Now and Then (8 page)

“Dad, can you take me home?” Emma called loudly.

“Is everything okay?” her mother asked.

“It’s fine, Mom. I’m just tired.”

Emma glanced at the strapless bright purple dress Layla had left draped over the back of a kitchen chair. Her older sister had gone to prom three times, only missing it her freshman year. Emma had only been asked once, by a boy who said no one else would go with him,
actually said it as he asked her
, and she’d declined.

“Ready when you are,” her
father said. His familiar pressed khaki shorts, golf-ball advertising hat and white tennis shoes were a comfort.

“Let’s go,” she said, her shoulders dropping.

Then -- 9 years earlier

Emma’s eyes lit up as she saw her sister descending the stairs in her br
ight purple dress. Though she’d already seen her in it upstairs, there was something special about her walking down the open staircase in it.

Her hair was curled and piled on her head, with some stray ringlets near her
face. She seemed to glow, and though Layla was 17 and she was 15, Emma knew she wouldn’t have her sister’s aura of confidence and beauty when she reached her age.

Cole
followed her down with his eyes, his hands folded neatly in front of him. Emma had actually broken out in a sweat when she’d seen him walk through the front door in his tuxedo. He looked smooth and dashing, the formalwear offsetting his long layers of blond hair.

“You look great, Layla,” he said as she walked toward him. Emma enjoyed his smile, pretending it was aimed at her. From her spot in the living room’s corner recliner, she might as well have been invisible.

“Let’s get pictures!” Emma’s mother said, and they all paraded outside. Emma leaned over to see out the front window, where Cole and Layla posed, his arm wrapped around her waist.
She watched them wistfully until a long white limousine pulled up out front, filled with their friends.

As she made her way toward her bedroom to spend Saturday night with her sketchbook, Emma wondered how two sisters could be so different.

*****

The purple dress was in a heap on the floor when Emma entered her sister’s bedroom late the next morning
, her dyed-to-match heels kicked off next to it.

“Hey. What do you want?” Layla asked in a sleepy tone.

“I wanted to ask how prom was. Did you have a good time?”

“Yeah. Close the door, and I’ll tell you about it.”

Emma warmed as she sat with Layla on her bed, eager to be her confidante.

“We went to dinner with four other couples, and the dance was nice, and … guess what?” Layla said, smiling widely

Emma looked on eagerly. “What?”

“I lost my virginity last night,” Layla whispered.

Emma’s breath caught in her throat as she took in her sister’s words. She burned with jealousy at the idea of La
yla even kissing Cole, but this … She swallowed her feelings, reminding herself Layla couldn’t find out about her crush on Cole. She would humiliate Emma if she did.

Emma couldn’t help being curious in spite of her bitter feelings.

“You did? What was it like?” she asked.

“It was … good. I’m so glad I’m not a virgin anymore.”

“Did Cole like it, too?”

“
Of course. Guys
always
like it, Em,” Layla said, annoyed. Emma tried to think of something she could say that would please her sister.

“Well … lucky him,” she said. “You could have had any guy you wanted.”

“I know!” Layla smiled. “Okay, I’m going back to bed. Don’t tell anyone, okay?”

“I won’t. You looked so beautiful last night, Layla. I bet you were the prettiest girl there.”

“Thanks, Em. You’re pretty too, you know. Once you come out of your shell you’ll have tons of guys wanting you.”

Emma smiled appreciative
ly as she left. But there was only one guy she wished for, and she’d never be pretty enough, outgoing enough or Layla-enough for him.

Chapter 7

Now

Her phone beeped
again
with a text message, and Emma shook her head, reaching across her desk to turn it off. She glanced down to see if it was from Cole or Layla. Between the two of them, they were testing the limits of her data plan.

Where the hell are you??? Why aren’t you answering? My boss is a fucktard and I need to talk to you about it ASAP. Call me.

Layla. Emma had avoided her since the Saturday cookout, and it was Tuesday. They usually talked daily, but she was afraid of what her sister would say happened Saturday night. She didn’t want to know.

Her anger was primarily directed
at Cole. He’d led her on and jumped on her sister at the first opportunity. She’d completed two paintings in his honor over the weekend in her tiny nook of an art studio:
Asshole
and
Asshole Part 2
. Rudimentary, but they’d helped her vent.

“You’re popular today, Emmaline,” Aaron Wright said, leaning against the side of her desk.

“Yeah, sorry, I turned it off.”

“I don’t mind. As long as you keep turning out such great work. McDaniels loved the new logo you did for them, did I tell you that?”

“They did? That’s great. I didn’t know that, no.”

“You
have a much broader concept of design than the other designers here.”

Emma frowned at the glare she got from a coworker. It was a completely open office, and she wished Aaron wouldn’t fawn over her work in front of the others.

“Well, we all have our strengths,” she said.

“But I like you. I like your eye.” His gaze rested levelly on her breasts as he spoke, and Emma shifted uncomfortably. So it was like that. Did he even like her work?

“Thanks,” she said coolly, rising from her desk. “I have to go meet my boyfriend for lunch.”

“I didn’t know you had a boyfriend.”

“Oh, yeah. I’ll bring him in to meet you sometime. You’ve been a great mentor to me.”

He looked a little chagrined
as she left the office. Had she sent the message clearly enough? The last thing she needed was to get fired, but she would quit before she got involved with Aaron. He was probably as old as her Dad, and he was her boss. He also wasn’t Cole.

It was
difficult to not read his texts or listen to his voicemails, but there was no point. He had gone out with Layla, and that was that. She didn’t want to hear his explanation, and she sure as hell didn’t want to hear him say he still wanted to go out with her, too. There was no way she was sharing a man with her sister. She was uncomfortable enough knowing he’d slept with Layla, no matter how many years ago it was.

I
lived the dream for a little while, and it was nice. But it’s time to get back to everyday life. And I like my everyday life. I can do things like forget about the five pounds I need to lose and eat a giant bagel with cinnamon cream cheese from that deli down the street for lunch.

Emma
walked to the deli, finishing the bagel and a fruit smoothie on the walk back to the office. She hoped Aaron would be gone when she returned, so it would be a peaceful afternoon.

*****

The afternoon was just what Emma was hoping for until the phone at her desk rang.

“Emma Carson,” she said, distracted by the on-screen edits she was working on.

“So you’re alive! I’m a little pissed about that, actually, because I decided you wouldn’t just completely blow me off like this unless you were dead.”

“Layla.
” Emma sighed, exasperated. “I’ve just been busy.”

“Busy with what? You have no life.”

“What do you want? Why are you calling me at work?” Emma asked with an edge.

“I’ve been worried about you. You won’t call or text me back. What’s up?”

“I’ve just been busy, honest. I’m sorry.”

“Is it
Brian? Are you busy with him?”

“Ugh, no,” Emma said.

“Oh, is that over?”

“I guess.
I don’t know. Can I call you later?”

“Don’t you want to hear about how it went with Cole?”

“Oh. Sure.” Emma burned inside at the thought of the two of them together.

“We went out for drinks downtown and we’re going out this weekend.”

“I thought you were taking him home Saturday night,” Emma said.

“
No, I decided to make him wait.”

“Ah, yes, you’re so hard to get,” Emma said sarcastically.
“I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Okay.”

After she hung up the phone, Emma closed her eyes, forcing away the tears that welled. She’d known hearing Layla talk about him would hurt, and it had.

*****

The elevator doors were almost closed when Emma’s co-worker Amy slid a hand in to stop them.

“You want on?” she asked Emma as they opened.

“Yeah, thanks.”

“You always take the stairs,” Amy said, shooting her a confused glance.

“I know. I’m feeling lazy today.”

“Yeah, today kinda sucked.”

“It did, didn’t it?” Emma agreed.

“But you feel better knowing that Aaron ‘likes your eye’, right?” Amy said, blatantly ogling Emma’s chest as she said it. Emma threw her head back and laughed.

“You noticed that, too?” she said.

“Yeah. He’s a perv. Whatever.”

“See you tomorrow,” Emma said when they stepped off the elevator and pushed their way through the tall glass doors of the office building.

“Em!”

She turned toward the voice and saw Cole, who had been leaning against the wall waiting for her.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded.

“Why won’t you return any of my messages?” He’d loosened his tie, and Emma hated herself for liking the way he looked, even now. His dark gray suit fitted just right over the lines of his shoulders and biceps.

“Why are you such a man
whore?” she hissed, leaning toward him. His look of confusion was also angry.

“What did
Layla say?” he asked, sounding disgusted.

“So you want to know how much I know, to make sure you don’t admit to anything else?” she asked.

“There’s nothing to know! She refused to tell me where she lived unless I took her out for a drink first. She was being so aggressive I almost left her on the side of the road with money for a cab. We went to a bar, where I had a soda, and I did end up leaving her there.”

“Why?”
Emma asked, her anger draining away slowly.

“Because when I told her we’d had a drink and I wanted to take her home, she wanted to stay and have another drink. I told her I had to get home, and she didn’t want to leave.”

“But you’re going out with her this weekend!”

“
She said that? God, she’s nuts!” Cole ran a hand over his hair in frustration. “Em, she wrote her number down and shoved it in my pocket and said, ‘Let’s go out next weekend. Call me.’ I’m not calling. I didn’t even save her number.”

“She is nuts,” Emma agreed. “She’s determined to have you.”

“I’m not interested. I was hoping to go out with you this weekend.”

Emma laughed bitterly.

“Why me, when you could have her?”

Cole shook his head, distaste all over his face.

“Don’t do that,” he said. “One of my favorite things about you is your confidence, Em. Can’t you tell how I feel about you?”

When he reached for her waist, Emma instinctively slid her hands around his neck.
She reveled in the solid, warm feeling of him.

“Layla said you guys were going out for drinks and out this weekend, and I’ve been upset about it,” she admitted. “I figured she got you alone and charmed you.”

“Why didn’t you ask me about it?”

“I don’t know
. I just wanted to forget about it.”

“Don’t I deserve a chance to explain? Layla’s so
fucking manipulative, you can’t take her at her word,” he said, sliding Emma in closer to him.

“It’s not just that, it’s also the history,” Emma said. “I always wanted you to see me when we were younger, but you only saw her. I figured that would happen again when she was in the picture.”

A steady stream of people made their way around them on the sidewalk, and Emma wished they could have this conversation in a more private place. But she needed to hear his answer, even if they were in the middle of a crowd.

“I didn’t see any girl three years younger than me that way in high school, Em. Our age difference was a lot different then. And Layla and I just went out a couple times. There really isn’t a history.”

“I tried on her purple prom dress one day when she wasn’t home and pretended I was going to prom with you. I’m not sure you realize the depth of the crush I had on you.”

“
Had?
” he asked, sounding disappointed.

“Yes. No more desperate crushes. You know I like you, though, Cole. I don’t grope men in
art gallery parking lots unless I have at least a passing interest.”

He smiled, brushing his lips across her forehead.

“I want you to come to a dinner with me Friday night,” he said.

“I’ll check my schedule.”

Cole nudged her ribs gently.

“I need you there. It’s important,” he said. “One of the partners at my firm is hosting it.”

“Okay.”

Emma saw Aaron Wright coming out the front doors of the office building, and she leaned up to Cole expectantly.

“Kiss me,” she said quickly. “Make it good.” 

Cole’s lips parted briefly in surprise before he brought them down on hers
. He tightened his hold on her waist, forming their bodies together as he kissed her, his tongue meeting hers insistently.

H
er senses combined to overwhelm her as she swam in the woodsy cedar scent of his cologne, the taste of coffee and peppermint and the hard warmth of his body pressed against hers.

Emma was breathless when she pulled away, looking up at him in a daze. She knew it wasn’t her high school crush, but the man standing before her now, who was affecting her so deeply.
He gave her a longing look, sighing deeply.

“I wish we could have dinner tonight, but I have to go back to the office,” he said.

“I’m teaching a class tonight, anyway,” she said, taking a breath to steady herself, still reeling from the kiss.

“What do you teach
?”

“Oh, it’s a painting class
. At a homeless shelter.”

“I’m working night and day on a case I have a hearing for Friday morning.
I’ve got to get to a dinner meeting with one of the partners. I wish I could see you before Friday night, but --”

“Cole, I’m not the needy type. Do your work. We’ll see each other Friday night.”

Then -- Nine years earlier

Hugo’s tongue hung
low as Emma released him from his leash in the front lawn after their walk. He bounded toward the house when he smelled his own yard, eager to escape the scorching summer heat.

The
upbeat sound of baseball play by play drifted out of the garage, and Emma wandered into her father’s domain, sinking onto the old couch with a sigh.

“Emma,” her father said, smiling as he looked up from the engine of the car he was tinkering with. “I thought we could work on your driving today.”

“Okay,” she said, enjoying the cool whoosh of air a fan blew her way.

“Before we go, could you walk over to the Marlowes
’ house? I noticed their newspapers are stacked up on the porch. They didn’t say anything about going out of town, though. There’s a key under the mat, just take the papers in and check the mail and see if everything looks okay.”

Emma rose from the couch, gathering her long, sweaty hair off her neck. She wondered how Layla could stand to be out on the football field practicing cheerleading in this inferno.

She noticed the pile of newspapers when she approached the house, all wrapped into cylinders with rubber bands. Mrs. Marlowe’s potted flowers were all drooping, and the house appeared quiet and empty.

Even with the key, she felt awkward entering the house.

“Hello?” she called loudly, dropping the papers onto a console table. “Mrs. Marlowe? Mr. Marlowe?”

Her brows furrowed as she walked into the kitchen and saw dirty dishes piled in
the sink. Every time she’d been in the house, it had been spotless. She decided to check the garage for cars, but heard feet thudding on stairs before she made it out of the kitchen. Her heart hammered with worry until she heard Cole’s familiar voice.