Perfect Night

by Laine, Terri E.

  “What’s in that bag?” I asked.

  Along with the pizza box, she’d brought one of those reusable looking shopping bags filled with stuff.

  “Don’t you want to eat first?” she asked.

  “I’ll eat and you explain,” I said.

  “First you have to come over here. I promise not to bite unless you want me to.”

  “Darce,” I warned. I had a feeling she wasn’t going to give up easily.

  She rolled her eyes before digging in her bag. “Come see.” Out came some blue tile, a white square shape of stone, and two wooden panels, one white and one blue.

  “What’s this?” I did have a clue as I stepped forward but wanted to hear her ideas.

  “The kitchen is the heart of the home. I thought you could go with white shaker style upper cabinets.” She pointed at the white panel. “For the island and even for the lowers, you could do blue.” She tapped the other wooden panel. “If color scares you, you can just do a blue backsplash in this tile and white quartz countertops which are easier to maintain than granite.”

  Then she pointed out how she would rearrange the kitchen footprint. It actually sounded good, though I wasn’t that fussy. I was confused about one thing.

  “Why blue?” I asked her.

  “Personally, I’d go with grey, but I figured you’re doing this for Emma, and I hear her favorite color is blue.” My eyes widened. “Don’t look shocked. I’m not dumb. You sure as hell aren’t renovating this house for me.” She placed her hand above where my arms were folded and leaned in. “Just because you might end up with little miss goody goody, doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun.” She came closer. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

  I caught her hand and moved my head before she could kiss me. “Why do you hate Emma so much?”

  She eyed her hands where I’d captured them. I let them go. She stepped back. “Why do you think?” When I didn’t answer fast enough, she continued, “I loved you, Aiden. I would have done anything for you. You had to know that. Yet, you left me, broken hearted.”

  I reached for her, hating that I’d hurt her. I did care about her. “Darcy, we’ve talked about this.”

  She held up her hands to stop me. “Just answer this. If you had stayed, would you have married me?”

  I closed my eyes, trying to think of a way to say no without making her feel as though she hadn’t been worth it. “Darcy,” I said again, feeling like it was the only safe thing to say while navigating the minefield she put in front of me.

  “That’s a no,” she finished for me.

  “It’s not because of what you think. We talked a lot about leaving. If I stayed, then that meant I didn’t want to leave and I thought you did.”

  “Yet, you left, and I stayed.”

  “Why?”

  “Where does a girl like me go. I wasn’t great in school. Then, I really didn’t have ambitions outside of marrying you.”

  “Really?” I asked. “The girl I knew wanted to see the world and you should.”

  “Who would want me?”

  “Oh Darce, any man would want you. Malcolm doesn’t deserve you.”

  “How would you know?”

  “I met him, or rather I met him as the mayor today. I hate to judge a man on one meeting, but he’s quite arrogant.”

  “He’s my last option. God knows there’s no one else in this godforsaken town who deserves me.”

  “You have a gift. Your ideas for the kitchen far surpass anything I would have thought of on my own. I would have left the kitchen layout as is. You should go to school or get an interior designing job outside of Mason Creek and find a man who will make you believe in love.”

  “Maybe I need to get over you first.” Before I could think of a response, she went for the pizza. “It’s getting cold.”

  After Darcy left, I took the samples and headed to the bar. I hadn’t consciously thought of redesigning a home for Emma, but faced with the truth, I had to confront it. I didn’t know if Darcy was right about Emma’s favorite color. Though I’d avoided her this past week, Darcy had inadvertently given me a reason to see her now.

  What I didn’t understand was the frosty stare Emma gave me when she opened the bar’s office door.

  “Can I help you with something?” She stood in the open crack not letting me in.

  What rumors were circling now? I tested the waters. “I could use your help,” I said.

  Though she looked reluctant, she opened the door. “Sure, come in.” But I could tell I wasn’t exactly welcome.

  She waved at the chair and I took a seat after her.

  “So what can I help you with?”

  I opened the bag Darcy had left me. “I wanted your opinion about color for my kitchen.” I laid each item out one by one.

  She barely gave them a cursory glance. “It’s your kitchen.”

  “I know. I hoped to get some advice from a friend. I guess I was wrong.” I stood and began to pick the tiles up to put back in the bag. This Emma wasn’t the one I helped a few days ago. Maybe she’d changed more than I thought.

  “Wait.” She stood. “I might be biased. Blue is my favorite color. I assume you plan to do white upper cabinets and these blue as lower cabinets.”

  “Or an island in blue and the other lower cabinets in white.”

  She smiled then. “I like all blue lower cabinets. One day, you’ll have kids with sticky fingers, and you won’t have to follow them around with a sponge to clean every surface all the time.”

  “Kids?” I asked.

  She finally looked at me and her grin cooled some. “I imagine you’ll have kids soon enough.”

  “You will too. I’m sure Evan wants a big family.”

  Her gaze landed on her ring finger where one hell of an engagement rock sat. I’d noticed it before. Her change in behavior had me thinking about it more.

  She didn’t answer my question. “Is that all? I’m sure you have plenty of other things to do.”

  I couldn’t leave it alone. “Have I done something wrong?”

  “Wrong? No. You’re just you.” I didn’t like the look on her face.

  “And that’s apparently a bad thing. I won’t bother you.”

  I shoved the wood panels back into the bag. When I picked up the backsplash tile, she said, “One more thing. I think if you have lower blue cabinets, you’d be better off with a white or grey backsplash or not all blue. It might be too much.” She grabbed the sample of the quartz for the countertop. “If you are using this, I’d say go with white, but if you don’t want that much white, definitely a light color like grey.”

  “Thanks.” I plucked the stone from her hand. “Sorry to bother you.”

  “Aiden,” she said.

  I smiled or as much as one as I could and left before she could say more. Time for plan B.

  Chapter 11

  Emma

  The door shut with a finality I hadn’t expected. I dialed Jessie straight away.

  “Hey girl,” Jessie said.

  “I did something really stupid,” I admitted.

  “Oh no, what’d you do?”

  “I went over to Aiden’s house uninvited to bring him chili I made.”

  “Uh huh, sounds diabolical.”

  “This is serious,” I complained.

  “Okay, I’ll be serious.”

  “He wasn’t alone.”

  “Now you have my attention. Who was he with?”

  “Take a guess,” I said.

  “Come on. I have no idea—Darcy.”

  “Exactly.”

  “She didn’t waste time. But I thought she was messing around with the mayor.”

  “Trust me. If she is, she’s messing around with Aiden too.”

  “Okay. Now hit me with what you did. Did you bang on the door?” she giggled.

  “No. I left. Went to see you.”

  “Is that why you came by?”

  “What? Can I not come to see you anymore now that you’re shacked up
with the doc?” I jokingly whined.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “I know. I’m feeling pissy. Since doc hottie was there waiting for you, I ended up hanging out with Alana. She wasn’t surprised Aiden was with Darcy either... Anyway, he just stopped by the bar, wanting my opinion on a color scheme for his kitchen and I was such as bitch to him. I don’t even know why.”

  “You’re half in love with him, that’s why. Not that I can blame you. He’s aged really well.”

  “I’m engaged.”

  “Are you really? I didn’t know that. I must have been blinded by that rock on your finger,” she teased.

  “Come on, Jessie. I need some advice.”

  “Pick one. That’s my advice.”

  “You’ve met them both.”

  “Evan was cool the few times we hung out. He could have been on his best behavior though.”

  “For all I know, Aiden’s not into me or he’s not available. We haven’t really had that conversation.”

  “I doubt that man is a monk, let me tell you.”

  “Not helping,” I said.

  “I can’t choose for you. We can talk this through to help you answer that for yourself.”

  “Okay, hit me.”

  “I would, but we are on the phone. Maybe a good slap might help,” she joked.

  I laughed which was what she was aiming for. “Give it to me.”

  “Here are some thinking points. With Evan you’ll have a cushy life, but not here. Evan isn’t a small town guy. You marry him. You say goodbye to Mason Creek forever.”

  “Forever?”

  “Forever. He’ll claim there’s nothing here to hold you back.”

  “My dad,” I said quietly.

  “I’m not saying you won’t visit because I’ll kick your ass if you don’t. But it won’t be the same.”

  I hated to agree, but I could see where she was going with it.

  She continued, “And assuming you and Aiden had a thing, you know you’ll have a nice little life here. He’s not leaving. The man already did that and came back. He’s made his choice.”

  “And I wanted to leave,” I said, like that was a fact and I wasn’t so sure anymore.

  “Exactly. You’ve talked a lot about leaving. That doesn’t mean you have to leave with Evan. There are plenty of men in the world. However, you aren’t leaving with Aiden. I hope that clears things up.”

  “It does actually. I think it’s time for me to call Evan. I’ve dodged his calls long enough.”

  “Good luck,” she offered.

  I leaned back in Dad’s chair, which let out squeaked. Then, I dialed Evan.

  “Hey babe.”

  “Hi,” I said.

  “Is everything okay? Are you ready for me to pick you up?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “What’s the problem?” he asked, like there shouldn’t be one.

  “I have to stay, for now at least.” I needed to grovel to Aiden. He was helping me, and I’d been a royal bitch to him because I’d been downright jealous.

  “Stay? We’re getting married,” he demanded. I didn’t like his tone.

  “I think we have to put our plans on hold for now.”

  “For now? Do you think I’m going to wait forever?”

  “No. I don’t expect you to. Which is why I think we should cool things off for now.”

  “You keep saying for now. If you do this, we’re done.”

  Did he think that was a threat? “If you’re giving me an ultimatum then I’ll live with it. We’re done.”

  “Wait. Baby, I get you’re sad about your dad.”

  “Sad,” I sneered. “I’m devastated. You have both of your parents. I have neither.”

  “I know. I know. That’s why I want you with me so I can support you.”

  “I can’t leave. There’s so much I have to do. There’s no one but me to make all these decisions I didn’t expect to make. On top of running a business, I have to finish school.”

  “You don’t have to. You’re entitled to some time off.”

  “The semester is almost over. I can’t quit now. Besides, Dad wouldn’t want me to.”

  “Okay. What are we talking, a few more weeks? I can do that. I can come on the weekends,” he pleaded, unlike moments before when he’d sounded like he hadn’t cared.

  “No. My head is a mess. I need time. I’ll give you the ring back.”

  “Emma. Don’t. Keep it. I love you, baby.”

  I wasn’t going to say I loved him back. “I need a break, Evan. I don’t know how long it will take.”

  “I’ll give you a few weeks.”

  “Don’t wait for me,” I said and hung up before he tried to convince me otherwise.

  It wasn’t that I was choosing Aiden. From my discussion with Jessie, I decided to choose me. If that included Aiden down the line, I couldn’t say I hated the idea.

  On the other hand, even if my father hadn’t died, I would have had the same conversation with Evan. I’d known for a while that I loved our adventures not the man. He’d taken me to all these new places I’d never seen. It was heaps of fun. But fun wasn’t love.

  I also couldn’t sell Dad’s bar. It was the last of him I had left. He’d loved the place. And for now, I needed it to help me with my grief. Being there, I felt closer to him.

  My phone pinged several times and I ignored it. Evan gave up on calling and switched to texting. Was the fact that I had no desire to read his messages a sign? Then again, they say time makes the heart grow fonder. I didn’t think so in my case. I finally realized I likely didn’t love him enough to marry him.

  I stared at the ring. I could take it off, but then everyone in town would get talking and some of them would demand answers from me. It was easier for now to leave it alone, so everyone would leave me alone as I tried to figure out what I wanted.

  Still, I did need to make amends.

  It was late, but not late enough. I walked to the front. “Jack, do you think you can close tonight?”

  I had to trust someone, and my father trusted him. Unless I wanted to be shackled here every night, I needed help. For now, that was Jack. I prayed I wasn’t making the worst mistake of my life.

  “I need the code to the office.”

  “I know.” I lifted on my toes and whispered in his ear. “It’s Dad’s birthday.”

  He nodded. “I’ve got your back, Emma. I hope you know that.”

  “Thanks.”

  There were camera’s installed in the office now. I didn’t have to completely trust him. And with the new electronic locks, I could change the passcode as I’d done right before I left the office. I didn’t want to give him the code I’d come up with. Besides, he should know that number without having to write it down and someone else seeing.

  The ride to Aiden’s was shorter. I checked the road ahead and didn’t see any cars. His was parked on the driveway. I got out and jogged up to the door, full of pent-up energy or maybe anxiety.

  I briskly knocked on the door and Aiden opened it with a paint roller in one hand. He wasn’t wearing a hat and he was also shirtless.

  “Emma, I didn’t expect you.”

  “No hat, cowboy?”

  He ran his hand over his head. “I didn’t think I was having company.”

  I rocked on my heels. “I know. I’m sorry.” I peeled my eyes from the ground and met his. “I was a total bitch to you earlier and you didn’t deserve it.”

  “You didn’t have to come all the way over here to tell me that. You have a lot going on.”

  “I need to tell you to your face. You deserved that from me.”

  “Want to come in?”

  “I don’t want to bother you.”

  “No bother. Just painting.” He stepped back and I went inside.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever been inside this place.”

  I looked around, wooden floors sagged in some spots and paint peeled from the walls in the living room. It showed its age, but there was a
lot of character.

  “Neither did I. I bought it sight unseen besides a few pictures sent to me.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, Mom and Dad came by before I bought it. I trusted them to tell me if it was worth the price.”

  From the living room there was an opening to the kitchen where I’d seen him and Darcy. “From the little I see, it has good bones.”

  “Go ahead and look around. I’ve got to find a shirt. I didn’t want to get paint on the one I was wearing.”

  “Don’t get a shirt on my account,” I teased. “You’ve filled out more from the boy down at the creek.”

  On really hot days, teens headed to a secluded spot where the creek filled up a little cove.

  “You saw me there?” he asked.

  “Who didn’t? You didn’t see me?”

  “Oh, Emma. Who didn’t see you?”

  I slapped at his arm. “You acted like you hadn’t.”

  He shrugged. “I wanted to hear what you noticed.” He winked.

  Not wanting to answer or leave, I asked, “Do you need a hand painting?”

  “I’ll take free labor where I can get it.”

  “Consider it a down payment on your sleuthing skills if you’re still going to help me.”

  “Is that a question? You asked for my help. Besides,” he said, walking to the back. “Now that you’re here, I’ll pick your brain after I grab us both a shirt.”

  “Both?” I asked.

  “That’s too pretty to get paint on it.”

  “It’s just a shirt,” I said.

  He held up a hand and left the room. When he came back in, he handed me a shirt. “Do me a favor and wear mine. Then I won’t feel so bad when my brush accidentally slips, and you know.” He lifted his shoulders and gave me a wide smile.

  “Fine.” I pulled off my shirt without a care in the world. The size of his eyes was the same size as the gaping hole of his slack jaw expression.

  “Oh, come on. You saw me in my bra and panties before at the creek. You said. So what’s the big deal?” I plucked the shirt from his hands and pulled it over my head.

  “If you weren’t engaged,” he muttered.

  “What was that?” I’d heard but I wanted him to say it again.

  “Nothing.”

  “Mmm huh,” I teased.