Rein
We arrived at Emmett’s house just after six in the evening, and he heard the truck pull into his driveway. He was ready for us at the front door and welcomed us in with a big smile. His hands were hidden in oven mitts, which he playfully tickled Bella in the ribs with. She squealed and ran away from him, and he chased her around the living room while Brayden and I took off our boots and coats. Brayden took Braxton out of his carrier, and the three of us joined Emmett and Bella in the living room.
“Nice oven mitts,” Brayden said dryly, nodding at the floral-printed mitts on his friend’s hands.
Emmett held them up and grinned broadly. His teeth were stark white in contrast to his auburn beard. “Thanks, man. Want a pair? I know where to get ‘em.”
Brayden shook his head and let out a snort. “No, I’m good.”
“Suit yourself,” Emmett said. “Anybody want anything to drink?”
We all followed Emmett into the kitchen, and he passed Brayden a beer. He had bought chocolate milk specifically for Bella and poured her a glass. Then he turned to me. “What about you, Rein? Water, beer, wine, chocolate milk?”
I laughed and shook my head. “Water for now is fine. I might have a drink with dinner.” I looked up at Brayden. “You have a few. I’ll drive tonight.”
Brayden kissed my forehead.
I slid onto a barstool at Emmett’s kitchen counter as he pulled open the oven to check on his creation. The kitchen was instantly filled with the smell of cheese and tomatoes.
“What are you making, Emmett?” I asked as I sniffed at the air. “It smells amazing.”
“Lasagna,” he said as he closed the oven and straightened up. “My mom’s old recipe. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I made some improvements. It might just be the best darn lasagna you ever have.”
“Based on the smell, I wouldn’t be surprised,” I said.
Brayden took the stool next to me and sat Braxton on the counter in front of him. The two of them made faces at each other and played as Emmett poured me a glass of water.
“How are things going with you two?” Emmett asked. “Anything new?”
“Well,” I said, giddy at the prospect of being able to share my work-related news with someone. “As a matter of fact, we do have some news.”
Emmett tilted his head to the side and grinned broadly. “Spill it.”
“I had a customer stop by my gallery today. Turns out she’s a curator at a gallery in New York City. She wants to take some of my paintings home with her to put on display.”
“Shut up,” Emmett exclaimed. “That’s incredible! We have something to celebrate tonight, after all.”
I smiled shyly as he toasted to me. Brayden joined in, and the two of them made a fuss over me until the doorbell rang.
Emmett left us in the kitchen and hurried to answer it. Seconds later, I heard Gracie’s voice. I glanced at Brayden to see if he was thinking what I was thinking. His wide eyes met mine.
“Did you know he invited her?” I whispered.
Brayden shook his head.
“Do you think this is a date?”
Brayden leaned to his left to peer down the hall to the front door. He leaned back to me and whispered under his breath so that Gracie and Emmett couldn’t hear him. “She’s wearing heels.”
“Oooh,” I said conspiratorially. “It’s a date for sure.”
Brayden chuckled and took a sip of beer. “Are you all that surprised?”
“Not really. You and I have been pushing this for a while. I’m impressed more than anything. Took them both a long freaking time to finally admit they had feelings for each other.”
“That it did,” Brayden agreed as Emmett returned to the kitchen with Gracie on his tail.
Bella came in from where she had been playing in the living room to say hello to Gracie. The two of them hugged, and then Emmett chased Bella back out into the living room. I could hear her giddy shrieks of laughter as they played.
Gracie opened Emmett’s fridge and helped herself to a beer. Brayden nudged my elbow with his. That was certainly not something you did in a man’s kitchen unless you were “involved.”
“We didn’t know you were coming tonight,” I said, hoping she would come clean rather than force Brayden or I to pull the information out of her.
She opened a drawer, grabbed a bottle opener, and popped the cap off her beer.
“And you sure know your way around Emmett’s kitchen,” I added.
Gracie looked at me flatly. “Are you trying to suggest something?”
I rubbed the back of my neck and shrugged. “Why don’t you tell me?”
Gracie stood on the opposite side of the counter from us and leaned forward on her elbows. “We’re just friends like we’ve always been.”
“Who?” Brayden asked teasingly.
Gracie rolled her eyes at him.
“I’m just messing with you,” Brayden said. “Sometimes you make it too easy and I just can’t help myself.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Gracie smiled, waving him away. “What’s Emmett cooking in here? It smells like an Italian heaven.”
“Lasagna,” Emmett announced as he returned to the kitchen. “And it should almost be ready. If you would all find your seats at the dining room table, I’ll be in shortly with your meals.”
The three of us went to the dining room. Brayden called for Bella to join us, and she hurried in, out of breath from running laps around Emmett’s coffee table. She took a seat beside her father, and I sat down beside Gracie.
The table was nicely set. Emmett had gone as far as to light two candles in the middle of the table. There was also a basket of bread, a Caesar salad, and salt and pepper at the ready.
“This is nice,” I said, impressed.
“It is,” Gracie agreed as she grabbed a piece of bread and drowned it in butter.
Emmett came in with his oven mitts on. He was holding a large casserole dish in one hand and a tiny one in the other. He set them down on a hot plate in the middle of the table and took off his oven mitts. He went back to the kitchen, and when he came back, he had a spatula in one hand. He cut out a serving for everyone and put it on our plates.
Emmett scooped the contents of the smaller casserole dish onto a plate and passed it to Bella. “This is for you, sweetheart. No meat. Just tomato sauce and cheese.”
“Thanks, Emmett,” Brayden said as Bella accepted the plate. “What do you say, kiddo?”
“Thank you,” Bella said politely.
Emmett nodded. “You are very welcome. Careful now. It’s quite hot.”
I should have heeded his warning, but I was starving. My stomach was growling, and the smell was overwhelming. I took a bite, burnt my tongue and the roof of my mouth, and internally scolded myself for being so impatient.
I began cutting up and mashing the lasagna on a smaller plate for Braxton while Brayden broke Bella’s apart so it would cool faster.
“Don’t eat it yet,” he said to her. “You’ll burn yourself.”
Bella nodded and waited patiently with her hands in her lap. I had been outdone by a six-year-old.
“So,” Emmett said, sweeping his napkin off the table and resting it across his knee. He turned to Gracie. “How does it feel to be back in Valdez? Like you never left?”
Gracie shrugged. “It’s been what, a month now?” She looked at me, and I nodded. “I don’t miss California at all. I’m happy to be home. I’m just starting to get back into the swing of things here and find a new routine that I like.”
Emmett chuckled. “I still can’t believe after all those years of fussing and complaining, you’re right back where you started.”
“No, she’s not,” I said. “She knows what she wants and doesn’t want now. She tried something new, didn’t like it, and came back to what she loves.”
Emmett paused with his beer halfway to his lips. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I just meant it in a, ‘I can’t believe I sat around and listened to you tell me how much you hated this town for ten years’ kind of way.” He smirked and cut into his lasagna. “Although listening to you complain wasn’t all that bad.”
Gracie shot me and Brayden menacing looks to stop us from saying anything. We kept our mouths shut and stared at our plates.
“Well, I’ve changed my ways,” Gracie said confidently. “No more wallowing. If I want something, I’m going to go out and get it.”
“Oh yeah?” Emmett asked with his mouth full of lasagna.
“Yeah.” Gracie nodded firmly.
I half expected the two of them to climb up onto the table and knock everything on the floor like animals as they tried to get to each other. Instead, they remained in their seats and avoided making eye contact.
I couldn’t wait to lie in bed later that night and talk about this moment with Brayden. I was sure he was thinking the same thing as he popped a bite of lasagna in his mouth.
“Emmett, this is delicious,” he said, pointing at his plate with his fork.
Gracie and I nodded our agreement.
“It’s really good,” Bella said.
After dinner, Gracie and I cleared the table. Bella sat on the dining room floor with Braxton, and the two of them played with a chest of toys Emmett had brought out of storage for nights when we came over. They were all old toys of his from when he was a boy, so the kids seemed to like them. They were unlike anything they had back at the house.
I opened Emmett’s dishwasher and began loading plates in as Gracie handed them to me after she rinsed them in the sink.
“So,” she said quietly as she passed me a plate. “How did your appointment go?”
I looked up at her and gave her a sheepish grin. “My lips are sealed until I talk to Brayden.”
“And when will that be?” Gracie asked impatiently.
“Tomorrow.”
“You promise?”
I laughed. “Yes, I’m going to talk to him tomorrow. Just keep it to yourself until then, okay? Don’t say anything to Emmett.”
“Why would I say something to Emmett?” Gracie asked, furrowing her brow.
“Oh, come on, Gracie. You’re not fooling anyone, and neither is he. You two like each other, and you have for a long time. I don’t know why neither of you have made a move yet. It seems so silly to me.”
Gracie sighed. “Maybe I’m waiting for him to do something about it.”
“You should only give him so much time before taking matters into your own hands. I heard what you said at dinner. I thought from now on, you were going after what you wanted?”
She bit her bottom lip and turned off the kitchen tap. “But it’s scary.”
“Everything is scary when you want it bad enough,” I said.
“I guess you would know,” she said softly.
I closed the dishwasher and rested a hand on my friend’s shoulder. “Take your own advice, Gracie. Go for it. He’s well worth the risk.”
Joyous laughter erupted in the living room. Emmett and Brayden were likely messing around with the kids now. They were probably down on their hands and knees on the carpet, enjoying Emmett’s old toys like the oversized children they were.
“Come on.” I took Gracie’s hand and pulled her out of the kitchen. “Let’s just enjoy the night. You don’t have to do anything right now. Just don’t let too much time slip away. You’ll regret it if you do. And if you don’t believe me, just ask Brayden. He’s the perfect one to talk to about chances never taken.”
Gracie squeezed my hand, and I squeezed back.
She would go for it eventually. I was sure of it. She and Emmett deserved each other. They were always happy when they were together, and their friendship was so organic and natural that shifting to a relationship would be easy for them.
I knew it in my soul that they would end up together one way or another.