Page 43 of Take Hold of Me

Taking a deep breath, I open the door and enter the chaotic room. Tables and chairs have all sort of clothes, irons, hair and makeup stuff on them. Emilie’s standing by one of the windows, fully dressed—thank God—in a white pants outfit. The way the light plays off her hair appears like a halo.

“Wills?”

Ignoring all the bustle around us, I head for the angel in white. “How are you doing, Emilie?”

Khaki eyes meet mine. “I am fine.”

I don’t challenge her lie. Hopefully, this call will help. I hold up my cellphone. “I have a surprise.”

She tilts her head.

“I know someone who’s ready to FaceTime you in exactly,” I check the time, “one minute.”

Her eyes light up, the green becoming more pronounced. “Really?”

I smile. “Yes. McKenna wants you to call in to the shower now.”

She squeals and reaches for my phone. “I did not even think to ask.Merci!” She clicks on McKenna’s contact, who picks up right away.

“Hi, Em. My God, you look amazing. Your makeup is to die for.”

Emilie laughs and runs a shaky hand over her hair. “I am on a break at the photoshoot. How is the shower going? Was Rose surprised?”

“Oh, yes! I got her real good!” McKenna turns her head and calls for Rose to come over. Within seconds, Rose’s smiling face appears on the screen. What the hell is she wearing? She appears to have a paper plate filled with bows on her head.

The talking plate yells, “Emilie!”

Emilie’s smile gets even wider. “Congratulations on your shower! I hope you are having a blast.” The three start to talk about presents and games and wedding shit, so I beat a hasty retreat. They need their privacy. And I don’t need to know all the gory details of what goes on at such a party.

I’m halfway to the door when one of the guys from the pier, Victor, enters the room and bellows, “Emilie. Let’s get your hair fixed up so we can get going. Emilie? Where are you?”

I go over to him. “Give her a sec. She’s on a call.”

He frowns. “You again? Well, she’s on our dime.” He turns away and screams her name again.

I take a deep breath and count to three, knowing I can’t punch him in the throat to shut him down. I find Emilie with her back to us, facing the ocean although her head is turned toward me. Our eyes lock. Grabbing Victor’s arm, I control my hiss—barely. “Listen, she just needs to finish her call. I’ll make sure she’s off in a minute.”

Behind me, the workers are shaking out various swaths of material that look like oversized bibs. Victor points to the chair they’ve set up next to another set of windows. “She better be in that chair in two.”

Geez. She really has no control over her schedule at any turn. “I’ll make sure of it,” I reply, dramatically checking my watch. Victor leaves the room, taking some of his prickly energy with him.

After another minute ticks by, I know her time is up. Victor will return and it won’t be pretty because this time I will throat punch the asshole.

As I approach Emilie, I smile at her belly laugh. In between breaths, she manages to say, “So sorry I could not be there to have seen that with the sand!” Rose’s corresponding laughter flits through me. I’m grateful she’s here on earth to celebrate her upcoming wedding. She and Cole deserve this. And Emilie deserves to be there.

I touch Emilie’s shoulder and put my face next to hers. “Congrats, Rose. Sorry to break this up, but I need to steal Emilie away for final touch-ups.”

Emilie looks at me and nods. She knows I bought her as much time as I could. They say their goodbyes and I escort a very happy model to her chair, pocketing my cell. Water is being misted on her head from a spray bottle when Victor storms back into the room. Seeing his orders are being fulfilled, he barks, “Get a move on. We leave in thirty.”

From what I can see, Emilie could leave right this second. Whatever. I’ll never understand this business. Catching her eye, I motion toward the door and leave the experts to do their work.

In the main dining room, once again I find myself in front of the sunset photo. This time, the manager doesn’t startle me when he approaches. On a whim, I ask if it’s for sale.

“Yes. All of the photos are available. They’re taken by a local photographer.”

“I’d like to buy this one.” The manager rubs his hands together and takes care of my transaction, including my shipping details. I don’t usually purchase things like this, but it really spoke to me for some reason. Perhaps because it will always remind me of Emilie, even when she’s no longer a part of my life.

The crew packs up the SUVs for the trip to Starfish Point. At our new location, Emilie’s demeanor has visibly improved as a result of her phone call. I puff up, allowing myself a moment in the sun knowing that I helped bring her happiness to the fore this afternoon.

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