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He walked towards her and kissed her on both cheeks with the reverence a son has for his mother. “I just got here and found those two plotting to move in. But don’t worry, Mom, I took care of it.”

“We do have some spare room,” Tina joked with a monumental roll of her eyes and laugher. Turning her attention back to Emily, she continued, “Where you plan to move to, darling?”

Red as a beet, she walked closer to the older. “The sunroom. It’s probably the most beautiful place I’ve ever been in,” she admitted truthfully. “May I help you, Mom?” The pronoun filled both women’s hearts with joy. Accepting the help to finish preparing the soup and sandwiches, Tina shared how she saw a similar structure in a magazine once and thought that would be a perfect place to spend her winter afternoons.

Dinner was filled with laughter, conversation and the comfortableness a person only feels at home. Even after the plates were clean and every overeater sitting at the round table was feeling the discomfort and laziness that comes from eating too much, they continued to talk until it was nearly midnight and every eye was heavy with sleep.

Being too tired for an extensive tour of the house, Taylor promised it for the next morning and led her to the third floor.

“I thought you’d like this room,” Taylor said opening the second door to the left, showing her what was known as the yellow room. Obviously decorated in different shades of white and yellow, the room was a mixture of the room they’d shared in Vermont and Emily’s own bedroom. Taking slow steps she walked to the center of it, feeling immediately at home but slightly disappointed.

“It’s great. Thanks, Tay.”

Her words, the tone in which she’d delivered them and the small, almost fake smile she’d used, was the exact response he’d wanted. He couldn’t help but remember the conversation he had with his mother as he helped her load the dishwasher. He’d asked her where Emily should sleep and was certain she’d offer the yellow room, but her answer had been completely different. She’d told him to offer her the attic.

“I know you well enough not to be convinced by that,” he told her, shortening the distance between them. “Let’s see if I can read you as well I think I can.” His hand went up to remove a few strands of hair from her face, tucking them behind her ear. When he spoke again he had a mischievous smile on his lips. “You think this room is beautiful and homey, and that those pillows are not as good as the ones you have at home.”

With a deep blush and an uncomfortable laugh, Emily answered him in all her honesty. “You know me well, Carter.”

“Problem solved then. We’re following Mom’s advice and you’re sleeping in the attic.” Taylor’s smile almost split his face in two and, holding her hand again, he made his way out of the room and to the staircase at the end of the hall.

“What’s in the attic?”

“My room,” he said looking over his shoulder.

E
VEN AFTER
five mornings waking up in the attic, it still felt like waking up in a dream. The large, triangular window provided a panoramic view of the lake which, combined with the low ceiling and beautiful understated black wood décor, added to that feeling. But mostly, it was because of the gorgeous face she saw when she opened her eyes and the strong arms that held her.

On her first day in Canada, she’d been given the promised tour of the home, which included a library that made Emily think of the one in the Beauty and the Beast’s castle, a fitness center with a covered pool and even a small family sized movie theater. After a delicious lunch, Taylor had taken her to see the famous fort he told her about in Vermont. Nate tagged along, and took upon himself the task of telling all sorts of stories of their adventures there, including a few adventures of his own that Emily didn’t really need or want to know. It had been the perfect day.

The days that followed that first day were just as good, only busier. Having spent the past year away from his hometown, Taylor had a lot of catching up to do, and every day had been filled with new people he wanted to introduce to Emily. Most of the family members and friends she met were already familiar names to her and, judging by their expressions as they greeted her, they also knew about her. She was glad to finally put faces to all their names.

All those meetings had also been filled with questions and comments about their relationship, and how happy everyone was that he was dating such a nice woman. Explaining their relationship over and over, and seeing the puzzled looks that kept repeating themselves, made Emily even more aware of how blurred the lines of their friendship had become and how confusing her own feelings towards him were.

On the morning of New Year’s Eve, Emily woke up to the sound of the telephone ringing on Taylor’s side of the bed. Despite the noise and the sun shining on their faces, he was still fast asleep, leaving her with the task of wiggling out of his tight embrace to reach for the phone.

After a difficult struggle with the covers that had snaked around her feet, she swung one of her legs over Taylor’s body, hardly paying attention to the fact that she was now straddling him as she reached for the phone and brought it to her ear. “Hello?” she answered, breathlessly.

“Good morning, dear,” Tina’s cheerful voice sounded in her ear. “You sound a little winded. Am I interrupting something?”

Even after a handful of days of his family knowing they were sharing a bedroom, talking about it with his mother was still a little disconcerting to Emily, as was the woman’s constant questioning about interrupting things.

“Good morning, Mom. You’re not interrupting anything,” she clarified. “Tay’s still sleeping and since he’s closer to the phone, getting to it was a bit of a struggle.”

“I see.” For some reason she seemed a little disappointed. “Well, darling, I’m calling to let you know I just spoke to Agatha and she’ll be here in a little over an hour with our dresses. Hopefully there won’t be any more alterations, but she’s bringing her team with her just in case. Anyhow, I know it’s early and you’re tired, but I thought you might want to have breakfast before we meet them. Who knows how long that will take and we only have so many hours before the whole prep team gets here. Massages, nails, hair, make-up, the works. We’re gonna have so much fun!”

Emily couldn’t help but to smile at how similar mother and daughter sounded when they started to babble like that. “Thanks for the warning, Mom. I’ll be right there.”

Placing the receiver back on the base, she looked down and noted for the first time that her previous struggle with the sheets had lowered the fabric covering Taylor’s naked torso down to his hips, leaving it completely exposed. From her higher vantage point, she looked down at him, thinking how even in his sleep he was incredibly sexy. That simple thought sent her mind into a confused frenzy that worsened when her hands decided to take a life of their own and do some exploring.

She wanted to convince herself that the touch was innocent, friendly even, just a wake-up call, but deep down she knew it was anything but. Her treacherous hands moved almost in slow motion, taking their sweet time in tracing his pecs, ribs, each bump on his abdomen and, by the time she finally reached the two lines that disappeared under the band of his pants, she was gasping, and burning up inside. Either a heavy hormone overload or the haziness that had taken over her brain lately had caused her mind to play with possible names for her feelings. Desire . . . lust . . . passion . . . love . . . The clear realization that all those words explained how she felt perfectly sent an overload of emotion down her spine.

Not realizing that, as her hands had moved down his body, her bent legs were doing the same, she took a sharp intake of breath when something poked her backside, and she finally realized she was practically sitting on Taylor’s hips. Pressing her palms on his stomach, she tried to push her body up, but firm hands held her legs where her knees met his thighs.

“It’s not gonna bite you, Ems. Relax and continue, ‘cause I’m liking this.” Taylor’s sleepy voice came from underneath smiling lips.

“Tay . . . ” she nearly begged.

With his smile still in place, he opened one eye to look at her. “Babe, how many times have you touched me?”

“I don’t know, millions,” she replied, looking down at her hands.

“And in the last week alone you’ve sat in my lap about fifty times. Things have been in the same place since I was born, which means this is not the first time you two had a close encounter. I’m not ashamed or embarrassed, and it’s my body, so why are you?”

When she still didn’t meet his eyes or say anything he took one of his hands from her leg and lifted her face.

Afraid that he’d be able to see the silent battle happening internally, her eyes were reluctant to meet his. “I’m neither, Tay. I’m . . . ”

Taylor kept his eyes firm on hers. Her struggle was futile, because with that one look he could see everything she was trying to hide. He saw the confusion in her hesitation, but he also saw the desire in her dilated pupils and the love in her intense gaze. For the first time since they met it was all there. Everything he’d spent so long wanting to see and feel was there in her eyes, and he couldn’t just be quiet and passive anymore. He had to say something.

Holding her gaze, he ran his hands very slowly from her knees to her hips. “You’re what, Ems?” his voice was smooth as velvet and filled with meaning. His fingers curled tighter around her hips. The pressure was heavenly, and added a lot of fuel to the fire building inside her.

In silence, Emily looked at him. Her heart raced in her chest and her mind ran wild with thoughts of everything she could have, and everything she could lose if she gave in to all the feelings that overwhelmed her. In her mind, it was an impossible choice to make.

“I can’t . . . ” she whispered, shaking her head. Pushing herself off of him, she climbed down from the bed and bolted to the bathroom.

Alone in the king-sized bed, Taylor had no idea what to do with the frustration he was feeling. His heated temper wanted to punch something. He wanted to kiss her and get it over with, but the overwhelming love he felt for her urged him to let it go. He could see she was afraid and, though he had no idea what she was afraid of, he recognized the feeling and felt compelled to respect it.

He worked on getting his breathing back to a normal pace for a few minutes until Emily emerged back from the bathroom in jeans and a simple white-knit sweater. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she looked absolutely breathtaking. However, her face looked tense, like she was overthinking. Knowing he wouldn’t be able look at her as the line of stupidity emerged from his lips, he concentrated his eyes on the ceiling. “You know you can move to another room if you want, right?”

Silence stretched for what seemed like forever. Then Emily’s weak, heartbroken and sad voice filled the room. “You want me to?”

Hearing her voice made him hate himself. He had seen the turmoil in her eyes. He knew she was overwhelmed by her own feelings, and he had no right to be such a shitty friend and possibly a jerk to her at that moment. However, seeing the same love and desire he felt in her eyes and knowing she was fighting it was too much. He wanted more than friendship, and holding those feelings in was killing him.

Sitting down on the bed he met her frightened eyes, and spoke as honestly as he could. “Absolutely not, I’m just trying to be considerate.”

Her shoulders sagged with relief and a small smile curled her lips. “Good, but don’t say shit like that again, Taylor. You spoiled me. I can’t sleep without you anymore.”