Decidedly With Love

by Stina Lindenblatt

  The deadbolt clicked and the door opened.

  I’d never seen my grandmother pissed before, so the look of utter disappointment leveled at me just about kneed me in the nuts. Even when I had been a pain-in-the-ass teen, she had never looked at me that way.

  Definitely not good.

  Forget being up a creek without a paddle. I was going over a deadly waterfall backward without said paddle.

  She stepped away from the doorway to let me in.

  Maybe I should’ve come bearing gifts. Was it too late for me to draw a picture for her refrigerator—like I had done when I was a kid?

  “Emma made cookies before she left,” Granny said. “You might as well come and have some with us.”

  “Us?” Like I needed to ask.

  As I suspected, Abigail and Hazel were sitting at the kitchen table, a plate of chocolate chip cookies in the middle. Each woman had a glass of milk in front of her and a scowl on her face directed at me.

  Inwardly, I sighed. Thank God they loved Emma’s cookies—or else I was at risk of being stoned by them.

  Abigail gestured at the seat opposite them. I sat, a bad feeling churning in the pit of my gut. Even though I wasn’t hungry, I grabbed a cookie. The three women weren’t the only ones who loved Emma’s baking.

  Granny didn’t sit next to me. She pulled her chair from under the table and moved it to join her friends, like a senior-citizen-style firing squad. Once seated, she took a cookie from the plate and bit into it.

  Her scowl softened. “Mmm. These are so good,” she said around the mouthful.

  Hazel elbowed her, and the scowl returned in all its I’m-still-pissed-at-you glory.

  “So I understand you felt you had to lie to me about Emma being your girlfriend.” Granny’s tone was cold enough to freeze the milk in the glasses.

  Busted.

  “How did you find out?”

  “Emma was over earlier and told me.”

  Anger should’ve coursed through me at Emma ratting on us, but instead, I squirmed in my seat. It didn’t matter that I was a six-foot-three, one-hundred-and-ninety-pound hockey player, these three knew how to make me feel five years old again. A five-year-old who was at risk of not getting ice cream for dessert. “I’m sorry I lied. I just wanted you to be happy and for you to stop trying to set me up with any more women.”

  Granny slowly shook her head and I had to fight off the urge to sink lower in my chair. “So instead of making me happy, you broke Emma’s heart?”

  I shook my head in denial. “She and I are friends—nothing more.” Friends who’d had sex—which Granny didn’t need to know about.

  Abigail removed a cookie from the pile, nodded at me, and with her gaze burning into me, she broke the cookie in half.

  Message received.

  I really couldn’t figure out why they were acting like this. Yes, I had lied, but weren’t they getting a little carried away with their pissed off attitude? I had done it for Granny’s benefit and not my own.

  All right—it had been for my benefit, too.

  “Look, I’m really sorry I pretended that Emma and I were dating. But it’s not like I hurt anyone.”

  All three rolled their eyes like disbelieving teenage girls. “Only a man would think that,” Hazel said.

  “A man without any balls.” That came from Abigail. I guess I should’ve been happy that Granny hadn’t been the one to say it.

  Granny nodded in agreement with her friends. “But you did hurt someone. And I’m not referring to me, Travis. You hurt Emma in a way you can’t even begin to imagine.” She pushed a small velvet box across the table to me.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “Open it.”

  I did. Inside was a necklace I’d never seen before, with a bunch of red gemstones.

  “Your grandfather gave it to me for our thirtieth anniversary. Those are rubies and diamonds.”

  “It’s nice, but what does it have to do with Emma?”

  “Because I tried to give it to her. I’ve seen how you two are together, and I didn’t want to risk not being around later to give it to her.”

  Somehow I managed not to roll my eyes. “You’re turning eighty next week. You’re not dying.”

  She grunted a you’re-missing-the-point noise.

  “Why would you give her something so valuable anyway?” I asked. “Just because we were dating doesn’t mean we were getting married.”

  This time all three women grunted. Clearly they all thought I was an idiot. Maybe I was—an idiot for having no idea where this was all going.

  “As you can see, she didn’t take it. She said she couldn’t because you two weren’t really dating. You were just faking it for my benefit.”

  “And you have a problem with her not taking it?” I asked, frowning. Wasn’t that a good thing she hadn’t accepted the necklace, considering there wasn’t really a “her and me”?

  An odd sensation stirred in my chest at that thought. I shoved it away.

  “No, it was her reaction when I gave her the gift that’s the problem. It was like I had given her the world. Then she started crying because it was one of the few gifts anyone had ever given her, and she couldn’t take it because your relationship was a lie.”

  The odd sensation in my chest? It turned into a ten-ton weight—and dropped to my stomach.

  It had never crossed my mind that she had been so deprived as a kid. She should have grown up feeling loved, but that had never been her reality. It was no wonder she was so eager for love. Eager for anything that said it was out there for her one day.

  “Do you still believe no one was hurt with your lie?” Granny asked.

  “I never meant to hurt her.”

  Granny gave me the first smile I’d seen from her since I arrived at the apartment. But it still wasn’t at full capacity. “I know. But the truth is there’s a woman out there”—she pointed toward the living room window—“who cares a lot about you, possibly even loves your sorry backside—”

  “I believe in this situation,” Hazel said, “ ‘your sorry ass’ works even better.”

  One side of Granny’s mouth jerked up. “Right. Who possibly even loves your sorry ass, and you’ve made it quite clear to her that you aren’t interested in falling in love.”

  All right—it was now official. Granny was senile. “Emma doesn’t love me. We’re just friends.”

  “You keep telling yourself that if you think it’ll make you feel better,” Abigail said. “But it won’t change anything. That girl loves you and you threw away the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”

  Clearly Abigail and Granny had picked up a two-for-one special on going crazy if they really believed that.

  “I’m telling you, she doesn’t love me.” Because if she loved me, she wouldn’t have ended things with me. That wasn’t her M.O. She was the one people usually abandoned. She wasn’t the one who walked away.

  Or maybe Granny is right—and Emma left you because she does love you and is afraid you’ll abandon her like everyone else, the logical side of my brain suggested.

  I turned my back on it…because it was wrong.

  32

  Emma

  And here I was again.

  Well, not the same place I was last time…but the same idea.

  Sorry, let me rewind and start from the beginning. Yesterday, after I’d come clean to Fanny about Travis’s and my fake relationship, I contacted the realtor who was helping me find a new store location. Or at least she had been prior to Travis taking over the job.

  So here I was, driving to the first address on the list. The difference? Hannah was with me instead of Travis and Fanny.

  Had I heard from Travis since I spilled the beans to his grandmother?

  Yes, several times. First to make sure I was okay. And then to update me on details about the fundraiser next week. Even though I was organizing the event, he was the one contacting the owner of The Unicorn with details about the performance.


  I’d also heard from Fanny, telling me the cookies were to die for, and no matter what happened between Travis and me, I would always be like a granddaughter to her.

  Did I tear up when I read the text?

  Maybe a little.

  Okay—a lot.

  “You know what you need?” Hannah said in the voice people always used whenever they knew damn well their answer wouldn’t match your own.

  “What?”

  “To go out on a date.”

  Yes—well, about that. The way my heart was slumped in my chest, I didn’t believe going on a date would work for me. “Great idea. But since no one’s asked me out, looks like that won’t be happening any time soon.”

  A word to the wise…when your best friend mentions you need to go out on a date, it’s usually because she already has one lined up for you.

  Was Hannah aware of what had happened between Travis and me? Yep—every juicy I’m-such-an-idiot detail.

  Her reaction? You mean after she said she would love to meet him down a dark alley and practice karate on him? She declared he was the king of douchebags.

  Did she believe that? No—but that was what best friends did. They tried to make you feel better by pointing out all your ex-boyfriend’s—or in my case ex-fake-boyfriend’s—flaws.

  “Not a problem,” she said, confirming what I had suspected. “I’ve got a date tomorrow night with the hot resident I was telling you about.”

  “And let me guess…he has a friend.”

  Hannah laughed. “You might wish to contain your excitement. Wouldn’t want you hurting yourself doing cartwheels or something crazy like that.”

  “Yes, because I’m known for doing cartwheels at exciting news like that,” I said dryly.

  She grinned at me in the way that always had me agreeing to her plans. It was more lethal than if she had attempted puppy dog eyes. “It will be fun. I promise you. We’ll see a movie and grab some pizza to eat afterward.”

  It will be fun. Famous last words.

  “What movie?”

  “A total man flick.”

  “No kissing?” I turned down the street where the realtor had disappeared.

  “You mean in the movie or with your date?”

  I slid her a look. “In the movie. But if you wish to kiss your date, it’s totally up to you.”

  “Please, Emma. You’ll be doing me a huge favor. I like Tony, but it’s one thing to flirt with the guy at the hospital and another to actually go on a date with him. What happens if he’s a complete dud? At least you’ll save me from the agony of being stuck alone with him if he is. And his friend is cute and nice.”

  “All right. But only to help you out. I’m not there because I want to go out with your date’s friend.”

  “Understood.”

  “Good—as long as we’ve got that straight.” I parked my car next to the realtor’s and released a long God-I-hate-this sigh.

  “You know, you could have broken up with Travis after he found you a new place for the store.”

  “We didn’t break up. To break up, you have to be dating the person first.” I opened my door and slid out of my seat.

  Hannah leaned over, peering out my open door. “Looked like you guys were dating to me. You even spent a couples’ weekend together with his friends. If that’s not dating, I don’t know what is.”

  Not waiting for a response, she opened her door and climbed out with what could only be described as a victorious expression on her face.

  “That wasn’t dating,” I said. “That was because one couple had canceled and Travis’s friends invited us to join them.”

  Hannah snorted a laugh. “But they invited you because you two were a couple.” The I’m-right-and-you-know-it expression was back.

  I did the only thing I could do. I rolled my eyes and made sure she saw it.

  Her response was another snorted laugh.

  The remainder of the evening was spent with the realtor showing us around the different retail spaces for rent.

  “This is the best one we’ve seen so far,” Janet said. “The location is good, the price is within your range, and while it’s a little smaller than your current location, it’s still doable.”

  Standing in the middle of the space, I turned around, envisioning how I would lay out the store.

  She was right. It was doable. The price was at the higher end of my range. Higher than where I was currently located. And I would have to drive to work because it wasn’t within walking distance to my apartment like I was now. But given I would be forced to relocate soon, I didn’t have much choice.

  “I’m definitely interested,” I told her. “But could I have a day or two to think about it?”

  She narrowed the distance between us, her high heels clicking against the tile floor. “I wouldn’t wait too long if I were you. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s quickly snapped up.”

  I smiled at her, a nervous feeling taking up residence in my stomach. “I’ll let you know tomorrow.”

  33

  Emma

  The following evening, Hannah, Tony the resident, and Barry the blind date picked me up at my apartment in Tony’s beat-up truck.

  “Do you work at the hospital too?” I asked Barry as we drove to the theater. We were both sitting in the back seat.

  What did he look like?

  He reminded me of a blond teddy bear—but not in a bad way. He was stocky and worked out, but he had more stuffing on him than hard muscles. I guess you could say he looked cuddly.

  And cuddly could be good.

  If your heart wasn’t somewhere else.

  “No,” he said. “I work in the legal department for an accounting firm. Tony said you work in a clothing store. Do you enjoy it?”

  “I own a boutique that caters to the romantic in all of us. And yes, I love owning my own business.”

  And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the end of that conversation.

  We both sat there, struggling to come up with something else to talk about. Fortunately, Tony and Hannah decided to tell us about a kid who figured playing hide and seek with the hospital staff was a great idea. More so than being jabbed by a needle. Both Barry and I feigned interest.

  At the movie theatre, the guys bought our tickets while Hannah and I bought the drinks. Since the movie had already been out for a few weeks, it wasn’t very busy. Hannah was sandwiched between the two men, with me on the seat next to Barry.

  My opinion of Hannah’s date?

  He was good-looking. I’d give him that. And he seemed nice enough—not that it was easy to tell with all the small talk the four of us had done so far.

  The movie began, and I settled in for a show that had nothing to do with romance…yet I couldn’t stop thinking about Travis and about my store.

  I hadn’t signed the lease for the new location, but I had phoned Janet after deciding to go for it. She was dropping by my store tomorrow. I couldn’t explain why, but it just felt wrong moving to another location—not that I had a choice.

  Don’t quiz me on what the movie was about. It was a blur of mindless action and pointless banter that had Barry and Tony laughing. Oh, well. At least they were enjoying themselves.

  Things didn’t improve much once we got to the restaurant.

  “Naturally, I’m disappointed that Chelsea was appointed head of the committee,” Tony told us. “I was obviously a much better choice.”

  No—I had no idea what committee he was talking about. I’d kind of tuned him out about three minutes ago. Hannah, on the other hand, was listening to him, with rapt interest, as if he was explaining how he had found the cure for the common cold.

  Shortly after the waitress took our order, Hannah’s phone pinged. She glanced at the screen and typed what I guessed to be a reply to whoever had sent her the text.

  “Hannah mentioned you work in retail,” Tony said, feigning the same level of interest as I had just done to him.

  “That’s right.” I gave him a wide grin. “I
own a store that is about love and romance and hot sex.”

  Nothing spiced up a conversation faster than the mention of hot sex.

  Tony’s gaze slid to Hannah in the most appreciative, sleazy way. It was much the same look Barry gave me. Not that I cared. It wasn’t like I was ever seeing him again.

  “Who doesn’t like hot sex?” Tony said. “What kind of things are we talking about?”

  “Porn, sex toys, lingerie,” I said, doing my best not to laugh. The poor idiot had no idea he had stepped into a trap.

  Hannah, on the other hand, was watching me with her eyebrows raised in surprise. Normally, I wouldn’t mention hot sex when talking about my store—and she knew it.

  She also knew I was up to something.

  The tip of Tony’s tongue slid along his lower lip. “Whips and leather?”

  The worried look in Hannah’s eyes? Yeah—I’d be worried if I were her, too.

  Funny, he didn’t look like the BDSM type. But what did I know?

  Hannah’s worried expression changed and she looked…relieved? Her gaze was focused on something over my shoulder. Around us, the typical restaurant chatter increased to a new level of excitement.

  “Hey, what are you two doing here?” Travis asked behind me—and just like that, my heart rate picked up speed and my traitorous body cheered.

  Inwardly groaning, I spun around in my seat. Travis wasn’t alone. Wes and Liam were with him, both appearing amused.

  Travis held out his hand to my date. “Hi, I’m Travis, and you would be…?”

  Barry shook Travis’s hand with such vigor, I was surprised it didn’t fall off. “Hey, man, I know exactly who you are. Travis Hamilton. Defense for the San Francisco Rock. I’m Barry—Emma’s date.”

  “What are you doing here?” I asked Travis, repeating his original question. Of all the restaurants in San Francisco, why this one?

  “They have great pizza.”

  True. “What—you don’t have any great pizza places near your apartment?”

  “Sure, but this one’s the best.”