Page 13 of Let It Be Me
“Hi, friends!” Emily greets us. “Come in.” She motions us in as she steps aside and holds the door open wider.
We step inside and a whistle of impression leaves me as I survey just the foyer and what I can see through to the backyard oasis. The stairs that lead upstairs is off to the left with Emily’s bag dumped on the bottom step and a spacious home office with glass doors is on the right. The foyer, however, gives off the impression that people live here but not in a messy way. “Nice place,” I say.
“Thank you,” Emily’s boyfriend says.
Emily introduces us to her boyfriend, Adam, and points us all out to him.
“I’ve heard incredible things about you all from Em,” hetells us and I like him instantly. Honestly I trust Emily’s judgement when it comes to people.
“Well she’s been incredibly tight-lipped about you,” Kam snips.
Until now.
Jax freezes next to me and I hear Mason swear under his breath. Emily tries to make eye contact with me but all I can do is shake my head. In all the years I’ve been friends with Kamryn, she’s never disappointed me like she has now.
“Kam!” Jax snaps at her.
“Sorry.”
Oh goodness. It’s so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Don’t even get me started on how awkward this is now. Ground, swallow us whole to spare us from finding our way out of this.
Adam pipes up after the awkwardness is too much for him to stand. Can’t blame him. “Does anyone want a drink?”
We all take that as a cue and follow him into the kitchen to let Emily and Kam talk it out.
“Your kitchen is insane,” I blurt out.
Light oak cabinets and marble patterned countertops with stainless steel appliances gives off a home-vibe. It’s a space where I envision Emily watching Adam cook as I know she can’t cook anything edible to save her life.
“Thanks. At first I thought it was too much. But now I like that it shows Dylan that men can do more than yard work. And when he’s older he’ll be able to fend for himself.”
I barely know Adam, but I like that he’s teaching his son to be domesticated. If that’s even the word you would use.
“Nice,” Jax says. “I’m sorry about my sister.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Adams shrugs it off. “Now who wants a drink?”
“I was promised the largest margarita you can make me,” I claim.
“Coming right up. You three help yourselves outside,” Adam tells us and I like him instantly. We all grab our drinks, margaritas for Jax and I and a beer for Mason.
“It’s like paradise,” I murmur when we step outside. “Now I’m starting to see why Em keeps you to herself.”
Adam, Mason, and Jax snort like they’re not thinking the same thing. A pool with a waterfall, cabanas, a fire pit, and a hot tub adorn the space. That’s not including the spacious patio we’re standing on with the outdoor kitchen enough to make any suburban dad drool.
Adam moves to fire up the grill as Jax and I whip our cover-ups off and walk into the pool. Turns out this is a saltwater pool and the temperature is warm enough to not have me sprouting goosebumps or my leg hairs on the fast track to growing. Movement from behind the boys drags my attention there as Emily and Kamryn come out of the house brighter than they were twenty minutes ago. And that’s good. They’ve been friends for over a decade and for something like Emily dating someone in private to come between them would be a shame. Kam places a kiss on Mason’s cheek before joining us in the pool, while Emily joins the boys.
Seeing them all couple-y sends me back in time when I had that. I mean, Paul and I were never over-the-top with our PDA. But he always made sure that he was within distance of me. Maybe that was his way of keeping a claim on me so no one else could have me. I shake myself out of that time and splash Emily to bring her into the pool. She bends down and hands me her drink before pulling her dress off.
“You’re not subtle,” she tells me as she slides into the water.
Kamryn snorts and I hand Emily her drink back when she’s submerged in the pool. “Sweetie, when have you ever known that to be a trait of mine?”
“Fair point. So what do you think?” Emily asks with a touch of nerves to her question.
I look around Emily and ogle her boyfriend much longer than I should. She splashes me and I return my gaze to her with a smile. “I can see why you fell for him. But there’s something about him. I can’t put my finger on it.” I snap trying to guess what it is about him.
“It’s the eyes,” Emily says.
