Page 53 of My Heart Before You

A laugh burst from his mouth. “What’s wrong with my car?”

“Nothing. I like your car. I like how down to earth you are, but I don’t think you should deny yourself this.” She reached up and brushed a strand of hair from his forehead.

How is it that she seemed to understand without him having to tell her a word?

As if on cue, the gentleman returned upstairs again, this time leading a mother and her two tween children. “There is one upright left. I believe this gentleman is purchasing the walnut one. Is that correct, sir?”

Emilie smiled brightly and answered for him. “Yes, he is.”

?Chapter 21?

Closing the washer lid and hitting the start button Emilie asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to run your laundry first?”

Ash’s voice answered from the kitchen. “No. I’m off tomorrow. I’ll get it all done then. Most of it is caked in dirt anyway, so it’ll require multiple washes.”

“You amaze me. I’ve camped with friends before, but never done it by myself.”

Emilie closed the closet door and turned to find Ash standing in the hallway with two large glasses of red wine. Her friend was in a pair of yoga pants and a hunter green half-zip pullover, somehow making the ensemble look stunning in addition to cozy.

Her shoulders lifted. “I’m used to it. I spent a lot of my younger years running around and sleeping in the desert. Solo backpacking was kind of a natural hobby for me.” She took a large gulp of wine. “It was nice to hear quiet again. It’s so noisy in the city, even at night.”

“I’m still amazed.”

“I’m amazed you’ve been here ten minutes and you haven’t spilled the details of your date.” Ash arched a golden eyebrow.

Something about the girly way Ash was excited about her date made Emilie feel like a twenty-something dating again, instead of a widow starting over. She wasn’t sure if her observant friend did it on purpose, but it allowed her to feel joy over this new situation instead of concentrating on the reason she was dating in the first place.

Emilie pointed with her wine glass. “I was being polite asking about your trip first.”

“Uh-huh. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather be with Dr. Love tonight?” A sly smile laced Ash’s lips.

“No, I want to be here with you. Besides, we went ononelunch date. It’s a little early to be spending Valentine’s together.”

“So he’s out there breaking hearts?”

“More like fixing them. He’s on call tonight.” She wondered if he was already at the hospital or maybe somewhere in this building at this very moment waiting for his pager to beep.

“When are you seeing him again?”

“Sunday.”

Colin had asked for a second date as soon as he dropped her off, but instead of confirming, she said she’d text her availability later. As much as her body ached for more when he leaned over to kiss her cheek goodbye, she decided to space out their dates in an effort to keep things slow. Next time it would be harder to get caught up in him since she was choosing such a public place for their second date.

“Mmmm.” Ash walked to the kitchen where their heart-shaped pepperoni pizza was waiting. Setting her wine down on the kitchen counter, she opened a nearby cabinet. “Do you want me to make a salad?”

“No. I think we can just eat pizza and wine tonight, and not feel bad about it.”

Her friend’s smile was luminescent. “Agreed!”

Placing a plate in front of them both, Ash opened the box and served them both two slices of pizza. Her friend allowed them each a few bites of greasy, savory deliciousness before she asked, “So are you going to give me all the details, or am I going to have to coax them out of you with more wine?”

Honestly, she’d been waiting all week to tell Ash the details, to have someone to talk about this new step she was taking. So far no one knew but her and Colin. She felt strange omitting the date from her last call with Analie or her parents, but she wanted to see how this all played out before looping her family in.

Ash only knew “Boston Emilie” the woman that, yes, was broken, but also the woman who was building herself back up. Her friend had only seen her as a single entity, not as a wife and mother. Her whole family had seen both.

The biggest problem she was having was that being with Colin was oddly easy. Outside of potentially getting caught making out on top of a piano bench by a mother and her young children, the first date she’d had in over a decade had gone off without a hitch. Something about that seemed wrong. Her brain had run through it over and over, trying to find out why things had flowed so smoothly. The only explanation that made sense was it must have been because they already knew each other from work.

Taking a large gulp of wine, Emilie let the tart blackberry currant taste wash over her mouth before she gave Ash all the details she craved. She recounted how he’d been a perfect gentleman, the delicious lunch, how they had laughed and shared more information about themselves learning all the little things that you do on a first date: likes and dislikes, hobbies, where you went to school, who punched who when you were eleven. Just retelling the afternoon made her lips curl into a smile.

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