From the Embers

by Aly Martinez

  “No,” Jillian said as she walked out the front door, jogging down the steps, a clipboard held against her chest. “You two aren’t supposed to be back yet. What happened to bathroom breaks or quickies in the back seat?”

  “Excuse me?” Eason’s eyes flashed wide.

  I bit my bottom lip. “Yeah, so I may have told Jillian about…um, us. She’s kinda my only friend.”

  “Only and best,” Jillian corrected, her gray bangs bouncing as she gave a proud nod.

  “Right,” Eason clipped, but with the way the side of his mouth tipped up, he wasn’t fooling anyone. He liked the idea of there being an us and that I was already comfortable with it enough to spread the word.

  Jillian bent down and offered Luna a high five. “Well, hello there, beautiful. Auntie Jillie Bean has quite the surprise for you.”

  Leaning into her father, Luna hid her face against his leg and tried to disappear. Eason had heard her loud and clear though.

  “You have a surprise? For Luna?”

  Jillian’s face damn near glowed. “Yes. And several for you too, handsome.” She winked and rose to her full height, turning her attention on me. “Soooo, I may have gone a teensy, tiny bit overboard.”

  I pointedly glanced around at the trucks. “Ya think?”

  She lifted her chin. “I don’t feel bad about it, but if you don’t like it, you can always…suck it up and be grateful. I had to strike a deal with the devil himself to get this done in the time frame you gave me.” She swept her hair away from her face. “I’ve always known that I looked like an angel, but I never realized until today that I am also a miracle worker.” Turning on a toe, she called over her shoulder. “Come on, you two, the kiddos are in the pool, so let’s start out there.”

  I too might have gone a teensy, tiny bit overboard when I’d told Jillian there was no budget for this particular project. Lesson learned. Acknowledging that to Eason could wait until he wasn’t boring holes in the side of my face with a questioning glare.

  “You heard her. Come on,” I said, power walking around to the back of the house.

  I hadn’t gotten one step through the fence surrounding the pool before Asher was out of the water, sprinting my way.

  “Mom!” he yelled, colliding with my legs. He was getting so big, in both age and size, that it wouldn’t be long until I couldn’t hold him at all.

  Water be damned, I’d take the chances while I still had them. Lifting him up, I planted him on my hip. “Hey, buddy.”

  Madison was in the pool in a pair of floaties, giggling and kicking her heart out as Evelyn guided her to the side. “Yook! Mommy, yook! I do it. I sweemin’!”

  “I see you,” I laughed. “Good job, pretty girl. Did you guys have fun with Evelyn while I was gone?”

  “Totally!” Asher declared, but his smile grew exponentially as his gaze flicked over my shoulder. “Eason, Eason, guess what? We got you a new bed! And Luna too! And a new couch and table things. You too, Mom! We even got to paint the walls.” His shoulders fell. “Evelyn said there were fumes, so we had to leave and let the professionals do it. I didn’t even know football players knew how to paint, but I guess maybe if they don’t have a game or something.”

  “Uhhhhh,” Eason drawled. “You did what?”

  Asher continued, “We got new stuff! I didn’t get a new bed, but Jillian got me a cool tent for my room. And Madison and Luna got princess castles. It’s so cool! You gotta see it.”

  When I’d devised that plan and called Jillian to implement it, I seriously thought it was the best idea I’d ever had. The anxious energy rolling off Eason had me second-guessing a few things. Like, say, all of them.

  “Bree, can I get a word? In private?” he asked.

  “Yeah, sure. Just let me say hey to Madison first.”

  I took my time hugging my sopping-wet daughter. She had a ton to say—about two-thirds of which I understood. In that time, I noticed Jillian in heaven, sidled up next to Eason, talking his ear off too. He probably understood less than two-thirds of what she said because his stoic gaze was locked on me.

  When Luna had bored of her father, she sprinted over for a reunion with my kids, stealing their attention and my ability to stall any longer.

  “We’ll be right back,” Eason told Evelyn as she corralled the kids around the firepit for a snack. Using my elbow to pull me out of the pool area, he strategically closed the gate in time to shut Jillian inside.

  “Oh. Okay, then. I’ll be right here when you’re ready for a tour!” she called after us.

  Silently, he guided me all the way back around to the front of the house, and had it not been for a wet paint sign hanging on the front door, he probably would have dragged me inside too.

  “Would you stop,” I finally said, batting his hand away.

  He did not stop. Like not at all. Actually, after a quick glance around to see if anyone was watching us, he grabbed my hips and dragged me against his chest. His palm glided up between my shoulders and higher, to my nape. And then, with a gentle tug, he forced my head back. Not a heartbeat later, his hot, predatory mouth came down on mine.

  The surprise rocked me back a step, but I fisted the sides of his shirt for balance. His tongue swept mine as he explored my mouth in a scorching kiss. In a way, I was just another instrument Eason instinctively knew how to play and would never be tired of it.

  When air became necessary and not a second sooner, he moved his attention to my neck. “A new bed?”

  “Um,” I breathed, tilting my head to allow him more room to roam. “About that.”

  “And for Luna too?”

  I moaned as his teeth raked my sensitive flesh, just on the right side of pain. “I mentioned upgrading the girls from their cribs. Though the princess castles are news to me.”

  “Jesus, Bree. Why did you do all this?”

  “I didn’t want you to come home to those memories.”

  He stopped and lifted his head to catch my eye. “I came home with you. I could have changed the sheets and been fine. You didn’t need to do this.”

  Swaying into him, I wrapped my arms around his waist. “I don’t want to grow this thing between us in their shadows. We can’t move, at least not right now, but we deserve a space that isn’t tainted by them.”

  “Oh, you sweet woman,” he whispered, bringing his hands up to frame my face. He kissed me deep and lingering before allowing me to continue.

  “I don’t know when or where they were together in the past, but I think we can both assume, given the circumstances, that they didn’t have much tact or respect for anyone—especially not us. You told me at the cabin that, inside that bed, they didn’t matter. Well, I want it to be true every night. We deserve more than to spend one more night in their bed of lies.”

  Tender emotion flooded his eyes as they roved over my face. His fingers curled into the back of my hair, his thumb feathering my cheekbone. “What you and me have is brighter than any shadow they could ever cast, but I’m not gonna lie. I will sleep a hell of a lot easier knowing you aren’t in the bed you shared with him.”

  “I can sleep easier knowing that too.”

  His lips pulled into a playful smirk. “You know I’m paying you back for all this shit, right?”

  “Okay, but we better go check it out and make sure you like it first.”

  His lips thinned and his brows drew together. “I gotta be honest here. I’m slightly afraid of Jillian.”

  I patted his chest. “Good. You should be. Insider information: She has a bum knee, so if you’re ever trapped in a room alone with her, run.”

  Chuckling, he released me. “Come on. Let’s get this over with. Asher owes me a cannonball competition.”

  I smiled huge. God, I loved that he loved my kids. “He’s going to beat you again, ya know?”

  “Don’t be so sure. I have it on good authority the judge has warmed to me since the last time.” He winked and lifted my hand to his mouth for a kiss.

  Eason’s place looked
amazing. Well, technically, it still looked like a madhouse covered in drop cloths and filled with half a dozen workers, but I could see Jillian’s vision as she gave us the penny tour. My beach décor had been replaced with a pallet of dark blues and the occasional pop of red. He had a new leather sectional, a café table for two tucked into the small kitchen, and a giant platform king-sized bed covered in rich navy Prism bedding in the bedroom. A team of men in Hud Construction polo shirts were touching up the paint, while others drilled hooks into the wall that would later hold Eason’s guitars.

  Based on the massive grin on Eason’s face—and the hug he gave Jillian as we exited to allow the men space to finish up—he adored every single bit of it.

  And he wasn’t alone in that. My bedroom had been transformed into a sanctuary. The new regal high-backed bed with matching ornate dressers and end tables was a stark comparison to the modern aesthetic Rob and I had chosen together. I adored how different it made the room feel, in both ambiance and aura. In contrast to the dark furniture, a kaleidoscope of pinks and teals were woven together so skillfully that I feared Jillian’s talents were being wasted behind a desk at Prism. She’d joked about being my best friend, but there was no way anyone else could have put together such a perfect room for me.

  My favorite part though? Eason’s pure satisfaction as he stood in the doorway, his shoulder propped against the doorjamb, sexy as all sin without the enormity of Rob’s ghost weighing him down.

  The kids dragged us around the rest of the house, showing us what else Jillian had done. Like moving all of Rob’s pictures, including a few from our wedding, to the long hallway leading to the kids’ bedrooms. Every night, they got to see him and the façade of a family we’d once had. But I no longer had to stare back at him while relaxing on the couch or preparing dinner in the kitchen.

  Eason became overwhelmed with emotion when she told him she’d planned to do a similar setup in Luna’s room with pictures of Jessica as soon as the lavender paint on the walls dried. This earned her another hug from my guy. And it earned my guy a breathy moan from my girl. I laughed at both.

  Nothing had been solved. There wasn’t enough furniture or paint in the world to cure the pain Rob and Jessica had carved into our souls. But there was something to be said about having space to breathe. Something promising in the fresh start of it all. Something that simply moving Rob’s things out hadn’t done.

  We were making it ours, and despite how scary it was to let go and have faith again, with Eason and our small family happy, I was happy too.

  And for the rest of the day, Eason and I breathed real easy while he lost three cannonball contests in a row.

  EASON

  Since the day I’d moved in with Bree, I had made an entire hobby out of sneaking junk food behind the kids’ backs. I was a damn black belt at deceptive cuisine. Cookies snuck in a bag of baby carrots, chocolate wrapped in the plastic of a protein bar. Hell, I’d once eaten an entire burger and fries disguised as a salad while sitting directly across from them.

  Sleight of hand, distraction, and redirection were my weapons of choice.

  However, for two weeks, I hadn’t been able to sneak more than thirty minutes alone with Madison and Asher’s mother. It wasn’t completely their fault. My real beef was with a rare summer bout of Influenza type A.

  Luna might have technically lived in a different house, but she spent every waking hour with Asher and Madison. So, when Madison came down with a fever the same night we got back from the cabin, the three of them went down like a set of dominos. But worst of all was that, by the end of the week, Bree and I went down even harder.

  We still tried to meet by the firepit at first, but body aches and a hacking cough didn’t make for good company. As we started to mend, Bree worked from home while I juggled the kids and called in favors from every musician I knew in Atlanta to fill in for me so I didn’t have to outright cancel more shows. Booking managers tended to get rather testy when you left them hanging three weekends in a row.

  By the time Friday, my last night off for the foreseeable future, rolled around, I was back to feeling like myself and desperate for some alone time with Bree.

  “Eason?” she called, walking down the stairs at exactly five o’clock.

  “In here!” I shouted from the kitchen. Rising from the barstool, I smoothed down my white V-neck and buttoned my blazer. I wasn’t a suit guy if I could possibly avoid it, so I’d paired them with dark jeans and a pair of dress boots so she’d at least recognize me.

  She was holding her empty coffee mug from that morning when she rounded the corner. Hair straightened, makeup flawless, cream silk blouse hanging over a pair of pajama pants. Work-from-home chic if I’d ever seen it.

  She froze the minute she saw me, a slow grin brightening her face. “Wow, you look good.”

  “You too, Sug. Well, at least from the waist up.”

  “Sweet lord, please stop calling me that.” She laughed. “Why are you all dressed up? Do you have a show tonight?” She frowned and damn if it didn’t make my chest get tight.

  “No. I have a date.”

  “Oh, you do?” Understanding dawned on her as she curiously scanned the room. “Where are the kids?”

  “Playing with Evelyn in Luna’s room.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “Evelyn’s here?”

  “Please refer back to the aforementioned part about me having a date.”

  She bit her bottom lip and shuffled her slippers over to me. After setting her mug on the bar, she looped an arm around my neck. “Who’s the lucky lady? Anyone I might know?”

  Encircling her hips, I drew her in closer. “Oh, I don’t know. Sexy brunette, tight little body, sneezes like a tornado siren.”

  “Hey!” she objected. “The flu does not take it easy in the name of beauty. Need I remind you that I caught you with a tissue hanging out of your nostril?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  She scoffed. “Well, unfortunately, I do. My therapy bill has increased substantially since then.”

  It was my turn to laugh. The therapy was no joke. We’d both mutually agreed to go back as soon as we were feeling better. Our relationship had been on a bit of a pause after getting sick, but we’d still swapped nightly texts, and I’d even managed to steal a chaste kiss or two. But the lingering anguish of Jessica and Rob’s betrayal threatened us at every turn.

  I was still trying to organize my emotions about Luna’s possible paternity.

  Some days, I told myself I didn’t want to know. She was my daughter, end of story.

  Other days, I’d catch a glimpse of Rob in her features and it would damn near annihilate me.

  And depending on which day you caught me on, I needed to know the truth more than my next breath or I never needed to know the truth even with my final breath.

  So, yeah, I clearly had shit to work through.

  And the heartache and confusion weren’t limited to me. Bree had to deal with the fact that the little girl she loved and considered her second daughter was now potentially her husband’s love child with her best friend. Those were not emotions that would just disappear because we’d decided to explore the sparks between us. It actually terrified me that, if not dealt with properly, they had the power to extinguish them altogether.

  However, those were problems for Monday when our respective doctors opened their offices again.

  It was Friday, and I had a long-overdue date with a gorgeous woman I couldn’t stop thinking about.

  I tickled her side. “All right, smartass. Let’s get back to that date.”

  “You have my attention.”

  From my back pocket, I retrieved three envelopes I’d spent all day preparing. Fanning them out like poker cards, I brought them up between us. “Would you do me the honor of spending your evening doing whatever the hell you would like as long as it’s with me?”

  She twisted her lips. “That is quite the proposition. Is there cash in those envelopes? Now
is probably the time to break the news that I’m not a hooker.”

  She squirmed against me as I tickled her again.

  “I know that you tend to…” I sucked in through my teeth. “How should I put this… Make the plans, not necessarily go with the flow.”

  She slanted her head in a bored glare. “Just say it. You think I’m boring and allergic to spontaneity.”

  “No. I did not say that at all. You are a strong, independent, sexy woman who knows what she likes, and somehow that what is me, so I am not in any way, shape, or form going to complain about it. But knowing you aren’t fond of surprises and wanting to make you happy the way I do, I have come tonight bearing options.”

  Her smile returned. “What kind of options?”

  I kissed the tip of her nose. “I’m so glad you asked. In these three envelopes”—I waved them out to the side like a magic fan—“are three different variations of our first date. Each one includes every detail of our evening from transportation, restaurant, wine, after-dinner activity, right down to the flowers I may or may not be bringing you when I pick you up.”

  Her smile didn’t just spread, it lit her entire face. “You planned three dates?”

  “Yep. We have Sophisticated and Classy, Fun and Adventurous, and just in case you still aren’t in the mood to go out, we have Netflix and Chill. Now, milady, I will turn these over to you and allow you a few minutes to peruse each one while I eagerly await your decision.” Quite proud of myself, I offered her my handiwork with a dramatic Oscar-worthy bow.

  Only she didn’t take them from my hand. She just stood there. For an absurdly long time.

  Finally, I glanced up to see what was causing the delay only to find the most beautiful adoration staring back at me.

  “I don’t need to see those,” she said quietly. “You could take me anywhere in the world right now and I’d go just as long as you were there too.”

  Fuck, why did that feel so good? I’d spent all day planning because I’d wanted the night to be perfect—for her.

  And in one sentence, she’d made it perfect—for me.