Page 127 of Key West Homecoming

Emma understood the difference. A few weeks earlier, she might have wanted someone else to make the choice easier by giving her a reason she couldn’t argue with. Jake was doing the opposite. He was telling her what he wanted while leaving the decision entirely hers.

That made his answer matter more.

“Thank you for telling me.”

“You asked.”

“I know, but that doesn’t mean it was easy.”

“No.” Jake smiled faintly. “It wasn’t.”

Emma looked at him and wondered how much had changed since the first afternoon she stood at his gate believing he was simply a tenant she needed to question. She had come to Key West expecting to settle a problem and return to the life she already knew. Now the thought of leaving Jake behind had become part of what returning would cost her.

She wasn’t ready to decide what that meant, but she was ready to stop pretending it meant nothing.

Emma reached for his hand. Jake turned his palm beneath hers and closed his fingers around it.

“I’m going to think about this a lot,” she said.

“I figured you would.”

“That wasn’t a complaint.”

“I know.”

They stayed that way for a while, sitting on the porch step with their hands together. Emma was aware of the swing behind them and remembered the kiss they still hadn’t mentioned directly. She could have brought it up, but she didn’t need to. Jake’s thumb moved once across the back of her hand, and the small gesture told her enough.

Eventually Emma looked toward the pergola.

“You still have slats to finish.”

“I do.”

“I suppose I could come back tomorrow and help.”

Jake raised an eyebrow. “Help?”

“I read the bubble correctly yesterday.”

“You did.”

“So I’m improving.”

“You can hand me the level.”

Emma laughed. “Fine.”

Jake walked her to the gate. This time, when they reached it, Emma didn’t hurry toward the car. She turned to him and let herself look at the man who had just told her he wanted her to stay.

For a second she thought he might kiss her, and she knew she would let him.

Instead, Jake squeezed her hand before letting go.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Emma got into the rental car and drove back toward Winslow’s. She thought about Jake saying he wanted her in Key West. She thought about how carefully he had made it clear that wanting her there wasn’t the same as asking her to give up Chicago for him.

For most of her adult life, Emma had believed a good decision was one she could defend with facts. She could make lists, compare risks and explain exactly why one choice made more sense than another. Key West was refusing to cooperate with that method.