Emmalee (19 page)

           
“Oh!  I’m sorry,” I whispered and laced my
little finger tighter around his.

           
Ethan chuckled and after lifting our joined hands out of the bag, he
flipped his fingers around so they were cradling mine.  “There. 
Much better.”

           
Shocked at how easy that was, I looked up at him.  He winked. 
Yes!
  My heart melted. 
He really is hot.
 
I smiled back and allowed my hand to be held by his—in the
dark—for the rest of the show.  

           
Afterward, he insisted on taking me home.  Chase didn’t
complain much.  I could tell he thought the guy was being
impractical.  But hey!  What girl doesn’t like a guy
to be impractical for her every now and then?  

           
At my front door, Ethan hemmed and hawed a bit while he waited for me
to go inside.  I didn’t want to.  I was completely
curious to see what his kiss would be like.  So I waited. 
It was cold.  I’m not a huge fan of the cold.  Never
have been.  So after a few more minutes, I finally blurted out,
“Are you gonna kiss me, or what?”

           
Ethan’s shocked burst of laughter caused me to chuckle too. 
“You’re uh, not shy are you?” he asked grinning
down at me.

           
“Me?  Shy?  I think I can safely say the answer to
that question is, no.”  I smiled my Bradford smile and
Ethan took a step back, his eyes never leaving my mouth. 
Man,
I love this smile! 
I lowered my voice a bit and stepped
forward. “Are you trying to tell me that you don’t want
to kiss me goodnight?”  Another step brought me within a
foot of Ethan’s shoes.

           
“I—uh—no!  I’m not saying that.”
Ethan’s green eyes flashed under the porch light a moment
before he lowered his gaze.  His lashes brushed against his
cheek for a moment and then those green eyes pierced mine.  “I-I
can’t.”

           
Huh?
  “You can’t?” Confused I tried
to make sense of what he was telling me.  “You can’t
kiss me?”

           
“No.”

           
“Why?” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

           
Ethan’s eyes searched mine a moment and then the corner of his
mouth lifted up in a lopsided grin.  “Goodnight Emmalee
Bradford.”  He then took a step forward and I gasped as
his slightly stubbled chin brushed past my jaw and his warm lips
kissed me gently on the cheek.  “I’ll see you
tomorrow morning,” he whispered in my ear, reminding me of the
breakfast date he had arranged for us while at the theater.

“Okay.” I smiled. 
“I’ll be up bright and early.  Thanks.”

           
“Bye.”  Ethan gave a short salute with his hand and
then was gone.

           
I watched his back as he jogged easily down the steps to his Jeep,
before walking quietly into the house and locking the door.

           
After I said goodnight to my mom and stepdad, I walked into my room
and turned on the light and gasped.  There on my bed was
Clementine snoring softy on a large satin pillow.  She had a
bright red bow around her collar.  And under her paws was a
note.  Quickly I set my purse on my desk next to my laptop and
carefully removed the white paper.

           
Dear Em,

           
Clem’s finally six weeks old.  I hope you love her as much
as we do.

           
She’s a real sweetheart.  I had my mom bring her over
while we were out to          
surprise you.  So, Surprise!   

           
Love,

           
Chase

           
Aww!
  I kneeled down on my knees and softly rubbed the
bridge of her fuzzy nose.  “You are the most cutest puppy
in the whole world.”  I rested my head next to hers on the
pillow.  “And I needed you today.  How Chase knew I
would need you, I have no idea, but man, you are welcome!”

           
Clementine opened one black eye and focused on me a moment before
bringing her head up and opening her other eye.  With a happy
yap she was on all fours in an instant.  I may not have gotten
the kiss I wanted out of Ethan, but little Clementine sure made up
for it.  I was bestowed with sloppy puppy kisses all over my
eyes, cheeks and chin as I scooped her in my arms and sat down on the
bed.  Her tiny tail thumped happily against my hand and I
chuckled. 

           
“If you’re this happy to see me when I come home every
day, I won’t need a silly guy to fall in love with anyway.” 
I crinkled her bow with my chin as I tucked her further into the
crook of my neck.  “I’ll just keep you forever and
ever.  How does that sound?” 

           
Clementine gave one more tiny yap before burrowing farther on my
shoulder and licking her thanks. 

           
I chuckled again, “I love you, too!”

           
About twenty minutes later, just as I was tucking Clementine into her
little doggy bed on the ground next to me my cell rang. 
Who’s
calling me now?  What time is it anyway? 

           
“Hello?”

           
“Hey, Em.  It’s Chase.”

           
“Oh, hi.”

           
“Just calling to see if you got Clem alright?”

           
I grinned, and plopped onto my bed.  “Yeah, she’s
asleep next to me.  Thanks!  She was an awesome surprise.”

           
Chase laughed quietly into my ear.  “I’m glad you’re
happy.  And, hey—is it okay if Georgia and I come over
tomorrow?  She wanted to visit you and Clem?”

“Sure.  Oh!  But
make sure you come in the afternoon, Ethan’s taking me to
breakfast in the morning.”

           
“Really? 
You?
  He’s taking
you
to breakfast?”

           
What?  Is that hard to believe?
  “Um,
yeah.”  I rolled my eyes, too bad Chase couldn’t see
the effect.  “He had a great time with me tonight; he
wanted to see me again.”

           
“Are you sure about that?”

           
I snorted into the phone.  “Are you really asking me if I
can tell whether a guy is interested in me or not?  As if I
wouldn’t know.  To answer your question, yes, I’m
sure he had a good time.”

           
“I’m sure he had a good time too, just not with the girl
you’re thinking.”

           
I sat up.  “What is that supposed to mean?”  I
was beginning to get irritated.

           
“Haven’t you seen the way he looks at Cassidy when you’re
not around?”

           
“Cassidy?  As in Cassidy Hart?” 
Have you
lost your senses? 
“There is no way Ethan Franklin
has even looked twice at that girl.  Why would he?  She’s
so quiet anyway.  Besides, if he likes her, why would he even
think about asking me out?  Seriously Chase, you were not meant
to be a matchmaker, so don’t quit your day job. Okay?”

           
He was quiet so long I wondered if he was still on the phone with
me.  Then just as I was beginning to feel anxious Chase let out
a weary sigh.  “Em, do me a favor and promise me you won’t
fall for the guy, okay?”

           
“Why?”

           
“Just promise me.”

           
“Look, I’m not in love with him, if that’s what you
mean.”

           
“Good.”

           
“But I’m not going to stop something if it happens.”

           
“Did he kiss you tonight?”
           
Did he kiss--?
  “Chase what is going on? 
Why do you care?”

           
“Did he kiss you?”

           
“I’m not going to tell y—!”

           
“Em?”

           
Ugh.  Fine.
  “No.  Okay.  Are you
happy now?  He did not kiss me.  Unless you call that
half-peck he gave my cheek a kiss.”

           
“Hey, don’t get mad.  Someone has to watch out for
you now that Zack is gone.”

           
I fell back into my pillows in disgust.  “Is that what
this is all about?  You trying to be my older brother?” 
Sheez
.  “Chase, I’m a big girl now.  I
don’t need an older brother.”

           
“So you keep saying, but I haven’t seen you prove that
yet.”

           
 “So now I gotta prove that I’m mature?  You’re
like four years older than me.  Anything I do is going to seem
immature.” 

“Look, Em.  There’s
something about that guy that’s just not right.  So sue me
if I happened to be worried about you.”

           
“Once and for all, there is nothing wrong with Ethan Franklin!”
I practically shouted in the phone. 
When will he ever let
up?

“Shh!  You don’t
want to wake your whole house do you?”

Grrr. 
Much quieter I
added, “Why don’t you like him anyway?  Has he done
anything to you?  Huh?”

           
“No.  He just seems like he’s hiding something,
that’s all.”

           
Now I really wish he could see my rolling eyes.
  “Hiding
something—?”

           
“Until I know what it is, I want you to be a bit leery of the
guy.”

           
I took a deep breath to calm my nerves.  “Anything else
you wanted to add, Detective Anderson?”

           
“Alright,” his voice got a bit deeper on the phone. 
“For a girl who thinks she knows so much about relationships
and people around her, she’s sure missing a rather large chunk
of the picture.”

           
What in the--?
  “What is that supposed to mean?”

           
“You’re the expert on love.  You figure it out.” 

           
I jolted when the phone went dead in my ear.

           
Figure what out?  Ugh.  Why does it seem like Chase is
constantly talking in riddles?  Can’t the guy for once
just say what he means and be done with it?

           
I leaned over and turned off my lamp before I crawled into my
covers.  In the dark I closed my eyes tightly and willed myself
not to think about Chase’s dumb remarks and warnings. 
Instead I tried to focus on the perfect outfit to wow Ethan with the
next day.

           
For crying out loud!  Why does the guy gotta ruin
everything?  Now I’m gonna be looking all suspiciously at
Ethan the whole time I’m with him!
  I punched my
pillow a bit roughly and rolled over. 
Urk!  If I lose
sleep over this, I’m going to be ticked.  And I know a
certain dark-haired, blue-eyed guy that’ll definitely hear
about it! 

           
The next morning I was surprised to find, not only Ethan waiting
for me at my door, but oddly enough Cassidy and her little sister
were in the Jeep too. 

           
So much for my outfit.

           
“Hey,” Ethan leaned over and whispered, “Sorry
about bringing them along.  Last night Carson opened his big
mouth and practically invited Taylor and Chloe to hang with us. 
Well, Chloe’s sisters were in the room right there, soTaylor
invited them too.”

           
Aww.  That makes sense. 
“No problem. 
The more the merrier, right?” 
See, Ethan does like
me, Chase!

           
Ethan wrapped his arm around me as we descended the porch steps. 
“I knew you’d understand.  You’re awesome,
Emma.  You know that, right?”

           
I smiled flirtatiously up at him.  “Know that I’m
awesome?  Of course I do.  Who else would put up with you?”

  He halted a moment and then
laughed out loud.  “You know, I think I really do like
you.  There’s something great about a girl who can pack a
punch.”

           
“So you like someone who gives as good as they get?”

           
“Or better.” He chuckled.  And then as we approached
the Jeep he whispered, “It’s definitely much nicer to
have a girl who actually talks.”  And then with a glance
at Claire through the window, he quickly amended, “Talks
intelligently.”

           
I was ushered into the seat so fast and the door shut so quickly
behind me, I didn’t have a chance to respond.  But I have
to say, I was pretty impressed that he found me intelligent and
someone worth listening to. 
I mean, what girl wouldn’t
get her head turned by something like that?  Man, today is going
to be amazing.  I just know it.

           
“Hello, Emmalee!  We’re so excited you’re
coming too!  Aren’t we Cass?  Do you know where we’re
going for breakfast?  I like your outfit by the way—it’s
cute!  Ethan said it was a secret where we’re going, but I
thought maybe he told you.  Oh!  You didn’t tell
her?  Oh!  So it’s a surprise for you too, then? 
Well isn’t this going to be fun…”

           
On second thought I don’t think today is going to be that
amazing after all! 

Chapter 19

Can I have a picture?

I want Santa Claus to know exactly
what to get me for Christmas.

           
“What!?  Someone bought you a brand new camera—worth
like a thousand dollars—and you don’t know who it was?”
I blurted out to Cassidy over the restaurant table while Ethan and
Claire were filling our drinks.  “Are you kidding me?” 
Who would surprise someone with that kind of gift? 
Obviously someone who knew her well and had money to burn.

           
I guess I was a little louder than I should’ve been, because
Cassidy turned beet red and ducked her head. 

           
I lowered my voice. “But don’t you have an idea who it
might be?  I mean, my parents have never spent that much on a
camera for me.  You must know who it is.”

           
She looked up at me smiled vaguely before answering, “No.”

           
I rolled my eyes at her short reply while she sipped her ice water. 
But then was surprised when she set the glass down and continued,