LadyV76: Hey.
MyBoyBlue4: Oh my God you’re here. THANK YOU. How are you feeling?
LadyV76: Like death. You?
MyBoyBlue4: This bastard got burned. Not by your dragons or anything, but by life I guess. I can still bend the knee to you, though.
LadyV76: I do like you on your knees.
MyBoyBlue4: There she is. I’ve missed you, baby.
LadyV76: I’ve missed you too.
MyBoyBlue4: Sorry for coming to the chat with this, but I thought you might appreciate it?
LadyV76: Don’t apologize. I’m glad you came to the chat. I think if I spoke to you on the phone I would just burst into tears.
MyBoyBlue4: I’m sorry. So fucking sorry about everything.
LadyV76: I know. And I’d like to come to supper tomorrow. What can I bring?
MyBoyBlue4: You’ve just made me the happiest man on earth, Khaleesi. Just bring yourself. My only request is that you leave the dragons at home, okay?
LadyV76: You have a deal. Lindsey is still here, so I’ll bring her too?
MyBoyBlue4: Awesome. Can’t wait to introduce her to the rest of my family. Please tell her all seven of us are indeed in love with you. There will be no more awkward kisses, however. That I can promise.
LadyV76: So it’s not necessarily a love triangle as much as a love…heptagon?
MyBoyBlue4: Of course you’d know what that is.
LadyV76: You forget that I’m the professor.
MyBoyBlue4: And I am always an eager student. Can you come early?
LadyV76: Yes. So everything is okay with your family?
MyBoyBlue4: I wouldn’t say things are okay. But Hank and I had a productive chat earlier today, and we’re starting the process of healing. I wish I could tell you things are back to normal, but they’re not. I don’t think they will be for a while, and that’s just the reality of the situation, sucky as it may be. Still, I’m trying. Hank’s trying too. If you’d be willing to sit down with us to work something out, we’d really appreciate it.
LadyV76: Okay.
MyBoyBlue4: Wow, I wasn’t expecting you to say that.
LadyV76: I’m still learning to let perfection go. I think it’ll take me a lifetime to figure that one out. But as much as I wish things were normal, I’m going to work on being okay with complicated.
MyBoyBlue4: And as someone once told me, complicated can be delicious.
LadyV76: That someone must be very wise.
MyBoyBlue4: She is.
LadyV76: See you tomorrow, Blue.
MyBoyBlue4: See you then. Sweet dreams, V.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Emma
Lindsey links arms with me as we walk up to Samuel’s front door.
“I’m proud of you,” she says.
She’s smiling for the first time in days.
I smile back. “Thanks. I’m proud of you too.”
She snorts. “Proud of my train wreck of a life? Thanks.”
“I mean it.” I nudge her with my elbow. “You got out of bed today, didn’t you? That’s no small feat. We need to celebrate the small things when the big things get overwhelming.”
“Eh…”
“Fine. Can we at least celebrate the fact that the gallon of wine you’re about to drink is the best in the world?”
“That I can get on board with.”
“See? It’s the small things.”
Lindsey glances at my stilettos. “Like those shoes?
“Like these shoes.”
Truth be told, I didn’t know how I should dress. So I went with what I felt best in: stilettos, jeans, and a bun. Little bit V, little bit me.
Judging by the way Samuel’s eyes light up when he opens the door, I’d say I got the balance just right.
The late afternoon sun slices across his face, catching on the ends of his neatly parted hair. He smiles, the skin around his eyes crinkling, and the world goes still at the same moment my heart does.
He’s sporting the same puffy eyes and dark circles I am. His cheeks are a little sunken, and I wonder how much weight he’s lost over the past few days. I don’t own a scale, but I can tell by the way my clothes fit that I’m definitely down a few pounds. Knowing he hasn’t been able to eat or sleep either makes my chest hurt.
“Hey, baby.”
A full-body rush of want moves through me at the deep timbre of his voice. I dig my teeth into my bottom lip. “Hi, Samuel. It’s so good to see you.”
“You look beautiful.”
“You look handsome as hell.”
“I know.”
I pretend to roll my eyes. “I thought Beau always hosted Sunday supper.”
“He does, but tonight he and Bel and Maisie made an exception at my request.”
I nod. “Thanks for having us.”
“Thanks for coming. Lindsey, it’s great to see you again. My family and I promise to behave better this time. Can I get a mulligan? I’d like to start over with Em’s family. Y’all are just as important to me as my own. Hopefully, you’re a little less nuts, though.”
“Don’t count on it.” Lindsey’s smile grows. She holds up her arms. “Hi, I’m Lindsey, and I already love you because I can tell how much you adore my sister.”
Samuel accepts her hug. “I’m Samuel, and I already love you because I’m starting to think you may have talked Emma into giving me a second chance.”
“How’d you know?” I ask with a grin.
He lifts a massive shoulder. “Lucky guess. Y’all come in, please. I have a couple of bottles of that drunk nun Albariño with your names on it.”
“It’s a sign,” Lindsay says, following Samuel inside. “That’s what my next career move should be. I can go from attorney to drunk nun, no problem.”
The familiar smells of Samuel’s house fill my head—soap, something savory in the oven—and my heart skips a beat.
I can hear Van Halen playing in the kitchen—“Dance the Night Away” this time.
Lindsey gawks at Samuel’s house, but I just gawk at Samuel. The way his fingers move as he expertly uncorks a frosty bottle of the Albariño. The easy charm of the questions he asks Lindsey as he hands her a heavy pour. How fucking adorable he looks with a kitchen towel slung over his shoulder and that earnest gleam in his eye.
He’s learning how to be charming without being full of shit. The transformation is breathtaking to witness.
“So I’m going to give myself a tour of this insane house,” Lindsey says. “I won’t finish until y’all tell me I’m done, okay?”
Leaning back against the counter, Samuel smiles and crosses one leg over the other. “Give Em a call if you get lost.”
“It’s not that big,” I tease.
“Yes, it is,” he teases right back. “Biggest you’ve ever seen, including all the ones you’ve peeped on the internet.”
Lindsey wags her eyebrows at me. “Lucky girl.” Then she disappears into the dining room.
The space between Samuel and me thrums the way it did that first day we met. Only this time, Samuel’s looking at me with soft eyes and a smile.
“We’re really gonna do this,” I say, throat swelling with emotion.