by Barb Curtis
No matter how long she’d pined for him, what was happening between them was brand new for him. He’d been completely up front about the fact that he might panic from time to time, but little by little, he was cautiously opening up.
So for now, that would have to be enough.
Tim chose a navy V-neck sweater over a blue dress shirt to wear to brunch. His mother told him every time he wore it that it looked good on him, so he figured it would be appropriate for Emily’s mother and grandmother. Plus Emily loved when he wore blue. She said it brought out his eyes or something.
It had been a week since they’d come back from the cabin, and they’d managed to find excuses to see each other every night, which led to sleepovers and then breakfast together before tearing themselves away from each other long enough to go to work and then do it all again.
He couldn’t get enough of Emily. Every time they parted ways he instantly missed her.
This was exactly the scenario he’d promised himself he’d avoid from now on, yet he couldn’t help but want to be with her all the time.
He was about to knock on her apartment door when it whipped open.
“Hey. I was just about to come looking for you.”
Her hair was pulled back in a little twist, and she wore a plum-colored dress with black tights and flat shoes. His previous worries faded, and he licked his lips. “If I had known how prim and proper you dressed for brunch, I’d have tried to snag an invite a long time ago,” he joked. “You look great.”
Grinning, she stuffed her arms into her coat. “You look nice, too. Are you nervous?”
He shrugged. “No way, I’m all set. It’ll be a cinch. I’m pretty good at charming mothers and grandmothers, you know.”
“Well, good. Normally I pick them up, but today Mom said they’d just meet us at the inn. We should probably be on our way.”
On the walk over, she filled him in on an invitation Leyna had extended to a menu tasting at Rosalia’s. “She’s hired a guest chef for the festival—some kind of maple master. Anyway, he’s doing a test run on Thursday evening, if you’re interested.”
“Sounds fancy. I’m in. You know, when this festival is over, neither of us will want to eat anything maple again for a while. I’m thinking we sue Fuzzy if either of us ends up diabetic from all this.”
A car buzzed by, and the breeze lifted a stray tendril of hair away from her forehead. “Please. I’ve been in training for this my entire life.”
“Good point. Maybe Fuzzy chose you to chair the festival because he knew you could handle the sugar high.” They rounded the corner toward the Nightingale, and Tim held the door for her. Inside, the hostess led them to their reserved table, where Lynette and her mother waited.
They stood to hug Emily and surprised Tim by hugging him as well. He had no issue with it—it took a bit of the pressure off somehow that they were all at that comfort level with each other.
Once they were seated and browsing their menus, coffee was served. Lynette and Evelyn didn’t seem to be bickering at all the way Emily had prepped him for. In fact, Evelyn didn’t seem to have the spark she normally did whenever he saw her.
When the food arrived, they ate for a few moments without talking. Emily broke the silence every once in a while to bring up the festival or whatever else she could think of.
Finally, Evelyn put her cutlery down and pushed her plate of half-eaten food away. “Emmy, there’s something we need to tell you. My biopsy came back, and it’s cancer.”
Emily’s fork crashed to her plate, and tears immediately flooded her eyes. “What?”
Lynette reached over to squeeze her hand.
Tim swallowed and made eye contact with Lynette. He placed his hand on Emily’s shoulder.
With practiced poise, he was certain, Evelyn sipped her tea and placed the cup back on the saucer. Not even a hint of a tremble in her hand. “I’m booked in for lobectomy surgery on Tuesday to remove the tumor. Once that’s over with, they’ll determine if I need chemo or radiation.”
“Tuesday?” Emily’s voice cracked. “As in the day after tomorrow?”
Lynette rubbed the back of Emily’s hand. “Yes, it was supposed to be the first week of April, but they called Friday and said a spot opened up. It’s video assisted, which means smaller incisions and, therefore, a quicker recovery.”
Lynette did not have the same composure as her mother. When she paused to take a sip of tea, her cup rattled against the saucer.
“It’s the most common approach for early-stage cancers, and the surgeon has a lot of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery experience. It’ll be good to get it done. Then we can see what we’re up against.”
Emily dabbed at her tears with a napkin. “How long have you had the results of the biopsy?”
There was a pause, and Evelyn’s mouth formed a thin line.
“That’s why you canceled brunch last week, isn’t it?” Emily glared at her mother. “You knew then, and you’re just telling me now because the surgery got bumped up.”
And there lay the reason for his invitation to brunch. Not to be grilled over his intentions. They knew that when Emily found out her grandmother’s prognosis, she would need somebody to lean on, and the obvious choice was her boyfriend. Her boyfriend. Sweat beaded on his back. He sucked in a deep breath, unsure if he could continue eating his food. This was real boyfriend duty, and he was willing to admit that made him squirm a little.
Damn it, what had he gotten himself into here? Because he hadn’t a clue what else to do, Tim refilled Emily’s glass of water.
“Thanks,” she whispered, before taking a long gulp.
“I just couldn’t last week,” Evelyn finally said, her voice quiet. “I needed some time to process it for myself.”
A tear rolled down Emily’s cheek, and Tim placed a hand on her knee under the table.
“We planned to tell you today regardless of the date change,” Lynette supplied.
Emily nodded. “I think I just need a minute.” She pushed her chair back from the table and smoothed the front of her dress before walking away.
Tim tore his gaze away from the tablecloth. “I’ll go see if she’s all right.”
Evelyn nodded at him.
He found Emily in the sitting room in a wingback chair, hugging her arms across her chest and staring out the window into the back courtyard. Perching on the arm of the chair, he squeezed her shoulders. “Hey.”
She sniffled and forced a smile. “I’m sorry you had to sit through that family drama.”
“It’s fine. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
She nodded. “I mean, it’s scary, but I guess it’s good she’s having the surgery so quick. I just wasn’t prepared to get that news today. I don’t…know what to do or say.”
Nodding, he rubbed his hand on her back, over the soft knit fabric of her dress. “I think the best thing you can do for her right now is just be there. Let her know she’s got people in her corner.”
Emily’s face brightened a little, and this time her smile was genuine. “That’s really good advice.”
“I try.” He forced a smile and extended his hand. “Should we get back in there?”
She clasped his hand, and he led them out of the sitting room, past the front desk, and into the dining room, weaving through the tables. Lynette and Evelyn had both finished eating and were drinking tea.
“I’m sorry for my reaction,” Emily said, settling back into her seat. “The news threw me a little.” She smiled at her mother and grandmother. “I’ll be there on Tuesday, and the days to come.”
“Try not to worry, Emmy,” Evelyn said, squeezing her hand. “I’m a fighter, you know that.”
Emily nodded and met Evelyn’s gaze. “I know it.”
She reached for Tim’s hand under the table and squeezed it.
“Well,” Lynette said, dunking a piece of biscotti into her tea, “now that we have all of that out of the way, fill us in on how things are going with the tw
o of you.”
“She’s a pretty high-maintenance woman, our Emily,” Evelyn put in, winking at Tim. “There’s no romantic gesture that’s too small.”
Lynette rolled her eyes. “I’m just glad she’s finally found someone who seems to check off all the boxes on her very long list of must-haves.”
“Yes, maybe we’ll finally get to plan that wedding she’s been dreaming about forever,” Evelyn added.
Tim made a show of laughing, but he tugged on his collar. Why had they chosen a table so close to the damn fireplace? It had to be a hundred degrees in here. Thankfully, nobody else seemed to notice he was sweating.
“Stop,” Emily said, helping herself to a cookie on the dessert plate. “You’ll scare my boyfriend.” She gave him a sidelong look and grinned.
“I think it’d take more than a little chivalry to scare away a Navy officer,” Evelyn commented, color blooming in her cheeks. “I’d just like to say that I couldn’t be happier with Emily’s choice of suitors if I’d handpicked you for her myself.”
Okay, this time he definitely blushed, because his neck felt like it was on fire. These women were fierce and clearly expected a guy to pull out all the stops for their girl. And somehow he’d gone and become Emily’s boyfriend practically overnight, despite vowing to avoid this situation ever again. He liked her a lot, but look at what happened the last time he’d been in a relationship of that magnitude.
What if he wasn’t ready for this, or even capable of being that person?
What exactly had he gotten himself into?
He ran a hand through his hair and raised his brows at Emily. “Thanks.”
Emily shot her mother and grandmother a sharp look. “Well, okay, I think it’s just about time for us to get out of here, right, Tim?”
“Right, yes.” Hell, yes. He made a show of checking his watch and placed his palms on the table. “Thank you both for inviting me today. If it’s okay with all of you, I’d like to pay the bill.”
“How sweet of you,” Evelyn replied, with a nod.
“Thank you, Tim,” Lynette added. “And I hope you’ll join us again sometime.”
“I’m sure I will. Evelyn,” he added, turning to her, “good luck on Tuesday. You’ll be in my thoughts.”
“Thank you, dear.”
He placed an arm around Emily’s waist and led them out of the dining room.
“Sorry they felt the need to overdo it like that,” she whispered while they waited to pay the bill. “They were clearly trying too hard to make light of everything to breeze over the earlier conversation.”
Tim smiled at her and passed his credit card to the hostess. “You have nothing to apologize for, Em.”
Her forehead creased. “Are you sure?”
He nodded gamely, even as he felt the walls closing in. He put his wallet back in his coat and opened the wide door to usher her out, the blast of chilly air a welcome respite. “Absolutely.”
Chapter Eighteen
The sweet scent of apple crumble met Tim when he walked through the back door of his mom’s the next Sunday. “Mom? You around?”
“I’m in the living room,” she called. “Come on in.”
He kicked off his boots and made his way through the house to the living room. He found her sitting on the couch, surrounded by photo albums. “Hey, how are you?”
Frowning, she closed the album, keeping her finger inside to hold her page. “Where’s Emily?”
Well, good to know she couldn’t care less about seeing her own son. Suddenly she expected him to bring Emily with him every time he came over. “She’s at her nana’s house helping out.”
“Oh, right.” His mom nodded. “Emily told me about the surgery earlier this week. I think Evelyn will come out of this just fine. She’s a tough cookie. It’s not hard to see where Emily gets her spark.”
That drew a smile to his lips. He had to agree. Emily did have a spark.
“I wish she could’ve come with you, though,” his mom was saying. “It’s always good to see her, and I’m sure she could use a break from everything.”
“Yeah, she’s got a lot going on.” A pang of guilt stabbed him in the chest. He’d dated Mel three years, and his mom had never pouted like this when he didn’t bring her over. His mother was getting attached to Emily, and here Tim was, still squirming over labeling his feelings and having moments of panic over committing to someone again. Rather than say any more, he plucked an album off the coffee table and flipped through it. His dad’s retirement party, of all choices.
Decked out in his medals, Admiral Wayne Fraser seemed to chastise Tim from underneath the glossy page protector—giving him hell for all the lies he’d been telling his mom, reminding him of the Navy’s core values.
Honor. Courage. Commitment.
A timer went off in the kitchen, and his mother stretched before rising off the couch. “Let’s go have some dinner so we can enjoy that apple crumble while it’s still warm.”
Tim took one last look at his dad’s steely blue eyes and closed the photo album before following his mother to the kitchen.
She pulled a lid off the slow cooker, releasing a cloud of steam.
He knew she expected him to be ravenous, so he made a show of peeking over her shoulder, though his appetite had vanished. “Whatcha got in there?”
“Chili.” Her eyebrows lifted. “You want a bowl?”
Tim rubbed his hands together for effect. “Heck, yeah.”
She filled bowls and carved a few slices off a crusty loaf of bread. “How are the festival preparations going?”
He filled her in on all the new ideas they got from the sugar bush and the menu Rosalia’s had in store for the festival weekend.
“The tour of all the producers on the outskirts of Sapphire Springs was always fun, but I’m so glad you guys are tying town businesses into it this year and having central activities in the square. It sounds like it’s going to be quite an affair.” She got up to pour them each a cup of tea.
“It will be. I know the maple festival is an annual event, but I can’t help but feel like we’re raising the bar this year with the expanded Maple Magic Festival.”
She set two cups of tea on the table as well as a scoop of apple crumble for each of them. “I could tell by the way you two fed off each other’s ideas the last time you were here that you’d make a terrific team. If you and Emily keep doing such a great job on all this stuff, Fuzzy’s going to be nominating the two of you to organize every event throughout the year.”
There was no way he could handle co-chairing a festival during the summer months with Great Wide Open, the boat tours, and all the other committees he’d gotten himself roped into the last couple of years. Especially not if he wanted to have some time to call his own.
Tim shoveled a forkful of apple crumble into his mouth. Mmm, cinnamon. He immediately thought of Emily, and his heart gave that same little pull he’d been feeling for weeks. “This is good,” he said, pointing at it with the fork.
“You’re probably ruined for desserts at this point, having Emily cook for you all the time.” His mom swept a few grains of rolled oats that had scattered off her plate into a little pile. “I must say, I am so happy the two of you found each other.”
The best thing he could do was downplay it. “It’s all still very new, Mom. We’re just taking it slow. No pressure.”
Amusement danced across her lips. “If you say so. But I know what I saw the day you two had dinner here. And when you consider the attention you’re both getting because of that show—it takes a strong woman to accept that and stand by you through whatever gets tossed your way.”
He fixed his gaze on the woven placemat under his plate when a wave of nausea rolled through him. He’d reached the final straw. He couldn’t stand lying to his mother. He had to come clean. “Mom, there’s something that I need to tell you. About me and Emily.”
Her shoulders sagged. “You broke up with her.” The cup she cradled slipped, and tea sloshe
d over the side onto her saucer. She immediately got up to grab a dishcloth and wipe her spill.
“No, it’s…not like that. In the beginning, Emily and I were actually pretending to be dating.” He held his breath, bracing for a response, but she just stood there with the checkered dishcloth in her hand, waiting for him to elaborate.
So he told her the whole story, beginning with the aftermath of the breakup episode of Behind Closed Doors. “Anyway, we realized a while ago that the joke was on us because we’ve developed real feelings for each other.” He squeezed the bridge of his nose before going on. “Em is an amazing woman, and she’s been super understanding of how bad I got burned with Melissa, and she’s willing to take things slow. I love being with her, and I miss her when we’re not together, but when I let myself think about the direction this is heading, alarm bells start blaring about going down that road again. The last thing I want is for either one of us to hurt each other, but look what happened with the last person I imagined a future with.”
“Oh, Tim.” His mom slumped into her chair and slowly shook her head before fanning her fingers across her face.
He busied himself fiddling with his napkin. “It’s complicated. And I don’t want to distract her from her family right now, either. She’s got a lot going on.”
“That sounds like an excuse to cop out.”
Well, shit. His face burned.
His mom got up and carried her dish to the sink. Rather than come back to the table, she leaned against the counter. “You know you’ve got a pattern, right? You get with someone, it all goes well for a bit, but you always kind of keep one foot out the door. Eventually you sabotage it—”
“I’m not sabotaging anything with Emily. It’s very new, and we agreed to take it slow.”
“Before you fell in love with her, though,” she countered, crossing her arms. “You didn’t count on that, did you?”