by K. A. Linde
“Of course I can watch Lily. Don’t even think twice about it. Just make sure everything is all right with you and know that I have things under control here.”
Kimber kissed my cheek. “You’re a lifesaver.”
“Text me if you need me!” I called as I watched them go.
I traipsed back into my room and dialed Jensen’s number. I knew he’d been planning our official date for a few days. He’d had a lot of business to catch up on, and I hadn’t seen him, except at church on Sunday morning. But we’d talked every night, and I thought it was progress, on our way to something normal.
“Hey, Emery,” he said when he answered the phone. “I was just about to leave my house.”
“Actually…”
“Oh no, are you canceling?”
“Not on purpose,” I assured him. “My sister went into labor, or maybe pseudo labor, and they’re heading to the hospital. I promised her I’d watch my niece. So, I guess we’ll have to cancel.”
“Hmm,” he said. “How about I come over there and help you babysit?”
“You…what? You want to help watch Lily?” I asked, confused.
“I’d still like to see you, and I like kids.”
“But it’s not our fancy dinner date…”
“Yes. But I haven’t seen you in days, and I’m not giving up the opportunity. Unless you don’t want me to be around your niece?”
“No, it’s not that. I’d love for you to come over. I bet Lilyanne would, too.”
“Great. Then, it’s a date.”
I pocketed my cell phone and hurried to Lily’s room. She was still playing peacefully when I entered. Kimber didn’t want Lily to know anything was wrong until they were sure she was in labor. She was certain that it would keep Lily up all night. So, it was up to me to entertain the munchkin until I had more substantial news.
“Hey, Lily Bug,” I said. “What are you up to?”
“Playing with Barbies.” She had a collection of them in various stages of dress on the floor.
“Well, I wanted to let you know that your mommy and daddy went to the doctor for a checkup, and I get to watch you tonight.”
“Is my new baby sister coming?” she asked with big excited eyes.
“Not yet. Just a checkup, but that means you get to hang out with Auntie Em tonight. You know what that means?”
Lily jumped up to her feet. “Ice cream and sprinkles and Disney movies!”
“That’s right, missy!”
I lifted her into my arms and carried her downstairs. We raided the freezer. I knew where Noah tried to hide all the good flavors of ice cream, and we took out every last carton to decide on what we wanted. I liked to make her a bowl of ice cream about the size of the one in Home Alone and then hand her off to my sister. Tonight, I’d have to deal with putting her to sleep, so I knew that a mountain of ice cream might not be the best bet.
I placed a couple of scoops of chocolate ice cream in her bowl and a mix of strawberry, vanilla, and strawberry cheesecake into mine. We fished through the toppings, drizzling chocolate fudge and sprinkles on our desserts, and then we carried our bowls out to the living room.
Lily was busy with perusing the movies when the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it!” she cried. “Mommy, Daddy, is my new sister here?”
I laughed and followed her to the front door. “You know it’s not time yet. I have another surprise for you instead.”
Turning the doorknob, I opened it to reveal Jensen standing at the front door. My breath caught at the sight of him in jeans and a casual button-up. It had only been a few days, but I’d missed seeing that grin.
“My boyfriend!” Lily cried.
Jensen laughed. “Hey, Lilyanne. I heard you had a pretty awesome babysitter and thought I would drop by to hang out, too. How does that sound?”
“Yes! Where are my flowers?” Lilyanne asked.
I snorted. “Oh, boy!”
“Guess I should have seen that one coming,” Jensen said.
I stepped back to let him come in out of the cold. Lilyanne took his hand and guided him into the living room. She babbled the entire time about our ice cream creations and asked him what movie he wanted to watch and if she could paint his nails. I tried to conceal the laugh that was bubbling up, but it was there anyway. Yet Jensen didn’t seem in the least bit perturbed by her questions.
“I think I need my own ice cream before we start the movie,” Jensen told her.
“I can help!” Lilyanne cried. “I’m great with sprinkles.”
“I bet you are.” He lifted her up and onto his shoulders, and he carried her into the kitchen.
Lilyanne screamed in pure joy at being so high in the air, and I just followed in awe.
Jensen scooped out his own ice cream and let Lily add the sprinkles. Then, he took the bowl back into the living room with Lily back on his shoulders. He easily dropped her in front of the shelf of Disney movies and then leaned over and pulled me tight against him.
“I missed you,” he said. He planted a firm but quick kiss on my lips.
“I missed you, too. Are you sure you don’t mind this?”
“Do I look like I mind?”
I shook my head. He definitely didn’t.
“Who could pass up a big bowl of ice cream and Disney movies?” he asked.
“I’m certain, no one.”
“Found it!” Lilyanne cried.
“Let me guess,” I said.
“No! It’s a surprise.”
“Okay. I won’t look,” I told her. I took the Blu-ray from her and popped it into the player.
Lilyanne took the spot next to Jensen and instructed me that I had to sit on the other side of her. With Lily in the middle, Jensen draped his arm across the back of the couch and kept his hand on my shoulder. I smiled at him as the opening credits to Frozen began. It was only a matter of minutes before the entire thing became a sing-along. By the time “Let It Go” came on, Jensen and I were swinging Lily between us as we all led into the chorus.
We finished Frozen, and we were halfway through Tangled when Lily began to crash. To my amazement, it was already well past her bedtime. She lay stretched out between us with her head on a pillow in my lap. Her eyes kept fluttering closed as her sugar high dissipated. I waited until she was sound asleep before moving out from under her.
I reached for my phone and saw that I had a text from Kimber.
Everything is all right here. It was Braxton Hicks contractions, but they last a long time, so the doctor just wanted to check me out. I’ve been told I need to rest, but I might die since I haven’t even finished Christmas shopping! Be home soon!
As long as you and the baby are okay, that’s all that matters. We can shop on Amazon and have all the presents delivered!
“All right. Everything is okay with Kimber. They’re leaving the hospital soon.”
“Good. I’m glad that the baby didn’t come early,” Jensen said. “Want me to take this one up to her room?”
“You don’t mind?”
Jensen didn’t even reply. He just lifted Lilyanne into his arms like a baby doll and effortlessly carried her up the stairs. I followed, directing him along the way. He gently placed her on her bed and tucked the covers all around her. She let out a satisfied sigh, and Jensen just smiled at her.
Jensen eased the door closed behind us. He took my hand, and we walked back downstairs. I curled into his side on the couch as Tangled continued to play in the background.
“You’re really great with her,” I told him.
“I like kids.”
“I like kids who are raised right. Lilyanne is an angel compared to some other kids her age.”
“That is true,” he agreed. His eyes slid down to me, and he smiled. “She’s full of possibilities. I love that about her. She has so much joy and is full of life. I think she reminds us all that we need to live a little more. Be a bit more carefree.”
I nodded. “That’s definitely Lily.” I sighed and thought about a
ll the things in my life that hadn’t been full of joy. All of those things that had led me to this moment. “It’s part of the reason I left my PhD program.”
“What do you mean? You didn’t feel carefree anymore?”
“I didn’t have any joy. I just wish I’d figured it out sooner. I wish I hadn’t needed to be hit over the head to know the program wasn’t right. I mean…I’d already completed my comprehensive exams. All I had to do was finish my dissertation and defend it to my committee to pass.”
“How could you quit if you were so close?” he asked curiously.
I bit my lip and looked away from him. “I really didn’t love it. I think I was doing it because one thread kept pulling me back to it. The stress got out of control. I couldn’t handle it, and I had to get on anxiety medication. Plus, well, I found out my advisor was sleeping with an undergrad.”
“Jesus,” he said. “What a prick! Did he get fired?”
“I didn’t turn him in. I just broke up with him and quit the department.”
I wasn’t sure I could have shocked him more. Jensen’s mouth was actually hanging open.
“You were dating your professor?” he asked.
“Yeah, for almost three years. Welcome to my life,” I said with a stiff laugh.
“How long ago did you find out about him cheating on you?” he asked.
His knuckles were white where he had bunched them into fists, and I noticed he looked pissed. No, livid. Like, if he could, he would murder Mitch right then and there for hurting me. Sometimes, I wanted to murder Mitch for what he had done to me. And, other times, I thought that the whole thing was a big joke. An easy, convenient joke. But I didn’t think it was love or even lust anymore.
“I don’t know. Two weeks?” I shrugged nonchalantly.
“Fuck. I’m sorry about that. And only two weeks ago? No wonder you didn’t want to go on a date.” He had released his fists, and his gaze returned to mine. “Is all of this too soon?”
“No,” I said immediately. I reached out and ran my hand down his shirt. I didn’t want him to think that I was still in love with Mitch or pining over him. “It had been over with Mitch long before I ended it. I just hadn’t had the nerve to realize what I really wanted.”
“And what do you really want?” he asked, sliding his hand across my back and pulling me toward him.
“Something I’m really passionate about.”
“And what is that?”
“I’m really not sure. I think I’d just like time to decide.”
“You have all the time in the world.”
He brushed his lips against mine. I leaned into him with a sigh. I liked the idea that I had time to figure out what I really wanted in life. Because, besides Jensen kissing me right now, I really didn’t know.
“What are you doing next week?” he asked against my mouth.
“Seeing you, I hope.”
“I have to be in Austin for a few days to sign some paperwork. How would you like to show me around?”
I tilted my head to the side and looked at him in surprise. “Really? But it’s only a few days before Christmas.”
“Business calls,” he said cynically. “But I’d love to have you with me if you could come.”
“I’ll have to check my schedule at the Buddy Holly Center, but I should be able to do it. Plus, it might be pretty awesome if we drove out there because I need to get the rest of my stuff from my apartment before someone comes to sublet the place in January.”
Jensen smiled a devious smile. “We can definitely stop to get your things while we’re there, but, Emery…”
His hands threaded through my hair, and I got lost in his touch and his gentle kisses down my jaw.
“Hmm?”
“We’re not driving, love.”
Nineteen
Emery
No, we definitely were not driving.
I stared at the Wright private jet with equal parts shock and awe. It was a gorgeous, sleek machine that would get us to Austin in just over an hour. And we had it all to ourselves. I’d joked about him having a private jet only a couple of weeks ago, and here I was, about to be on the damn thing. It felt beyond surreal.
“Allow me to get your bags, Ms. Robinson,” a man said. He was decked out in a suit and looked proper as fuck.
“Oh, um…okay,” I said, relinquishing my bags.
“Thank you, Robbie,” Jensen said. He took my hand in his and smiled down at my stunned face. “Why do you seem so surprised? You knew we were flying.”
“Sure. Just…crazy.” I closed my mouth and tucked my other hand into my back pocket to try to cover my discomfort at the display of wealth. “Is this how you try to impress all the girls?”
“No.” He used our linked hands to draw me into his body, and he gazed down at me with intense interest. “Just you.”
I didn’t believe him, but it didn’t matter. I was sure he had used his private plane to woo many girls. But he was mine right now, and I wouldn’t cloud our time together by thinking of something like that. I would enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime experience. Texas was a state that judged distance by hours, not miles. It was a luxury to skip the drive time that I had become so accustomed to.
We walked up the steps and into the luxury cabin. It was outfitted in cream leather with a full wet bar and mounted flat screen TVs. A door was closed in the back, and I could only imagine what it held. I was going to go with either a king-size bed or a Jacuzzi. I laughed at my own wandering thoughts.
Jensen came up behind me and put his arms around my waist. “What is so funny?”
“Nothing.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, kissing my earlobe.
“I just suspect that you have a hidden Jacuzzi or something back there,” I said with a shrug.
He kissed me again and laughed softly. “Not quite. It’s used for business.”
“Much more boring.”
He drew me into him, and we took a seat on the couch. Robbie returned and offered us drinks before takeoff. Robbie brought me a mimosa and Jensen a Bloody Mary.
I raised my glass to his. “Cheers.”
“It’s five o’clock somewhere,” Jensen said.
He clinked his glass against mine and took a long sip. Then, he rested an arm back across the seat as we taxied down the runway.
“So, what’s the big plan for your paperwork thing?” I asked.
“I officially sign the paperback for the Tarman Corporation merger this afternoon. So, we’ll have the morning to ourselves today and all day tomorrow.”
“Oh, good. I like that. Is there anything you want to see while we are in town?”
“Whatever you want to show me. You’re the one who lived there after all.”
“True. I have a few things in mind.”
“Good. Me, too,” he said, dropping his mouth on mine.
We made out through most of the flight. Jensen disappointed me by showing me that the back of the plane was just for business. But I was excited enough being here with him, drinking, and eating gourmet sandwiches a mile up in the air. Soon enough, Robbie announced out descent and we buckled back into our seats.
Our flight landed seamlessly at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Robbie retrieved our bags and placed them in the back of the waiting town car.
I could hardly wrap my mind around the fact that this was the Jensen that I was dating. When we were together, he was not the CEO of Wright Construction. He drove his truck and ate tacos and wore jeans. It lulled me into forgetting about his money, which I appreciated. I didn’t find him ostentatious in any way, but I was sure he had to be at times with his business contacts. Appearances were everything.
“Apartment first?” he asked, opening the door to the town car for me.
“I suppose so.” I slipped into the backseat, and he took the seat next to me.
I watched the city I had lived in for the past three years zoom by me. Despite having gone to college in Oklahoma, I adored Austin. Maybe n
ot their football team but definitely the town. It had its own vibrancy that was impossible to find many other places. Between the food trucks, hipster living, and overall weirdness, it was a dream local if you could ignore what felt like eternal bumper-to-bumper traffic.
My apartment looked much the same as I’d left it. A mess.
I cringed when I opened the front door. A tornado had come through here for sure. That was the only explanation for what it looked like—besides the fact that I had been neglectful of the one bedroom for close to three years and then torn through it when I moved out.
“Um…maybe you should wait in the car,” I said, barring him from entering the room.
“What? Why?”
“Well, because it’s a hot mess. And I need a few minutes…or hours to tidy up.”
Jensen arched an eyebrow. “We’re not wasting hours here. Why don’t we just get the things you need? Then, I can have a cleaning crew come through and box everything else up.”
“No way! I can’t let you pay to clean my apartment!”
“Fine. Then, let me inside,” he countered.
I glared at him. I should not try to negotiate with someone who did it for a living. “All right. Well, don’t judge me.”
“I’ll judge you for the incredible woman that you are, Emery. Not for anything else.”
I swooned at his words and let him inside. “You’ve been warned.”
He stepped inside and then laughed. “I spoke too soon.”
I smacked him in the chest. “Jerk.”
“I’m kidding. I’m kidding. Come on, let’s get started.”
We spent about forty-five minutes going through my bedroom before I eventually relented. He was right. This was way too much work for one morning. I’d be here for a couple of days, going through my stuff. It would be better if I just packed it all up and shipped it home where I could go through it later. Luckily, the furniture was staying for this semester for the person who would be subletting.
Jensen and I brought out the boxes to the town car and then checked into the suite he’d reserved. I hadn’t even seen him pick up his phone to call for someone to come to the loft, but he told me on the way to campus that someone would be there tomorrow.