She grabbed the frying pan to scrub.
“Em…” He turned off the tap. Took the pan from her hands, set it clanging to the counter. “Like it or not, you’re going to talk to me.”
“Jace, I will, but the girls will be up any minute, and you know how I don’t like dishes to sit—”
Hands on her shoulders, he spun her to face him. “Emma. We need to talk.”
“I know.” Though she’d ducked her gaze, she at least put the still-sudsy pan on the counter. “I need to dry my hands.”
With his T-shirt, he carefully dried her every finger. “Next reason to avoid me? Hell, maybe I can help with that, too.”
“That was cruel.”
“What? The truth? Em, I get the fact that ever since Vicki showed up, our lives have been upside down. She doesn’t hold all the cards, but damn near most. I get that you feel sorry for Vicki, but I’m the man you’re supposedly marrying. Forgive me if this comes across as selfish or egotistical, like some hard-ass stereotypical Marine, but your allegiance belongs to me. Period. I’ve already been with a woman who only wanted to be with me when her back-up lover wasn’t available. I won’t go through that again.”
Tears welled in her eyes, shouting loud and clear that he’d at last gotten through. “I—I’m sorry if that’s the way I’ve made you feel. But I’m hurting, too. Lately, with all the time you’ve spent with Vicki, I feel replaceable. Like you could just move her in and the girls would have another ready-made mom. Only, this time, she’d be the real deal instead of pretend—like me.”
“That’s stupid,” he blurted. “Why would I want Vicki over you? She’s practically a kid herself. You, Em, are a woman. A maddeningly closed-off woman, but one-hundred-percent desirable all the same. I love you.” Clasping her face with both hands, he said in a ragged whisper, “I no longer function without you. And that’s scary. Freakin’ terrifying to a guy who’s supposed to be big and tough and always in control.”
“I don’t want you depend on me. It’s not healthy.”
“Is that a thinly veiled hint? Like you’re telling me you’re not dependable?”
Covering her face with her hands, she shook her head. “I didn’t mean it like that at all.”
“Then explain yourself, Em. Please. If what we share is to have any chance of working long-term, I have to know you’re there for me. One hundred percent. I deserve that. And you would never receive anything less from me.”
She nodded. “I just wish that—”
The phone rang.
When Emma reached to answer, he said, “Ignore it.”
“What if it’s Vicki?”
“So what? This is me and you we’re talking about. I really don’t want her included in the conversation.”
The ringing stopped.
“See?” he said. “Probably a salesman. Now, where were we?”
“I don’t know.”
“You were saying that you wished—”
The phone rang again.
“Dammit,” he muttered before picking up. “What?”
“Jace?” Vicki. “Is this a bad time?” Was there ever a good time?
“No,” he lied. “What’s up?”
“If you have a few minutes, I’d like to see you—Emma, too.” Rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, he said, “When would be good?”
“Ten? I’ll call when I reach the guard gate.”
“That works,” he said. “We’ll be here.” After hanging up, he looked to Em. Her expression landed somewhere between panic and exasperation.
She asked, “Why is she coming here?”
“Couldn’t tell you, but—”
“Ahrgggghh!”
“Bea,” Emma said, already heading for the nursery. “Meaning Bronwyn’s soon to follow. After their breakfast, they’ll need cleaning up and I wanted to spend some time with their baby-reading program this morning, too.”
Forehead furrowed, Jace wasn’t sure what to do or say. Emma confounded him.
The twins weren’t even a year old. Could they not take time from their education so that Mom and Dad could chat?
“SO THAT’S how you do that…” Vicki hovered alongside Emma while she finished diapering Bronwyn.
“Do what?” Emma asked. The procedure seemed pretty basic.
“Fasten the sticky tabs without getting them stuck to your thumbs. I never have mastered that art.”
“Bea needs her diaper changed, too. Want a turn?”
“No.” Vicki backed away. “Just curious how an expert does the job.”
“I’m hardly an expert,” Emma said, pulling up the baby’s mini jeans, then carefully tugging a pink T-shirt over her head. “Just takes practice.”
After their breakfast, the girls had needed quick baths. Vicki hadn’t wanted to help with that process, either. Instead, preferring to watch from the sidelines.
Jace, meanwhile, sat in his recliner watching golf. As long as Emma had known him—which admittedly hadn’t been a terrifically long time—he’d never shown an interest in the sport. Today, however, he stared at the TV as if watching man’s first Mars landing.
“Emma?” Vicki asked after she’d started dressing Bea.
“Um-hmm…”
“Are you and Jace all right? Like still a couple?”
“Sure,” Emma said, even though lately they’d seemed to have far more bad times than good. “Why?”
Shrugging, the younger woman said, “Just a vibe I’m getting.”
“He’s probably tired from his work. He spends an awful lot of time flying.”
“Sure. I once dated a Navy guy. He did a bunch of top-secret stuff he couldn’t tell me about. We didn’t last long. He was a horrible kisser.”
Not sure how to politely respond to such an admission, Emma just smiled and nodded.
“Are you about done in here?” Vicki asked. “I really need to talk to you and Jace—alone. Although I don’t guess the girls know what we’re saying, right?” She laughed. Only at that observation did Emma get the gist of how very young Vicki still was. She might be of an age capable of being a parent, but her maturity level still hovered in her teens.
At that moment, Emma not only fully understood Jace’s frustration with her, but loved him all the more for it. He’d obviously seen Vicki’s maturity deficit and realized that no matter how much she might feel guilty about wanting to make a good mom, odds were that it wasn’t going to happen. It was understandable that he’d fight by any means possible to keep the girls in capable hands.
To Vicki she suggested, “How about we put the girls in their playpen with some toys? They should do all right on their own for a little while.”
Nodding, Vicki said, “Sounds like a plan.”
While Jace remained motionless in his recliner, his expression as tumultuous as the weather, Vicki helped Emma transfer the girls from the nursery to the living room.
“Jace,” Emma prompted, “Vicki would like to talk with us. Could you please turn off the TV?”
Leaning in closer to the television, he asked, “Can this wait until my guy finishes this hole?”
Emma cast their guest a faint grin. “Vicki, would you like something to drink?”
“Not so much,” she said. After sitting on the couch she snatched up a throw pillow, combing her fingers through the fringed edge. “But thanks for asking.”
A round of applause erupted from the TV.
“Dammit…” Jace muttered. “So close.” With the remote, he flicked off the tournament. “Well?”
“What are you so snippy about?” Vicki asked. “I’m here to tell you good news, but if you’re going to be an ass, maybe I should just leave.”
“He’s sorry,” Emma said. “Right, Jace?”
Frowning, he said, “Vicki, being straight up, I’ve had about all I can take of your emotional tap-dance routine. One minute you want to be a supermom, the next, you’re hoping to snag Underoath tickets.”
Rolling her eyes, Vicki said, “It’s no won
der the two of us only worked in bed.”
“Don’t even go there,” Jace practically growled. “It took two to make that mistake.”
Uncomfortable with the conversation, Emma edged closer to the playpen, fussing with Bea’s T-shirt. The infant gummed a stuffed giraffe, blessedly oblivious to the tension-filled room.
Bronwyn made faces at herself in a plastic mirror.
Vicki snapped, “Being with me was a mistake?”
Clearing her throat, Emma said, “Vicki, you mentioned having good news. I, for one, would love to hear it.”
Chapter Eighteen
Arms crossed, Vicki said to Emma, “Thanks to your fiancé, I’m not even in the mood to share.”
“Cut the crap,” Jace said. “Vicki, I’m sorry—seriously, I am, but a man can only take so much, and you’ve got me this close—” he held up his thumb and forefinger “—to snapping.”
“Okay, well…” she said, targeting her words to Emma. “I got a call from one of my fashion-design professors this morning, and he said I’ve been accepted into an internship program with Brunschwig & Fils—in case you didn’t know, they’re a pretty big deal in the fabric world, so while it’s not as good as a position with Chanel, I’m still excited.”
“Where is the position?” Emma asked, stomach fluttering with excitement. Could this be the moment she and Jace had been so desperately hoping for? The one when they finally learned the girls would be theirs?
“New York City.” Drawing her lower lip into her mouth, she said, “My mom’s freaking out, but I’m taking this as a sign that all along, I was right in bringing the girls to you, Jace. No matter what my parents think, I’m not ready to be a mom. You two make a cute couple, and if it’s all right with you, Emma, I’d like for the girls to think of you as their mom and me as a distant aunt who pops in with fun presents on their birthday.” Though tears shone in Vicki’s eyes, her faint smile showed they were happy, relieved tears. The fact that she’d made her final decision had to feel good.
“I’m proud of you,” Jace said.
“Thanks.” Vicki beamed. “After lunch the other day, my folks and I had a good heart to heart. They’re not happy with my decision, but at least now they understand.” With the backs of her hands, she wiped her tears. “Plus, they really liked you two, which I think helps. You will let them visit, right? You know, after you marry?”
“Absolutely,” Emma said, fighting her own happy tears. Gazing at the girls, the knowledge that they were to be really and truly hers brought such joy she could scarcely contain it.
Jace asked, “When are you leaving?”
“Not for three weeks,” Vicki said. “But I need to head back to Mobile today to start tying up loose ends.”
“We wish you the best of luck,” Emma said. “New York is very exciting. Be sure to let us know how you’re getting along.”
“I’m going to hire a lawyer,” Jace said. “I want this to be official.”
Vicki wrinkled her nose. “Do we have to go to all that trouble?”
“Yes.” Jace rose. “I’ll need an interim address where I can send you the documents. They’ll probably need to be notarized.”
“Why do you seem angry with me?” Vicki asked. “I thought this was what you wanted?”
“It is,” he said, “but I can’t take the chance of you coming back a year—hell, even five years from now—deciding to give motherhood another go. The girls need stability. With all of the stunts you’ve pulled, from the mystery calls to accosting Em at the beach, please understand that to a certain extent, I view you as a threat.”
Back to eye-rolling, Vicki said, “Emma, I don’t know how you stand being around this guy. For one night, I thought he was fun, but on a day-to-day basis, Jace Monroe, you’re a tool.”
JACE RETURNED Vicki to her car.
Back home, he climbed the front-porch steps, and then his knees turned rubbery and buckled. He fell more than sat on the top step, and once he was down, he covered his face with his hands.
The front door creaked open. “Jace? Honey, you okay?”
He laughed. “Honestly, I don’t know. Is all of this really over?”
Leaving the door open, presumably so she could hear the girls, she sat alongside him. “I think so. I mean, I guess technically, Vicki still has to assign sole custody to you, but she seems pretty excited about starting this new chapter in her life.”
Putting his arm around Emma’s shoulder, he drew her close. “Sorry for the way I’ve been acting. I have been a tool. Not that it’s any justification, but this whole thing with Vicki has had me in knots.”
“Me, too,” Emma said. “But just think, once those papers are signed, we can settle into a long, happy life. Just the four of us, living happily ever after.”
“Sounds good,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “Real, real good.”
“YOU’RE GORGEOUS—and skinny,” Pam said on Friday night, lounging on the bed while Emma applied red lipstick and added sparkly, dangling earrings to go with her little black dress. While Pam and Will stayed with the girls, Jace and Emma were going on a swanky date. “I swear, I’ve already gained twenty pounds.”
“You have not,” Emma said, reaching for her prettiest black sequined cocktail purse high on a closet shelf. The last time she’d carried it had been to a company dinner, Rick by her side. He’d told her the bag was too flashy. She should’ve told him to suck it. “And even if you did, your hubby will still adore you.”
“I am lucky,” Pam said with a contented grin. “Just like you. For all of Jace’s faults, he’s a good man. You two are perfect for each other.”
“You really think so?” As cold as he’d been during the whole Vicki debacle, Emma had had her doubts. In the week since Vicki had been out of their lives, though, everything felt back on course. She’d signed all necessary documents, and the girls were officially his. Once they married, he’d already mentioned having Emma adopt the twins. “Maybe it’s just me, but sometimes, he seems strange. Like he’s off in another world.”
“It’s stress,” Pam assured. “You didn’t hear it from me, but there’s talk of their unit being shipped back to the Middle East. I know he won’t want to leave you and the girls.”
“He didn’t tell me.”
“He’s not allowed to—which is why you didn’t hear it. Anyway, I’m guessing he’s also nervous about officially popping the question tonight. According to Will, you’re getting quite a nice bauble during dessert.”
“Hush!” Emma admonished. “Can’t you keep anything a secret?”
Covering her mouth with her hands, Pam said, “Oops.”
After giving her friend a playful glare, Emma struck a pose. “Well? Am I proposal-ready?”
“Absolutely. Jace would be a fool to want anyone but you.”
“YOU LOOK incredible,” Jace said an hour later, reaching across the candlelit table to hold her hands. “You’re always pretty, but tonight…” A low, playful wolf whistle finished his sentence.
“You’re not looking too shabby yourself,” Emma said, admiring his physique in the well-cut dark suit. His red tie made him appear more like a CEO than a Marine—either way, she loved him.
Upon their arrival at nearby Gulf Shores’ swankiest seafood restaurant, Jace had ordered champagne. Raising his glass, he said, “Here’s to that happily ever after we’ve been talking about, but had a tough time finding.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Raising her glass, she lightly touched it to his before sipping the sweet, bubbly treat.
“Sooo…” his voice had taken on a flirty, mysterious tone. “According to Granola, I’m supposed to do this after we eat, but since patience isn’t my strong suit—” From the chest pocket of his suit, he withdrew a black velvet box. Opening it, he revealed a small yet perfect pear-shaped diamond solitaire. “How about I pop the question, you say yes, and then we can enjoy our meal?”
His lopsided grin was so adorable, that she forgave him his lackluster proposal in
favor of scooting around in the corner booth to answer him with a kiss. “Of course I’ll marry you.”
He slipped the ring on her finger.
They shared another toast.
Their conversation was as delicious as their meal of lobster and filet mignon; it was everything an engagement dinner should be.
What it wasn’t was the emotional release Emma so badly desired. Now that she knew Bea and Bronwyn wouldn’t be taken from her, now that she knew Jace would forever be by her side, she needed to confess one more secret.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “You look sad.”
Though her instinct was to brush off his question with a quick smile, she summoned the nerve to say, “There’s something I want to share with you. Something I hope will make you understand why it was so hard for me to completely side with you against Vicki.”
Brow furrowed, he said, “You’re scaring me. You aren’t about to pull an Amanda on me and announce you’re having a fling with Granola, are you?”
Casting a faint smile, she said, “Truthfully, in some ways, something like that might be easier.”
After a sharp exhale, he downed the remainder of his champagne. “Let’s hear it.”
A part of her was angered by his cavalier attitude, almost as if she’d done something wrong. It reminded her in ways of Rick and how he’d been so quick to blame. But putting herself in Jace’s position, she forged ahead. No one liked nasty surprises.
Forcing a breath, she said, “This really isn’t that big of a deal, but before we marry, I want no secrets between us.”
Palms on the table, he whispered in a harsh tone, “Are you still married? Running from cops?”
“No!” she said in an adamant whisper of her own. “How could you even think such a thing?”
“How do you think I feel? One minute, I’m having the greatest night of my life, the next, I find out the woman I love is hiding some deep, dark—”
“Stop.” Squeezing her hands into tightly controlled fists on her lap, Emma said, “You’re making this into a much bigger deal than it needs to be. I just wanted to tell you that at first, Granola—William—was right.”
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