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Too many things left unsaid between them.
Emmy thought of what Sasha had said about Calen being half in love with her, but Calen had neither confirmed nor dismissed it. In fact, he’d seemed relieved to be able to drop the subject because of the text he’d gotten about the mail. And it was his non-answer that spoke so loudly. He wasn’t ready for anything involving the L-word. And why should he be? They’d been on one date. One incredible date but still just one. All those times they’d hung out and been there for each other didn’t count.
Did they?
Mercy, Emmy wanted them to count, but she knew the last thing she should do was try to speed things along. She just had to accept that their friendship was more important than their romance. Even if it felt as if they were now mixed into one.
Shoving that thought aside, Emmy gathered her purse and gift bag and got out of her car so she could go into the hospital. It had quit snowing, and the sun was out, making everything look as if it’d been dusted with a magic fairy wand. She’d always thought Christmas Creek was a wonderful place, but today it was picture-perfect.
Emmy threaded her way through the halls to the room number that Nessa had texted her earlier. She tapped on the door, got a quick “Come in.” But when she stepped into the room, she saw Calen.
Her heart skipped a beat or two.
It just wasn’t fair for someone to look that amazingly hot with sleepy bedroom eyes and sexy stubble that had gone past the five o’clock shadow stage.
“Emmy,” Nessa greeted.
Calen’s sister was sitting up in bed, eating takeout from Frosty’s diner while the baby slept in a basinet next to her bed. Nessa had gotten a room with a window, a huge one that overlooked a small park dotted with snow-covered Christmas trees.
Emmy gave Nessa a hug and smiled down at the baby before she handed Nessa the gift bag. “It’s books for both the baby and you.”
“Eve,” Nessa supplied. “That’s what I decided to name her. Eve Elizabeth Bozeman, since Elizabeth was my grandmother’s name.”
It fit. So did the easy vibe in the room. Emmy tried to keep the vibe going by smiling at Calen, but it was impossible to hide anything from the man who knew her so well. That meant he saw every ounce of worry in her eyes. Not regret. Not one bit of that. But worry that things would truly be different between them. Or that they wouldn’t be different at all.
“Oh, thank you,” Nessa gushed, going through the books. She plucked out one of the baby board books and began showing it to Eve.
The baby opened her eyes and looked at the pages. Maybe. Emmy was going to choose to believe she was doing exactly that.
“So, when are you being discharged?” Emmy asked.
Nessa sighed a little. “Not until the day after tomorrow.”
Which meant Eve and she would be here in the hospital for Christmas. Emmy thought she could do something to make that a little better.
“Instead of Christmas dinner at my house, I’ll just bring it here,” Emmy said. Nessa opened her mouth, no doubt to say it was too much of a bother or something similar, but Emmy put a stop to that. “Glazed ham, roasted potatoes, green beans, and homemade rolls. Better than hospital food,” she added. “It’ll be nice to have the meal here with you and Eve.”
Nessa searched her eyes as if looking for any sign that Emmy wasn’t totally onboard for this. There wasn’t any because she was as onboard as could be.
“All right,” Nessa finally said, her eyes a little teary. “Thank you. Thank you both.”
The baby began to squirm and then let out a kitten-like cry. Nessa sprang into action, setting aside the books to scoop up the baby. The little girl turned her mouth in the direction of Nessa’s breast.
“Oops,” Nessa said. “All this talk about food must have made her hungry. I’ll need to nurse her. I don’t mind if you both stay for that—”
“Thanks, but I’ll pass,” Calen said so fast that it caused Nessa to chuckle. As he had shortly after the delivery, he kissed the top of Nessa’s head, and this time did the same to his niece. “I’ll be back later. Text me if you need anything.”
“I will,” she assured him.
“I’ll be going, too,” Emmy said, doling out kisses as Calen had done. She didn’t mind being around someone breastfeeding, but Calen and she had to talk.
After saying her goodbyes, Emmy went into the hall and was thankful to find that Calen was waiting for her.
Emmy started with an easy topic. “No sleep?” she asked.
He shook his head. “After I dealt with the postal service, I drove to Nessa’s to get the suitcase she’d already packed.” He checked the time. “The post office will start handing out the mail in about fifteen minutes. There’s already a long line. Might need crowd control,” he added with a smile that didn’t quite make it to his eyes.
Well, crud. Something was wrong.
