I dressed for dinner in a little black dress from bebe. Like all my best clothes, I had gotten it while visiting Emily downstate. I let my hair dry naturally, meaning it fell down my back in a mess of curls. “Will you fasten this?” I asked John, approaching him with my necklace. He frowned slightly at my dress. “What?” I asked. “You don’t like it?”
“No, I do,” he said quickly, moving behind me so he could do up my necklace. “It’s gorgeous on you. But you were wearing it that night you left my suite. Before I left Alpena.” He finished with my necklace and bent down to kiss my shoulder. “Bad memory.”
I looked down at my dress. He was right; I had completely forgotten I was wearing this dress that night. I wondered how he remembered. “I can change,” I said quickly.
“No,” John said, wrapping his arms around my waist and holding me to his chest. “You look great. We’ll just have to make sure we make some happy memories tonight, to replace the old ones.”
I turned in his arms so that I was facing him. “That sounds good to me.”
Chapter Twenty-one
We met the rest of the group down in the lobby. I introduced John to everyone, and he politely shook hands with my friends. Behind his back, Emily caught my eye and raised her eyebrows. “Oh my God,” she mouthed, and I felt the strongest urge to laugh. As we headed out for the cars, she linked arms with me and fell back slightly behind the group.
“Holy, crap,” she whispered. “You were not joking about the hotness.”
“He is not widely known as Mr. Gorgeous for nothing,” I agreed.
At that moment John turned to see where I had gone. He smiled at me and I grinned back. I had a feeling Emily was going to like him as much as I did. I couldn’t say why it was so important to me that she approved, but I found that it really was.
John had booked a table for us at Three Sisters, an Italian bistro outside of town. It was situated at a winery, and our table had sweeping views of the grape vines stretching off into the distance.
“This is nice,” Ashley said, smiling at John. “How did you find it?”
“I asked some friends at work what they recommended,” he said. “This place was universally praised.”
I could see why. We ordered wine and appetizers. Everything was delicious, and the room had a pleasant buzzy atmosphere. After we ordered, John fell into conversation with Emily, asking her about her practice and how things were going since she had become a co-owner the previous year. Watching the two of them, I felt a warm glow. I caught Chris’s gaze on me, and he shook his head slightly, grinning at me.
After appetizers, Ashley, Emily, and I did the obligatory girls’ run to the bathroom. No sooner had the door closed behind us did Emily grab my arm. “Oh my God, Brooke,” she said, her eyes wide. “I love him. Seriously. He is perfect for you.”
I laughed. “He’s not bad, huh?”
“He’s gorgeous,” Ashley agreed. “Like someone out of a magazine or something. The two of you look good together.”
“It’s more than that, though,” Emily said, watching me closely. “I don’t know if I’ve ever met a guy that I felt could keep up with you, Brooke. But he can. I don’t know, he like, matches you, or something.”
I smiled at her, knowing she would get it. “I like him a lot,” I admitted.
“Wow,” Ashley said, her eyes wide. “Since I’ve known you, I’ve never heard you talk like that about a guy before.”
I managed not to roll my eyes. “I just said I like him, not that I want to have his babies or something.”
“Yeah,” she said, not backing down, “but I’ve never even heard you say you like a guy. You’re usually all jokes about the guys you’re seeing. So this must be pretty big.”
Emily smiled at me knowingly. I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. “Okay, are we done talking about my love life now? Can I go pee?”
“Oh my God,” Emily said. “Love life!” She put her arm around me. “My little Brooke is all grown-up!”
“Oh, shut up,” I muttered, slipping under her arm so I could get to a stall.
The rest of our meal was a definite hit. John appeared completely at ease talking to my friends, and seemed to genuinely enjoy their conversation, particularly with Chris and Emily. Throughout dinner, Em kept shooting me little looks, as if to reiterate what she had said in the bathroom. Part of me wanted to tell her she was over-reacting, but the bigger part was just so happy she liked him. Happy enough that I could even ignore Chris’s knowing smirks from across the table.
But nothing could make me happier than John did when we got back in the car. Before he had even started the engine he turned to me with a big smile. “Your friends are awesome, Brooke.”
I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face the entire ride back.
* * *
The next day, John had to work again. I woke up to the sight of him standing in front of the dresser mirror, adjusting his tie.
“Hey,” I said, moving to sit up. “You have to leave already?”
“Shh,” he said, coming over to the bed and sitting next to me. He gently pushed me back into the pillow. “Go back to sleep, it’s early.”
“I’ll get up and have a cup of coffee with you.”
“No way. You never get to sleep in. I’ll be back soon.” He leaned down and kissed me. “Have fun with your friends, okay?”
“I will.” I snuggled down farther into the blankets. “I wish you were coming, though.”
“I know,” he said, kissing me again. “But we’ll have the rest of the weekend, okay? Tonight and all day tomorrow. Sound good?”
“Sounds great,” I said, smiling up at him. “Good luck with your meetings.”
After John left, I managed to fall back to sleep for another hour. I woke up feeling refreshed and relaxed. I had almost forgotten what a good night’s sleep felt like. I ordered room service for three, then called Emily.
“I have food coming up,” I told her when she answered. “Call Ashley and get over here.”
The girls and I had planned a day of pampering. We were going to get massages and pedicures at the resort spa and leave the boys to their own devices. I knew primping wasn’t exactly Emily’s thing, but was excited. It was one of the few things the two of us did not have in common. While I could drink beer and cuss right along with the boys, I still had a very strong feminine side. Emily, on the other hand, was a natural born tomboy. She had gotten better about doing girly stuff in the last year. I suppose I had Ashley to thank for that.
Five minutes later, I opened my door to find Emily standing there in her bathrobe, alone. “Ashley and Ryan went out for breakfast,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I guess she couldn’t stand the thought of leaving him for an entire morning without spending some time together first.”
I shook my head. “How weird is it to think of little Christopher Davidson as an object of infatuation for someone?”
“I know, right?”
I moved back to let her into the room, and she let out a whistle. “Nice digs. Who sprang for this?”
“That would be the rich lawyer,” I told her, plopping down on the couch. “I’m starting to see why you dated that Greg guy for so long.”
Emily stuck her tongue out at me and folded herself into a plush armchair. Greg had been her last boyfriend. In addition to being massively wealthy, he had also been a total jerk. I was so glad she had seen the light and dumped him for Elliot.
“So,” she said, putting her feet up on the coffee table. “Did we pass the test with John?”
“With flying colors. But the more important question is whether he passed the test with you.”
She smiled. “Well, you know I love him. Chris seemed duly impressed. And I think Elliot kinda wishes John was his boyfriend.”
I threw my head back and laughed. “I’m not kidding,” she said. “He has a total man crush on him. Did you know that John brews his own beer and played soccer in college? According to Elliot there are few better ways t
o judge a guy’s coolness.”
“Well, I’m very glad you all think so.”
“I’m excited for you, Brooke. I think you guys are great.”
I fell silent. I wanted to tell her how conflicted I’d been feeling, but was afraid it would make her think badly about John. It wasn’t his fault that he needed to put his daughter first, but I knew Emily was somewhat biased where I was concerned.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, immediately picking up on my anxiety.
I gave her a wry smile. “I don’t know. I’ve never really been here before, you know?”
“Where? In Traverse City?”
“No, dummy, in a relationship.”
“Ah,” Emily said, leaning back in her chair. “So you come to me, the wise woman of one single successful relationship, for advice.”
I laughed. “That’s true. We are both pretty damn clueless. Maybe we should wait for Ashley to come back.”
“Nice. Seriously, though, what’s bothering you about your relationship?”
I was saved from answering by the arrival of our food. Without Ashley, there was probably too much, but I was confident that Emily and I could prevail. Unfortunately, she wasn’t ready to drop the line of our conversation.
“What’s up?” she asked, pouring syrup over her pancakes.
“Chris said something to me yesterday,” I said. “I was telling him that John has all these limits, because of his daughter. And Chris said that was the perfect relationship for me. That I got all the benefits of a boyfriend without having to be tied down or give up my independence.”
“That sounds like what you told me on the phone. I would think it would be something you’d be a fan of,” Emily said, watching me closely. “But I have a feeling it’s not.”
I shook my head. “It’s so stupid,” I mumbled. “Because we’re great together, we really are. And it’s not like I want to spend much time with a nine year old, or anything. But…I don’t know.”
“You want more,” she said shrewdly.
“Yeah. Yeah, maybe I do.”
“Have you told John this?”
I shook my head. “What would be the point? I know how he feels, I know why he needs distance. I agreed to it from the start.”
“But your feelings have grown since then,” she said. “Which is totally normal for feelings to do.”
I stabbed at a pancake. I knew that she had a point. I just didn’t know what to do about it.
“I’m a little worried about you, Brooke,” she said. “This isn’t like you.”
“What? To stress out about a guy?”
She shook her head. “I mean, that’s not really like you either, but I’m not concerned about it. I am concerned about the way you seem willing to let him dictate the terms of your relationship.”
I stared at her. I hadn’t thought about it like that.
Emily sighed. “Brooke, all these years you’ve had these flings with guys and I’ve never questioned you. I know that everything you do is an attempt to make sure you have the power when it comes to your life and your decisions.”
I swallowed. We were getting close to that danger zone again.
“I get why you needed to do that,” she went on, her voice soft. “After some of the things that happened in school, I get it. I think it was healthy for you, making sure you’re in control of your life. But now here you are in the most serious relationship you’ve ever had, and you’re suddenly willing to let go of all the control. That scares me a little.”
“It scares me, too,” I whispered.
“Then you should talk to him,” she urged. “You deserve everything you want, Brooke. There is nothing wrong with asking for more. John seems great, I can’t imagine him bolting if you tell him what you need.”
I was quiet for a moment. I wanted to believe her, but I was terrified of losing him. What if I asked for more and he told me I wasn’t worth it? I had never let myself care so much before about what a guy thought of me; this was probably why. Underneath my bold, in-control demeanor, I was apparently a scared little baby.
“I also think you should tell him about some of that stuff that happened,” she said. I stared at her with my mouth open. Was she crazy? I never talked about that crap with anyone, except for her. She met my eyes, holding her ground. “It would help him to understand you more. And it might make you feel better about things.”
“I don’t know,” I said, feeling like I might throw up at the very thought.
“Just think about it,” Emily said, her tone changing suddenly as if putting an end to the conversation. “And call me if you want to talk about it anymore.”
I felt so grateful for her in that moment. She probably had judged, rather wisely, that I was on the verge of freaking out, so she was letting it go, for me, while still making sure I knew she was there to talk about it further. She knew me better than anyone else in the world.
We finished up our breakfast and decided we may as well get ready for our spa day. As I showed Emily the door, I was overcome with the urge to hug her, to thank her. So I did, wrapping my arms around her in an uncharacteristic display of affection. I didn’t even throw a joke in there, either.
“Thanks, Em,” I whispered, knowing she would understand for what.
“You’re welcome,” she said simply. Before I could get uncomfortable, she gave me a final squeeze and slipped out of the room.
Chapter Twenty-two
Many hours later, I lay with John in bed. “Thank you for this weekend,” I whispered in the darkness.
“Thank you.” He kissed my hair. “You make everything better, Brooke. And, apparently, you’re good luck.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I still think you should split your winnings with me. It was my presence that helped you win in the first place.” After John had finished with work, we all went over to the casino for the evening. The casino was on the smaller side, but we had a good time gambling and drinking. John had even won a hundred bucks at craps after I blew on his dice for luck.
“I’ll think of a way to pay you back,” he murmured, chuckling. “So, what’s going on tomorrow? Did you say something about sand dunes?’
“Yeah,” I said feeling excited. “We’re going to go over to Sleeping Bear. It’s awesome, John, you’ll love it.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
“You don’t have to,” I said. “Everyone says how beautiful it is. In fact, one of the national morning shows named it the most beautiful place in America last year.”
“Wow,” he said. “That is impressive. Well, I’m looking forward to seeing it.”
I snuggled closer to him. I felt keyed up for some reason. It was well after midnight, and I knew I should get some rest if I wanted to hike the dunes tomorrow, but I just couldn’t relax. “Tell me things,” I whispered.
“What kind of things?”
“I don’t know, things about you. Tell me about your favorite day ever.”
“Hmm. Well, I would have to say it was Christmas Day this year. I was feeling all sorry for myself because I’d had to move and give up my job. And I couldn’t even spend the day with you, so I was kinda grumpy. And then Lainey woke me up at five a.m. to open her gifts.”
I laughed. “Oh God, I used to do that, too.”
“My parents tell me I did as well, but I can’t imagine ever being so rude,” he said. “Anyhow, I got some coffee in me and took her downstairs, and you should have seen this kid’s face.” He laughed slightly at the memory, and I wished I could see what he was seeing. “She was just so happy. And grateful. She kept thanking me for everything, even things that I had labeled from Santa. And she wanted to play with everything. We sat under that tree playing with toys for hours. I felt like a kid again. It was fantastic.”
“I like that,” I said. “That’s a good memory.”
“What about you?” he asked. So I told him about a day when I had gone down to visit Emily in Royal Oak. She had just moved into her apartment and was feeling homesic
k and scared of her responsibilities. So we had decided to spend the entire day acting as childish as we could to get it out of our systems before we had to grow up. “We had a water balloon fight, played with Play-Doh, and watched cartoons for hours,” I said. “And we made the most disgusting ice cream sundaes. We used every kind of syrup we could find, candy, cookies, sprinkles. It was terrible.”
“But I bet you finished it,” he said.
“Well, yeah,” I said. John laughed.
We went on like that for a while, each asking the other random questions and sharing our stories. John asked me what I would eat forever if I only had one choice. I asked him about his first kiss. It was fun getting to know him, but I was no nearer to sleep than I’d been when we started.
“What’s the worst thing that ever happened to you?” I asked after a while.
“Wow, downer much, Brooke?”
I laughed and hit his chest. “Come on, I want to hear all your deep dark secrets.”
John pulled me closer so that my head was resting on his chest. I snuggled into him, feeling happy right down to my toes. John sighed, the exhalation making my head dip down. “I guess I’d have to say finding out that Connie was bailing,” he said softly. “Not because it would be more work for me, or anything like that. I was just so worried about Lainey. How does someone do that to her daughter? And how on earth was I ever going to make it up to her? I can’t imagine not having a mother when you’re that age. It’s terrible.”
“Emily lost her mom when she was a little older than Lainey,” I murmured, thinking of Emily’s mother. Pamela Donovan had been beautiful, tall and blonde, just like Em. When I pictured her, she was always smiling. She had a great smile. “It was hard for her, for sure. But she had a wonderful father, and I know that’s what got her through.”
John didn’t speak, but he squeezed me tighter to his chest, so I knew he appreciated the sentiment. I felt a sudden pang in my chest. I wanted so badly to know what John was like as a father. He was probably amazing.
An Unexpected Love Story (Love Story Book Two) Page 14