Page 70 of Sea La Vie
“You have a fever of one hundred and one, Emma. You’re not going anywhere.”
I glance at the clock and blink back tears. If I don’t leave right now, I’ll be late for meeting Beau. Mom seems to just now notice the small bag I have packed.
“What is that?” she asks, nodding toward it.
“Nothing,” I lie.
She tilts her chin up and eyes me. “Open it,” she says. I freeze, and she notices my hesitancy. “Go on. Open it.”
“No,” I whisper.
Mom sighs. “Planning on meeting your summer boyfriend?”
I stare at the ground and pray it swallows me into another portal. Ideally, a portal that spits me out at the lighthouse in ten minutes.
“Emaline, Emaline, Emaline,” Mom tsks. “I thought you were smarter than this. We know you’ve been sneaking around all summer with that poor kid, but that’s just it. He’s poor. He doesn’t have any family other than his father, and he will never care for you properly.”
I bristle. “He would take care of me better than you ever have,” I say in a moment of boldness.
My vision turns white, and I rub my cheek where my mother just slapped me. The bile rising in my throat is bitter, and I fight to keep it down as I blink back more tears.
“You better be glad your father’s not home,” she says, wiping her hand along her dress. “You’re going to go back upstairs, unpack your bag, and forget all about that boy—do you understand me? And, you’ll do it before your father gets home.”
Tears stream down my face, and I try to think of any way I can sneak out and get to Beau.
“George?” Mom calls. Our butler appears, frowning ever so slightly when he notices my red cheek and tears. “I need you to escort Emaline back up to her room. Please make sure she lies down and doesn’t get back up until her fever breaks.”
“Yes, ma’am,” George says.
I glare at my mom, knowing there’s no way out of this one. I think of Beau at the top of the lighthouse waiting for me, and a sob escapes my throat.
“Let’s go,” George whispers, as he guides me back up the steps to my room.
31
Tate
“Today’s the big day,” Lainey squeals as she wipes a fresh coast of lipgloss on her lips. Lainey rarely wears makeup, and she’s gorgeous without it, but today she looks incredible. She’s wearing a sundress and has her waves semi-corralled into a french twist. She grabs my hand, and it hits me again that I might be the luckiest guy on the planet.
Most people only get one chance at love, but I got two, both with the girl of my dreams.
“Do you think your grandpa remembered?” she asks. She climbs into the passenger seat of my Audi and runs her hands along the leather seats.
“Wow,” she mutters. “So fancy.”
I picked it up from the garage last week, and I have to admit, I missed her.
“I just got off the phone with him,” I say. “And I spoke with his nurse, too, so she won’t let him forget and change into his pajamas.”
Lainey smiles. “I can’t believe we finally found her.”
“Me either,” I say and pull out onto the two lane road that takes us toward the nursing home.
Forty-five minutes later, we pull into the parking lot and glance around. There’s no sign of them yet so we walk in, hand in hand. Lainey pushes the door of Grandpa’s room open and gasps when she sees him dressed in a navy blue suit.
“My goodness, Beau. You look handsome.”
Grandpa blushes and fiddles with hands. “You think she’ll remember me?” he asks.
