Page 79 of You Found Me
“Please don’t think that. I see the way Spencer looks at you. Not once has he looked at anyone like he does with you before. He brought a college girlfriend home one weekend and I never caught him watching her the way he watches you. As a mother, I really just wanted to make sure he wouldn’t get hurt.”
I don’t give Emmaline a chance to answer. “Did you really have to pull out the photo albums?”
Emmaline looks up, her cheeks immediately heat. Shrugging, she clears her throat to say, “I warned you I was going to ask for them. And I believe Sebastian encouraged it.”
“She needs to see what you looked like as a baby so she can picture what your babies will look like,” my mom says matter of factly. “I’m not getting any younger.”
I groan while Emmaline snickers. “Don’t be such a spoilsport. You were a really cute baby. However, he was right about pre-teen years. Those were . . .interesting.”
“When we get back home, you bet your cute little ass I’m going to find your mom and ask for your baby pictures.”
Instead of being horrified, she just smirks before turning back to my mom to ask if she wants more coffee. When my mom nods, Emmy grabs their mugs, passing by me incredibly close. I don’t know what comes over me, but I follow her and brace myself against the counter, effectively caging her in. She’s slow to turn and when she does, I notice how shallow her breathing is.
“How are you feeling this morning?”
She looks me in the eye. “I’m okay. More than okay. But I still need more time to think about everything. Is that okay?”
Hearing those words, it’s like I can finally take a full breath. She’s not upset about it. She’s okay. “Of course that’s okay. Take all the time you need.”
She nods, then turns back toward the coffee pot before going back to my mom.
Beckett comes down looking extremely hungover, so I fill a mug with coffee and pass it to him before grabbing some pain reliever out of the cabinet.
“Dude, you look like hell. Are you okay? You never drink that much.”
“I’m fine. Just a lot of personal stuff going on,” he shrugs.
I grab his shoulder and squeeze. “I know we don’t live in the same town anymore, but I’m here for you.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know. Really though, I’m good. I’m going to go shower since mine was cut short last night and then head out. Are you guys leaving soon?”
I trust that he’s being honest with me and nod. “Yeah. I read that they’ve been clearing roads since early this morning. I figure we’ll leave in about half an hour.”
“Cool. And just so you know, I really like Em for you. Try not to fuck it up.” With that he heads back upstairs, coffee mug in hand.
***
We say goodbye to my parents with the promise to bring her back soon.
She’s quiet on the way home, which is expected since she said she needed time to think. I have the volume on the radio turned up, that way she knows I’m not going to force her to talk.
Soon enough, we’re pulling into the parking lot for our apartment complex. I help her out of the truck and walk her to her door.
She turns back to me once it’s unlocked. “Thank you for this weekend. Even if your mother threatened you to bring me,” she says, but the twinkle in her eyes lets me know she’s not upset by that in the least.
“I appreciate you coming along. If I were you, I’d expect my mom to call or text you in the near future to set up a ‘girls day.’”
Emmaline grins. “Oh, she’s already mentioned one of those. She just needs to check her schedule first.”
“She means business then.”
“I really like her. I might even keep her.”
I cock my head. “To keep her, you gotta keep me. Is that what you want?”
“Spence, I didn—”
“I’m messing with you. You said you needed time to think about everything, and I respect that. I’d like to tell you where I stand with all of this first, if that’s okay?”
