by Hart, Taylor
Feeling her pain, hearing her worries, Tom could only do one thing. He opened his arms and enfolded her in them. At first, he thought she would move out of them, but then she relaxed against him. They stayed that way for a long time, her in his arms, him gently stroking her hair, which was silky and still damp from swimming.
So many thoughts whirled through his mind. He wondered how he could have thought her life, although not perfect, was somehow easy.
“I’m sorry for telling you this.”
Pulling her back, he studied her face. “Never tell me you’re sorry for sharing your life.”
Her bottom lip trembled. “Thanks,” she said, her voice cracking.
Tom knew that Will had been right: he still loved her, and he wanted to know it all. To know everything. “What about Brett? Did he help you?”
Hesitating, she clasped her hands together in front of her and played with the ring on her pinky finger. “Ah. Do you really want to hear this?”
Part of him wanted to tell her to just forget it, but he knew there was no turning back for him. “Yeah, tell a ‘friend’ about it.”
“Pfft. You were pretty clear that friendship is not what you want.”
It was true. He could never imagine a world he would have Emily in his life and they would only be friends. He decided follow Will’s advice and check his pride. “Maybe I’ve always been your friend. It’s just been buried deep.”
She didn’t respond right away. Then she said, “Yeah, you buried it beneath a lineup of models.”
Was it stupid how happy this made him? He couldn’t deny the surge of delight inside his chest at hearing she was at least a little jealous. “I haven’t dated that much,” he protested.
“I’ve seen the pics, Tom.”
He rolled his eyes. “A lot of times girls just want their picture with me because of my brothers. Let’s focus on the fact I haven’t had a girlfriend or dated anyone in six months.” He said it like he’d called out checkmate. “You just broke up with a lame boyfriend.”
“Hey, Brett is very passionate about protecting life and making sure we’re meting out justice to the right people.”
Did he detect a bit of defensiveness? Tom nodded, feeling a glimmer of respect for the guy. “So how did you meet?”
“Uh, no, I don’t want to do this with you.”
“Why? ’Cause I think we should just go through it all.”
Emily sighed. “No.”
“How did you meet him?”
Rubbing a hand across her forehead, she said, “I was part of that pro bono program, and we got to know each other.” She huffed. “I can’t talk about this.”
He squeezed her hand. “No. Finish.” Now he was invested, and for better or worse, he had to know.
“I think I liked all of his passion for the powerless. I thought I was in love with him, but he’s …” She rubbed her neck, just like she used to do when they were growing up and she didn’t want to talk about something.
“What?”
“The past couple of months, he’s been busy. I’ve been busy too, and it’s like any relationship. You start to notice all the real parts of them you don’t like. Brett doesn’t really have a religious foundation and doesn’t believe in God.”
“Doesn’t believe in God?” This was crazy talk to Tom, because Emily had always been a very devout Christian.
She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Then why does he care about death row?”
“Because for him, this life is all people have.”
Tom let out a sigh. “That’s sad.”
“I blamed God for a lot things,” she said, tears misting in her eyes, “but there were so many times I needed comfort, and prayer was the only place I found that.” She looked up at him. “I prayed for you.”
This touched him. “Thank you.” Before he could stop himself, he asked, “Ems, tell me now if you love him.” This hadn’t really seemed like a possibility, that she would love someone else. Until this moment.
“No. I don’t know. We were never together that way.”
Tom couldn’t believe this. “Really?”
She looked embarrassed. “Don’t.”
He took her hand and couldn’t believe this woman had been alone, completely alone, for the last ten years.
“I told you I wanted to wait for marriage. I didn’t, but I couldn’t just be with anyone. That’s not me.”
For a moment, they were silent.
“So you don’t love him?” Tom’s heart pounded. He had to be sure.
“It’s complicated.”
“No, it’s not. Do you love him or not?”
She sputtered out a breath. “I told you it doesn’t matter. I ended it.”
“It matters,” he argued.
Emily sagged a little. Quietly, she said, “A couple of weeks ago, I found some texts on his phone from a woman that sounded seductive. I mean, it mentioned kissing but didn’t say he kissed her. It was weird.”
“Not cool.” His protective side kicked in, and he wanted to slam this Brett’s face into the wall.
“I asked him right away, and he denied it all. Said it was about a case. But I don’t know.” She laughed bitterly. “This probably makes you feel justified, right? Happy. That I’ve been suffering proves I should have married you, right? That our lives would have been better. Maybe we would have a couple of kids, a dog, a white picket fence, live in Greeley next to my sister, go visit my mama.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Is that what you think? Is that how you think our life would have been together?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, Tom, what would it have been like?”
For years, he’d wondered the same thing. For days and weeks when he’d been alone on assignment, he’d thought of her. Carefully, he reached out and took her hand, the spark of her skin pulsing between them. “I have thought about it. About us. What could have been. A lot. But one thing serving in the Army taught me was that yesterday doesn’t matter.”
Her hand squeezed his in return, and tears shimmered in her eyes.
Goose bumps rippled up his arms as he embraced her. “I’ve missed you, Ems. Every day.” He stared across the ocean, and all he could think was that Emily Times had always been his destiny, and now he had to fight for her.
Chapter 20
Later that afternoon, when Emily and Tom came off the snorkel cruise, they decided to stroll down the main street in Lahaina. They weren’t holding hands, but Emily felt close to him.
There was a big park by the dock where the cruises took off, and Tom gestured to it. “Should we walk through it?”
The main attraction in the park was a huge tree, the kind with vines that looked like it was out of a Tarzan movie. “A Banyan tree,” she whispered as she followed Tom and looked around.
Tom laughed. “It’s amazing, but I’m slightly suspicious of all the things that could be living in it.”
She laughed too and pointed across the street from the park. “Shaved ice. Should we get one?” She frowned, seeing a sign that said it would only take cash. She didn’t have cash, only a card. “I don’t have any cash. Would you mind?”
Cocking an eyebrow, he grinned. “I don’t know. What will I get?”
Feeling like a kid, she asked, “Are you trying to barter for snow cones?”
“Absolutely.”
She leaned up and kissed his cheek, and he stopped to sweep her up and kiss her properly.
Letting her go, he grinned. “You convinced me.” He took her hand and pulled her across the street.
While they waited in line, she surveyed Front Street. “How come there are about five tattoo parlors and art galleries each way?”
Tom wiggled his eyebrows at her, looking more boyish now than he had before. “I don’t know, Ems—want to get a tattoo to mark our Maui adventure?”
“Like that time we almost got tattoos when you talked me into ditching seventh period and your brother was at the tattoo shop getting a
fish on his ankle?”
“Yeah, Will.” He rolled his eyes.
They reached the front of the line, and she ordered a small piña colada shaved ice with ice cream on the bottom. Tom ordered a small cherry one with ice cream on the bottom.
Tom paid with cash and grinned at her. “I’m serious. I’ll let you pick the tattoo for us.”
She giggled as they walked away from the shaved ice place, and she nodded toward the street packed with people. “Should we walk for a bit?”
He gave her an expression that said “Duh.” “Because we have to find our tattoo parlor.”
She giggled again. It felt natural to giggle with Tom.
They walked the street slowly. She gazed into the shops, which basically all sold the same stuff in a different variety of ways. Hats, shirts, snow globes. The art astounded her, and she stopped in front of one of the galleries. There was a breathtaking sunset of Maui. The canvas was made of metal and the colors were vibrant oranges, yellows, and pinks.
Tom seemed intrigued by another sunset, this one pink with a splash of yellow across the sky just before it was setting. “Dang, it’s beautiful.”
“Yeah.” She evaluated the picture he was looking at. “Everything you think a Hawaiian sunset should be.”
Both of them studied the picture, and then Tom shrugged. “Not everything until we’re in the picture together.” He leaned close to her and breathed in deeply.
She giggled. “Are you smelling me again?”
He nodded. “I like that orange blossom.”
She took a spoonful of her piña colada ice and flicked it at him. “You’re silly.”
“Oh, it’s on.” He took his and flicked it at her in return.
It wasn’t long before they were in a war with the snow cones, finishing with both of them covered in the other’s ice.
Once they’d gotten their breath back from laughing, he took her hand. “Should we try to find that perfect sunset tonight?”
She looked at their hands together, then nodded. “Yeah.”
“Don’t overthink it, Ems,” he said, pressing his lips to hers.
At first, she resisted, but after a moment, she melted against him. Then she pulled back and stuck her tongue out, realizing they were sticky with sugar. “Man, we made a mess.” They laughed, and she gently touched his face. “Actually, I made a mess. I made a mess a long time ago. I’ve regretted it, and …”
He kissed her. “No more regrets.”
Chapter 21
As Emily walked down the beach with Tom later that night, she was amazed to find herself in this situation: holding hands with Tom Kent on a Hawaiian beach. She’d given up any hope of this ten years ago.
She also had other good news she wanted to share with Tom. She’d just been notified she’d gotten the junior partner position and the twenty grand would be deposited into her account once she signed her new contract on her first day back in New York.
Tom stopped walking and pointed to the sky. “Man, it’s beautiful.”
Following his gaze, she stared at the dazzling display. The clouds mingled in with the fading light, and the ocean created a blue line that felt like it would go on forever. “It’s amazing,” she whispered.
It wasn’t just the sunset she was talking about. These past few days with Tom had been spectacular.
Putting his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her closer. She relished his ocean scent but didn’t want to be blatant about it like he was.
He glanced down, using his other hand to angle her chin up so she had to meet his eyes. “What are you thinking, Ems?”
Her heart fluttered. She wanted to tell him she was thinking she couldn’t get enough of him, that she wanted to kiss him and feel his hands in her hair, but she couldn’t stop herself from telling him her niggling worries. “Once again, I’m thinking that you live in Park City, and I live in New York.”
“Of course you are. You’re practical,” he said with a mischievous squint.
She smiled sadly. Even if, despite everything, she and Tom were to get back together, she couldn’t just …
“Come to Park City,” he whispered, still searching her eyes. “Finish the house with me.”
She pulled back. “Are you serious?”
Slowly, he leaned in and started at the edge of her lips, kissing her slowly, purposefully, to the other side. “I told you there are attorneys in Park City.”
Emily thought she might burst with joy. She wanted to tell him yes. But before she could speak, he closed the gap between them and cradled her head with one hand and pulled her closer with the other, deepening the kiss.
She was lost. All the memories of making out with him while growing up rushed over her, and she thought about how Tom knew a lot about kissing her.
The kiss ended, but he didn’t miss a beat; his lips moved up her jawline and then to her ear. “It’s our time, Ems. It’s our destiny. Let go of all your logic and follow your heart, Ems.” Then his lips were back on hers, and impossibly, she felt herself go even gooier.
She wanted to believe it. As she held on to his strong shoulders, though, she knew there’d be no letting him go again. Pulling back, she whispered, “I can’t.”
“What do you mean, you can’t? We’ll figure out the money and find a firm for you in Park City.” A grin washed over his face. “I told you about Luke Freestone, the attorney. His brother, Damon Freestone, is on the fire department with me. It’s not going to be a problem, believe me. We could relocate your mom to a different facility close to us. I wonder if Trina would come out and go to the U.” His eyes lit up. “I could be little Elliot’s uncle.”
“Tom.” Her mind spun. “I can’t.”
His happiness turned to confusion. “Why?” He squeezed her hands. “Destiny won’t knock three times, Ems. I want to be with you.”
She felt chills wash over her, and a warning that something was coming pricked the back of her neck. “I want to be with you, too.”
“Exactly. Ems, we can do this. We can—”
“I got junior partner,” she blurted.
Tom blinked. “Oh.”
“There was an email when we went back to the hotel. When I go back to New York in three days, there’ll be a contract to sign, a room full of people clapping, a cake …”
He stared at her. “You want a cake?”
“No, Tom … I … there’ll be the bonus.”
Tom’s jets cooled, and he shifted back. “Right.”
She nodded, feeling helpless. “Could you come to New York? I want to be with you too.”
Excitement washed over his face. “You do?”
“I’m falling in love with you again, I don’t think I ever stopped loving you.” Tears filled her eyes, and emotion choked her at the back of the throat.
“I know.” Tom laughed.
“What do you mean?”
“I hoped.” Gently, he brushed his lips to hers. “But let me ask you something … if you didn’t need the bonus, would you come to Park City?”
“I …” She frowned, but she knew the truth. “I’d come, Tom.”
“Yeah!” He lifted her, kissing her.
She laughed. “You’re just an alpha male that wants me barefoot and pregnant in that awful kitchen.”
He jerked to a stop. “What?”
Stupid. Had she really just said that? “Nothing.” She knew her face was turning red.
He laughed. “Actually, the kitchen’s done, but I could use your advice on the living room. I want you with me, restoring that house.” He whispered it in her ear, then kissed it, then kissed her neck again. “I want you with me, making those babies.”
She sighed, letting herself be thoroughly kissed by this man. “I want it, too.”
He pulled back and grinned at her.
“What? Are you second-guessing all of this?”
He kissed her slowly, pushing his fingers through her hair. “No,” he said against her lips.
“Good,” she whispered back.
“Because I’m not running anymore.”
He picked her up and twirled her. His eyes sparkled with an idea. “This time I’m not letting you go anywhere without me.”
Chapter 22
Tom ran down the boardwalk the next morning, elation fueling him. Emily wanted him, he knew, but there was no way he could move to New York.
Focusing on his run, he relished the way his muscles yearned for the pounding exercise. He needed to run, every day. Usually, it was the only time his mind felt calm. Not this morning. As he got lost in the rhythm of the exercise, he thought about the first order of business: how would he get the fifteen grand Emily needed?
Unfortunately, he didn’t have that kind of money just lying around. He’d bought his house last year, and he was fixing it up. Plus, he had a boat. Boats should stand for “bring on another thousand.” Yep. That was pretty much the truth. He cursed himself for not having more in savings.
Sure, he had some pensions that he’d opted not to take yet, and he had a 401K. Maybe he could borrow from that. He could pretty much call any of his brothers and borrow it. Shoot, they’d give it to him. But he didn’t want to do that. He wouldn’t beg his brothers for money!
After an hour of hard running, he rushed back into the hotel, armed with a plan.
* * *
They met the photographer at the parasailing place around one o’clock. This time, after a couple of shots for the tour company, Tom turned to him. “Is that offer for the beach photo shoot still on the table?”
“Oh yeah.”
Emily started. She had an arm around Tom’s waist, but the kiss she’d been about to give him had been disrupted. “What are you talking about?”
The older gentleman gestured to the beach next to the dock.
Tom asked, “How much?”
Stan grinned. “Depends on how many poses and pictures.”
“How about enough for fifteen grand?”
“Sounds like my lucky day,” Stan said, laughing deliriously.
Tom waved toward the beach. “Let’s go on down there right now and get some Tom Kent naked chest pictures.”
