Brooks is still trapped in the hug I pulled him into when his phone rings.
Suddenly, he stands. “I swear, if that’s my mother again...” He sighs with relief. “Realtor. Deacon and I are looking for a vacation house together.”
He slides his finger across the phone. Says hello. “Yeah,” he finally nods. “We would definitely be interested in that.” Pause. Then widening eyes. “Now? But it’s Easter...” A laugh. “Okay. Yeah, yeah, it works for me. Can you text me the address?” A final pause. “See you then.”
When he hangs up, I realize how awkward me soaking his bed with my hair and his towel has now become. The phone call ruined my plot to tease him to the point that he’s jerking his dick to the thought of me later, but now I feel pathetic after the moment was interrupted.
I sit up fully. Clench the towel tightly. “Where’s the house?”
He’s stuffing his wallet in his pocket. Putting on his watch. “Blue Ridge on the river.”
“And she’s willing to show it now? On Easter Sunday?”
He shrugs. “She said she’s an atheist.”
Damn atheists and their logical minds. I had Brooks right where I wanted him, my enticing ways explainable under the everything-I’m-doing-is-because-I-don’t-feel-well umbrella.
“I have to leave in ten to make it.” He opens the closet. Pulls out Eliza’s clothes and tosses them to me. “In a strictly platonic and non-creepy way … do you need any help?”
I smile. “No, thanks.” I swing my legs over the edge of the bed. Standing up, I clutch the clothes against me. Unsteadily, I head for the bathroom door.
His arms are around me before I reach it. Holding me. Supporting me. I want to feel bad about faking this, but God threw me this bone at church, and I’m going to run with it. Besides, Brooks makes me weak in the knees … emotionally dizzy. That counts.
“If this is still happening tomorrow, you should see a doctor. Are you sure nothing like this has ever happened before?”
“Like I said, sometimes when I shower, if the water is too hot.”
“Hmm...” He escorts me inside the bathroom. “Well, hopefully it’s just a coincidence, and isn’t anything serious. I’ll wait out here.” He motions with his thumb.
Once the door is closed, I move in front of the mirror. Smile. I silently clap so rapidly that I stop because I worry he’ll think I’m yanking a dick I don’t have. But Brooks is showing his concern for me, which means at any moment he could realize our souls fit like puzzle pieces, and that he loves me. Oh, God, to hear those words. I can’t wait!
I open the door once I’m dressed, and he’s there. Arm resting on the doorjamb, shirt lifted just above his jeans, exposing that beautiful sun-kissed skin of his hip. “So, is there gonna be anyone to take care of you when I drop you off?”
I shrug. I want to go with him! “I don’t know. I think everyone is busy today.” I shake things up. “But maybe Jared could.”
“Jared?” His eyes penetrate me as I detect the slightest tinge of jealousy. “Oh, the neighbor guy. Well, have fun with that. Heard about him. Rest assured he’ll be fucking some stripper while you’re passed out on the floor bleeding to death because you hit your head on the counter.”
Oh my God. He’s really getting jealous. What kind of voodoo potion is in that magical book? I make a mental note to memorize every word, every phrase—cement the whole thing in my head, because it’s a glorious, wonderful, priceless book of make-your-man-love-you. Or, for me, make-your-man-remember-he-loves-you.
I laugh him off and change the subject. “Know where my purse is? You’re going to be late.”
His tone softens. “It’s in the car.”
After he locks up, he holds my upper arm while we walk down the porch steps, and opens the door for me. I stumble as I slide inside, and bring my hand to my head. He asks if I’m okay, and I say yes, but to him that means no. As he’s walking around to his side, I’m giddy, and check myself in the mirror. I’m horrified when I see my face. No makeup, since I took a shower. I at least need some gloss and a little powder. Maybe some mascara. But thank goodness for beautiful, clear skin.
When his door shuts, he turns to me as he starts the engine. “Call him.”
“Who?”
“Jared. Call him now.”
“Uh, why?”
“Because I want to make sure someone can be there. It is probably gonna be a few hours before you feel normal again. I don’t want to drop you off and you pass out alone.”
My pussy tenses at the varying webs of blue that make up his eyes and the pout of his lips that says I’m not getting my way. Except he doesn’t know that I sure am! My eyes roll as I pull my phone from my purse and pray Jared doesn’t answer. But on the third ring, he does.
“Hello?”
“Speakerphone,” Brooks whispers.
Pressing the button to allow Brooks to listen, and hoping Jared doesn’t say anything that could paint me in a negative light, I ask him what he’s doing tonight. Tell him what’s going on. Ask if he can hang.
“Babe, I wish I could, but I’m three hours away. I tried to call you yesterday. I’m at my mom’s.”
I let my shoulders drop as I look at Brooks, lips puckering … regret for having to bring me?
Fighting a smile, I say, “Oh, that’s okay.” I take him off speaker just in case he asks about Brooks. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Tuesday!”
We hang up, and Brooks pulls to the gate. “So, will this be your first time going to Blue Ridge?”
He smiles at me. I do my best not to smile back, but a hint of one escapes. “Shouldn’t we not be doing this? By this, I mean associating with one another—friendly or otherwise. Won’t Deacon flip out when we get there? Or do you plan on dropping me off at the local dive bar while you tour the house, which will leave me just as unattended as I’d have been if you’d taken me home.”
“Deacon won’t be there. It’s Easter. He’s with his family.”
My lips press together as I give him a single nod. “Right.”
My eyes flutter open at the sound of his voice.
“Emily...” he says. “We’re here.”
I’d fallen asleep at some point shortly after we left the city. I didn’t sleep well last night, wrought with anticipation at how church would go, but destiny is going damn well.
“We’re here? Already?” We’re parked in front of a two-story cabin, not nearly as expansive as Eliza’s family estate in Colorado, but impressive nonetheless for its pristine condition. It’s surrounded by lush greenery, the slow rush of the river visible behind it. “Wow.”
“Only took two-and-a-half hours, which you slept through.” He smiles and unbuckles his seatbelt. Comes around, and opens the door for me.
I hesitate, pulling down the visor mirror again to inspect myself, and frowning at what I see. “Give me a minute to freshen up.” I search my purse for my powder.
“Come on. She’s here already. You look gorgeous. There’s no need.”
I cease my search for makeup, and take his outstretched hand. He helps me out of the car, and we walk to the front door, the smell of fresh pine in the breeze.
The door opens. “Welcome! You must be Brooks,” she says, shaking his hand. “I’m Nancy.”
Her smile is as annoyingly bright as Marcy’s.
“Good to meet you,” he says, his hand letting go of hers. “This is—”
“Lindsey,” I interrupt.
His eyes cut to mine as I shake her hand.
“Nice to meet you, Lindsey.”
I stay by Brooks’s side throughout most of the tour, but when they get into code regulations for an add-on, I wander back downstairs. It’s a nice place—something you’d see in a Lifetime Christmas movie. I stop at the large windows in the living room and stare out at the river. It’s easy to picture weekend getaways here with the children. Brooks could teach our son to fish from the large, smooth rocks that dot the water, while our daughter and I sunbathe on the bank.
Footsteps descend the stairs as they brainstorm the best ways to go about a potential offer. Her loud cackling annoys me. It distracts from my fantasy as much as her baby blue suit and pale yellow top. She’s looking particularly festive for an atheist.
My eyes fall on a blooming cherry blossom just beyond the deck. It’s mesmerizing how quickly things change. Only two weeks ago it was surely barren and brown. Now, it’s beautiful and alive—cotton-candy pink. I think of how it’s waited patiently for spring to join so it could be whole again, just as I have waited on Brooks. I’m the tree—he’s the spring sun, the warm air, the very nutrients I need to thrive. Like the tree, I’ve always been here—the support that allows us to go on, to exist when he could give me nothing in his absence. And the blooms—those are our love, the beauty to which we both once contributed, the beauty that died when his love lie dormant.
But spring is coming. I can feel it.
I draw a sharp breath of air as hands grip my shoulders, Brooks lightly massaging them before letting go.
“You ready, babe?” His question is organic, yet nothing more than a cunning lie to convince her we are real—ironic because he doesn’t know we are.
My head turns to his. “Of course.”
We follow Nancy onto the porch, hands not held like couples do, and the raw urge to reach out and grab for his fingers simmers to the point of near boiling.
She turns to us after securing the lockbox. “Be sure to let me know as soon as possible if you’d like to make an offer. It’s a hot listing.”
“Certainly,” Brooks says.
She smiles, hope in her eyes that she’s finally closing a deal.
The three of us walk toward the cars, Brooks keeping a safe distance from me, though not far enough to suggest a long winter for us.
“Any restaurants you would recommend around here?” he asks.
She shuts her door. Rolls down her window after cranking her car. “You know, everything is pretty good, but my favorite is a place called Copper Grill, right on the Georgia/Tennessee line. It’s about twenty minutes away, unless you two lovebirds want to take the scenic route on the Easter Eggspress.” She laughs after the last word, so loudly it echoes off the trees.
Brooks and I smile at each other. Daringly, I plant my free hand on his upper arm. Lean into him like we’re a couple. Like we’re married.
Like we will be.