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“Yeah, okay. Be right back, Vanessa.” She gave me a shrug of her shoulders before she followed him.
“Oh. Sure. Take your time,” I said and turned to Emmett after they left the room.
“You’re staring,” I said. “Do I have wine stains on my teeth?”
He laughed and said, “Not a drop of wine in sight, I’m afraid.”
“Good,” I said in the awkward moment that followed. What were we supposed to do now?
Emmett broke the ice. “So, how are you?” he said, seeming a little nervous.
“I’m all right. Still trying to figure out what to do with my life, which takes up more time than you might think.”
I wasn’t sure what was going on but I’d always enjoyed Emmett and appreciated his concern after Lance died.
“The future is a long time,” he said, relaxing a bit. “It’s a big decision that should take up a lot of brain power.”
“You seem like the kind of guy who always knows what he wants,” I said and looked away, as if maybe I’d said too much.
He shook his head, taking a seat on the other side of Kat’s dainty ass coffee table. “Not at all. The decision to join the military was an easy one but making the trip down to the recruitment office and actually doing it, was much harder.”
I laughed. “Really? Lance thought about it on Monday and on Tuesday he was at the office. By Friday he was enlisted. I thought it as one of those things where you just kinda know, you know?”
He shrugged. “For some guys it is that simple. I served with a lot of legacy guys who were third and fourth generation servicemembers. But for me, it was an escape and a way to have a better life.”
I stared at him. This conversation was taking a turn I wouldn’t have expected for two people just shooting the breeze waiting for Kat and Terry to have their private time.
“That’s a very logical approach,” I said. Suddenly, I knew more about Emmett in three minutes than in the few months we’d passed one another at the hospital after Lance died and Kat’s shooting.
“I suppose it is,” he said and raked a hand over his newly buzzed hair. “What have you ladies been up to today?”
He sounded a little awkward, like maybe he was tired of babysitting me and wanted to Terry to come back so they could get on their way.
“Not much. Helping Maisie out with wedding details. How was poker?”
He blinked in surprise. “How’d you know…”
I chuckled. “Kat told me.”
“Ah,” he said. “I won a big pot that pretty much ended the game, so it went well. For me.”
“Not so much for the other guys?”
He hesitated, a pause that made me wonder what had gone down at the game. “Not unless they get off on giving away all their money.”
Then I heard Kat’s voice echoing from her bedroom in the back of the guest house, putting a quick stop to our shared laughter. Suddenly Emmett said, “They might be a while,” I said. “How about I give you a ride home?”
I didn’t understand. Why was he ending the evening? What was going on? As if he read my mind, he said, “You’re safe with me, Vanessa. You said you’ve been drinking, and I just want to make sure you get home safe. Or, you can wait for those two to fight and then fuck, then fight some more before they realize you’re still here.”
I thought about it and realized he was right. When those two got started, they were lost to the rest of the world.
“I’d love a ride home, Emmett. Thank you.”
Somehow, the idea sent a thrill down my spine, surprising me. I barely knew him, but something about Emmett had always been comforting during the dark days at the hospital; now he seemed more like a friend.
I laughed when he shoved his hands into his pockets, as if trying to appear harmless. He pointed to my shoes.
“Can you walk in those things?” he said.
“Of course, I can. Why?” I stuck out one foot, twirling my ankle to show off my white shoes with red polka dots and high heels. They were a bit too fancy for my jeans and simple t-shirt, but for girl’s night, I didn’t care. I wanted to feel a little extra tonight, especially with my red toenails peeking out.
I grabbed my phone and purse and we left quietly, though I didn’t think Kat and Terry even remembered we were there.
Emmett said, “My car is over by Jasper’s wing,” which is why he worried about my shoes. “It’s a bit of a hike.”
I stuck up my chin defiantly and said, “These are as comfortable as your shoes and twice as pretty,” adding a playful grin.
“Definitely twice as pretty,” he said. “Maybe more.”
Once outside, we fell into a comfortable silence and the cool night air wrapped around us as we walked.
