Island and he’d gotten her settled into her apartment, the last thing he’d wanted to do was to leave. He’d been thinking about that all day.
“Yes, Em, I do.” Nick dropped another kiss on her lips, his arms wrapped around her waist as he tugged her lower body closer. “But what do you want?”
“I loved sharing a space with you these past few days,” Em admitted. She tightened his tie. “But I’m afraid we’re still on this kind of honeymoon high where everything feels perfect and beautiful right now. In a few days or weeks, you might get tired of my disorganization or catching elbows in your sleep. And maybe I’ll be annoyed with your snoring—”
“Whoa… whoa.” Nick held up a hand. “I do not snore.”
Em flashed a “bless your lil’ heart” smile and patted his chest. “You totally do, babe. But no worries. It’s super cute and rhythmic. It actually helps me fall asleep.”
Em burst out laughing at his expression of mock outrage.
Did he really snore? Right now, that wasn’t the issue.
“This is definitely what I want. I know it took me a while to realize that. But now that I have, I don’t want to waste any more time apart.”
Em grinned, her eyes misty and twinkling in the late afternoon sunlight as if he’d given just the right answer.
“Okay.” She nodded. “But since we’re running late for Sinclair and Rett’s big dinner, maybe we should put a pin in this for now and come back to it later, huh?”
“Of course.” Nick kissed her again. He bumped the car door closed with his hip, then took her hand as they strolled inside.
“There you are! For a minute, I was worried that you two might’ve gotten…” Sinclair covered her mouth mid-sentence, her eyes wide. She bounced up and down, gesturing between him and Em.
“Praise the Lord above!” Sin waved praise hands and glanced up to the sky with the shake of her head, her ombré curls bouncing. “These two done finally figured it out.”
“Oh my gosh.” Dakota, who had little Olivia on her hip, walked toward them. “Look at you two.” She hugged Em, then Nick. “You look so happy.”
“He doesn’t,” Nick whispered so that only he, Em, and Dakota could hear as he tipped his head in Dex’s direction.
They all looked at Dexter who wore a frown.
“Don’t worry about him. He’s just surprised, that’s all.” Dakota waved a hand, then walked back toward her husband. She put a hand beneath his jaw and lifted it, shutting his open mouth. They exchanged a look, then Dexter seemed to come out of his daze. He cleared his throat and rose to his feet.
“Nick, Em. Good to have you both back.” Dexter hugged his sister, then shook Nick’s hand. “You two look good together. I hope this means Em’s soulmate search is over.”
Nick shifted his gaze to Emerie’s, both of them smiling. He slipped a hand around her waist and pulled her closer.
“Definitely.” Em smiled up at him with so much love in her eyes. His heart felt full. “There is no one in the world who gets me like Nick. No one I’d rather be with. I’ve always known that. Now he does, too. So the Soulmate Project was a success.”
“Here, here.” Garrett raised his glass. He kissed Sinclair, who’d settled onto his lap. “We are all very happy for you.”
“My babies!” Em’s mother approached. She hugged them both. “I’m so happy that you’re back, and I’m thrilled to finally see you together. And, Emerie, my goodness, sweetheart.” Marilyn sized up her daughter’s outfit. “Baby Girl, you look absolutely fierce. I love it.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Em beamed. “I’m glad you like my outfit. It’s a little bit of glamour and a whole lot of me.”
Nick grinned. It was the perfect description for Em’s look.
“You look amazing, Em. Nothing looks as good on a woman as self-confidence and true happiness.” Sinclair grinned proudly. “And now that you’re all here, Rett and I have a little news. We’ve picked a date for the wedding. We’re getting married next summer so I have plenty of time to plan the wedding of all weddings. And I promise to keep the bridezilla element dialed down as much as possible.”
The entire table burst into laughter.
“Okay, y’all are laughing a little too hard about that.” Sinclair pointed an accusatory finger at their friends, though she couldn’t help laughing, too. “But seriously, we’re gonna keep things relatively simple. Here’s what we’re thinking…”
Sin beamed with excitement as she shared the plans for her and Rett’s wedding, which would surely be the event of the summer the following year. And as Nick watched everyone chatting excitedly about Sin & Rett’s upcoming nuptials and fawning over little Olivia who was now in her father’s arms, Nick couldn’t help thinking about his own future with Emerie.
Thoughts of building a life with someone and starting a family… they had always felt so foreign to Nick. He couldn’t understand why a man would voluntarily give up his bachelor card and commit to spending the rest of his life with the same woman. But as he watched the loud, joyous, raucous conversation among his friends, then glanced at Emerie, whose smile lit up the room and made his heart skip a beat, he understood.
He’d always heard the phrase ball and chain used to refer to a person being tethered to their wife. But he much preferred the term anchor . Because that was what Em had been for him. An anchor in the storm of life. The person who kept him from drifting too far from his center. The person who always made him feel like he was safe and home—no matter where he’d been in the world.
And he wanted that now and always.
The idea of settling down with Em didn’t feel scary. She was the person he was meant to be with. He was lucky to have spent most of his life with her. And he was excited about the future, now that they’d added love and passion to the mix. Em wasn’t just his best friend and partner in crime anymore. She was his soulmate and the love of his life. Now and always.