Blair smiled at him innocently, waving her wet nails.
The atmosphere felt too normal. No one looked at Emily as if anything had changed. But everything had. She’d left the beach house feeling lost and wounded, and she’d returned with hope for the future. She sat in the chair opposite them all as if there wasn’t a tiny explosion ready to burst from inside her, as if she hadn’t just kissed someone she hadn’t planned to. She nodded along to Rocko’s story, but part of her was still in that little kitchen, remembering how close Patrick’s face had been, how the moment had slipped pastWhy didn’t he?toDid we really just cross an incredibly important line?
The ride home had been comfortably quiet, their wounded souls finding solace in that brief exchange in the kitchen. When they arrived at the beach house, she hadn’t wanted to say goodbye. But when Patrick said he’d see her tonight, that sent her into a wild back-and-forth with herself about whether or not she should’ve let things go where they had.
Why had Will come?This would’ve been so much easier if he weren’t there. His presence was a constant reminder of her past, and Emily needed some time to figure out things without him getting in the way. But perhaps she needed the tether to real life. Without it, she could easily be whisked away to a false sense of reality where a handsome navy veteran swept her off her feet.
“Did Patrick say he’s making dinner tonight?” Sienna asked, the question seemingly sucked right out of Emily’s thoughts.
Her heart pounded. Just his name caused a flash of panic to overtake her. What was this feeling? She was anxious, restless. “Uh. He said…yes. He is,” Emily replied.
Sienna shot her a look, loaded with questions. She could always tell something was up by the most infinitesimal changes in Emily’s expression.
“So, what are we doing to celebrate tonight?” Emily asked in an attempt to divert Sienna’s attention from her inner turmoil.
“After dinner, we thought we’d sit around the pool and make some cocktails,” Blair said.
“That sounds nice,” Emily said, still trying not to make eye contact with Sienna. “Patrick said he might try to whip up something special.” His name sounded different off her tongue just then, and she hoped no one noticed.
“After all your hard work today, you should take some time for yourself, maybe have a nap and then get cleaned up,” Sienna suggested. “I brought a new shampoo I could loan you. You’ve gotta try it.”
Emily wanted to use the moment to escape them and flee to her room where she could regroup and figure out how to get through the evening.
Sienna stood up, came over to where she was sitting, and took her wrists, pulling her to a standing position. “Idefinitelywant to show you that shampoo,” she said, dragging Emily to the stairway. “I can’t believe I haven’t shown you yet.”
When they were out of sight of the rest of them, Sienna gave her a once-over, but didn’t say anything. It was clear, however, from her shifting eyes, that she was going to have a million questions when they got upstairs.
They got to Emily’s room, and Sienna pushed them inside with a flourish, closing the door behind them.
“Spill.”
“Spill what?” Emily asked, knowing her cheeks were flaming.
Sienna pursed her lips. “You can hidenothingfrom me. The minute I said ‘Patrick’ you looked like you were going to throw up. I need to know what’s going on.”
While Sienna was great at reading people, what she wasn’t as great at was being quiet about things. How she’d managed to keep her pregnancy under wraps from Tyson for as long as she had was a complete mystery. The last thing Emily wanted was to admit what had happened between her and Patrick today. It would make everything awkward. She’d tell her eventually, but not before Patrick came over tonight. Sienna was sure to give away the secret to the others, and Patrick seemed to be a private person. She doubted he’d want Emily blabbing to her friends. And Will definitely didn’t need to know; that was a headache waiting to happen.
When she emerged from her thoughts, Sienna was waggling a finger at her. “Thatlook. That’s the nauseous look you had.” Then she sucked in a breath. “You and Patrick didn’t…”
“What? We didn’t what?” Emily asked, barely able to manage speaking.
“I don’t know,” Sienna said suggestively. “What’s thewhatyou’re wanting me to guess?”
“I’m not asking you to guess anything.”
“Then tell me.”
Emily wasn’t getting out of this. Not with Sienna. And even if she tried, she was a terrible liar.
“If I tell you, youcannottell anyone, you hear me?”
Sienna flopped onto the bed with a wild smile on her face. She air-drew a cross over her heart.
“I’m serious.”
“Me too.”
Emily took in a steadying breath and swallowed. “He kissed me.”
