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Felicity
With a feeling of déjà-vu, the taxi pulled up in front of the house in Malibu, but I knew this time around was different in every way.
I paid the driver and, taking hold of my case and purse, I got out of the taxi. Smiling up at the house I’d called home and safe haven for over a year, I headed for the front door. I still had my key, but it didn’t feel right to just walk in. This wasn’t my home anymore.
I rang the doorbell and waited. Less than two minutes later the door opened and Emmie stood in the doorway, her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail and baby Jagger hanging off her hip. Big, green eyes widened in surprise seconds before I was being pulled into the house and hugged tight against my friend and her son.
“Holy shit,” she cried as she hugged me hard. “I didn’t think you would actually come back. I’m so happy to see you, Felicity. So happy.”
She sounded it too, but I knew I couldn’t let her keep thinking that I was home for good. I pulled back and gave her a smile I hoped reassured her. “I’m sorry, Em, but I’m not home. I wanted to say goodbye face to face. I thought we both deserved that.”
Her face fell, but she returned my smile. Blowing out a ragged breath, she shook her head. “I should have known. You love the biker. It was only a matter of time before I lost you.”
I hugged her again, pressing a kiss to Jagger’s sweet-smelling head. “You haven’t lost me, Emmie. You will always be my friend. Always.”
Emmie took me into the kitchen and poured me a cup of Jesse Thornton’s special recipe coffee. Exhausted after the flight and the sleepless night I’d had waiting in the airport the night before, I drank it greedily as we talked, her catching me up on what had been going on with Gabriella Moreitti, and more importantly, Mia.
Thankfully, sweet little Mia was starting to put the nightmare behind her and I couldn’t have been happier for her. I hoped she didn’t have to experience something like she had ever again. Today she was spending time with Shane and Harper, and even though Emmie offered to call them and have them bring Mia home, I didn’t think I was strong enough to not cry in front of the little girl I’d grown to love like my own.
I knew Em had to have been busy, but she spent the rest of the afternoon with me. Nik came home from the studio where he was helping produce a few songs with the two bands that had toured with Demon’s Wings and OtherWorld over the summer. I shared dinner with them and then it was time to go.
My cab was waiting as I stepped out onto the front step with Nik and Emmie. Nik kissed my cheek and stepped back. With a soft kiss for his wife, he excused himself, knowing that Emmie and I needed to say goodbye alone. “Be safe, Felicity. If you ever need us, we’re right here.”
I offered him a smile. “Thanks, Nik. That means the world to me.”
“We love you like one of our own, girl. You are one of our own. Don’t forget that.”
Heart clenching, I nodded and he walked back into the house, closing the door behind him. No sooner had the door snapped shut was Emmie wrapping me in another tight hug. “I hate change. Hate it. But you were one of the best changes in our life. I honestly don’t know how I survived so long without you, and now that you’re leaving…” She broke off, shaking her head as if to shake away whatever she was thinking. “We will never forget you, babe. I will never forget you. I stand behind what Nik said a hundred percent. If you ever need us, pick up your phone, stop by. Anything. We love you.”
Tears burned my eyes and throat and I had to blink them quickly away. “I love you guys too. Thank you for being my friend when I needed one the most…Thank you for letting me love your children like they were my own, Emmie.”
“Loving my babies is never something you should thank me for, babe. Having someone care for them like they were their own, loving them as only a mother can, that is an honor to share with you.” She lifted her hand and tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear as she stepped forward and lowered her voice. “I will always be grateful for the peace you gave me, Felicity. What you gave me and Lucy, can never be repaid no matter how hard I try. If you ever need anything—anything—you only have to say the word.”
I caught her hand and gave it a small squeeze. “I’ll remember that,” I teased her with a wink. We both knew I would never use her like that…unless it was absolutely necessary.
“Good,” she said with a smirk.
I gave her fingers a tighter squeeze. “Th
e same goes for you, Emmie. I know you have Seller for security, but if you ever need anything… Well, you know I’ll get anything you need done without asking any questions.”
Her smirk faded in an instant. “I wish you wouldn’t go.”
Her chin started to tremble and I quickly wrapped my arms around her small frame. “I’m sorry, Em. So, so sorry.”
“I know. I’m just being silly. I told you I hate change.” She gave a sad little laugh and pulled back. “Go. Be with your scary biker. I only want you to be happy.”
I nearly grinned at the similarities between the two people I loved so much. Here was Emmie telling me the same thing Jet had just said the night before. I knew I could be happy here with Emmie and her family, but not as happy as I would be back in Creswell Springs.
With Jet.
With one last tight hug, I stepped back and walked toward the waiting taxi. The driver opened the back door for me. As the driver started to pull away from the curb, I glanced back. My chest clenched when I saw Emmie standing on the front step with Nik’s arms around her while she cried.
I was exhausted by the time I got to the airport, so I was ten times as grumpy as I normally would have been when I found out my return flight had been cancelled and the soonest I could get back to Creswell Springs was the following afternoon unless I rented a car.
Deciding it was probably better if I got some sleep before I suddenly started murdering the airport staff, I walked the few blocks to the nearest hotel and crashed as soon as I was in my room. I slept deeply and woke up more than ten hours later, reaching for Jet.
Not finding him next to me like I’d come to rely on, to need, I sat up in the queen-sized bed and glanced at the clock. I still had a few hours before I had to go to the airport. The distance between me and Jet felt like it spanned the entire Earth at that moment. I regretted not telling him that I loved him when I’d had the chance, but I was determined that I would fix that as soon as I got home.
