“Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Eva replied with her arms on top of Ember’s that still held her waist. “I’m on the ground now though.” She winked at Ember.
“Oh right.” She backed away. “You look great in that.”
“Maybe this will be the first dress I’ve tailored that I actually get to see you in.” Gabby stuck the sewing kit back in the drawer.
“Mom!” Eva exclaimed and then reached for her pants, shirt and sweater on the table.
“What does that mean?” Ember asked.
“I had to have the only daughter in the world that didn’t want to attend her prom, but she made me make her a dress and put in all that work.”
“Mom, Robert and I broke up right before prom,” Eva replied.
“But what about your senior year?” Gabby asked and then took a sip of her still warm coffee. “That Thompson boy was interested in asking you. His mother told me in church, but you wouldn’t give him the time of day.”
“Jacob Thompson?” Eva took a drink of her own coffee while still standing. “Mom, he’s in prison now. He got arrested right after graduation for grand theft auto.”
“I know that now, but I didn’t then.” Gabby paused. “And obviously now I know you weren’t interested in boys, but you could have gone alone, Eva Rose.”
“Okay. I’m going to change out of this and then start getting ready for the dinner. I want to take a shower first. Ember?”
“Yeah.” Ember wasn’t sure what she was being asked exactly, but felt it was best to agree with Eva.
“Fine. Fine. I’ll just see you two over there then. I’ll fix the hem, and then I’m heading back to check the progress. Mary needs my help cooking, and I’ll be getting ready over there.” She paused. “You remember how to get there, right?”
“Yes, mom. It’s like three farms over.”
“Just checking.” Gabby sat at the table and took another drink. “There are towels in the closet.”
“Thanks, mom.”
Eva pulled on Ember’s hand.
“And bring the dress back down so I can fix it.”
“Yes, mom.”
Ember followed Eva up the stairs. Neither of them said anything. Ember stopped at the door to the guest room and waited to see if Eva would do the same. She did.
“Why don’t you take the first shower?” She suggested. “I’ll get this back down to her, so she’ll leave me alone and see if I need to iron my dress for tonight.”
“Okay,” Ember replied.
“Towels are in here.” Eva pointed to a small closet next to the bathroom. “If you need anything, just let me know.”
“So, we’re not going to talk about it then?” Ember asked and stared at Eva.
“Can we talk about it later?”
“Sure. But we’re okay, right?”
Eva’s smile widened. “We’re okay.” She paused. “Shower. I’ll go when you’re out.”
“Okay.” Ember smiled back and went into the guest room to grab what she needed for her shower.
CHAPTER 12
Eva readied herself for the rehearsal dinner in her own room while she waited for Ember to emerge from the guest room. She ironed her dress since any wrinkles would have driven her mother crazy. She stared out the window toward the tree house and couldn’t believe that she’d been making out in that thing only a few hours ago. She’d never made out with anyone in that tree house when she was a teenager, but now she felt just like one as she stared and thought back to Ember’s lips on her own. When Ember asked her if she’d felt the same way, wanted the same thing, Eva had only paused. She hadn’t intended for the pause to put Ember off, but once the woman in front of her started to ramble on adorably, she’d acted.
“Hey,” she heard Ember’s voice at the same time she felt a hand on the small of her back.
Eva turned her head slightly to see that Ember had applied a small amount of make-up. It wasn’t enough to make it really look like she was wearing make-up, but it accentuated the beauty of her eyes and the slight shade of red on her lips made Eva want to kiss them again.
“Hi,” she replied and then returned her eyes to the window. “That storm is here, so we definitely need to wear coats tonight. The rehearsal and the wedding are both in their barn. They’ll have space heaters and everything, but it will still be cold.” Eva felt arms snake around her waist and Ember’s front pressed against her back. “Well, hey there,” Eva said shyly.
“Is this okay?” Ember asked and rested her chin on Eva’s shoulder.
“What is this?” Eva asked and placed her arms over Ember’s.
“I don’t know yet,” Ember said. “I’ve just wanted to hold you like this for a while. I know you’re technically taller by like an inch, but I had this vision of me behind you like this.” She paused. “I thought about it again while I was getting ready. I saw you standing here and it seemed right.”
“Are you prepared to answer to my mother for wrinkling my dress?”
“I will take my punishment.” Ember pressed her lips gently to the flesh just below Eva’s earlobe.
“What are we doing, Ember?”
“I think, and correct me if I’m wrong here, but I think we like each other and we’re trying to figure out what that means.”
“That sounds about right.” Eva turned in her arms. “I think we should keep this to ourselves this weekend though.”
“I get it. Your sister’s show. I can behave.”
“Behave?” Eva laughed.
“Believe me, I’m behaving. You’d get it if you knew my thoughts right now or my thoughts downstairs watching you in that dress.” Her hands were on Eva’s back.
“And your thoughts when I was basically stripping in front of you. Is that why you left the kitchen?” Eva’s arms went around Ember’s neck.
“Partly, and the other reason was because as much as I wanted to see you in your underwear, I didn’t want it to be with your mother in the room.” She ran her hands up and down Eva’s back. “When I see you like that, I kind of want us to be alone.”
“When?” Eva lifted an eyebrow.
“Or if,” Ember corrected herself with a light blush on her cheeks.
Eva played with Ember’s neck by touching the short hairs at the base of it. Ember had her hair down, and it was slightly wavy and natural. It was then that Eva realized she hadn’t yet seen Ember dressed up. She pulled back, so she could see Ember’s dress. It was a navy blue, short cocktail dress and Eva decided that it was her favorite color on Ember. Ember definitely knew what to wear to make her eyes pop. It was also strapless, and Eva had to stop herself from looking down at Ember’s chest.
“You look perfect,” Eva told her.
“So, do you,” Ember replied while holding both of Eva’s hands between them and then looking her up and down. “You look good in dresses. You should only wear dresses,” Ember suggested and then looked down. “I was kind of hoping you’d wear heels though. I wouldn’t mind checking out your ass in them,” she said staring down at Eva’s flats.
“I’m already too tall for most people. I don’t wear heels.”
“I think your height is pretty perfect,” Ember replied. She leaned in, and Eva thought she was going to kiss her, but she just stayed there for a moment. “And you smell really good right now.” She paused. “We should go.”
“What?” Eva laughed loudly as Ember pulled away.
“We’re in your bedroom, and you look like that. We should go before I can’t help myself.”
Eva laughed some more as they made their way out of the room and down the stairs to finish putting on their winter wear and head to the rehearsal dinner.
◆◆◆
Ember felt only slightly out of place as they arrived at the rehearsal dinner. Eva had introduced her around to Anna, John, and even Robert, Eva’s ex-boyfriend. Ember had a slight twinge of jealousy at the thought that he’d been the first one to touch Eva in the way she wanted to now, but everyone had a first-time
story. She was also jealous that they had all known Eva for a lot longer than she had and she wanted to know everything about the woman she’d loved kissing earlier. She couldn’t wait for more.
“Ember, this is my dad, Hank.” Eva was trying to introduce her father, but Hank was busy talking to another man who appeared to be about his age. Both tall, lanky men were wearing khaki pants and button-down shirts. They appeared to be in a heated conversation. “Dad?” Eva tried again.
“Eva, I didn’t see you come in.” He pulled her in for a hug. Eva hugged her father and then motioned with her head toward Ember. “And you are?”
“Ember,” Ember introduced herself and reached out her hand out of habit. It took a moment before she almost pulled it back, recalling what Gabby had told her about hugging, but then Hank’s hand was shaking her own and she shook it in return.
“Nice to meet you.” He looked at the man he’d been talking to. “Bob, this is Ember. Ember?” Hank turned back to her.
“Yes, Ember, dad. It’s short for November,” Eva explained. “What were you two arguing about?” Eva asked and pointed between the men.
“Hank seems to think it’s the carburetor that needs to be replaced, but I think we need to just pull it out and take a closer look at it before we go buy a new part that we might not need,” Bob explained.
“This is still about the car?” Eva just shook her head at them.
“I can take a look at it,” Ember offered and watched as all three sets of eyes turned to her.
“You know cars?” Bob seemed the most surprised.
“I have a knack for figuring out how things work.” She met Eva’s eyes. Eva seemed surprised too until it appeared to dawn on her that this might just be one of Ember’s special skills. “My brother, Zack, has this old Chevy. I used to help him work on it,” She explained while Eva squinted suspiciously.
“If you want to take a look, we’ll take the help. It’s in the garage,” Bob said.
“I’ll be right back, okay?” Ember wanted to touch Eva’s back, but knew now wasn’t the time.
“It’s about to begin, dad.” Eva looked at her father.
“It’ll just take a minute. If I’m right, we’ll have to replace it. We can’t get that work done in time for the wedding anyway. Just tell your mother I’ll be back.”
Ember shrugged in Eva’s direction and followed the two men outside toward the garage. When they arrived, she saw the old car with the hood up and immediately walked toward it while Bob and Hank turned on the overhead lights.
“Can you start it?” Ember asked and then noticed a book on the car type and repair sitting on the workbench next to the vehicle.
She made her way over to it as Hank followed Bob to the side of the car. Bob got in, and Hank stood with his arm over the door listening to the car sputter, as Bob turned the ignition. Ember wasn’t listening to the car. She was flipping to the section in the book on carburetor repair and maintenance. She made it through the entire section while the men continued to bicker over who was right and who was wrong. She returned without the book and looked into the car. She had to avoid touching anything since she was not dressed for car maintenance. She grabbed one of the additional lights they had sitting on the side and aimed it where she needed it. Ember closed her eyes and recalled a certain section in the book.
“Carburetor!” Hank guessed.
“I think you just need a new heating coil. It’s probably burned out,” she observed. “I’d know more if you can take it out, but I don’t think we have the time for that.”
“What? Really?” Hank moved around to the front of the car to stand next to her. “I thought you checked that, Bob.”
“I thought you checked that,” Bob accused him as he climbed out of the car.
The two argued for a moment longer, but when Ember discovered she was no longer needed, she excused herself and headed back toward the barn where she caught Eva heading her way.
“Hey, stranger,” Ember said. “What are you doing out here?”
“Checking on you. We’re about to start. Mom’s about to have a heart attack. Are they coming?”
“I don’t know. I did my part and they’re arguing.”
“You did your part, huh?” Eva asked when she stood only a foot away from her.
“Yes, and you shouldn’t be out here. It’s cold. Let’s get inside.”
“What was your part?” Eva asked as she tugged down on Ember’s coat.
“I just told them what I thought it was.”
“Does Zack even have a Chevy?” Eva squinted.
“Yes,” Ember answered with mocking eyes squinting back at her.
“Have you ever helped him with it?” Eva challenged.
“No,” Ember laughed out.
“What did you do in there?”
“They had a book, and they’d told me they thought it was the carburetor, so I read that section. I thought I figured it out. They’re in there arguing about who was supposed to check the heating coil originally, but it should be an easy fix.”
Eva shook her head at Ember and then looked around. Luckily, they were alone outside behind the barn and in front of the garage the two men were still inside of.
“Amazing,” Eva finally stated, leaned in and kissed Ember.
It was chaste and innocent, but just the press of Eva’s lips was enough to warm Ember’s entire body.
“I’ll keep in mind that you have a thing for girls who can repair cars.” Ember tried to tease away her reaction to just the slightest touch of Eva’s lips.
“No, I don’t.” Eva paused and kissed her again. “I have a thing for ridiculously smart women who use those smarts to help my dad give a wedding present to my kid sister.”
“How many women do you know that do that?” Ember replied after another kiss.
“Just one,” Eva said and then tugged on Ember’s coat again. “Go on in there. I’ll get the two manly men.” She rolled her eyes. Ember smiled and did as she was told.
◆◆◆
When the short rehearsal ended, the family and their escorts sat around two large, round tables and ate the food that Gabby and Mary had been working to prepare all day. Ember had been in charge of catering for the restaurant on the occasions when they’d been asked to do wedding receptions. She’d watched Mikey and his staff prepare ornate appetizers and detailed entrees and desserts, but this was home cooking and it was served family-style. Ember enjoyed every bite. She listened to the different discussions around the table and liked looking over and seeing Eva next to her.
The tables were beside the rows of chairs for the actual ceremony in the very large barn. There would only be about thirty guests. About half of them were around these two tables, and there were two more unoccupied tables on the left. Ember glanced around. The barn was decorated with lantern lights that created a faded hue over the space, which was nice mood lighting for the occasion. There were white and light pink ribbons hanging as well to make it a more elegant location for the wedding.
“You ready?” Eva reached over the back of Ember’s chair and just lightly touched her shoulder.
“Sure,” Ember replied with a smile.
“What were you thinking about just now?”
“Nothing. Why?” she asked as she stood along with Eva.
Others had also stood up, and a few of the guests were helping to carry plates and other dirty dishes toward the house.
“Because you had a look on your face.”
“There’s no way you know my looks yet,” Ember replied with a hint of jesting.
“Hey, you have your gifts. I have mine.”
◆◆◆
Eva emerged to find Ember standing there talking to Bob, her father, and Robert.
“This can’t be good,” she muttered to herself as she saw Ember standing next to her ex-boyfriend. “Hey,” she greeted the group.
“Your friend is a car wizard.” Hank pointed his beer bottle at Ember.
“She is, huh?” Eva teased a
nd stood on Ember’s other side.
“I had Robert pull out the carburetor, and she was right. The coil was burned out. I’ll pick up another one tomorrow morning. We should have the car fixed before the wedding,” Bob said.
“That’s good because the boys need to know which car to stick the cans on,” Robert added. “How goes it in the kitchen?” he asked Eva.
“They’re done. They’re just talking now,” Eva told him.
“I should go get the wife then,” he said. “The babysitter said she couldn’t stay too late. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”
“I’m going to get your mother and I’ll grab your sister too,” he said and glanced in Ember’s direction. “I appreciate your help with the car.”
“Happy to help.”
Hank moved past them, and Bob walked off to find his own family, leaving them standing there alone.
“You ready to head out?” Eva asked her.
“Sure, but can I drive us back?” Ember grabbed Eva’s coat off the back of a chair and held it out.
“You are very chivalrous all the sudden,” she joked and slid into her coat. “And why do you want to drive back?” She turned to look at her. “Do you even have a license? You take the train everywhere.”
“I have a license. I have a perfect record, thank you very much,” Ember said and put on her own coat while Eva buttoned hers.
“Because you never drive.”
“I rarely drive,” Ember corrected her. “I actually have a special license and everything.”
“What?” Eva pulled her gloves out of her pockets.
“About a year ago, I pitched the idea of a food truck to my dad,” she started. “I thought it would be a great way to bring in more money. Since he is so adamant about not expanding to another brick and mortar location, a food truck was a good compromise. I got a special license for it, and then he turned me down.”
“What is with your dad? Does he not want to make more money?”
The Best Lines Page 13
