“You know about me and Dean?” Emery couldn’t suppress her smile as she watched Dean walking toward her with a wolfish grin. They had talked this morning, and she felt much better than she had last night. Dean was going to give his father some time to cool off before trying to reason with him, and he planned to call his mother later today, after they moved Emery’s things into his house. A thrill darted through her at the realization that this wasn’t a temporary stopover, or a let’s-see-how-it-goes situation. They were a couple in love, and they’d made the decision to cohabitate. A truly heartfelt decision. This was their lives. Their future. And she couldn’t be happier.
“If she didn’t know before, she could have guessed by the way he’s visually devouring you,” Mira said.
“Actually, it was my fault,” Serena said. “If it was a secret, you should have clued me in.”
“It’s not,” she said as Dean reached for her.
“What’s not a secret? That you’re moving in with me?” Dean leaned in for a kiss and said, “Hey, doll. I missed you.”
“Geez. You’ve turned into a sap,” Serena teased. “You guys are moving in together for real? Like, not just because of a naked man in the kitchen?”
Dean pulled Emery against his side and said, “The only naked man in her kitchen from now on is going to be me.”
“She is one lucky girl,” Harper whispered too loudly to Jana.
“I can hear you,” Emery said with a smile. “And I have to agree.”
Harper leaned closer to Sky and said, “Maybe I need to stay at Seaside or Bayside, so I can have some of that magic work for me, too.”
“You and I need to hang out together and find some hot single men,” Serena said to Harper.
“Maybe you should wait until you see if you’re moving first,” Mira suggested. “Between you gearing up to get back into interior design, Desiree and Rick thinking more about dates for their wedding, and now you two moving in together, it feels like we’re all on the cusp of changes.” She placed her hand on her belly and looked hopefully at Emery, who had shown her a few fertility-boosting poses before class. “Maybe luck will be on our side and we’ll get pregnant this month.”
“I hope so,” Serena said. “But nothing is going to change too quickly on my end. If I do get a job offer, I’ll need to find someone who’s really good with people, numbers, and can handle stepping between Drake and Rick when need be.”
“I’ve got that last part covered,” Dean assured her.
“And I can pitch in during my off hours.” Mira ran Matt’s father’s hardware store, and she’d put together a multistate small-business co-op that was doing remarkably well.
Jana put a hand on Harper’s shoulder and said, “Harper’s great with people and numbers.”
“I’ve got another screenplay on the horizon,” Harper said. According to Mira, she was a very talented screenplay writer and was trying to break into larger markets with bigger scripts. “But if you get in a bind, I could probably help out.”
“We’ll talk.” Serena winked at Harper. “But right now I have to get to work.”
That sparked a flurry of hugs and goodbyes as everyone went their separate ways, Dean and Emery heading inside to gather her belongings.
Emery saw Desiree walking with Cosmos up the driveway. She and Desiree had talked before her yoga class, and Emery had told her what had happened at the dinner and about finding out that Rose was Dean’s grandmother. When she’d told Desiree about Dean professing his love to her, she’d gotten choked up, and when she’d told her she was moving in with him, she’d drawn happy tears from both of them. But since they hadn’t had much time together, she wanted to touch base again. “Can you give me a few minutes to talk to Des?”
“Of course. Take as long as you need.” He kissed her cheek and said, “I’ll go scarf down some of her leftover muffins.”
Emery jogged over to greet Desiree and picked Cosmos up before he could try to climb her legs. The pooch smothered her face with kisses.
“Hi,” she said to Desiree. “We’re just going to grab my stuff from the house.”
Desiree tucked her blond hair behind her ear and kicked at a dandelion in the grass, shifting her eyes away, but not before Emery saw tears in her eyes.
“Is it silly that I’m going to miss you, even though you’re only across the yard and only moved back in for a little while?” Desiree asked.
Emery shook her head, surprised by the sting of her own tears. “No, but it’s weird that we’re both so emotional when we weren’t like this when you moved here and I was still in Virginia.”
She set Cosmos down and he sat by her feet, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, tail wagging. Emery looked at the woman who had been there for her when she got her first period, her first bra, her first thong. She was there for her when she lost her virginity, when she decided not to go to college, and for countless other milestones—and things that shouldn’t be considered milestones, like for her first traffic ticket and holding her hair back the first time she drank so much she puked.
Emery’s heart climbed into her throat. “You’re the reason I’m able to be here. You offered me the chance to start over on the Cape when I was floundering at home.” She reached for Desiree’s hand and smiled at her sparkling engagement ring. “I think the reason we weren’t this emotional when you moved was because we both knew I’d end up here eventually. I couldn’t be that far from my very best friend in the whole world. But it’s different now, because it’s not just us anymore.”
“It hasn’t been just us for months,” Desiree reminded her.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be, Em. I had Rick, and you and Dean were finding each other.” Desiree stepped closer, speaking softly. “We grew up. We’ve found our happy places with Rick and Dean, and each other. We’re going to be living walking distance away from each other, and we’re working together at the inn. We’re so blessed. There’s nothing to be sorry about. I’m truly happy for both of you.”
They fell into each other’s arms, hugging as tight as they ever had.
“This is all good, right?” Emery asked as they separated.
“Better than good.” She patted her leg for Cosmos to follow them as they walked toward the house. “Maybe Dean will be so good, you’ll be inspired to learn to cook.”
They shared a laugh.
“Not happening,” Emery said.
When they reached the door, Emery hugged her again. “I love you, you know.”
“I know. And that man in there?” She motioned toward the house. “He’s crazy about you, Em. Rick said he’s never seen Dean happier. That’s all you, babe.”
“Well, well,” Violet said as she came out the kitchen door. “If it isn’t the cock chaser and the morning moaner.”
“Violet!” Desiree shook her head.
“What? I just call ’em like I see ’em.” Violet winked at Emery. “I just saw your sex slave up in your bedroom.”
“Ohmygod.” Emery gave Desiree a quick hug, blew a kiss to Violet, and headed upstairs.
She found Dean standing in the middle of her bedroom at the inn, shaking his head.
“You never unpacked?”
She shrugged and began tossing clothes from the piles where they lay on the dresser and chair. “I’ve been so busy, I just didn’t think about it.”
He wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her cheek. “I love that about you.”
“That I’m a slob?”
“No. That you don’t worry about the little things. I probably worry about them enough for both of us.”
She turned in his arms. “I’m a little worried about moving in together.”
“Emery…” he warned.
“Oh, don’t worry. I’m not backing out. But…” She reached into her hamper and pulled out his boxer briefs. “I had to resort to wearing your underwear this morning because mine was missing. I think you have gremlins living in your house.”
&nbs
p; He laughed and snagged the briefs. “You wore these? And I missed it?”
“Trust me, it wasn’t sexy. They kept falling down.”
“Didn’t you have pants on?”
“No,” she said as she plucked his sweatshirt from the closet floor. “Just this.”
He groaned and tackled her to the bed. She surrendered in a fit of giggles.
“You were wearing only a sweatshirt?”
“And your underwear,” she said as he grabbed her ribs, causing her to squeal. “At least I put it on! I wasn’t going to, but then I knew you’d want me to!”
He pressed his lips to hers, stifling her laughter.
“Thank you for not leaving the house with that gorgeous ass of yours hanging out.”
“I’m a little concerned that the gremlins in your house will leave me with nothing. I mean, they’ve stolen my bracelet, keys, hair bands, razor, my yoga strap, and God knows what else. What’s going to happen when all my things disappear?”
He nipped at her neck. “Then you’ll have to be naked and jewelryless every day.”
“Not completely jewelryless.” She lifted her wrist with the bracelet he’d given her. “I never take this one off.”
“That’s good. Then the delphinium flower charm worked.”
Her brows knitted with curiosity.
“Among other meanings, like protecting you from dangers that might stand in your way, expanding your options and attracting new opportunities, that little flower also has been known to help people remain open to new emotions and feelings.”
“So…You put me under your spell without me knowing?”
“Something like that.” He pressed his lips to hers, and then he gazed into her eyes, silently thanking the flower gods, and said, “And seeing you naked, except for that magical bracelet, every single day sounds perfect to me.”
AS DEAN PULLED the truck into his driveway, his mother’s car came into focus. His stomach knotted up as he parked beside it. He was relieved to see his mother sitting alone on the front porch steps, and reached for Emery’s hand. It was clammy, her eyes wide and worried.
“It’s okay. It’s just my mom. My father drives a black Lexus.”
She nodded silently.
He climbed from the truck and called out, “Hi, Mom,” as he walked around to help Emery out.
His mother pushed to her feet and met them halfway up the walkway. “Hi, baby.” She embraced him and then reached for Emery. “Hi, sweetie. How are you two doing?”
“We’re okay,” he said at the same time Emery said, “We’re good.”
“I mean, me and Dean are good, as a couple,” she said nervously. “But we don’t feel good about what happened yesterday. I’m sorry if—”
“We’re sorry,” Dean interjected, “if we caused any embarrassment for you last night.”
“Honey, you and Emery couldn’t embarrass me if you stood on your heads naked in the middle of dinner. I have pretty thick skin.” She slid her fingers into the pockets of her white jeans and shrugged. “We should talk about your father, though. From what little I’ve seen, you and Dean are too good together to let a bitter man come between you.”
“We’re not,” Emery said softly. “I mean, it’s there, and we need to figure out a way to make things better, but”—she reached for Dean’s hand—“he won’t come between us.”
“Emery’s moving in, Mom. We have her stuff in the car.”
A smile formed on his mother’s face and reached all the way up to her eyes. She threw her arms around them. “I’m so happy for you both. I knew the two of you were too strong to let anything bring doubt to the love I saw in your eyes last night.” She put a hand on each of their cheeks and said, “Always follow your hearts. They’ll never lead you astray.”
“That’s what Rose told me,” Emery said, remembering she hadn’t mentioned to Sherry that she was working with Rose. “I just realized last night that the woman I’ve been helping with her back issues at LOCAL is Dean’s grandmother Rose.”
“I know,” his mother said.
“You know?” Dean asked.
“Honey, you know your grandmother and I talk every day. I wasn’t sure at first because she called her Emmie, but how many yoga back-care specialists named Emmie are there in the area?” She smiled at Emery and said, “Thank you for all you are doing for Rose. She’s a very special woman, and we are all so thankful that she is finally finding relief.”
“It’s my pleasure. I love working with her. She and her friends are hilarious, and she’s remarkably determined to get out of that wheelchair. I wish all my clients could be so inspired.” Emery squeezed Dean’s hand and said, “I think I’ll go inside and give you guys some time to talk.”
“You don’t have to,” Dean said.
“I know. But I need to figure out how we’re going to fit my clothes in your closet, and I think it’s time I finally unpack.” Emery hugged his mother again and thanked her for coming over. Then she walked inside, like she hadn’t just set his whole world spinning.
His mother wrapped her fingers around his arm and lowered her voice. “Your brother is a bit pissed at you.”
Dean inhaled deeply, trying to switch gears. “Which one and why?”
“Doug never gets upset with you. He thinks you walk on water, and at the moment, he’s not aware of what happened last night. I would imagine he’ll give your father an earful, but he’s so busy with his wife and his job, I didn’t think I should bother him with this. But Jett’s another story. He called this morning, and apparently you haven’t told him how serious you and Emery are. I think he feels a bit left out that he’s finding out after us.”
“Yeah, well, he can deal with that. I’ve got bigger things on my mind. Let’s go sit down.” They went out back to the patio and sat at the table. “Would you like something to drink? We’ve got ice water with fresh lemon slices, or iced tea.”
“Fresh lemon slices?” She raised her brows. “Oh yes, you are definitely smitten.”
He chuckled. “That I am. Would you like a drink, Mom?”
“No, honey, but thank you. What I’d like is to talk about you and your father.”
Dean leaned forward, elbows on knees, gathering the courage to finally step over a line he hadn’t ever before. But after what happened last night, he needed answers. “Can I ask you something first?”
“Of course.”
“Why are you still with him?” he blurted out before he could chicken out. “I mean, he’s not the man he used to be, and I can’t imagine you’re happy.”
He expected his mother to take offense, but her smile remained in place. She was quiet for a long moment. So long, he wondered if this was her way of telling him he’d overstepped his bounds.
“I’m sorry, Mom. You don’t have to answer that.”
“It’s okay. I’m just trying to figure out how to put my thoughts into words you’ll understand. I’ve been with your father since we were in high school.”
“I know, but that’s no reason to remain in an unhappy marriage.”
“We’re not unhappy, honey. This is the hard part to explain. Do you remember when your father left, when you were just a boy?”
“How could I forget?” He ground his back teeth together, struggling with the truth. “That was the year I saw my mother with two other men. The year I lost my brother. That was the year I grew up.”
“Oh boy.” She sighed. “I think I could use that water now, please.”
With a nod, he went inside and filled two glasses. He heard Emery humming and peeked in to see her dancing with Tango in her arms in the bedroom. I do love you, my quirky girl.
He carried the glasses outside and handed one to his mother, who was watching him intently.
“You know that feeling you have right this second?” she said as he sat down. “That feeling of being on top of the world because you just saw the girl you love?”
“How do you know that?”
“Oh, honey, please. I’ve bee
n your mother for a long time.” She sipped her water. “And more importantly, I’ve been in love for even longer. That feeling that you have when you see Emery? That’s the feeling I have for your father. Your father is the strongest, bravest man I know, but he’s also become cynical and I worry that sometimes he’s unfeeling.”
“What he’s become is a pri—” He bit back the word “prick” and said, “He’s become cold and rude. How can you say he’s strong or brave when he left us?” The hurt he’d buried so long ago clawed its way out from the dark place in which he’d buried it, twisting into his gut and burning as it infiltrated his chest and limbs.
“Yes, he’s become unpleasant, but he’s still your father.”
Dean scoffed. “Please don’t give me a lecture about respect, because I’ve given that man nothing but respect, and he’s thrown it in my face.”
“I won’t lecture at all. But it appears that I made a mistake all those years ago. I told you boys that your father left because we weren’t getting along, but that wasn’t the whole truth. Little boys are supposed to see their fathers as being larger than life, with no flaws. Your father was struggling back then. And I understand why you think he’s weak for leaving us, but I think he’s strong for the same reason.”
She took another drink and set her glass on the table, then got up and paced. “Your father spent years trying to avoid becoming the type of man your grandfather was, and during that time, your father was under a tremendous amount of pressure with the growing practice.”
“Everyone’s under a lot of pressure, Mom. All jobs come with it, but I do remember you fighting all the time.”
“We did, because your father started giving in to your grandfather’s demands to work longer hours, travel, give talks, and somehow try to maintain our family. It was a sticking point for both of us. But the truth is, your father was angrier at himself than I ever would have been for his increased schedule. He felt like he was failing me and failing you boys. He left not because he didn’t love us, but because he wanted to get control of himself so you, Doug, and Jett wouldn’t grow up in the same untenable situation as he and his siblings had.”
Bayside Passions (Bayside Summers Book 2) Page 28