Emilia

Warm heat radiates over me, the source of the sensation coming from the corner of the room where Lucas stands next to my stepfather. The first thing I notice is that he’s changed his hair. The sides are cut into a tight fade, while on top, his sandy blonde hair is curled into messy waves. His beard, now trimmed closer to his face, is still full in the sexiest kind of way. But those eyes, the windows that are the gateway to his soul, remain the same. No matter what the rest of him looks like, they are the most attractive part of him.

When our gazes meet, it’s like everything around us disappears. My heart stops. The tether that binds us freezes my body in place. Like an out-of-body experience, I feel an intense pull. Like there’s a part of him calling out to a part of me. It lasts only a moment. The spell broken when Harold opens his mouth to chastise me.

“What is wrong with you, girl? Why are you staring at him like that?” My stepfather’s condescending tone is like a bucket of iced water. My cheeks heat, the embarrassment coursing through me as I try to recover. “It’s bad enough you kept us all waiting with your lateness. Stop making everything so damn awkward.” Looking over at my mom, he says, “She’s here. Now can we eat?”

“Harold honey, don’t be rude in front of our guests.” Mom comes to stand beside me. “It’ll be another minute.”

Without bothering to look at me, she takes Mallory’s hand from mine and then calls to Alyssa. When she reaches her other hand towards her, my outgoing girl runs forward to take it. Even standing behind her, I can see Lyssie’s little body vibrating in anticipation of whatever exciting thing is about to happen.

“Uncle Lucas, let me introduce you to my beautiful granddaughters. Alyssa May and Mallory Raine. Girls, this is Aunt Jen’s big brother, Uncle Lucas.” Mom steps forward, pulling the girls closer to him.

With a gentle smile, he squats down in front of them. My hand comes up to my mouth as my eyes well with emotion at the sight of him making himself smaller. At 6’ 4” he towers over them. For Mallory, who’s not only tiny but terrified of strangers, the move helps put her at ease. It’s then that I remember how good he was at reading people and anticipating their needs. It’s the quality that made it easy to fall in love with him.

He saw me.

All of me.

Deep down to the parts others always missed.

When he shakes Lyssie’s little hand, and then Mally allows him to do the same, it proves his special attention has done the trick.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard so many great things about you both.” When his eyes meet mine, the look of reverence on his face sends tingles up and down my spine. “And your Aunt Jen was right. You’re both as beautiful as your mom.”

“Okay girls, what do you say we go take our seats and get ready to eat?” Mom asks them.

“Wait, Grammie, I want to meet his doggy too!” Lyssie jumps up and down, stopping only when she sees the look of disappointment on Lucas’s face.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. He’s not used to many people, so I left him at the Inn.” When Alyssa’s face falls, he looks over at me. I can tell he’s unsure of how to handle the situation.

“That’s okay. Maybe we can meet up at Ruby Creek Park another time?” I ask him hopefully.

His mouth twists up into a relieved grin before he turns his attention back to the girls. “He would love that. I’ve been meaning to take him out to explore the trails. Would you girls mind coming with us? Maybe you can show us around the next time we’re in town?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Lyssie exclaims while jumping up and down, her brown pigtails bouncing around her face. “I’m good at knowing where to go. Momma, Mally, and I go there all the time.”

Lucas chuckles at her outburst before telling her. “Perfect. I’ll talk to your momma, and we’ll make it a date. How does that sound?”

My mouth drops when I notice that Mally is the first to nod her head in agreement. Though her back is to me from her posture, I can tell she’s completely relaxed in his presence. It’s something that hardly happens, especially with a man she’s never met before.

“Woman! Let’s go, I’m hungry!” Harold bellows from the other room, and it takes everything in me not to roll my eyes.

“Okay girls,” Mom leans down towards them as she speaks. “Pop-pop is hungry, so we better get in there. We wouldn’t want him getting any crankier, would we?”

In a flurry of excitement, the girls go with my mother. My eyes follow until they’re out of sight. When I look back at Luc, I’m surprised to find him staring at me with such adoration that it brings a flush to my cheeks. Being caught in his gaze is surreal. Like a dream, it feels like I’m floating on air. When he steps closer and I catch a hint of his woodsy scent, I suddenly can’t breathe.

“Your girls are beautiful,” he says in a quiet voice, his eyes leaving me long enough to scan the room behind me. We must be alone, for he reaches out and takes my hand just as his eyes return to me. The feel of his fingers on the surface of my skin sends a wave of goosebumps breaking out over my flesh.

“Thank you,” I respond with a shy smile before looking away. The intensity of his stare makes it hard to hold his gaze. 

Nervous, my free hand reaches up for the locket hanging over my chest. It was a gift from Dad and touching it now makes it feel like he’s here, watching the fulfillment of the promise he made, that someday he’d bring Lucas back to us. 

“I can’t believe this is happening,” I whisper under my breath.

“What can’t you believe?”

Surprised he heard me, I try to decide how to best respond. Opting to go with the truth, I tell him, “You, coming back to us and giving us a chance to be your family again. Thank you, Lucas.” I take a chance and stare deep into those sea-green eyes. When I start to tear up, I attempt to look away, but before I can, gentle fingers press up under my chin.

“It’s you, Embree. It wouldn’t have happened without you.”

Locked onto one another, something inside me shifts. The need to be connected to him is so powerful it takes everything in me not to reach up and kiss him. I want to touch him. To breathe him in and become one with him. And the worst part is that I can feel his desire like it’s a living, breathing thing crawling over my skin. His need for me is just as strong, and I feel us both reaching the very edge of our control. It terrifies me and yet I’ve never wanted anything more. Just as I’m about to give in, fate steps in to save me from making the biggest mistake of my life.

“Eeek!!! I can’t believe it! My two favorite people in the entire world are in the same room.” Jen squeals from the entrance of the living room.

Lucas releases me and takes a step back. Though I’m relieved for the interruption, my heart tugs painfully at the distance he’s put between us. When Jen pulls us in for a double hug, it’s then I realize what she and Ben walked in on. The brief moment of intimacy between me and her brother… a man who isn’t my husband.

I’m mortified.

Not only because of the thoughts that were running through my mind. Not only because of the way my body called out for another man, but because I’m better than this.

I’m married to the father of my children. A man who is missing, and whose absence I’m convinced is due to some type of foul play. He deserves my utmost loyalty and respect. That I’m feeling these things towards another makes me the worst type of human there is. I owe him more than this, and most of all, I owe it to my girls to respect and consider their father first and foremost. When Jen releases us, I wrap my arms around myself, as if the move somehow hides my deep shame.

“I never thought I’d see the day when the three of us would be together again.” She beams at her brother, his arms still around her shoulders.

“Now wait a minute cupcake, what about me?” Ben, Jen’s husband, steps into the circle, extending his hand out to Lucas and bringing him in for what I can only describe as a bro hug. “Hey, asshole. Nice of you to finally come home. Next time, don’t take so fucking long,” he jokes with Lucas.

“Nice to see you’re still a passive-aggressive ass. Which reminds me, I’m ready to give you the beat down I owe you for marrying my baby sister. What the fuck happened to bro code?”

“Ha!” Ben turns towards his wife and whispers loud enough so only we can hear, “Wait until he hears I knocked you up too!”

“Shhh, Ben!” With a playful smack to his chest, Jen chastises her husband. “He already knows, you jerk. Stop it before Aunt Muriel and Harold hear you.” At her comment, I don’t miss the way Ben winks at Lucas over his wife’s head. Something tells me this isn’t the first time these two have seen each other since Luc’s return.

“So, you and my sister? Seriously, what the fuck, man?” Lucas’s smile never fades, but there’s a hint of tension hidden underneath. “When? How? I need to know, so I can delve out the proper amount of punishment. Especially since you swore there was nothing between you two.”

“What? No dude, I swear, back then we were just friends.” Ben reaches for his wife, bringing her back against his chest and wrapping his arms around her. It looks like a tender move by a man who loves his wife, except for the gleam in Ben’s eyes. He’s putting on a show for Lucas, pretending to hide behind Jen because he’s afraid.

“Look, for a long time, we were only friends. And then…” he turns to look at Jen with pure adoration. “One day she shows up, begging for my help and offering cupcakes as payment for my services. How could I say no to an offer like that? It wasn’t long before I was head over heels in love with her.”

“Yeah, right. As I recall, you fell in love with my cupcakes first.” Jen croons, patting his face adoringly.

“No way. You’re the only cupcake for me.” He kisses her temple, and my friend melts into a puddle. Turning his attention to Lucas, Ben continues to plead his case. “I love her, man. She’s my everything and I promise to always do right by her and our kids. I swear it on our bro code.” He smiles, then reaches a hand out to Lucas.

“I’ll hold you to that,” Lucas shakes his hand. “I guess if it had to be anyone from the crew, I’m glad it was you. You were here when I wasn’t. I’m grateful for that. Thank you for taking care of her. Of them both.” Lucas smiles at his old friend before looking at Jen and then at me.

“No need to thank me.” He smiles. “Anyway, give any thought to my offer?” Ben asks. Again, there is a hint of mischief on his face.

From smiling to scowling, Lucas shifts his weight from one foot to the other. Curious, I look at Ben.

“What offer?” I ask, my brow furrowed as I try to understand.

“Big brother didn’t tell you?” Jen grins wide. “He’s thinking of sticking around for a while, and since he’s between jobs, Ben offered him one.”

“I see you still have a big mouth…” Lucas directs his angry tone at his sister, to which Jen responds by poking her tongue out at him. The move is so familiar that Ben and I can’t help but laugh at the exchange. That is, until Luc’s angry rebuttal cuts through the humor. “I told you I’m not staying. There’s a lot I need to work through. I can’t make a decision like this on a whim.”

“Like what, Lucas? What is it you have to work through? You don’t have a job, a family, or a significant other. You’re not in the army anymore. There’s nothing keeping you from coming home,” though her tone is soft, I can sense her frustration. She desperately wants him to stay.

“Navy, not army. I was a Navy SEAL. Very different.” Lucas blows out a breath, and I can see he’s struggling to keep his emotions in check.

Memories of his panic attack at the park and his frantic phone call to me earlier in the week come back to me. It’s clear Jen doesn’t know the extent of what he’s gone through, or she wouldn’t be pushing him this way. I can’t help but wonder what else he hasn’t told her.

“Whatever. Army, Navy, it’s all the same to me, big brother,” I’m relieved by the change in her tone. Attempting to inject some humor back into the conversation shows, she noticed how uncomfortable he is. But then, in typical Jen versus Lucas fashion, she takes it a bit too far. “Now, if you were in something cool like the Air Force or Coast Guard…” she wiggles her eyebrows with a playful smirk. “Now that would be something to brag about.”

The weight of the original conversation must have been too much for Lucas, for he doesn’t seem to notice she’s joking. Instead, his frown lines deepen, and as he goes to respond, Ben steps in to save his wife.

“Dude! She’s provoking you. Man, can she still work you up!” Ben’s head falls back, and he howls in laughter. “Oooweeh! God, it takes me back. Brings a tear to my eye,” he chuckles, pretending to wipe a fake tear from his eye as he brings his wife in for a one-armed hug.

“I’m glad you all think this is funny,” Luc mumbles under his breath. Though he’s trying to hide that he’s hurt, I still see it. And judging by the smiles all around us, it looks like I’m the only one who does.

And I hate it.

Everything in me wants to wrap him up and protect him. I want to be the one to stand at his side, helping him re-acclimate back into his old life. However, given my position, the best I can do is reach for his hand in a show of support.

“That’s enough teasing for one day. If we want him to stick around, we have to respect that he knows what’s best for him.” I give Lucas a warm smile, hoping he sees that I’m on his side. When I turn back to my friends, they’re both eyeing Lucas and me curiously. Mustering a bright smile, I tell them, “Jen, be nice to your brother, and Ben, control your wife.”

They both laugh and though Lucas and I don’t look at each other, I feel when his hand gives mine a gentle squeeze.

He gets it. Whatever he needs, I’ll always be here for him.

As his friend.

Because before we were anything more, that’s what we were. It’s how I know that with a little time, we can find our way back to friendship again.

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Author’s Note:

From happy to brooding poor Lucas is all over the place in this scene. I love how happy he seems as he's introduced to Embree's girls, and I couldn't get enough of the banter between him, Jen, and Ben. But when pushed by Jen to return to Ruby Creek, he goes back to the angry, broody guy he was at the beginning of the book. My favorite part is how attuned Emilia is to how he feels, to the point she steps in to save him in the end. 

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