Exception (41 page)

“
I
S THIS
the last of it?” Taylor asked Emily, stuffing a sixth bag into his trunk.

“I guess so, though why Zack needs three bags to spend three days at his aunt’s beats me.”

“I’m bringing some gifts for them, and that last one has some snacks for the ride,” Zack announced in his cheery voice.

He’d been looking forward to the trip for several months, not only because he needed the rest and was excited to spend the first of his birthdays with his brand new boyfriend, but also because he missed his aunt and uncle terribly. After his parents had turned their backs on him for being gay and Jody’s family had been killed in car crash, Benjamin and May Lynn Clark were the only family both Zack and Jody could count on.

Once Zack was out of med school and living on his own, the Clarks decided to use their retirement savings to purchase an old ten bedroom Bed and Breakfast in Stowe. The place was in pretty bad shape at the time of the sale, but with a lot of hard work, they managed to turn it into a top accommodation spot in the small town.

“Jody called saying that they’re on their way, and I called aunt May to give her an estimate of when we’re getting there. She said the rooms are waiting and promised to have tea by the fireplace for us,” Zack continued.

Five minutes later, when Brad’s truck passed by Taylor’s Jeep, they began the four and a half-hour journey. Within the first hour, Taylor had acquired a whole new respect for his father and his infinite patience during the many family road trips they’d taken while he was growing up.

Despite being in a different car, Jody’s presence in the Jeep was constant, with calls every five minutes requesting they stop at several roadside attractions and infinite complaints whenever her suggestions were shot down. In addition to that, Zack’s excitement was becoming slightly annoying. He sang along with the radio, kissed Toby too many times and bitched about Jody too often. In short, he reminded Taylor of his sister. Emily was the only thing standing between him and insufferable grumpiness. But that was nothing new; she was always the cure to his sour moods.

As she bounced her bare, red nail-polished feet on his dashboard, keeping in perfect sync with the music blasting through the radio, he continued to marvel at how much he adored every little thing about her. Her eyes, her laugh, the tattoo on her side, the smell of her hair, the feel of her lips on his cheek, the way her voice lingered on the ‘y’ when she said his name, the shy smile from the corner of her lips she was giving him at that precise moment and every other little quirk of hers filled his every thought and dream. He often tried to fight it, but it was useless.

“What are you doing there?” Taylor asked in a low voice, nudging her ribs.

Emily peeled her eyes from her tablet and turned her face to him. Even behind her reading glasses, her blue eyes left Taylor nearly breathless. “I’m browsing for erotic novels.”

The wide smile and raised brow that followed her words made Taylor laugh. “Planning one of those dates, eh?”

“A long weekend at a B&B with the fall leaves and cold putting romance in the air . . . you never know,” she teased, leaning towards him.

Like a child going to Disneyland for the first time, Taylor felt completely overwhelmed and unable to focus to save his life. It was quite embarrassing. He rubbed the heel of his right hand over his eye in a feeble attempt to block the flood of mental pictures pushing his mind further down in the gutter. Through the corner of his eyes, he stole a glance at Emily, who was still smirking.

“Good god, woman, I’m trying to drive a car here.”

The carefree giggle Emily let out surprised even her. “You’re the one who asked.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think you’d answer me. Now, tell me about the books.”

“You’re sure you want to know?” she asked. His answer was a crooked smile and a quick head bob, and then she continued. “Okay, so Chels decided to add Hump Day to the blog’s schedule. Every Wednesday from next week on, they will feature various kinds of aphrodisiacs, and I’ll provide some literary inspiration. If you know what I mean.” She winked at him, successfully turning his mouth into a desert.

“That’s interesting,” he said, pushing past the dryness in his mouth and smiling at Emily. He was really enjoying her playfulness. “Women will like that?”

“They think so. Wanna help me pick a book?” she asked. Before he could answer, she opened her eyes wide and looked at him with a giddy smile. “Oh, you gotta help me, Tay. Tall, dark and handsome choosing a sexy book, the women will go bananas over that.”

Barely containing his laughter, Taylor agreed. Clapping her hands together, Emily turned her attention back to her tablet and began reading some of the titles. As a whole, they were quite obvious and incredibly descriptive, which made the whole thing funny instead of uncomfortable.

When Emily started reading the blurbs, and the laugher in the front seat became too loud to be ignored Zack and Toby joined their conversation, turning the decision of the first Hump Day read into a game that lasted for the next three hours. By the time they’d reached their destination, Emily was sitting sideways on her seat, resting her feet on Taylor’s lap, and all their bellies were aching from the laugher resulting from narrowing a long list of erotic romances to their top three choices.

The Blue Eyes B&B lived up to its reputation. Located at the end of a tree-lined secluded street, the gorgeous two-story house with a wide porch adorned by rocking chairs, porch swings and autumn flowers and decorations, was at the same time homely and romantic.

An older couple Taylor assumed was the Clarks waited for them by the front door. The man was tall and thin, with whitening straight auburn hair and bright blue eyes. His wife was in many ways his opposite, short and plump with short-cut curly blond hair, styled with a lot of hairspray, and deep dark eyes framed by wire glasses.

The couple oozed niceness and, as soon as their new guests exited the car, they rushed to the driveway to greet them warmly. Taylor was relieved to see that, despite the familiarity and warmth with which Ben and May treated Emily, neither of them made moves to hug or kiss her. His appreciation for them grew exponentially because of it.

Waiting by a roaring fireplace in the dining room was a table filled with sandwiches, pastries, cakes and every kind of hot beverage and goody you could think of. Adding to the delicious treats was a healthy dose of good conversation. By the time they were done eating, the sun had set and, with Ben’s promise to show him around their small maple syrup-farming facility the next day, Taylor had added two new people to his list of friends.

“You all look pretty tired, so now that I’ve filled your bellies, let me get your keys so you can go rest. Zack, darling, you and Toby will stay in the ‘Come Fly With Me’ room. That’s your favorite, right?” May asked her nephew with a broad smile and, receiving his confirming head bob, handed him his key.

Her attention shifted to Brad and Jody. “You two will stay in ‘Love and Marriage’. Let’s see if the honeymoon suite inspires you.”

Jody rolled her eyes at the older woman. “Come on Aunt May, not you too.”

“Jody Francis, marriage is a good thing, darling. Look at Ben and me, thirty-five years and still going strong. Besides, my feet would surely like to dance at your wedding sometime before I die. Now you two,” she continued, turning her attention to the last two people without rooms. “I thought about saving you the ‘New York, New York’ room, since Taylor lives there, but a couple called and reserved it, so I hope you enjoy the ‘My Funny Valentine’ room. It’s my personal favorite, by the way.”

Taylor and Emily looked at Zack with puzzled eyes. Seeing he appeared just as confused as they felt, they looked at each other, using the awkward silence that followed to exchange a silent communication.

“Aunt May, they—”

“It’s okay, Fruitcake,” Emily interrupted.

The mortified look May gave her was indication that the woman understood what his nephew was getting at. “Oh dear, I’m so sorry. Zack said you were coming with a friend and I just assumed that—” Her black eyes sought comfort in her husband. “I’m sure we can manage something, right Ben?”

Emily felt awful for the discomfort she was causing, and wished Zack had kept his mouth shut. “May, please don’t worry. We’ll be more than comfortable in the room you reserved for us.”

“Yes we will.” Taylor said, smiling. “Even though we’re not dating, we’ve been practically living together for the past three months. It’s all good.”

The first thought Emily had as she crossed the threshold of the bedroom she’d be sharing with Taylor for the next three days, was a very loud “Wow!” The wide room was gorgeous, predominantly white and cream, and accentuated by various shades of red that kept the musical inspiration behind the decor very subtle. A canopied bed, fresh flowers and a wide fireplace added a romantic tone.

Taylor followed Emily into the room, with both their suitcases in hand. “Now I see what all the fuss is about. This is beautiful.”

“Yeah, there’s a reason why Blue Eyes is a hot destination for honeymooners in Vermont,” Emily said with a laugh.

Turning to look at her best friend and roommate for the next few days, she couldn’t hide the worry in her eyes. Taylor was about to ask her what was wrong when she spoke. “You really don’t mind?”

It took a few seconds for him to process her question. “Mind what? Sharing the room?” Emily nodded making him roll his eyes. “Stupid question, Ems. After all the times we’ve shared couches in this last week, you still don’t know how much I enjoy falling asleep and waking up to you?”

Despite her tiny smile, Emily didn’t look completely convinced by his words. Mocking annoyance to hide the wicked smile forming on his lips, he took three long strides towards her. In a swift move he raised Emily with his arms, making her squeak and giggle when he dropped her on the bed carefully enough to be gentle, and sloppily enough to be funny. Cartwheeling over her, he fell to the mattress by her side, laughing like a child.

When their laughs finally subsided, Taylor ran a finger over her face and kissed her nose in the way he’d done so many times before. “I keep telling you and you keep doubting me, so try to believe this time, please.

“Emily Anne Watson, I adore spending time with you. You’re the most important person in my life and, if I had my way, we’d be together every second. For me, a good day only starts when I see your face and good dreams only happen when I fall asleep to your voice. As much as the picture I have on my nightstand and our phone calls help, it doesn’t even begin to compare to the real you. So don’t ever ask me if I mind sharing a room with you, because I’ll never mind that. Ever.”

Several types of fears overwhelmed Emily conjunctively. There was the fear of how unsteady her voice would sound if she tried to say something, the fear of how similar his words were to her own feelings, but mostly, there was the fear of how emotionally attached she was to him. The moment she met his eyes, however, her lips turned into a small, shy smile that mirrored his and all her fears fell into oblivion.

The next couple of days passed in what felt like a heartbeat. Ben and May had planned all sorts of activities for their one and only favorite nephew on his birthday. And, over the span of that weekend, they covered most of the activities one could enjoy in Stowe during the fall. They visited Mount Mansfield, rode the gondola, had lunch at Cliff House Restaurant, and even ventured with some hiking.

To balance the excitement, they spent their second afternoon enjoying the peace of the property before celebrating Zack’s birthday with a B&B dinner and a delicious cake the girls had prepared for him.