Authors: Meg Gray
Emma tossed and turned the
entire night. She couldn’t believe how close she’d come to kissing Marcus and
surprisingly how badly she’d wanted to. It didn’t happen just once either, but
twice. The two of them so close, she could still feel the heat of his touch on
her back and hip.
She liked Marcus, she knew
that, and this wasn’t the first time he’d spurred the emotions inside her. After
the earthquake, she’d welcomed his embrace. Dancing that night on the pier,
she’d let the moonlight stir up romantic feelings. She had chalked those
feelings up to the circumstances, not the man—now she wasn’t so confident.
But why?
Why, why, why?
she thought as she kicked the covers off.
Of all the men in the entire world, why did it have to be Marcus Lewis that she
was falling in love with?
She stared up at the ceiling
for hours last night wondering when these feelings had set in. The first time she
saw him she’d noticed he was attractive. He had a seductive, powerful way about
him and she was touched by his love for his son and his vulnerability about
wanting to be a good father.
Emma couldn’t imagine what
would have happened if she let him kiss her last night. Thank God, Luke walked
in when he did, saving her from herself. If she wasn’t careful she could fall
hard and fast for this guy. It wouldn’t be good for her to step into those
muddy waters.
Again, she was falling for
another man, she could never have. Marcus wasn’t just any guy, he was Brayden’s
father. If she leapt, she would have to leap all the way. Once she started down
the road of loving Marcus, there would be no turning back. He could crush her
heart and she in turn would crush Brayden’s.
It wasn’t a simple matter of
attraction for the two of them. Marcus came pre-packaged with a child and the
wounds left by the loss of his first wife.
Groaning, she rolled out of
bed and got ready for breakfast. Walking up the stairs she silently prayed that
Marcus had left early for the office, but there he was dressed in his suit with
the morning paper folded next to him. Luke was the one who smiled up at her a
little too broadly, watching her like he was holding onto some secret.
Marcus smiled at her when
she sat down and she met his eyes for only an instant. Butterflies fluttered
around inside her and she pulled her napkin from the table. She couldn’t bring
herself to look at him, too many thoughts about what almost happened between
them swirled in her mind. The next three weeks were going to be a constant
battle for her, now that her attraction had been tapped.
“Good morning, Brayden,” she
said, pulling her focus away from Marcus.
“G’morning Ms. Hewitt,” he
replied, popping a piece of an English muffin in his mouth. Maricella set a
heaping mound of Eggs Benedict in front of her. Emma wondered how she would
ever go back to a normal bowl of boxed cereal in the mornings after all of
these amazing breakfasts.
Luke had his hands wrapped
around his mug and he was all smiles. Emma refused to look at him.
“Maricella?” Luke asked as Maricella
walked around to gather his empty plate. “I would love a piece of that
wonderful peach pie in the refrigerator, please.” He didn’t look at the
housekeeper, but at Emma when he requested it. Emma ignored him, but she
couldn’t ignore Maricella’s glare from across the table.
“Somebody sneak in my
kitchen,” she said.
“Yes, I did,” Marcus said,
staying true to his word that he’d take the blame for being in the kitchen.
“You?” she asked, narrowing
her eyes at him. “You don’t know kitchen stuff.”
“Sure, I do,” he said. “Now,
how about some of that pie?”
Brayden looked at his father
in disbelief. “We’re having pie for breakfast?”
“Why not,” Marcus replied with
a grin. His eyes crinkled as his smile lit up his face. “Don’t forget the ice
cream,” he called to Maricella through the kitchen door.
When Marcus, Luke and
Brayden finished their slices of pie, Marcus looked down at his watch. “I’ve
got to get going,” he said. “Luke are you coming in today?”
“Absolutely,” Luke replied.
“I’ll be five minutes behind you.”
“You mean, an hour at
least,” Marcus corrected him.
Luke shrugged. “I’ll be
there,” he said.
“Bye, Brayden,” Marcus said,
leaning over and kissing his son on the head.
“Bye, Emma,” he said before
walking out of the dining room.
“Bye,” she whispered, still
staring at her breakfast. The food looked delicious, but she just couldn’t
bring herself to finish it all, her nerves were on edge.
“You gonna eat that?” Luke
asked, pointing to her pie.
“No,” she said and pushed
the plate toward him. She leaned back in her chair. “Brayden, why don’t you run
upstairs and brush your teeth. I’ll meet you on the back patio and we’ll get
started with our work for today.”
“Okay,” he said and hopped
from his spot, making a mad dash for the stairs.
“Great pie,” Luke said and
smiled at her. She wished she could wipe the smugness out of his look.
“You’re missing out,” he
told her. “Oh that’s right you had some last night. Alone. In the kitchen. With
my brother.”
Emma didn’t say anything,
she knew he was trying to goad her and she wasn’t falling for it.
“Marcus seems in a good mood
this morning, but then again who wouldn’t after dancing under the stars one
night and smoochin’ in the kitchen the next.” His eyes glinted and he winked at
her.
“We weren’t smooching last
night,” she informed him.
“Huh, that’s sure what it
looked like to me. So you got a thing for him or not?”
“No,” she protested too
quickly. “I don’t and whatever almost happened last night shouldn’t have.”
“Why shouldn’t it? You like
him. He likes you. Isn’t that all that matters?” Luke said matter-of-factly.
She didn’t answer, because
Brayden came rushing back in. “I’m ready,” he said and Emma walked out onto the
patio with him.
The next two nights Marcus
missed dinner. Work kept him at the office late, but Luke was home and took
Brayden out for ice cream both nights, leaving Emma alone in the house.
Emma convinced herself she
could survive the rest of her days here if she continued to avoid Marcus, but
the very next day he announced the deal he’d been working on was finally
closed.
That night at the end of dinner,
Luke announced that he and Brayden were heading out for ice cream and left the
table without extending an invitation to anyone else. Emma caught the quick
look he gave his brother.
Marcus turned to her. “Emma
do you have plans tonight?”
“Yeah, I, uh, I’m going to
call my friend tonight and we’re going to look at some rentals online.” Not
only was it a lie, it was a lame excuse. She said good night and walked down
the stairs to her room. Talking to Stacy was the last thing she wanted to do
right now. It would lead to the subject of Marcus and Emma didn’t have the
energy to dance around her questions. She’d much rather talk to her sister, but
Audrey hadn’t returned any of her phone calls in the last week and Emma assumed
she was still mad about Chelsea’s birthday.
Instead, she sat at her desk
and typed a quick email to Stacy giving her a heads up that she was going to be
looking for a new apartment and then put on her pajamas and climbed into bed
with the remote in her hand. She knew she was a long way from falling asleep
with thoughts of Marcus drifting in her mind.
* * *
Marcus knew Emma was
avoiding him and every moment away from her only made him want to be with her
more. He thought of her from the time he woke up until he fell asleep at night.
There was an undeniable attraction between them. He felt it and knew she did
too. Luke kept pushing him and told him not to let her get away. For all of the
skirt chasing his brother did, he still had a soft spot for true love.
“She makes you happy, man
and that’s good enough for me,” his brother had said last night after he got
home from Ben & Jerry’s.
Last night when Luke set him
up to be alone with Emma, Marcus wasn’t prepared. To top it off she came up with
an excuse not to stick around. Tonight, he was prepared. He’d set a plan in
motion and everything was ready. Brayden and Luke were leaving to get ice cream
again.
“Emma,” he said quietly,
when Emma pushed back in her chair.
“Yes?” She looked at him,
but her eyes refused to meet his.
“If you have time, there’s
something I’d like to show you.”
“Okay, sure,” she agreed.
“You might want to grab a
sweater and I’ll meet you out back in a few minutes,” he said.
She nodded and turned toward
the stairs. He slipped into the kitchen and grabbed the basket Maricella had
packed for him.
“Wish me luck,” he said on
his way out the back of the kitchen to Maricella and Guillermo, his
co-conspirators tonight. They smiled up from their dinner plates as he rushed
out into the evening.
Down on the dock, the boat
rocked and bumped against the wooden frame. Guillermo pulled it out of the
boathouse today, filled it with gas and cleaned off the cobwebs. The keys were
in the ignition.
He tossed the basket in and
ran back up the dock. Emma stood on the patio with her sweater folded over one
arm. A light breeze blew and Emma pushed the hair out of her eyes securing it
behind one ear. She looked lovely in the warm glow of the evening sun and he
stopped just so he could watch her. Finally, he moved forward again and waved
to her as he came up the steps into the backyard. He motioned for her to follow
him.
She walked down the dock,
trailing behind him, until they reached the boat. “Are you as crazy about boats
as you are about old cars?” he asked.
“I guess I could be,” she
said with a smile and shrug. He smiled back liking that she seemed at ease
around him for the moment. He held out his hand. She took it as she stepped
into the boat and he followed her. He started the engine and untied the anchor
rope from the edge of the dock.
Emma took the passenger’s
seat and he slid into the leather chair behind the wheel.
“Are you ready?” He asked,
pushing his sunglasses into place.
He took her smile as his
cue. Forcing down on the throttle, he steered the boat away from the dock. The
water was still and calm and the boat sliced through it like a skater on ice.
They were picking up speed and Marcus looked over at Emma who grinned from ear
to ear.
“Hold on,” he shouted above
the sound of the motor. “We’re going to go a little faster now.”
She gripped the armrest next
to her and he pushed the throttle again. The boat’s engine revved and Marcus
guided them along, leaving large waves in their wake. He could hear Emma laugh
and that made him smile even more. He drove out farther. As the sun touched the
horizon, he made a sweeping arc and slowed the engine. They rocked and swayed
as the boat floated over its own wake. He turned the engine off.
“You up for watching the
sunset?” he asked. “It will be down in about a half hour. I brought snacks if
you’re hungry.”
“How can I be hungry?” Emma
asked, pressing a hand to her stomach. “Maricella’s an incredible cook. I can’t
remember the last time I’ve eaten so well.”
“Well, you can’t refuse fresh from the oven chocolate chip cookies
can you? Come on.”
He stood up and walked past the chairs to the back of the boat. Sitting
on the leather bench, he opened the picnic basket. Emma turned, watching him
and then carefully swayed with the boat as she walked toward him. The boat
rocked as she tried to sit and she fell into him. He reached around to catch
her.
“Sorry,” she said and
scooted away, putting distance between them.
“Cookie?” he offered,
without missing a beat.
“Yes, thank you.” She took
it and bit into it.
“Root beer?” He asked next,
cracking open a can. “Do you like yours with or without ice cream?”
She searched his face, like
she was trying to decide if he was serious.
“I like mine with,” he said
when she didn’t answer and pulled a foil wrapped mug from the basket which
Maricella had dropped two scoops of ice cream into and tipped the can, filling
the mug to the top. The frothy bubbles ran down the side and Emma reached for a
napkin to help him wipe up the mess. He plunked a straw and long handled spoon
inside. He held it out to her.
“Thank you,” she said,
accepting it and took a long pull on the straw.
He made himself another one
pouring more slowly to avoid another mess. The empty can clattered against the
other when he tossed it back into the basket and he pulled out his own straw
and spoon.
“Mmm,” Emma said. “I can’t
remember the last time I had one of these.”
“Really?” Marcus asked her.
“They’re my favorite. Brayden and I get one every time we go out for burgers.”