Emily found herself frowning. She was only thirty-two, about to turn thirty-three, but she didn’t think she had had enough adventures. Actually, she hadn’t had any adventures—which was, she realized, a big part of the chain of events that led her to Colin and, consequently, to here.
“What are you two talking about?” Colin asked, bringing Emily a mug of hot spiced cider.
“Oh, nothing,” Ava lied breezily, winking at Emily. “Girl stuff.”
He looked suspicious—and nervous. And he’s right to, Emily thought, considering the topic of their conversation.
He sat next to Emily and then took her hand. She felt some of the tension that had been tightening her muscles slowly unravel.
“Oh, there, now don’t you two look cute?” Ava gushed, and the tension snapped back into place.
“Ava, where did you put the big platter? I want to get these ribs out on the table,” Harry called from the kitchen.
Ava shook her head, smiling at Emily and Colin. “I swear, that man would lose his head if it wasn’t attached to his neck. I’ll be right back.”
When she disappeared into the kitchen, Colin let out a long, beleaguered sigh.
“Why did you think this was a good idea again?” Emily whispered.
“Because you’re important to me,” he answered, not taking it as the joke it was meant to be. “We’re in a relationship. This is something you do when you’re in a relationship.”
Emily thought about that. Wouldn’t it be more important to decide logistics…like how often you’ll fly here or I’ll fly there or whether or not one of us is supposed to move?
“Besides, I wanted to see what this was like,” he added.
“This?”
“Bringing you home,” he said. Then paused. “Being around my family.”
“Oh.” And suddenly it did make sense.
He’s trying to see if he could live here, this close to his family. In his own way, he was figuring out logistics.
Suddenly the dinner took on an element of pressure that she hadn’t even believed was possible.
They sat down to eat, and as usual, Ava did all the talking, chirping happily. Emily tried to steer the conversation to safe topics, something that should have been easy to do since she and Ava actually had a lot in common. The more they discussed Tall Pines community stuff, however, the more Colin seemed to withdraw. Emily felt his discomfort like rippling waves, buffeting her without meaning to.
“And, of course, there’s the Easter egg hunt coming up in April,” Ava said, pausing only long enough to pass the mashed potatoes and make sure everyone had a second helping of her “world-famous” corn bread. “The little ones are always so cute wandering around the lawns of the square.” She winked. “You two might be enjoying that pretty soon, hmm?”
“Mom,” Colin said warningly.
Emily quickly turned to Harry. “These really are fantastic ribs.”
Ava refused to be deterred. “After all, you’re not getting any younger….”
“Really good ribs,” Emily interjected. “You know, I heard about a rib recipe recently…”
“And Emily here loves kids…”
“It had maple syrup in it, and, er, nutmeg,” Emily continued desperately.
“And you know, Colin,” Ava said thoughtfully, “I’ve always known you’d make a wonderful father….”
“And, er, chocolate syrup, as well,” Emily blinked. “Wait. That’s not right.”
“Sounds intriguing, though,” Harry said, chuckling. “Ava, you’re making our guest white as a sheet. They’ve only started dating. Would you let them mail out wedding invitations before you throw the baby shower?”
Ava smirked self-consciously. “Maybe I am jumping the gun a tiny bit.”
“You think?” Colin muttered.
Emily struggled her way through dinner. Ava meant well, she really did—but she was so intent on her picture of a perfect family that she was like a heat-seeking missile, unable to go off course once she’d locked on to a target. Her other children and their families lived in neighboring towns, just twenty minutes or so away. Colin was the one element of her perfect picture that didn’t fit…and now she saw a way to get him to finally come back to the fold.
Watching Colin endure his mother’s machinations actually made Emily queasy, forcing her to refuse the “world-famous” key lime pie that Ava had prepared.
“So how long are you going to stay in town?” Ava asked as they got ready to leave.
“I’m not sure,” Colin said. “That hotel’s not going to build itself, so probably not longer than a week.”
Emily’s heart sank. She’d known it wouldn’t be much time, but a week? Would they be able to come up with a conclusion by then?
Especially since it looks like it’ll be a cold day in hell before Colin moves back to Tall Pines. No matter how strongly he felt about her, she’d gotten the feeling that he was a wild animal caught in a trap as they’d sat through dinner.
“Well, come back anytime,” Ava said expansively, hugging Emily. “I’m so glad, dear. So very, very glad.”
Emily smiled wanly, then left with Colin. He let out an explosive breath as they got into the car.
“I thought that would never end,” he burst out.
She laughed, a weak sound compared to her usual laughter. “Yeah. I love your mom, but she’s pretty intense, huh?”
“She was adopted,” he said as they drove back. “She’s obsessed with family being close by. I love her, too, but…”
He let the sentence trail off and he looked pained.
“But you’ve got to be you,” Emily said.
He stroked her shoulder. “You understand me,” he said.
She nodded.
“Emily…”
“Don’t,” she interrupted. “We’ve still got a few days to figure something out. But I think I’ve had enough thinking for one night.”
He was silent for a moment, then made a monosyllabic noise of assent. “Yeah, I understand that one.” Then he grinned. “So what shall we do with the rest of our evening?”
She pulled the car into the driveway, looking at him beneath lowered eyelashes.
“Surprise me,” she said huskily.
They’d worry about the future tomorrow. Right now, the confident and relieved smile on his face was all she could ask for—and the most she could handle.
9
COLIN HID HIS wince of discomfort as he and Emily walked through the door of Halloran’s, a family-style diner that represented some of the only nightlife the town of Tall Pines had to offer. It was, as usual, packed to the rafters full of regulars. Everybody who was ambulatory, it seemed, hung out at Halloran’s, either eating dinner, having monster ice cream sundaes or enjoying whatever sporting event was playing on the big-screen TV over the bar. It was loud, boisterous and crowded, just as he remembered.
He had to be crazy to take Emily here, of all places. But there was at least a method to his madness this time around.“Are you sure about this?” Emily asked, pressing close to him, her breath brushing against his ear as she struggled to make herself heard over the strains of the jukebox. He reveled in the feel of her compact body molding itself against his for a second, then nodded.
“If we’re going to do this,” he said, his lips tickling her earlobe, “then we might as well dive in.”
There was more to it than that, though. He knew exactly what was going to happen. They would be seated, then everyone in town would take the time to greet them, interrupting their dinner to not only ask about whether or not they were a couple but probably to weigh in on their relationship. Emily would then be forced to see just how problematic living in Tall Pines could be if they were going to be together. She knew it logically; she’d mentioned it when they first got together, after all. But he thought that a real-life demonstration of the small-town fishbowl that would be their dating atmosphere might be a more effective argument. He’d also see just how much he could take.
He wasn’t betting on much. After one night, he figured he would remember exactly why he couldn’t move back to Tall Pines…as if his entire visit hadn’t been reminder enough.
And after tonight, when she was frustrated and distracted, he’d ask her if maybe she wouldn’t mind visiting him in Paris for a few days. Maybe a long weekend. From there he’d show her the vast contrast between her life in Tall Pines and the glory of living out in the world. He’d show her adventure. New sights, new sounds, new people, all the things he loved about his job. He felt confident that she’d be won over.
Then he’d work, slowly but surely, on convincing her to stay with him and leave Tall Pines behind.
“Emily!” Mr. Halloran yelled from behind the bar. “And…good grief, is that Colin Reese?”
Just like that, the whole restaurant miraculously went quiet, except for the belting lyrics of “What’d I Say?” by Ray Charles. Colin watched as Emily blanched.
“Long time no see,” Colin said easily, watching as Mr. Halloran came out from behind the bar to give Emily a big hug. To his surprise, he gave Colin a burly hug, as well.
“What, you get too accustomed to ritzy food that you can’t come back to Halloran’s?” he asked Colin, giving him a punch on the shoulder that actually stung a little. Not as much as the guilt, Colin realized. Mr. Halloran managed to make him feel about twelve years old. He half expected the large older man to put him in a headlock and give him a noogie, rubbing his knuckles across Colin’s skull, for staying away so long.
“Whatever, it’s nice to see you—both of you,” Mr. Halloran declared expansively. “Hey, Janie! Look who’s here!”
Janie, his wife, smiled broadly, hugging them both, as well. “I can’t believe it,” she gushed, as conversations started again around them.
“I do leave the inn occasionally,” Emily said, blushing. “I mean, I love the burgers here….”
“No, no, not that,” Janie said, ushering them through the crowd. “I can’t believe you two came here. You just started dating, right? I would’ve expected you to want a little more privacy.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “If you know what I mean.”
Now Emily’s blush was scarlet. Colin coughed. “Uh, we thought we’d come up for air and sustenance,” he joked. This was working out better than he’d thought.
Janie laughed raucously. “Here’s the best table in the house for you two love birds.” She gave them a booth far from the music and the bar. It was relatively quiet and secluded.
“Thanks,” Emily said, her voice ringing with appreciation. She took the seat that didn’t face the room. Colin automatically sat across from her. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” she added when Janie walked away after leaving them with menus.
“If we’re going to be a couple, we might as well get used to being seen together, right?” Colin asked mildly, looking over the menu. It hadn’t changed one bit since he’d left. “Are the fries still as good as I remember? And the milk shakes?”
Emily nodded, distracted. “About being a couple…” she started, her voice tentative.
He gripped the menu a little tighter, but kept his voice steady. “Yup?”
Before she could continue, Evelyn Albee and her husband, Dale, came up to the side of their table. “How cute are you two!” Evelyn gushed, clasping her hands together. “Aren’t they cute, Dale?”
“Adorable,” Dale said, rolling his eyes. “How should I know?”
“Honey, honestly, you can be such a man sometimes,” she said with a dismissive tsk noise. “Colin, all the ladies are still going on about you coming all the way back from Paris.”
Colin shifted in the vinyl booth. This was exactly what he’d wanted to happen, but that didn’t make it any more comfortable. “Emily’s worth it,” he said. And meant it.
“Awwww.” Evelyn’s eyes misted. “That is so precious.”
“Evelyn.” Dale nudged her. “You promised, remember?”
“Hmm? Oh, yes,” she replied, straightening. “Anyway, we girls at the salon were talking…”
Colin braced himself.
“And we came to the decision that we really need to let you alone for a while.”
It was like running off the edge of an escalator. Colin felt off balance. “What?”
Emily smiled gratefully. “Thanks, Evelyn. That’s very kind.”
“It can’t be easy to start a relationship in this town,” Evelyn said, shrugging. “Sure, watching people fall in love is something of a spectator sport here, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t respect some boundaries.”
Colin blinked. This was not what he had been expecting.
“We figured that Colin hasn’t been here in a while and he’s probably having some trouble adjusting,” she continued, speaking directly to Emily. “Madge said that you don’t want to scare him off. After all, he’s never really felt comfortable here anyway.”
“Uh, hello, I’m sitting right here.” Colin waved, nonplussed.
“Colin, you never have felt comfortable here, have you?” she repeated, turning to him with eagle-eye scrutiny.
He didn’t know how to answer that. His mouth worked wordlessly, like a fish flopping on the deck of a boat. She laughed.
“Don’t worry,” Evelyn reassured him, laughing. “We’ll make it nice and easy for you. It might take a little work, but I bet you’ll be surprised at how quickly this place grows on you. Especially now that you’re not a rebellious teenager. You’ve lived around the world and gotten a lot of that stuff out of you. Now maybe you can appreciate what you had growing up.”
Colin stared at her, aghast at her observation. Was that what she thought? Was that what everybody thought? That it wasn’t them—it was him that was the problem?
“Anyway, you kids have a nice dinner,” Evelyn said, leaning over and hugging Emily, then patting Colin on the shoulder. “How long are you in town for, anyway?”
Colin was still stunned, so Emily answered. “We’re not sure. He’s going to have to go to Paris pretty soon. Maybe a week?”
“A lot can happen in a week.” She winked at Colin, who gaped at her. “Have fun.” With that, she linked her arm in Dale’s and the two walked away. Colin noticed that everyone else in the restaurant was studiously avoiding looking over at him and Emily. Evelyn wound up talking to almost everyone before finally taking a seat at a table with Dale.
“Wow,” Emily breathed with a deep exhalation. “How about that?”
“How about that,” Colin echoed weakly.
“Are you all right?” she asked. “You look sort of nauseous.”
“Huh? No. I’m fine.”
But he wasn’t fine. His mind was suddenly racing, turning over Evelyn Albee’s words in his mind, testing them for validity. Feeling completely and foolishly unsure.
Emily didn’t seem to notice his reticence as they ordered Halloran’s Famous Patty Melts, French fries and milk shakes. “See them?” she said, nodding at a young couple holding hands at their dinner table. “That’s Bobby Rothchild. His dad’s younger brother was my boyfriend in college. Everybody was shocked when Billy started dating Molly Rutledge….”
He listened as Emily pointed out various people in the restaurant, marveling at the fact that he knew most of them or at least their families. Instead of being bored, he found himself laughing as Emily painted the portraits of what had happened to each, illustrating the history of the town since he’d moved away to college. He’d tuned his mother out so often he didn’t realize how much he’d been missing…or how much he would actually enjoy catching up. The food was even better than he remembered, and he was surprised to discover that instead of putting up with his surroundings, he was slowly and inexorably being charmed by them.
It’s because of Emily, he thought. With Emily, everything was brighter, sweeter. Better.
The jukebox started playing a slow tune, something bluesy and yet still romantic. Colin stood up, holding out his hand. “Want to give ’em something to talk about?” he asked,
wiggling his eyebrows.
“Why, Colin,” she said, batting her lashes outrageously. “Are you asking me to dance?”
“That’s not all, if you’re lucky.”
Her eyes widened. “Here at Halloran’s?” she whispered, sounding scandalized.
He laughed out loud, noticing several people turn at the sound, eyes wide. Was he that taciturn that people were shocked by his laughter? He shook his head. “I meant later at the inn,” he clarified. “Dance first.”
She smiled, putting her hand in his, and they headed to the postage-stamp-size dance floor. Merging with the crush of people, Colin put his arms around Emily’s waist, smiling to himself as she rested her head on his shoulder. He breathed in her vanilla scent, nuzzling the crown of her hair.
“This is nice,” she murmured against his chest.
They swayed easily, back and forth, while the other dancers cleared a path for them, keeping a respectful distance. He noticed people smiling warmly at him, and for the first time in his memory he felt like a part of the small town. Embraced by them. He held Emily tighter, enveloping her in his arms.
“I could get used to this,” she added.
He leaned down, nudging her chin up with his fingertips. Without another word, he kissed her, long and slow and thoroughly.
They must’ve been that way a long time, because he slowly surfaced when the sound of whistling, applause and good-natured catcalls drowned out the music. He pulled away, blinking.
“Good one, man!” the teenager, Bobby, said, whistling loud enough to hail a cab. His date was applauding wildly. Evelyn and Dale were also clapping. Others joined in. Mr. and Mrs. Halloran were looking on proudly, beaming as though they were new parents.
“Wow,” Emily said. “Maybe we should move to the ‘later’ portion of the program.” She waved, then put her arm around Colin’s waist, leading him toward the door.
He put his arm around her shoulder in response, marveling at the smiling faces surrounding them.
He’d been so convinced that it was horrible living here. Now, as he walked outside into the pristine winter night with Emily, he started to wonder if he’d been wrong, if it had just been teenage perception that had colored his view of the town and its inhabitants.
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