Betrayed by Lies
Page 13
As we approach the house, she turns to me. "I'm just getting dessert and some flowers for the patio. I don't want to overstep…this is all yours, understand?" She grabs both of my arms with her hands, excitedly biting her lip. "And if you don't want me to do that, tell me to stop."
I shake my head and chuckle at my sister-in-law. It's the first time I've thought of her that way, as my sister-in-law, Alex's wife, and not as Emilia, the girl I thought I once wanted.
"That sounds perfect, Em. Thank you for your help."
When we step back inside the house, I find Kate feeding Gracie baby food in a high chair and drinking coffee. Her hair is twisted into a pile on top of her head, and she's still wearing her pajamas. She looks comfortable, at home, and this makes me more than happy.
"Seriously, you're going to have our guests care for our kid," Emilia says to Alex, jokingly annoyed.
Alex is sitting on the kitchen island, looking at his phone. Kate and I laugh, and Emilia shakes her head.
"I wanted to feed Gracie," Kate says. "He was taking perfectly good care of this little nugget." She taps Gracie's nose with the baby spoon ever so gently. Gracie giggles and Kate melts. "When I came downstairs, I found Alex sitting with her, and I asked to take over. I cannot believe how late I slept. I must’ve been tired."
"Travel will do that to you," Alex says, sliding off the counter. He plants a giant kiss on Em's lips, and I grab another cup of coffee.
"I'm going to need you to run a few errands for me," Emilia says to Alex as she pulls a small stack of plates down from a cupboard. "And I'm wondering if you'd go with him, Kate?"
Kate freezes, looking to me suspiciously and then back to Emilia, swallowing hard. I can see she's unsettled by Emilia's request. I shoot her a reassuring look. "Um, sure."
Emilia gives Kate the most disarming smile. "I just need to get a few things done around here, and I have a very specific list and I know for a fact Alex won't get it right." Alex feigns shock, and she continues, unfazed. "I'm putting together a charcuterie board for us to snack off of this afternoon. I need a nice selection of cheeses, aged, firm, soft, creamy, and meats. I need more than just salami." She raises her eyebrows at Alex, and he rolls his eyes.
"Prosciutto and sausage would be great. And don't forget pickles, olives, peppers, and some nuts," Emilia continues to rattle off. "And an assortment of crackers and bread, and, oh, some apples and grapes and figs, and some jam and maybe some dried fruits, too." She grins once she’s finished.
Alex's eyes bulge, and Emilia turns a look to Kate. "See, this is why I need you, Kate. I just have too much to do here at the house, and Alex will never get this right." Emilia smiles at Kate, and Kate seems to relax. "And you," Emilia points at me. "You're on babysitting duty."
"I can handle this," Kate responds, standing up from the table. She hands me the spoon that she was feeding Gracie with and carries her empty coffee mug to Emilia, who is now standing at the sink. "Let me go get ready and I'll make sure we get everything." Kate disappears and Alex waits a moment before he speaks up softly.
"That sounded awfully like you're trying to get rid of me and Kate." He looks between Emilia and me.
"I am!" she whisper yells. "I have some shit to do and Sam's going to help me, and it's a surprise, and I just need you to not ask any more questions and do as I say." This fierceness is what I remember loving about Emilia. When she sets her mind to something, nothing or nobody will get in her way.
"Alright, boss. How long do I need to keep her occupied?" he asks, glancing at the time on his phone and back to Emilia.
"A couple of hours. Take her to the café first. Kill some time showing her around downtown."
Alex makes a face. "Downtown is one single city block, Emilia."
I actually laugh at Alex's reaction.
"Do you think I don't know this?" she snaps at him, looking ready to throttle him. "Just kill some damn time."
"Whatever this surprise is, it better be good," he mutters, pushing himself off the island and walking toward Gracie and me. He bends down and presses a kiss to the top of Gracie's head before looking at me. "Her diaper needs to be changed." He grins. "Upstairs is the changing table." He smacks my shoulder and disappears as Emilia busts out laughing.
"You heard your brother. Go change her diaper." Emilia wipes down a large wood board and pulls small cheese knives from a drawer, setting them on the island next to the board.
I shake my head at my niece. "You hear that, kid? They're making me change your diaper."
Gracie just grins at me, showing me all four of her teeth. With a resigned sigh, I pull her carefully from her highchair and toss Emilia a dirty look as I take Gracie to get changed.
* * *
Six hours later, we're all sitting around a table in a dimly lit, quaint Italian restaurant. We've just eaten the most amazing meal ever, and now we're all enjoying a glass of wine. Kate's hand is wrapped firmly in mine, and while I should be a bundle of nerves right now, I'm oddly at peace.
My mind keeps wandering back to the house where Emilia pulled off a small miracle in a matter of hours. Desserts were delivered, along with various bouquets of flowers. She strung little white lights to add some additional mood lighting to the patio, and she left strict instructions for the babysitter to get the fireplace started right about…now. I glance at my watch.
Emilia nods to Alex, who takes care of the bill, and we all collect our jackets as we wait for the car to be brought up from the valet.
"I cannot thank you enough for this amazing dinner," Kate graciously thanks Alex and Emilia. "And the charcuterie and wine before was amazing."
"That is thanks to you," Emilia chuckles, giving Alex the side eye.
"I would have been fine with packaged pepperoni." Alex shrugs, and we all laugh. My nerves finally kick in , and my hands begin to sweat. I haven’t been able to keep my eyes off of Kate tonight, and I plan to bury myself in her later after she's wearing the ring I picked out. Kate naked with nothing on but my ring is all I can think about.
"And this is why I asked Kate to go with you!" Emilia slides her hand into Alex's just as the car arrives, snapping me out of my thoughts. Alex drives us home, pointing out little historical markers throughout town as we head back to the house.
Emilia damn near runs ahead of us to get into the house first under the ruse that she needs to use the restroom. I know she's making sure everything is set up and nothing will spoil this proposal. I pat the pocket on my suit coat, making sure the velvet box is still in place. Swallowing against my dry throat, I realize I'm minutes away from asking Kate to be my wife.
Kate leans on me and I press a kiss to her lips as we stand just outside the front door. "I'm having a really nice time," she says, her eyes shimmering in the moonlight. "I'm really glad I came."
"I told you everything was going to be just fine." I knew that as soon as Kate met Alex and Emilia that everything would fall into place. And it did.
She nods and smiles. "I know. I really like Emilia and Alex, they make me feel comfortable."
"I knew you would." I give her another quick kiss, and we head inside.
Kate kicks off her heels and turns to me. "I'm going to get changed and get out of this dress." She tugs at the fitted black dress that highlights every curve on her body.
Emilia overhears and says, "Sounds perfect. Meet us out on the porch when you come back down. I have some dessert out there for us."
"Sounds great." Kate leaves us behind to get changed while Emilia and I head back to the enclosed patio where a fire roars in the fireplace, casting warmth throughout. Emilia has outdone herself. Flowers sit in various bouquets throughout the patio, providing just a touch of elegance to an already beautiful space. Little shimmering lights twinkle from where Emilia has carefully strung them around indoor trees, and they provide a romantic ambiance to the patio. I pace the patio, mumbling to myself over and over as my pulse quickens knowing she's on her way back down here and I'm about to drop to my knee.
The patio is lined with floor to ceiling windows that open or close depending on the weather, that look out over the ocean and beach. Although at night, you can only see hints of the water from the moonlight. Alex tosses himself down onto a loveseat and kicks his feet up on a chest that doubles as a coffee table.
Alex still has no idea that I'm about to propose. He's clueless as he sits and tries to talk football with me. Of course, I'm nervous as hell, trying to remember what I'm going to say, and the Pittsburgh Steelers are the last thing on my mind. Emilia, on the other hand, is a nervous wreck, running all over, tweaking little things here and there, setting out dessert, and finally uncorking a new bottle of wine until she finally collapses into a chair next to Alex.
"Where is she?" Emilia asks just above a whisper, seemingly more nervous than me.
I chuckle and shake my head.
"Relax," Alex says, rubbing Emilia's leg. "She wanted to change. Speaking of which, I think I'm going to go get—"
"Sit down!" Emilia orders abruptly, and Alex looks at her like she's lost her damn mind.
"What has gotten into you, woman?" he asks with a laugh.
Her eyes widen in seriousness as she tries to lower her voice. "Something important is about to happen, and you're going to sit your ass right there and not move." She grasps his arm, and he settles back in eyeing me suspiciously.
Alex looks back and forth between me and Emilia, and suddenly begins to piece everything together. He notices the flowers, the lights, and his eyes widen. "Now? Right now? Tonight?"
I nod, trying to swallow against my dry throat, and my nerves have finally gotten the better of me. I can feel my face begin to flush, my heart race, and my hands begin to shake.
"She's coming," Emilia whispers just as Kate comes bounding into the room in a pair of black leggings and an oversized cream sweater. Her wavy hair falls over her shoulders, and she smiles softly at me as she approaches.
We're all silent, staring back at her with grins pasted on our faces, and Kate starts to look around between all three of us.
"What's going on?" she asks, thinking something is wrong. I can see the nervousness written across her face.
I take a step toward her, closing the distance. "Kate…" My voice shakes, and I take a deep breath. "The very moment I saw you behind your house that day, I knew in my heart that I wanted to be with you forever." My voice breaks, and Kate's eyes fill with tears. She knows. This is it. "Before you even said a word, before you shook my hand in that backyard, my soul looked into yours and I knew you were 'home' to me. Every day since then, I've only fallen more in love with you. Every day I wake up and can't envision my life without you in it."
Kate's hands are now covering her mouth, and her entire body shakes as I speak. Emilia holds Alex's hand as they both watch us, and a tear slips from Emilia's eye and rolls down her cheek. I take another deep breath and try to steady my voice as I drop to my knee and pull a small velvet box out of the pocket of my jacket.
"Kate Stevens," my voice continues to shake, "will you marry me?"
The tears finally fall from her eyes, and she collapses to her knees in front of me as I fumble with the box. She's nodding her head frantically and finally musters up the word I've been praying she'd say.
"Yes," she gasps. "Yes. Yes. Yes. I'd marry you a million times." She extends her left hand that is also shaking uncontrollably, and I slide the round diamond that used to be my mother’s onto her finger. My aunt and uncle have been holding onto this ring since she died. It was an emotional night when I flew back to Phoenix to retrieve it, but I'm so thankful they've held onto it for all these years. There is no one that is more deserving of my mother's ring than Kate.
Alex notices the ring and his eyes mist over. So many days we spent apart, broken by lies, bound by deceit, and betrayed by the man who had created this family. Only in the end, we rose above and came out stronger—together as family.
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also by Rebecca Shea
Bound & Broken Series
Broken by Lies – Book 1
Bound by Lies -Book 2
Betrayed by Lies - Book 3
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Unbreakable Series
Unbreakable -Book 1
Undone -Book 2
Unforgiven - Book 3
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Dare Me
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Coming soon!
Fault Lines