Prejudice Meets Pride (17 page)

“But the question specifically stated now. And right now I’m thinking that this weather is perfect for an evening stroll through the park.”

“And I’m thinking you’re a toad.”

“Ribbet, ribbet.”

She slugged him on the arm, all the while fighting back a grin. The man was incorrigible, and if he didn’t want to answer her question, she was through trying to coerce it out of him. The moment—or whatever it was—had long since passed anyway. Time to cut her losses and move on.

Just as she opened her mouth to ask another question, Kevin finally answered. “I was thinking—then and back there—that you’re full of surprises. Just when I feel like I’m finally starting to get to know the real Emma, I uncover another layer. Then another and another. I was just wondering how deep those layers go and what’s left to be uncovered. I was also thinking that what I’ve uncovered so far comes together to make a pretty cool picture.”

He tilted his head to look down at her, and even though Emma could see him in her peripheral vision, she stared straight ahead, avoiding his gaze. Her feet continued to plod along while her mind raced and her heart tripped over itself. He made her sound like some intriguing mystery woman who’d piqued his interest, but how? She was a clunker-driving, in-over-her-head, stand-in mom of two, and the worst clerical worker ever. In what universe did any of those elements come together to create anything resembling cool? Not hers. She was the opposite of intriguing or mysterious. She was plain, nondescript Emma Mackie.

“My turn,” he said, pulling Emma away from her self-pitying thoughts. “What are
you
thinking right now?”

Emma shot him a look, wondering how honest he’d been with her and how honest she should be with him. Or maybe she could give him a taste of his own medicine and try a few stall tactics herself. In the end, she chose something in between. “I’m wondering why you didn’t invite Nicole to the gallery with you.”

“Nicole isn’t into art.”

“Are you?”

“Not really, although I did have a lot of fun tonight. And I think you’ve just reached your quota of questions.”

Emma frowned, suddenly wanting to get back to the topic about why he loved pediatric dentistry so much. She lapsed into silence.

“So…” Kevin hedged. “What life-altering event brought you back to the states? I’m dying to know.”

Grateful he no longer seemed interested in her inner thoughts, she was more than happy to answer the question. “I turned eighteen.”

“Wow, that was… anti-climactic. I feel so let down.”

Emma laughed. “Well, it’s the truth. As soon as I became an adult, I called up Noah and begged him to let me stay with him until I could earn enough for a place of my own. He agreed, and I hung out with them for a summer until I could afford to move in to the dive I found in Providence, near my dream school. The sink leaked, the walls and floors had zero insulation, so it was incredibly noisy, and the owner wouldn’t let me paint the walls or even pound in a nail so I could hang something up. I had to work two jobs to pay for it, but I still managed to get my GED, put a little money into savings, and gain residency. Then, miracle of all miracles, I applied to the school and actually got accepted.” She smiled. “That was a good day.”

“How did you afford college? A grant?”

“No.” How could he think she’d go that route after everything he knew about her? “I mean, I probably could have gotten one, but I never applied. It just took me a little longer to get through school, that’s all.”

Something gleamed in his eyes—something that looked a lot like admiration. But did she deserve it? Even after all her hard work and good intentions, Emma still felt further behind than she had when she’d started college. At least her bank account had a little money in it back then.

“When I was offered the teaching job, I thought all my dreams had finally come true,” she said. “Then my mom called to let me know that Noah needed help, and here I am.”

Kevin watched her. “Not many people would have given up everything to do that.”

Emma smiled—something she couldn’t do the day her mom had called. As much as her heart had ached for her brother, his daughters, and their tragic loss, the truth was, she’d been devastated. She hadn’t thought twice about turning down the job and going to help her brother, but it wasn’t without her own sense of loss.

But that was then. Now, looking back, things had worked out in their own way. She had a house, a job, and two darling little girls that she was growing fonder of every day. She’d found two wonderful friends in Becky and Sam, and now—well, she still wasn’t sure what Kevin was to her. But he was becoming something pretty special.

“I think you’re wrong,” said Emma. “I think most people would have done exactly what I did. It’s what you do for family or the people you love.”

“Is it?” His eyes had a sad quality to them, as though he didn’t have the faith in humanity that she did.

“Yes,” she said. If there was one thing her unconventional upbringing had taught her, it was that the world was filled with scads of wonderful people, including the person standing in front of her right now.

For a moment, they both stared at each other, as though neither knew what to say. Then Kevin let out a sound that resembled a snicker and shook his head. “You are not the person I expected you to be when we first met.” He paused, then rushed to add, “That’s a compliment.”

“As opposed to what you used to think of me?” Emma teased.

He chuckled. “Let’s just say that I saw Sunshine against the backdrop of a neglected house and formed a rash and unfair opinion based on that.” His eyebrows lifted in a plea. “Forgive me?”

She waved off his apology. “Nothing to forgive. I’m actually glad things started off that way.”

“Why?”

“Because it means that I had nowhere to go but up.” She rose to her tiptoes and stretched a hand above her head, indicating a tall height. “People who come across as perfect start up here. But nobody’s perfect, so where does that leave them?”

“Feeling like they have to be perfect all the time.” The succinct way he answered made it sound like he knew someone like that. Or maybe he thought that
he
was like that.

Emma dropped back down to the flats of her feet and let her arm fall to her side. “Right. And how awful would that be?”

“Pretty awful.” He nodded, watching her with a question in his eyes. “Out of curiosity, where did I fit on that scale when you first met me?”

“Oh, I can’t bend down that low,” she teased.

“Good, so I had nowhere to go but up as well.” He paused. “Where do I fit now?”

She held her hand at waist level and gave it a shake, indicating just average.

“I don’t think so.” Kevin moved closer, and his fingers closed around her wrist. Then he lifted her hand high above her head, making her stumble forward a little. His voice dropped to a husky level. “Admit it. I’m up here now.”

His close proximity and touch was wreaking havoc again. Emma was suddenly reminded of the day she’d walked into an abstract art class and found a bunch of paintball guns lined up in the front of the room. The instructor had everyone load up with multi-colored paintballs and take the guns outside, where he’d covered the side of the building with a huge white tarp. The class had lined up like a firing squad, took aim, and fired. Shots rang out, and paint balls splattered against the tarp, filling it with vivid color and chaos. Primary colors careened together to form secondary colors, and secondary became tertiary, and so on until the tarp was a gooey mess.

Which was exactly how Emma felt at the moment. Chaotic and gooey. Not to mention breathless. She could really use that oxygen tank about now.

“How do you figure?” she said breathlessly.

“I did mow your lawn.”

“True.”

“And watch the girls.”

“True.”

“And found you a job.”

“True.”

“So am I really only down here?” His fingers released her wrist, and his hands moved to her waist, making her stomach feel like a vat of churning paint.

“No.” It came out as a whisper.

“I didn’t think so.” Kevin’s gaze moved from her eyes to her mouth, and her stomach churned faster and faster as his head moved closer and closer still. The liquefaction spread down to her knees, and she had to grab a hold of his shoulders for support.

His lips touched hers in a feather light kiss, as though testing the waters. Then the pressure gradually increased, and Emma’s world shifted, becoming a menagerie of brilliant color, emotion, and imagery. She was reminded of a painting she’d once seen—
Melody of the Night
by Leonid Afremov. It pictured a couple out for an evening stroll, and its stunning use of light and color had taken her breath away. At the time, she’d wanted to pull a Mary Poppins and jump inside it, touch the trees, let her feet dance across the pavement, and snuggle up next to someone on that cozy park bench. She’d wanted to experience it, live it, feel it.

And now, she was. One kiss, and Kevin had taken her inside that magical painting, where radiant moonlight beamed down on them and only wonderful things happened. She wanted to stay in this world forever.

The pressure of his lips gradually decreased, warning her that it wouldn’t last forever. Emma panicked and leaned closer, her fingers tightening around his neck as she tried to draw out the moment for just a little bit longer. But then she felt his lips smile against hers, as though he found the gesture humorous, and she slackened her grip and drew back, feeling like an attention-starved person who’d just been given a sample of something wonderful and couldn’t get enough.

Emma really needed to get out more, date more, kiss more. Then maybe she could do it without being so affected. She kept her gaze trained on his chest, unable to meet those endless blue eyes that were probably filled with laughter.

His hands stayed on her waist, keeping her close. “Emma?” he said, his voice low.

“Hmm?”

“Look at me.”

She shook her head, feeling like rain had descended and was now smearing away the beautiful painting. Looking up would only make it disappear faster.

He chuckled, and his arms came around her back, hugging her tight against him. “Do you know what I like most about you?”

Again, she shook her head.

“You don’t hide your feelings. When you’re upset, I know you’re upset. When you’re happy, I know you’re happy. And when you want something, you really go for it, don’t you?” There was laughter in his voice when he said it.

Emma stiffened. Did he really just tell her she had no self-control? Yeah, that painting was definitely all washed away now. She pushed away and frowned up at him. “If I’m really that expressive, then how am I feeling now?”

He was fighting not to smile. “You’re upset, though I’m not sure why.”

How could he not know? “Because you just ruined the painting!” She spun around and started walking away.

His footsteps sounded behind her, and his hand grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop. The annoying smile was still on his face when he said, “What painting?”

“The painting on the street in Mary Poppins—only not the same one. It was… different. Better.”

His eyebrows knit together in confusion, and that stupid smile was still there, mocking her.

Emma yanked free from his grip and folded her arms, glaring up at him. She couldn’t believe she had to explain this. “You just made it rain, okay? And now the magical world inside the painting is all washed away. Thanks a lot.”

Kevin continued to watch her in confusion. Then understanding dawned, and he rolled back his head and laughed. The noise filled the night sky.

“Let me guess,” Emma said crossly. “You’re adding ‘makes me laugh’ to that really long list of things you like about me.”

“I don’t need to add it,” he said, wiping laughter-induced tears from his eyes. “It’s already on there.”

“Along with what else?” Emma suddenly wanted to put him on the spot. She’d be shocked if he could come up with more than three or four things.

His laughter died off, though his eyes still teased her. “Good kisser, for one.”

Emma willed herself not to blush at that. “Yeah, one who doesn’t know when to stop, right?”

“I liked that you didn’t want to stop. That’s what made me smile.” He took a step closer. “And believe it or not, I didn’t want to either.”

Even though his words and close proximity were making her feel gooey and chaotic again, she wasn’t ready to forgive him just yet. “What else?” she said.

He took another step closer and placed his hands on her arms, rubbing them up and down in a slow motion. “You’re beautiful and smart, you’d do anything for the people you care about, and you say what you think. Being with you is like… yeah, like jumping inside that Mary Poppins painting. But I don’t need to kiss you to feel that way. Since I’ve met you, every day has been an adventure.”

Emma felt like her heart would pound itself right out of her chest. She stared up at him and teased, “But kissing makes it better, right?”

He nodded. “Yeah, that definitely makes it better.” With his hands still on her arms, he leaned down and placed his mouth against hers once again, teasing her lips with his. Emma kissed him back, then stood on her tiptoes and held on tight when he started to pull away again. He chuckled, and she pointed her finger at him.

“You did that on purpose,” she accused.

“Yes. I did. I also just added ‘adorable’ to that list.” His arm came around her shoulders, and he guided her back to the car, still chuckling.

The drive home was a quiet, comfortable one, and as Kevin walked her to her door and left her with a more satisfying kiss on her doorstep, Emma couldn’t help but think that maybe she hadn’t taken two steps back by turning down her job and moving to Colorado. Maybe, she’d just taken a giant step sideways and was now on a different road, still heading forward but toward a far better destination.