“I don’t think I can come after all.”
“Why not?”
“Because I just remembered a conversation I had with Kelly last week. Her parents usually fly up from Florida, but her father’s been ill, and they might not make it this year. I’d feel terrible if she were alone on Thanksgiving.”
Zack gave her a reassuring squeeze. “That’s no problem. We’ll invite her too.”
Emma smacked her lips on his in rapid succession. “Really? Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“How about if you continue thanking me upstairs?” He stood up with Emma securely in his arms and headed toward the stairs.
“How much time do we have left?”
He glanced at his wristwatch. “One hour.”
“That’ll work,” she said and nuzzled against him.
Zack set her down once they reached her bedroom, and they both hurried to undress. They stood in the middle of the room, facing each other with their clothes pooled at their feet, and simply admired each other for a few beats.
“I will never get tired of looking at you,” Zack said, his voice reverberating through her.
Emma closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his waist. She breathed in his all-male scent of spice and musk and gazed into his smoky gray eyes. “You’re not so bad yourself,” she whispered.
Zack hoisted her up so that her legs wrapped around his waist and backed them up to the bed. Instead of lying back, he perched on the edge, holding her firmly in his grip. Emma tingled with anticipation. Their lovemaking had become more intense as of late, and she basked in it. She wasn’t sure if it was because their time was limited, or if it was because they were becoming more comfortable with each other. Whatever the reason, she embraced it and matched his passion with equal fervor.
Zack put his hands on her breasts and plucked at her nipples while they both watched. Emma sucked in a breath when he leaned down and pulled on first one and then the other with his mouth.
“So beautiful,” he murmured.
Emma slid her hands into his thick mass of hair and massaged his scalp while he continued to use his hands and mouth on her. Her hips started moving of their own accord, and his hardness pressed against her belly.
Zack slid one hand between her legs and strummed her until Emma felt her whole body pulse with need. Her breathing became shallow, and she felt light-headed, but Zack had a good grip on her, and she trusted that he wouldn’t let her fall.
“Hands on my shoulders and lean up a little,” Zack demanded, his voice husky with desire.
Emma did as he asked and came up on her knees. Zack positioned himself at her entrance and slowly slid into place, filling her to the hilt.
“Ok?” he asked.
“Yes,” she panted.
Emma squeezed her fingers into Zack’s broad shoulders and held on tight. She was aware of his large hands on her hips, guiding her up and slowly back down again, over and over, bringing her to the brink and then easing off. Her head tilted back, and his lips were against her throat, warm and moist, kissing and nibbling.
She opened her eyes for a brief second and spotted the condom packet on the nightstand, just out of reach. But now Zack’s hand was back between her legs, and the combination was too much. She couldn’t stop—didn’t want to stop.
Zack pulled his head away from her chest and gazed up at her, longingly, lovingly. “Em?”
She knew what he was asking, but at that moment, she was fearless. “Safe time of the month. Please… don’t… stop,” she groaned.
Stars, sparks, flames… it was the most intense experience she had ever had. She lost herself completely in that moment, and Zack followed right behind. They tumbled back on the bed together and waited for the tremors to subside. They clung to each other as if they could fuse together, and Emma felt the words bubble up in her throat and threaten to spill out.
I love this man. I truly, madly, deeply love this man. But I can’t say it. Not yet. It’s too soon, isn’t it? Emma swallowed her words and nuzzled into his neck, pressing her lips against his warm skin to prevent her mouth from opening.
Zack rubbed his hand gently up and down her back and breathed deeply.
Whenever Zack was silent for long, it unnerved her. Is he holding back too? She decided to wait it out a little longer, and then…
“Emma, I want to tell you something.”
She pulled her head out of his neck to look into his eyes, which, if she weren’t mistaken, looked a little watery.
“Tell me,” she managed.
“I…”
Brrring, brrring, brrring. Zack’s phone buzzed insistently in his pants pocket.
“Shit,” he muttered and scrambled off the bed.
Emma sat up against the headboard and waited.
“What? Wait. Slow down and tell me what happened.”
Oh my God, Gracie. Emma jumped off the bed and started pulling on her clothes.
Zack tucked the phone in his neck and yanked his pants on.
“I’ll be right there,” he said and hung up.
“Is it Gracie?” Emma couldn’t hide the panic in her voice.
“That was Alicia. Gracie fell off the monkey bars at Depot Park. She’s at the emergency clinic in town. I have to go.”
Emma followed him out of the room while he pulled his shirt on. “Is she ok? Zack? I want to go with you.”
They were at the front door now, and Zack shoved his feet into his shoes. “No, Em. Just stay here. I’ll call you,” he said and raced out the door.
Emma crossed her arms over her chest from the chill that she felt in the open doorway. She watched Zack tear out of her driveway and hugged herself even tighter. “Please be ok, please be ok,” she chanted.
She closed the door and leaned heavily against it. “I love her too,” she said before she slumped to the floor, put her head in her hands, and cried.
Ten minutes later, Emma was in her car speeding toward the clinic. She didn’t care if Zack was going to be mad; she had to find out about Gracie. Emma parked next to his Range Rover and raced into the clinic. Zack and Alicia sat side by side on the hard plastic chairs with their heads bent together, talking quietly. They both glanced up and noticed Emma at the same time.
“I had to come,” she said unapologetically.
Zack motioned to the chair next to him, and when Emma sat down, he leaned over and gave her a brief kiss on the cheek. Emma caught Alicia’s watchful stare over Zack’s shoulder before she quickly looked away.
“How is she?” Emma asked.
“They’re taking x-rays of her right arm to see if it’s broken,” Zack replied.
“Won’t they let you back there?”
Alicia bent her head down and wrung her hands. “It’s my fault. The x-ray technician asked us to wait out here because I was crying like an idiot. She didn’t want me to scare Gracie.”
Zack laid his hand gently on Alicia’s back, but then he quickly pulled it away. “Don’t beat yourself up about it, Alicia. I’m sure a lot of parents react that way.”
Instead of feeling jealous, Emma felt proud of the way Zack spoke to his ex-wife. He obviously put a lot of effort into keeping their relationship congenial for Gracie. It was just one more thing that she loved about him.
Just then, a female doctor poked her head into the waiting room and said, “Gracie’s parents can come back now.”
Zack and Alicia immediately stood up, while Emma remained seated. They took two steps away before Zack turned back and held out his hand to her.
“But?”
“I’m certain that Gracie would like to see you too,” Zack said firmly.
Alicia raised her eyebrows, but Zack purposely ignored her and pulled Emma along behind them. They followed the doctor into the exam room, where Gracie was contentedly licking a purple sucker. Her right arm was in a sling, but other than that, she looked perfectly fine.
“Miss Emma! You’re here too!” Gracie said enthusiastically.
/> Emma walked over and gave Gracie a careful hug. “I was worried about you,” she said with a catch in her voice.
“I’m fine! I get to wear this sling, and the doctor said I can’t do any work at school.”
Her pronouncement caused a round of laughter among the adults.
“Gracie should avoid using her right hand for a few days, but she can still go to school,” the doctor clarified.
The doctor went on to explain the results of the x-ray and gave instructions for Gracie’s follow-up care while Emma let her thoughts wander. She was so grateful that Gracie was ok that she found herself tearing up again. So this is what it feels like to love a child. How amazing! If I feel this strongly about Gracie, I can only imagine what it will feel like to have my own child someday.
Zack’s voice broke her train of thought. “Thank you, doctor. We appreciate you taking such good care of her.”
The four of them walked out of the clinic together, but Emma stood back while Alicia said goodbye to Gracie.
“Mommy loves you, baby girl.” She hugged Gracie on her left side and then turned to Zack.
“Call me tomorrow so we can make arrangements for her follow-up appointment.”
“I will,” Zack said, and they all waved as Alicia drove away.
“Can Miss Emma come over and watch a movie with us tonight?” Gracie asked, her eyes wide with hopefulness.
“I think you’ve had enough excitement for one night,” Zack said and ruffled Gracie’s hair.
“But Daaaad…”
Emma crouched down and laid her hands on Gracie’s shoulders. “Your dad’s right, Gracie. You need to go home and rest, but how about if I come over and visit you tomorrow?”
“Ok,” she said and then popped the sucker back into her mouth.
After Zack tucked Gracie into the car, he walked Emma around to the opposite side of the Range Rover, where she had parked. Emma couldn’t help it. She flung her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. Zack’s arms went around her waist willingly.
“I’m so glad she’s ok,” Emma whispered against his chest.
“Me too,” he said softly. “Thanks for being here.”
“Thank you for not being mad that I came.”
Zack chuckled. “Why would I be mad? I love being with you, Em.”
She lifted her head, and they exchanged a look that acknowledged just how close those words were to “I love you.”
“I love being with you too,” she said. Baby steps.
“I should get Gracie home.” He gave her a brief kiss on the cheek and broke their hold.
Emma waved while they drove away, and she couldn’t help but wish that she were going home with them.
Chapter 34
“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Kelly grumbled.
“I didn’t think you’d want to be alone on Thanksgiving,” Emma replied.
“It doesn’t sound so bad now. There must be thirty cars here.”
Emma and Kelly had followed Zack and Gracie to his parents’ house on Whipple Lake. When they exited the car, Emma looked around with appreciation. The house was a sprawling ranch surrounded by a copse of trees, with the lake glimmering in the background.
“Thirty is an exaggeration, Kell. Just come in and eat with us, and then you can sneak out whenever you want.”
“You ready to meet my family?” Zack asked when they joined him and Gracie on the porch.
“Sure,” Emma said enthusiastically before shooting Kelly a look that warned, “Not a word.”
When Zack pushed open the door, all of Emma’s senses were assaulted at once. First, the smells: sage, pepper, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Then the sounds: loud, raucous laughter and high-pitched chatter. The foyer bled into the large, open living area, and twenty-five heads turned toward them at once. The sounds faded as if someone had lowered the volume on a radio.
A pleasantly plump woman with pitch-black hair and a ready smile approached them first. She gathered Gracie into a tight hug and said, “How’s Nana’s little girl?” Before Gracie could respond, she cupped Gracie’s face and kissed first one cheek and then the other. When she finished, she repeated the process with Zack.
“Ma, I’d like you to meet Emma and her friend Kelly.”
Emma immediately stuck out her hand, but Zack’s mom used it to pull her in for a hearty hug.
“It’s nice to meet you, dear. My name is Alexandra, but everyone calls me Alex. Welcome to our home.”
The woman exuded such warmth that Emma couldn’t help but smile. Kelly stood a couple of steps behind Emma to shield herself from the onslaught, but it was to no avail.
Alex pulled her in for a hug as well, and then she motioned them into the living room, where they were greeted by twenty-some inquisitive pairs of eyes.
To save Emma from individual introductions, Zack swept his arm around the room and announced, “Everyone, this is Emma and her friend Kelly.”
Hellos and nods greeted them from around the room before the guests returned to their conversations.
Gracie ran off to join a board game in progress, and Zack scanned the area. “There they are,” he said and grabbed Emma’s hand. “I want you to meet my dad and brother.”
Kelly tagged along behind them while they crossed the room. There, leaning against an oversized picture window with an extensive view of the lake, stood the men Zack wanted them to meet.
“Son,” Zack’s dad said by way of greeting. “Good to see you.”
“Dad, I wanted to personally introduce you to Emma,” Zack said proudly.
Mr. Kostas was almost as tall as Zack, and he sported a full head of salt-and-pepper hair. When he shook Emma’s hand, she looked directly into a pair of light gray eyes that were identical to Zack’s.
“Welcome to the nut house,” he teased, clasping her hand in both of his. “I’m Joe.” Kelly was hiding behind Emma again, but Joe leaned around Emma and gave her a little wave. “Brave girl,” he added, pointing at Kelly. His jokey, easygoing manner immediately put them at ease, and Kelly cracked her first real smile since entering the house.
Kelly’s smile turned into something else entirely when the man who had been standing with his back to them a moment ago, turned around.
Oh boy. Emma knew that look, and she tried to send Kelly a silent warning but failed to get her attention.
“And this is my brother, Damian,” Zack said.
Damian tackled his brother, going so far as to lift him right off the floor, which couldn’t have been an easy feat. They hugged each other hard before Damian unceremoniously set him back down.
Holy Greek God number two! Damian was a couple of inches shorter than Zack, but what he lacked in height, he more than made up for in muscle. He wore a short-sleeve t-shirt printed with the slogan “Pete’s Custom Motors” above the image of a classic car. Emma noticed the edge of a tattoo peeking out from his right sleeve, and judging from the look on Kelly’s face, she had noticed it too. Damian was basically an edgier version of Zack, with longer, messier inky black hair, a smattering of facial hair, and an “I’m sexy and I know it” attitude.
“Emma and Kelly, right?” he said, pointing to each of them in turn.
They both nodded, and he smiled even wider, showing off each and every one of his pearly whites. “Nice to meet you, ladies.”
Zack thumped him on the chest with his fist. “You never answered my email, jerk. Are you staying with me and Gracie or not?”
Damian’s eyes honed right in on Kelly, and he drawled, “Yeah, I think I’ll stick around for a while.”
Emma glanced back and forth between Damian and Kelly, and then she exchanged a knowing look with Zack.
“Hey, Em. Why don’t I show you around the house? Damian, you mind keeping Kelly company for a few minutes?”
“It would be my pleasure,” Damian replied without taking his eyes off of Kelly.
Zack took Emma’s hand and pulled her down a hall that led to the bedrooms.
“Holy
shit,” she said when they were out of earshot. “Your brother is…”
“Hot? Yeah, I know. He’s always been popular with the ladies.”
Emma peeked into the doorway of one of the bedrooms, and finding it empty, she pulled Zack inside. She closed the door and leaned against it, motioning for him to step closer. “I wasn’t going to say hot, although he is very good looking.”
Zack’s eyebrows raised while he waited for her to continue.
“Of course, he’s nowhere near as handsome as you.”
“That’s better,” Zack teased, and he pressed her against the door.
“What I was going to say is that your brother is Kelly’s fantasy guy come to life. Did you see the way they looked at each other? Now that was hot!”
Zack put his index finger underneath her chin and tilted her face upward. “Kind of like the way I look at you, huh?” He trailed his finger down her neck and along the collar of her sweater dress. Kelly had insisted that they both dress up for the occasion, and Emma had chosen a cozy, ivory-colored sweater dress with a saddle-brown pair of knee-high boots. The dress skimmed over her petite body without being overtly sexy, and apparently, it had been a good choice, because Zack eyed her like a slice of pumpkin pie.
“We should probably get back out there,” Emma said half-heartedly with her eyes trained on Zack’s lips.
He had one hand braced against the door above her head, and the other had trailed down her side and now rested on her hip.
“Yes, we probably should,” he said before taking her mouth in a demanding kiss. His hand wandered to her backside, and he pushed her hips against his. Their tongues tangled for a few seconds before they both became aware of voices in the hallway. They froze until the sound drifted away, and then Emma broke out in giggles.
“Come on,” he said resignedly. “Let’s go see if dinner’s ready.”
Emma and Zack sat next to each other at one of the two rectangular tables that had been set up in the spacious kitchen. Kelly sat on the other side of Emma, and Damian sat directly across from her. Gracie sat at a small “kid’s table” that was set up nearby.
Emma kept sneaking glances at Kelly and Damian while dish after dish of mouthwatering foods were passed around the table. The conversation was lively, just as Zack had described in Chicago. Emma listened in and nodded politely, but it was difficult to follow any one conversation for long. Zack squeezed her knee under the table a few times to offer reassurance, but Emma enjoyed all of the activity. Everyone appeared to be having a great time, and the food was absolutely delicious. Zack was right; his mom did love to feed people, as was evident on Alex’s glowing face.
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