Page 59 of Without a Doubt

Emerson grins, kisses me, and gets out of bed. “Get that extra bit of sleep and I'll bring you breakfast.”

“I'm too awake now,” I complain.

He laughs on his way out of the room. I lie in bed for a moment longer with a smile stuck on my face before I get up, dress, and call into work sick. These past few weeks have felt like I've been twisted and tied tightly, unable to move much or focus on anything other than being twisted and tied up. Now, it's like those restraints have fallen away. I'm moving, breathing, and feeling at ease. A small part of me feels guilty because it's due to Kelly officially being out of the picture. It's counteracted with the reminder that Emerson seemed to reach the decision on his own.

“Eva!” Emerson yells from the kitchen. “Bring me my shirt and shorts please.”

I snatch up the clothes and take them to him. He shoots me a grateful smile, asking me to man the bacon while he puts them on. “Decided it wasn't so smart to cook in your underwear?” I ask, trying not to laugh.

“The grease got my stomach three times. Thank you.” He kisses my cheek before taking over again.

“Anything I can do to help?”

“No, I got it.”

I take a seat at the bar. “You owe me a steak,” I say, the thought suddenly hitting me. “I almost forgot about it.”

“We'll go to the grocery store and have it for dinner then. Are you staying here again tonight? What do you want to do today?”

My phone vibrates with a text from Catherine, wondering where I am. I send her a quick reply and answer, “It's always a tough choice between my best friend and my boyfriend. I think I'll choose you this time.” I flash him a grin as he chuckles. “I don't care what we do, really. We could stay here all day or go out or maybe ride down to visit your parents if you wanted. You pick.”

He shakes his head. “I don't want to go home.” He moves the bacon to a plate, checks on the biscuits, and starts the eggs. Does he not want to go because he fears he may change his mind about his decision if he's in th

e same town as Kelly? God, why am I still doubting this? “It looks like it's going to rain all day or I would suggest going to ride the horses,” he adds.

“Let's stay here then.” We're quiet while he finishes fixing breakfast. I get up to pour us something to drink, wanting to slap myself for letting the doubt eat away at me again. When we sit at the bar, I don't bother trying to eat yet. I angle myself toward him. “Can I ask you something? One last time?”

Emerson laces our fingers together and kisses my knuckles. “I'm not having any doubts,” he says. When my lips part and I stare at him in surprise, he laughs. “I've gotten better at reading you, Eva. The only time you seem nervous or worried is when you're thinking about Kelly, the first few moments when I met you and you were worried over hitting Sweet Irene, or that time you wanted to tell me to have sex with you.”

I roll my eyes, pull my hand from his, and shove his shoulder playfully. His smirk is annoying. “Don't make me push you off the bar stool, Emerson,” I warn.

He holds his hands up in surrender before getting a bit serious. “Do you have doubts, Eva?” He turns to face me completely and takes both of my hands in his. “I don't.” He glances down at our hands, rubbing his thumbs over my knuckles. “Kelly will always have a piece of me. The love I had for her will still be there, but not like before. I know you said you didn't want parts of me, but,” he takes a deep breath and looks up at me, “I can give you the parts I have left.” He finishes with a low voice, “I can give you every part of who I am now.”

Emerson studies me with desperate eyes. The way he looked when he thought I'd want to walk away after he truly filled me in on Kelly flashes in my mind. He doesn't want to lose me and I don't want to lose him either. Finally, I nod.

“I'm sorry for doubting us. I needed a little reassurance again, I guess.”

He leans over to kiss me softly. “I get it, no worries. Let's eat before it gets cold.”

Goodness, he's perfect. I love his smile, his laugh, his fake name for his truck, and how thoughtful he is. I'm lucky to have him and for him to deal with my flaws. We begin to eat and I speak the rest of my thoughts out loud. “Whenever I wonder how you can be so perfect, I remind myself that you're a cover hog and the perfect image shatters.”

Emerson laughs so hard, he nearly chokes on a piece of bacon. I pat his back as I giggle. “And here I was simply thinking you're perfect and accepting you as such. Maybe I should tell everyone how we met from now on?”

I shrug like I don't care. “If you tell it enough, the embarrassment will wear off.” I hope so anyway. He chuckles, leaving me wondering if he'll make good on his threat. A loud clap of thunder makes me jump. “Sounds like we're going to get more than rain today.” My plate is empty, so I drop it in the sink before peeking out the window in the living room. Rain is beating against it in a sudden downpour. A streak of lightning has me taking a step back.

When I turn around with a frown on my face, Emerson asks, “What's wrong?”

“Not a fan of storms. Freaks me out, really. You know how in romance movies and books they have couples kissing in the pouring rain? Maybe some rumbling thunder in the background?” He nods. “You couldn't pay me to stand outside if it's thundering and lightning unless I absolutely have to. You might have to venture out to the grocery store by yourself if it doesn't let up.”

Emerson smiles as he walks over to me, taking my hand and pulling me over to the couch. “It's just rain,” he tells me.

“Yeah, rain plus loud noises that can shake the house and bolts of lightning waiting to strike you and kill you. No, thanks.”

He can't hold back his laugh this time. “You're ridiculous.”

I pull away from him with a scowl. “I am not. I blame my grandma. She practically drilled the fear in my head. Don't go near the windows. Don't shower. Don't go outside. It could turn into a tornado. The woman was terrified and passed it on to me. She'd probably have a heart attack if we lived close enough to the ocean to have a hurricane. Once when I was little, I remember spending the night with her. There was a storm and she had me huddled with her on the couch in the corner of the room. I thought I was going to die with how scared she was acting. Maybe that's what traumatized me.”

He pulls me back to him when I jump from the clear crack of lightning that had to be somewhere close by. He slowly kisses my neck, momentarily allowing me to lose myself in his touch. “Want me to distract you?”

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