Pieces of Him (17 page)

“I never thought that, not once.” She shakes her head and some of her hair tumbles over her shoulder. I reach over and slide it back so it’s not in Xander’s face. Afterward, I touch her face, letting my thumb stroke the contours of her pink cheek. She melts into my touch as something passes between us; she’s giving me her trust without ever having to say the words.

“I just don’t want you to be disappointed,” I tell her because I know that making this work is going to take a lot of effort. I want it, though; I have to have it because seeing her with someone else was a wake-up call. I would be an idiot to let someone like her slip through my fingers. I may be many things, but I’m not an idiot.

“Why would I be disappointed?”

“Because it’ll be pretty hard for me to wine and dine you, take you places, and do things when I have a baby. I can’t give you a normal relationship.”

“Have I given you any indication that I want those things?”

Slanting my head to the side, I give her a look that says,
come on, you’re full of it.
“Every girl wants those things.”

“No. What we want is a little bit of romance. We want someone who takes the time to get to know us, someone who’s thoughtful. And sure, I’d like to go out to a nice dinner every now and then, but I understand that you have Xander. I know that better than anyone does. I’m sure we can find someone to babysit every once in a while if we want to go out, but Max, I don’t mind doing things with you
and Xander.
”

Can this girl actually be for real? If she’s as amazing as the promise of her is, then I might never let her go. We settle into this comfortable little domestic scene we’ve got going on and spend the next couple of hours talking and enjoying each other’s company. At the end of the night, I let her go with a kiss watching as she goes into her apartment and waiting to hear her locks click into place. Tonight, I go to bed and a sense of calm washes over me that wasn’t there before. Because now with Emelia and Xander in the picture, I have a real shot at something more than I ever thought would be possible for me to have.

Max~

Emelia and I spent every night together over the last week. I’d come home from work, and if she wasn’t already here watching Xander, she’d come over and we’d have dinner together. I’d put him to bed and then we’d lay together on the couch, watch some TV, and end the night making out. Every make-out session gets hotter and heavier, but we’d always stop before things got out of control. And it’s getting harder and harder to stop. At the end of the night, she goes back to her apartment and every single time it’s torture to watch her leave. I want nothing more than to speed this up and take things to the next level with her. I can tell she’s willing because she seems to get just as frustrated when we stop as I do. But I stop things anyway because our first time together shouldn’t have to be here with a baby in the next room who could wake up at any moment. I need our first time to be private. I want to take my time with her, and for once, at least, take her out on a real date.

I’m hoping that tonight will be that night. I talked to Mrs. Park and she was more than willing to stay with Xander tonight so I could spend some quality time with Emelia. No, I’m not going to rush her into anything. If she decides that she’s not ready, I’m fine with just spending some alone time with her. When she opens her front door, I suddenly want to skip dinner and go straight to the second half of my plans for the evening. Her hair falls in loose waves down her back and shoulders, and I imagine my hands buried in her hair as I kiss the shit out of her. The pretty gray top she wears brings out the blue of her eyes and her lip gloss makes her lips seem even fuller. Every part of me notices how beautiful she looks right now.

“Hey,” she says softly, a shy smile on her lips. She looks so innocent right now and she makes innocent look good. I have no problem being the guy she picks to corrupt her. I’ll gladly sign up for that job.

“Hi, baby,” I return, and her eyes flare at the sound of me calling her that. “You look beautiful.”

“You look good too,” she says, and I’m done with the small talk. I reach out for her hand grabbing hold of her and pulling her to me. I wrap my arms around her waist and place a kiss on her forehead as she melts into me.

“You ready?” I ask, my lips brushing the top of her head.

“Mmmhmm.”

We disengage, but I keep hold of her hand as I lead her out of the building and to my car. She slides into the passenger seat once I’ve opened the door for her and only when she’s buckled in do I close it and move to the driver’s side.

“Where are we going?”

“I didn't want to go too far in case Mrs. Park calls, so I thought we’d stay local. I hope you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all,” she says as I pull out of the parking lot and head toward the highway.

“Tonight is the grand opening of a new Italian restaurant a few towns over. A friend of mine is the owner, and I thought we could go check it out.”

“A friend?” she probes curious as to who this friend could be, maybe thinking that it’s a woman.

“Yeah. Dominic and I used to work together. He did the construction thing and put himself through culinary school. It’s a big deal for him, so I thought it’d be cool to check it out.”

She reaches over giving my hand on the gearshift a squeeze. “It sounds great.” She smiles at me and I turn my hand over so I can grab hold of hers and rest it on my lap. I keep her there, connected to me the entire drive to the restaurant. The valet takes the car when we arrive, and I lead Emelia inside. I can’t deny the sense of pride that I feel with having her on my arm. I introduce her to Dominic and he personally walks us over to the table he reserved for us. A chilled bottle of wine sits atop of the table and as I help her into her chair, a waiter comes over and immediately opens it up, pouring a glass for each of us.

“Wow,” she says looking around the dimly lit restaurant. “This is really pretty.”

“Yeah,” I agree never taking my eyes off her. I couldn’t tell you shit about the restaurant, the color of the walls, the setup, none of it. I have my attention solely focused on her, on how her eyes shimmer in this lighting, how they take in her surroundings with wonder. How she looks at me as if I’m the most important person in the world and how I really want to be that for her.

Once our orders are taken, I grab hold of her hand and draw lazy circles on her palm with my thumb.

“Tell me about your family,” I ask her. I want to know about her, about the things she never talks about with me because up until recently, Xander was our only common ground. I can see the hesitation in her face, but she covers it up with a smile.

“I have an older sister. Hannah. She’s been living in London for the past few years and she loves it.”

“London, huh? Have you been?”

“Yes. I’ve gone to visit her a few times. It’s a beautiful city.”

“And your parents?”

“My parents.” She stops, takes a sip of her wine, and proceeds. “My dad is great. He’s the one who taught my sister and me about human kindness and generosity, you know?”

“So I should thank him then.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” She laughs with a shake of her head.

“What about your mom?”

“Well, my mom is very vain. She thinks that my being a social worker is very trivial, and if it were up to her, I’d be married to Garrett with two children by now. I’d be a housewife and let him support me and control my life.”

All traces of humor are gone from her face now, and she looks hurt.

“I take it that’s not what you wanted.”

“No. But she doesn’t give a shit what I want, she never has. She certainly didn’t care what Hannah wanted, which is why she lives halfway across the world now. She couldn’t get away from my mother fast enough.”

“Is that why you’re here, Emelia? Was this your way of getting away from your mother?”

“Partly, yes. But you know what, Max? It doesn’t matter the reason I came here. It was the best decision I ever made in my life. I’m happy here. I’m happy and in my life, I haven’t been able to say that ...” She shakes her head. “Ever.”

“I hate that for you. All of it.”

“I’m okay.” She hesitates, looks down at her hand still connected to mine, and then back up. “Those days, the two days a week I rush home from work to watch Xander…” She says it, but it comes out sounding almost like a question.

“Yeah?” I encourage her to continue.

“I’ve looked forward to those days over the last few months. I come home those days, and I don’t have to feel alone. I look forward to them the most because I get to snuggle with the best little baby and even better those days always end with you.”

“You have me now, baby. I’m not going anywhere.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.” And I mean it. I mean every word I say to this girl because she’s a game changer. She’s the girl I was meant to find someday. I feel that shit like I feel the beating of my own heart. She’s the reason I never took any other girl seriously. She’s the reason I couldn’t let myself love Keri. She’s the one I was meant to make mine. I believe it down to the bottom of my soul. A part of me knew it four months ago, and I absolutely know it now.

Our food arrives at the table and our conversation becomes a bit lighter. I listen to her talk about work, about the elderly people at the center where she works, and how hysterical they are. When dinner is over, we walk hand in hand outside, and I hold her in my arms as we wait for the attendant to bring us the car. The ride home is mostly silent, with me sneaking glimpses of her whenever I can. We make it back to our apartment building, and I take her hand when she exits the car. I pull her in front of me releasing her so I can open the door for her. When we make it to her apartment, she turns to face me and leans against her door, pulling her keys out of her purse.

“Dinner was great.”

“I’m glad you liked it.”

“Is Mrs. Park waiting on you or can you come in?”

“I’d love to come in.” She nods her head with a small smile, pushes off the door, and turns to open it up. Placing a hand at the small of her back, I use the other hand to take the key out of her hands and insert it in the lock myself. The door opens with a gentle shove, and with just a little pressure at the small of her back, Emelia walks through. She flips on the light switch, and I realize as I look around that in all the time I’ve known her, I’ve never been inside her apartment. It suits her; she offsets the standard apartment white walls with colorful artwork. The furniture is plush and inviting filling the space with character.

“Can I get you a drink?” she questions, pulling her keys out of my hand and putting them on the ring that hangs just by her now closed door.

“No. But thank you, baby.” My hands immediately wrap around her waist, and I pull her to me. The tension in her body is evident; she’s acting cool, but she’s obviously nervous. “It’s just me and you, okay? You don’t have to be nervous. Nothing is going to happen unless you want it to.” My lips brush hers and her body begins to relax against mine. “Better?”

“Better,” she admits, rolling her head to the side and resting her cheek on my chest. Over the course of the last week, I’ve learned that Emelia loves affection in all forms. She seeks maximum contact whenever possible and blossoms under the feel of a simple stroke of her cheek. I love that I can do that for her.

“Do you want to sit down?”

“I don’t want to sit down, Max.” She slides her arms around my waist and looks up at me, her body relaxed but her look is unsure.

“No?”

“No,” she answers, with a slight shake of the head. “I want to give you the tour.”

I smile because her apartment is an exact replica of mine. A tour is completely unnecessary, but if it’ll make her happy and keep her relaxed, I’ll follow along. She takes a few steps back and throws her arms out as if I’m the winner on a quiz show and she’s showing me my prize.

“This is my apartment,” she says as she grabs me by the hand and pulls me along. “And this is my bedroom.”

We enter her room, and she rotates around to face me, slipping her arms around my waist again. She communicates so much without ever saying the words, and I let out a low chuckle as I brush the hair off her shoulders.

“Is that all you want to show me?”