Fade to Us
Page 24
Actually, it did sound like fun. “When you’re here, we’ll play miniature golf.”
His eyebrow arched. “I’m not much into miniature golf.”
“You haven’t played it with me before.”
His smile was slow and sexy. “Sounds like that might be worth trying.”
“Definitely.”
His expression grew pensive. “We should talk or text whenever we want.”
“As long as we’re honest about how much time we need for school and friends and our families.” I’d throw something else out there, just in case. “Would it be distracting if I came to Elon while you’re running a show?”
“It would be distracting if you didn’t.” He raised my hand to his lips.
I loved it when he did that. “Did you learn hand-kissing from YouTube, too?”
“No, I figured that out all by myself.” He leaned closer and cupped my face in his hands. Our kisses started soft and sweet, then lingered. Deepened.
He pulled back with a sigh. “Are you free Labor Day weekend?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Save the whole weekend for me. I’ll be here.”
36
Every Part of Me
I hadn’t seen Micah since he moved back to Elon two weeks ago, and now he was in New York City at his theater intensive. We talked at night, but he’d been so hyper-excited about what he was learning that I hadn’t done much more than listen and say “wow.”
I’d been busy too, finishing the final details with Jeff’s new employee. Kilo had been on the job for one week, and already I could see what a positive difference it had made on my stepdad.
After checking the latest changes on their website, I clicked the update button in WordPress. That was it. No more tasks for Jeff.
I’d been putting together some ideas for my own business. Pretty much what I’d been doing this summer. Website updates. Managing email lists and newsletters. Once I had reliable transportation, I might branch out to running errands for local businesses. I was almost ready to launch my website.
The door to the workshop creaked open. My stepfather stood on the threshold. “What’s up?”
“Just finished the new and improved gallery.”
“We’ll be adding more to it.” He grinned. “We won the bid.”
“Oh, that’s great.” I shot out of the chair and gave him a hug. “When do you start?”
“It’ll be September before it gets going, but we’ll start prepping soon. I have another proposal for you.”
“What?”
“It’s about a car.”
“A car for me?” A car for me?
He chuckled. “Yes. Now that I’ve landed this new contract, Jill and I will buy a second truck. If you want, we could sell the Honda to you for a dollar.”
“That would work.” A Honda wasn’t what I’d planned, but it would be a good solution for now. Oh, please, I should just go ahead and smile so big my lips fly off my face. “How soon will you look for a truck?”
“Not this week. We won’t be here.”
“Where will we be?”
“Steven is loaning us his family’s beach house. We’re going down there on Friday.”
“Oh, wow. That’s … great.” I kept a big smile pasted onto my face, to hide how torn I was. Normally, I would love a weekend at the beach. My family hadn’t gone anywhere this summer, and this would qualify as the only “vacation” we’d have. But Micah was supposed to come home to North Carolina this weekend. I wanted to drive to Elon, or talk him into doing the reverse.
With school only two weeks away, we were running out of time to simply be together, and now we’d have to wait a little longer.
* * *
The house that Steven loaned us might be small by beach standards and a one-block walk to the ocean, but it was beautiful. Four bedrooms, three baths, and decks everywhere on the ocean side of the house.
We’d arrived around noon and had lunch, staying inside during the hottest part of the day. Midafternoon, Jeff called up the stairs and asked me to come down. When I got to the great room, he was standing next to Natalie.
“Are you certain?” he asked.
“Yes, Dad. I already said so.”
“Okay…” He stopped when he spotted me.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Mom sat on the couch and pointed at the chairs opposite her. “Sit. Before we hit the beach, we’re having a family meeting.”
Natalie rolled her eyes and flopped into a recliner, facing toward the windows.
I perched on the edge of a chair and watched my parents warily. They were pressed together, side by side, gesturing back and forth.
My stepsister looked over her shoulder, exhaling with attitude. “Flip a coin or something. Just one of you start speaking.”
Jeff gave her a Watch it! look. “You’ll be living with us this fall.”
She slumped deeper into her chair and stared at the ceiling, foot wiggling.
A wiggling foot was a new reaction. Was that good or bad? I was going with good, because that’s what I wanted it to mean.
“Your mother isn’t ready for you to return full-time,” he said.
Natalie nodded. “I knew that. She isn’t her old self yet.”
“She wants you to visit on the weekends. Are you okay with this arrangement?”
“Yes. I mostly like living in Azalea Springs. I can tolerate a semester.”
Mom’s gaze went from my stepsister to me. “Jeff and I think that it’s time to talk about how the two of you should treat us.”
Natalie lowered her chin until she could meet Mom’s gaze. “Just so I’m clear. You’re talking about my relationship with you and Brooke’s relationship with Dad.”
“Yes.”
“If we’re going to have a meaningful conversation about behavior, I’d like to establish that I’m too old for obedience and punishment and concepts like that.”
Jeff clamped his lips against a laugh. Mom patted his thigh and focused on Natalie. “I don’t want to be a guest parent that you put up with until your dad comes home. I want to be a full parent to you. If you need something, you can go to either me or your father. You have to respect my wishes and act at our home the same way you act at your other home.”
“Uh, Jill, you don’t really want that.” Out came Natalie’s sly-ish smile. “I act better with you.”
Jeff lost it, snorting beer up his nose.
Mom shook her head, ignoring her husband. “Any questions?”
“No. Just so you know, though, I won’t be mentioning this conversation to Mama. She would prefer that you remain a guest parent.”
Jeff laughed harder.
Mom patted his thigh again. “Wise decision, Natalie.” My mom elbowed her husband. “Your turn.”
He sobered instantly, set his beer down, and took a deep breath. “Brooke.”
My smile faltered. I didn’t need this speech. “I respect Jeff’s wishes. Why would you think otherwise?”
“That’s not what this is about.” Jeff rubbed a hand over the back of his head, then hitched forward. “Are you ready to be my daughter, Brooke?”
I’ve been ready. “Yes.”
“What I mean is…” He blew out a breath. Clasped his hands together. Unclasped them. Looked at my mom, then back at me. “I’d like to file adoption papers. What do you think?”
My heartbeat jumped into overdrive. Had I heard that right? “You want to adopt me?”
“Yes, Brooke. I do.”
A dad—to love me.
I looked at Natalie, who was staring in my general direction, wiggling her foot. “Are you okay if Jeff adopts me?” Please say yes.
“More than okay. It means we could be full sisters now.” She wrinkled her nose. “Well, technically half-sisters.”
A sister—to be my best friend.
For so many years, I’d been waiting for this to happen. I didn’t have to go online to order the shiny-deluxe-model father. He had simply
arrived. And Natalie wasn’t the sister I had expected, which was a good thing because she was so much better than anything my imagination could’ve created. I looked at Jeff and willed the tears stinging my eyes not to spill over. “I would love for you to adopt me.”
He stood and held out his arms. When I stepped into them, he cradled me so tenderly. My first hug with my real father. I could hardly breathe. “Thanks. Dad.”
“While I’m okay with the idea of the adoption,” Natalie said, hopping to her feet, “I’m saturated with all of the emotion in here. Anything else? Because I’d like to go walking on the beach.”
The doorbell rang.
“Oh, wait. Never mind.” She sat again.
Mom waved her hand at me. “Why don’t you answer that, Brooke?”
“Why?”
Mom shrugged.
Okay. I crossed the room and into the front foyer. Peering through the peephole, I saw … Micah? I yanked open the door.
“Hey.” He pulled off his shades.
I dived into him with a force that made him stagger, but it only took a millisecond before his arms had closed about me.
“I’m glad to see you, too,” he said.
“Why are you here? When did you get back from New York?”
“Your parents invited me. I got back from New York this morning.”
“And you drove straight down?”
“I did take a long enough break to eat lunch with my parents.” He cupped my head with a gentle hand, his expression softening. “Are you crying?”
I nodded. Clearly, that was the right explanation for my wet eyes.
“Why?”
“It was already the best day of my life, and now it’s even better.” Words were no longer enough. I slid my arms around his neck and urged him down for a kiss. Or kisses. They multiplied. And lengthened.
He drew back and smiled in his lazy, sexy way. “I guess you don’t mind your surprise.”
“I love my surprise.” I smiled, feeling happy in every part of me. “It’s perfect that you’re here.”
ALSO BY JULIA DAY
The Possibility of Somewhere
About the Author
JULIA DAY lives in North Carolina, halfway between the beaches and the mountains. She has two twenty-something daughters and one geeky old husband. When she’s not writing software or stories, Julia enjoys traveling with her family, watching reality dance shows on TV, and dreaming about which restaurant ought to get her business that night. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Acknowledgments
1. Definite Opinions
2. The Awful Silence
3. Unfiltered Honesty
4. With Harmony at Stake
5. Ouch Times Three
6. Exaggerated Study
7. A Strong Possibility
8. Loose and Untethered
9. Intensely Personal
10. Expected and Dreaded
11. Hesitating in the Shadows
12. The Simple Answer
13. Mysterious but Essential
14. Guilt-Free Fun
15. A Hot Combination
16. Two Kinds of Like
17. Without Brainpower Attached
18. Safe Topics
19. The Friendly Line
20. The Missing Connection
21. Regret and Apology
22. My Definition of Perfect
23. Inevitable Questions
24. Wonder and Awe
25. Waiting in the Dark
26. A Moment to Breathe
27. My Best Imitation
28. Shielding Her Face
29. The Innocent Person
30. A Force Too Intense
31. The Not Knowing
32. Unadorned Facts
33. Extreme Composure
34. A Hopeful Sign
35. Chaos to Quiet
36. Every Part of Me
Also by Julia Day
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
FADE TO US. Copyright © 2018 by Elizabeth Langston. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover design by Danielle Christopher
Cover photographs: stage © Kozlik/Shutterstock.com; couple © Romanso/Shutterstock.com
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-09737-8 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-09738-5 (ebook)
e-ISBN 9781250097385
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
First Edition: February 2018