Page 43 of Connected By Souls

Grinning, Mav puts his hand on my shoulder. “I’m really happy for you, brother. You deserve this.”

“Thanks, Mav.”

“I just hope when she finally meets me, she doesn’t dump your ass and go for the better-looking one. That would be awk…..ward.”

“Not a chance in hell. She’s mine.”

Mav shakes his head and chuckles as we grab our beers and head to the pool table to shoot a game. We find two other players to play against and place our twenties on the table. By the end of the night, we’re up a hundred dollars and feeling pretty good about our skills.

Driving home later, after promising to update Mav about my date tomorrow, I can’t help the stupid grin on my face. Tomorrow I would show her a piece of my life and what life together could be like. And then, when the time is right, I’ll tell her about us and my dreams. She just needs to know Noah Bennett first before I tell her who Beck Hunter really is.

* * *

I arriveat her door at ten sharp the next morning. I knock, and seconds later, Emma opens the door. Her green eyes are shining with excitement.

She’s wearing her hair down around her shoulders with a red sundress that shows off her long tanned legs. A red tie is around her neck from her swimsuit underneath. “You look beautiful. I love the red.”

“Thank you,” she smiles shyly. “I hope I brought all the right things.” She walks me to her kitchen. “You just told me to pack a bag with some beach essentials, so I only have a towel, sunscreen, and a hat.” Holding up her beach bag, she asks, “Do I need anything else?”

“Nope, that’s perfect. I have everything else taken care of.”

“Ok, let me grab my phone and sunglasses, and I’m ready to go.” Putting her sunglasses on top of her head, she grabs her phone and bag as we head outside. She locks the house up and walks to my truck as I open the passenger door for her. “Oh, you brought Nala today,” she laughs as Nala gives her kisses while she scratches her head.

Walking around to the driver’s seat, I get in and buckle up. “I hope that’s ok. I’m taking you to her favorite spot, so I didn’t want to leave her behind. Plus, you two have gotten close, and I thought you would want her here. You smile a lot with her, and I like it when you smile.”

“No, it’s perfect. I’m glad she’s here. So, what are we doing today? You’ve told me absolutely nothing.”

“Well, I thought I would show you what it’s like around here and take you to my favorite place. Nala and I go almost every weekend when the weather’s nice.”

“So what you’re saying is that you’re not going to give up any information,” she laughs.

“I want you to be surprised.” I wink at her.

Driving to the marina, we chat about her work and how it’s going at the library. I’m glad my donations are being put to good use. She asks me about my work, and I tell her about my last two jobs and how Mrs. Woodbury always checks me out and looks for things around the house for me to do. She thinks that’s the funniest thing she’s ever heard and finds it even more funny when I tell her how awkward it makes me feel to have an eighty-year-old looking at my butt all the time. “Well, she does have good taste,” she says, laughing hysterically.

“Why, Miss Emma, have you been checking out my butt too?” I tease her.

“Maybe I have glanced at it once or twice.”

“Baby, you can look anytime you want, and I’ll even let you grab it if you’re a good girl.”

“Oh my God, you are impossible,” she giggles.

Laughing, I pull into the marina and find a parking spot.

“Are we going on a boat?” She asks excitedly.

“We are. I keep my boat on a lift here.” I help her out of the truck and have Nala jump down. “You do love boats, don’t you?” I should have asked her that before I made plans.

“I love boats. We used to rent one for the day when we vacationed here. It was always my favorite part of the trip.”

Grabbing the cooler out of the back, I grin. “Good, because boating is one of my favorite things to do, and I want to share it with you.”

Closing the tailgate, I pull the cooler, and we both grab some bags as we walk down the dock to where I keep my boat.

Nala runs ahead, knowing exactly where my boat is, before jumping in. Emma laughs, “She really does love this, doesn’t she.”

“She does. She’s been out here with me since she was a couple of months old.”

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