Her Way

by Jessica Jarman

  Emma chuckled. “I hope not. Will… I am so sorry about all that.”

  His mouth widened into a grin. “No worries. Now, who are these lovely young ladies?”

  “My nieces, obviously. There’s Mia—she’s five.” She gestured to the taller of the two. “And Mandy is three.”

  He knelt down before the girls and, very seriously, held a hand out. With a giggle, Mia shook it, followed by Mandy.

  “Nice to meet you,” he said before straightening. He studied Emma for a moment and continued, “Why don’t you go on up and take a shower, if you want, and I’ll throw something together for breakfast.”

  “Oh, you don’t have to—”

  “I want to.”

  “Oh. Okay. I’ll just have the girls watch cartoons in my room.” She took a small hand in each of hers. “I’ll be down in a bit.”

  Emma hustled the kids upstairs and got them settled on her bed, engrossed in some colorful and musical ‘toon. She grabbed some clothes and padded into the adjoining bathroom. A sigh of relief spilled from her lips as she stepped under the hot spray. The relief quickly dissipated. She racked her mind, trying to remember what happened the night before. Normally, she didn’t have to worry about having a few too many. It was a rare enough occasion, and the girls always made sure she got home and in bed. Surely, she’d remember if she’d had sex with Will, right? That wasn’t something that would slip under the radar, no matter how many drinks she’d thrown back. And if the man could make me hum this way with just his voice and a look, sex with him would be most memorable—drunk or not, Emma mused as she soaped up and washed her hair.

  It was just damned awkward. It wasn’t like she could just ask him if they’d done it or not. Yeah, that’d look real good. Gee, Will, did we make hot monkey love? And could you tell me if I enjoyed it? She groaned and rinsed off. It was no-win situation. If they had, she looked like a drunken slut who didn’t remember. If they hadn’t, she’d look like a fool asking about it. But if they hadn’t—why was he still here and with his clothes thrown on like that? They must’ve. And damn it, she didn’t remember! For the first time in…well, a long time, she’d finally gotten some and the experience was lost in a drunken haze. Classy.

  She turned the taps off and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her hair and another around her body. A knock sounded on the door and she nearly fell backward into the tub.

  “One sec,” she called.

  Thinking it must be one of the girls needing to potty; she tightened the towel around her chest and pulled the door open. Her mouth dropped open when she found herself staring at Will’s smiling face.

  “Hey. Thought you might have a headache.” He held out a glass of orange juice in one hand and a couple of aspirin in the other.

  “Th-thanks,” she stammered. “I could use those.”

  She took them and washed the pills down with a large gulp. Silence cloaked the small steamy room and they stared at each other for a moment. Will reached out and took the glass from her. Surprise filled her when, instead of walking out, he set it on the edge of the sink and took a step closer to her.

  “I never got to tell you good morning, Emma.”

  Oh God, there goes the twitching again.

  Instead of saying “good morning” like she expected, he cupped her face and slid his hands up to pull the towel off her head. Her wet hair fell messily over her shoulders and into her face. He stared into her eyes as he brushed it back. Her stomach jumped, and she could hardly draw in a breath.

  He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers for a moment. He snuck a little swipe of tongue across her bottom lip as he pulled away. His fingers tightened slightly in her hair and he smiled at her.

  “Good morning, Emma.” His voice slid over her, low and sexy.

  She lifted her hand and, with trembling fingers, touched his lips. He pressed a kiss to them and released her hair, tracing a finger down her wet shoulder.

  “Get dressed, sweetheart. Breakfast’s waiting.”

  She stood there, mouth hanging open like an idiot, for a good five minutes after he walked out. Oh. My. God. A simple closed-mouth kiss. That was it. And it had melted her. Something so little, so simple, and it had knocked her on her ass.

  Shaking her head, she dried off and quickly dressed. The bedroom was empty when she walked through. She hoped the kids weren’t bugging Will. Not the best morning-after entertainment. She hurried down the stairs and through the house to the kitchen—the room full of giggles and non-stop jabber. Her nieces hung on Will’s legs as he poured pancake batter onto the griddle.

  “Well, are you having fun without me?” She put her hands on her hips and mock-glared at the little girls.

  That just fueled more giggles and Emma couldn’t hold back her grin.

  “Make your aunt help you set the table.” Will gave her a long, hot look. “And tell her the fun is just starting.”

  Will flipped pancakes as Emma and her nieces put dishes and silverware on the table.

  “Well, this is sure a special day—pancakes and everything,” Emma said cheerfully.

  “Will let us pick, Auntie Emma, and we got to help mix it all up.” Mia informed her proudly, making Will grin.

  “Wow, that’s awesome, sweetie. I’m really going to enjoy this meal if my best girls helped make it. Didn’t Daddy feed you breakfast?”

  “Yeah, but it was just toast and peanut butter. Daddy said, ‘Damn it, I don’t know how to cook’.” She deepened her voice and frowned as she mimicked her father.

  “Well, it’s probably a good thing. If I remember right, your daddy burned everything he ever cooked. Doesn’t look like Will has that problem.” Laughter filled her voice.

  He turned his head and watched as she pulled butter from the fridge and placed it along with the syrup on the table. She caught him looking at her and he winked.

  A light flush colored her cheeks and she ducked her head slightly, but a small smile curved those delicious lips. Will turned back to the pancakes, determined. It had taken all his willpower not to grab her and push her against the bathroom wall earlier. All damp and rosy from the shower, wearing only a towel, she’d been damned tempting. Her nieces in the next room had stopped him. That and her sudden shyness around him. Was she embarrassed because of last night? That she’d gotten drunk?

  “Okay, I hope y’all are hungry.” He brought the platter of steaming pancakes to the table. “The top ones are for the little ones.”

  He put them on their plates and watched as their faces lit up.

  “Look, Auntie Emma! They gots smiley faces on them!” Mandy clapped her hands. “How you do that?”

  He winked at her and ruffled her hair. “Magic. Whenever I make pancakes for pretty girls…poof…magically, happy faces appear.”

  Emma looked at him, a look of surprise stamped on her face.

  “What? Did you want smiley faces too?” he teased.

  “Well, it is a disappointment, but I think I’ll live through it.”

  They began to eat—the meal punctuated by much teasing and laughter. The kids made quick work of their pancakes and ran back upstairs to wash up and get back to their cartoons. Emma stood and began clearing the table.

  “Thanks, Will. That was fabulous. You should be a chef.”

  “I am.”

  He nearly laughed as she froze and stared at him—again. “You are?”

  “Yup, I was trained as a chef, and I’m running the family restaurant.” He filled the sink with sudsy water and started washing the plates as she brought more from the table.

  “Well, you certainly found your calling.”

  “It was just pancakes, sweetheart,” he murmured.

  “For someone whose breakfast is usually cold pizza or a PB and J—”

  “Cold pizza? Bite your tongue, woman!”

  “I’d rather you did.”

  Startled, he lifted his head to see her clap a hand over her mouth and another flush stain her skin. Seeing her all cute and
embarrassed woke his cock almost as fast as having her pressed against him the night before. Of course, everything about her—he’d found from the very short time he’d spent with her—caught the attention of that particular part of his anatomy.

  “Um, Will…” She dropped her hand, but the blush still remained. “About last night…”

  Man, she was embarrassed. He rushed to reassure her. “Sweetheart, it’s okay. You got a little drunk. Happens to the best of us.”

  “Right. Well, it’s just that…I normally don’t drink that much. And I don’t rem… That is, it’s all a little fuzzy.” Her brow furrowed and she chewed on her bottom lip as if searching for the right words.

  It suddenly hit him. Could it be that she didn’t remember last night? He nearly laughed. No wonder she was so damned embarrassed.

  “You don’t remember? Anything?” He turned the faucet off and dried his hands as he turned to face her, leaning one hip against the edge of the counter.

  “Well, I remember some. I remember meeting you and dancing with you,” she said rather primly.

  “Do you remember my driving you home?”

  Again, her brow furrowed as she thought. “Yeah, I was sleepy. You helped me into the truck.”

  “Right.” He took her hand and led her back to the table to sit down. “Then you invited me in to look at your house.”

  “Right. And I brought you up to the bedroom.” She groaned. “God, I was drunk and tacky.”

  “You weren’t tacky, Emma.”

  “But did we… Oh. My. God. I threw myself at you.” Pulling her hand from his, she buried her face in both hands, her hair falling around her face. Her voice was muffled as she continued, “I brought you home from a bar and drunkenly came on to you. Dear God, what you must think of me.”

  He pulled her hands away from her face and, with his finger under her chin, tilted her face back up. Damn, tears. “Sweetheart, it’s okay. I don’t think anything bad of you.”

  “Will, I don’t remember anything after that. Did we… I can’t believe I have to ask this. What happened?” She seemed to steel herself for his answer and he couldn’t help teasing her a bit.

  “Well, once we got to your room, you made me lie back on the bed. You unbuttoned my shirt and made quite a point of kissing on my chest and cuddling a bit.”

  She bit down on her lower lip and her eyebrows raised. “And?”

  He burst out laughing. “You fell asleep, Emma. That’s it.”

  “What?” She jumped up and stared down at him. “I what?”

  “Fell asleep,” he said slowly. “I didn’t move right away—not wanting to wake you—and ended up falling asleep myself. Nothing horrible happened.”

  “Well, I never said that sex with you would be horrible.” She closed her eyes as soon as the words were out. “Why is it I can’t control my damned mouth around you?”

  He chuckled and stood, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. “Your mouth is just fine, Emma.” He bent and kissed her lightly before sliding his tongue between her parted lips.

  She pulled back and tilted her head up to look at him. “Nothing happened? Really?”

  “Really. Now stop worrying.” He kissed her cheek and trailed down to her neck, nuzzling the soft skin there.

  “Was I so obnoxious that you didn’t want to?”

  He couldn’t help the bark of laughter that escaped. “Emma, sweetheart, stop obsessing. You were an adorable drunk—just a very sleepy one.”

  Taking possession of her mouth, he drank in her sweetness. Her tongue hesitantly ventured forward to dance with his. He playfully, lightly, bit down on it before swirling his own around soothingly. She moaned soft and low in the back of her throat. He pulled away and brushed the hair back from her face. Leaning down until his lips were centimeters from hers, he spoke.

  “And Emma, when we do make love, you’ll remember it.”

  Chapter Three

  Emma rushed into Kincaid’s Place, closer to two o’clock than one-thirty. She’d called her friends on her way out the door and told them to go ahead and order.

  Her sister-in-law had certainly taken her time getting to Emma’s house. Why that surprised her, she didn’t know. It was typical. It pissed her off to no end that she kept giving in. But they were family, and helping family had been pounded into her head from birth—particularly since her mother passed away soon after Matt was born. She’d become the little caretaker around the house, as if it were her job to make everyone happy. Though she knew it was ridiculous, she just couldn’t say no to them. But that was going to change.

  She scanned the room and found her friends easily. Really, she could have done it with her eyes closed. They weren’t the most quiet, demure group of women. Hurrying across the room, she smiled sheepishly when they looked up.

  “Don’t say a word. I know I caved watching the girls. I know.” She sat between Lynn and Ana, across from Hannah.

  “Didn’t even think of it.” Lynn sipped her iced tea, studying Emma over the rim.

  “Yeah, right.” Emma laughed. “I know you were pissed. I could see it in your faces. You wanted me to walk out the door and go shopping without a second glance.”

  “Wrong,” Hannah said succinctly. “If you had told us that you wanted to meet up later so you could jump Will’s bones another time or two, we would’ve been more than happy to go on our way. We weren’t happy that you gave in to the jerk.”

  “Oh. Well, giving in to the jerk gave me some more time with Will, so does that count?”

  “Not quite, but we want details.” Ana leaned forward. “Lots and lots of details.”

  “Uh huh.” Emma laughed at her friends’ eager expressions. “Can you tell me first what I’m eating for lunch?”

  “Ordered you the lobster ravioli,” Ana informed her and tapped the table with her long, painted nails. “Now, spill about last night. Was he fabulous? Did he make you scream?”

  “Sounds yummy.” She grinned. “The pasta that is.”

  “Seriously, Em, the last thing we expected was to find Will Calonen half naked and fresh from your bed.” Lynn wiggled her eyebrows. “You have to give us all the deets. I mean it.”

  “There’s nothing to tell.” Emma unfolded her napkin and set it primly on her lap, biting the insides of her cheeks to keep from laughing.

  “Emma Rose Lawrence!” Ana tapped the table again, an impatient look on her face.

  “C’mon, Em, you know you wanna tell us,” Lynn cajoled. “Let us live vicariously through you.”

  “And didn’t Ana go home with someone last night?”

  Ana grinned widely. Hannah snorted. Lynn waved her hand in front of her and said, “We hear about Ana’s escapades all the time. How long has it been since we’ve heard it from you?”

  “No pleading from you?” Emma looked at Hannah with a raised eyebrow.

  “Nope. You’ll tell us eventually.” She reached for a bread stick and took a bite before winking at Emma. “You can’t keep it from us.”

  “Whatever. Nothing happened, ya know?”

  All three of her friends stared at her for a moment, silence cloaking the table.

  Ana spoke first. “He brought you home, he obviously stayed the night. What do you mean nothing happened?”

  Emma covered her face with her hands as her face heated. “I mean nothing happened.”

  Lynn reached over and pulled Emma’s hands from her face. “That blush tells me differently.”

  “I didn’t have sex with him, for Pete’s sake!” she hissed and then looked around. Luckily, no one seemed to notice her announcement—except her friends. They all looked to be fighting laughter. Sure, they probably thought it was hilarious. She finally got a guy home and couldn’t manage to score. Pitiful.

  “Okay…no sex. But that doesn’t mean nothing happened. He looked quite comfortable standing in your foyer half dressed. Your idiot brother didn’t even fluster him. Now that is a worthy man, my friend.” Hannah nodded.


  “It was mortifying. I brought him home and made him come in. Showed him around my empty house and ended up in the bedroom.” She groaned at the thought. “I got him in bed, all right. I kissed all over him and told him I thought Ana was right—I needed to get laid.”

  Ana couldn’t hold back a chortle of laughter at that. Hannah shushed her as Lynn patted Emma’s hand, silently encouraging her to continue.

  “Yeah, I kissed all over him and fell asleep on top of him.”

  “You did not.” Lynn gasped.

  “I believe it,” Hannah said. “She always was a sleepy drunk. So how did he happen to stay the night?”

  “He said he didn’t want to wake me and figured if he stayed still for a few minutes, he could slip out then. Well, he fell asleep, too. Though I had no clue. I woke up to Mark and Matt banging on my door, headed downstairs and saw Will standing there. I thought we’d done it and I didn’t remember it.”

  “And Mark being all demanding and shit didn’t help, I’m sure.” Lynn nodded.

  “He was so rude! He was cursing at Will, demanding to know where I was. Urgh, he was a jerk. But Will was very sweet about all of it.” She smiled at her friends. “He made the girls and me breakfast.”

  Ana narrowed her eyes and stared at her. “There’s more.”

  Emma laughed at her friend’s confidence…and perception. “Well, I had the girls in my room, watching TV, and I took a shower while he made breakfast. He came up and brought me aspirin and juice. That was sweet, don’t you think?”

  “Very,” they all agreed.

  She took a deep breath and just blurted out, “He laid a kiss on me then. God, you guys, it wasn’t a hot and heavy kiss. Just a sweet, gentle one. And it just…it floored me. Seriously mind blanking for several minutes afterwards. Then he was just a sweetie through breakfast. He helped clean up before having to take off for work.” She worried her lip with her teeth. “He left his numbers. Home and cell. And asked for mine.”

  “And this is your version of ‘nothing happened’?” Lynn teased. “Sounds like something happened to me. Will likes you.”