Page 84 of Beaten

“Sorry Mrs. Taylor.” Ashley winked at me as she apologized to my mom. They were almost as excited about my first date with Jamie as I was.

Almost.

The way things were going tonight, I half expected my father to give Jamie ‘the talk’ about respecting his little girl. Or for Chris to show up and threaten to punch him again if he did anything to hurt me. I laughed at how ridiculous they were. They’d known Jamie forever and he’d been nothing but polite, respectful, and caring the last two weeks, but dads were dads, and brothers were brothers, and mine were over-protective.

And I loved them for it.

The door bell interrupted my thoughts.

Chapter 43

Jamie

“Dude, relax. You’ve known her most of your life and you’ve seen or talked to her every day for the last two weeks. You have nothing to worry about.” Jack tried to calm me down as I paced.

But I wasn’t worried about taking Emily out, despite this being my first first-date in fourteen years. It was because this wasn’t just any first date, it was with Emily and I was already thinking about a future with her. A future that included me being terrified I'd lose her.

I suspected Jack knew as much, but he didn’t bring it up.

“You look great, Jamie, you’re almost as handsome as my Prince Charming.”

High praise coming from Meg.

“Thanks.” I looked at my watch. “I should get going.”

I stopped at the florist and picked up two bouquets of flowers. One was a dozen yellow roses with baby’s breath, the other pink and purple tulips.

I’d given myself plenty of time to visit Isabelle before picking up Emily. “Tonight’s the night. How do I look?” I asked as I placed the tulips in front of her headstone. I’d visited a lot in the last two weeks, because talking to Isabelle helped me get past feeling like I was betraying her memory. Everyone told me I wasn’t, but the only voice I needed to hear was hers. And while I didn’t believe in ghosts, I’d swear I felt her presence whenever I talked to her.

After a few minutes of serene silence, I said goodbye and left for my date with Emily.

I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants after ringing the doorbell.

“Good evening, Mr. Taylor.” He’d told me to call him Chris, and I’d been getting used to it, but this felt like a Mr. Taylor moment.

“Good evening, Jamie.” He echoed my formality as he swung the door open. “Please, come in. Emily will be down in a minute.”

“Thanks. How are you doing?” The only physical evidence of that night was the half-healed cut on his forehead.

“Can’t complain.”

I thought I was hiding my nerves well until he smiled and said, “Relax, Jamie. I don’t bite.”

I smiled as my shoulders relaxed. It was exactly what I’d needed to hear to stop acting like a stranger in the home I’d been visiting my whole life. I was about to thank him, but I heard footsteps at the top of the stairs and instinctively turned towards the sound.

Time stopped.

Emily was gliding down the stairs in a simple low cut blue dress that clung to her curves.I’ll never think of her in pigtails and braces ever again. Her hair framed her face in soft curls and she’d put on a little makeup. Not that she needed it; she was perfect just the way she was.

“Breathe, son.” Mr. Taylor said as he patted me on the back.

I nodded, sucked in some air, and took the three steps required for me to reach the bottom of the stairs. “You look…” I struggled to find the right word and settled for, “amazing.”

Ashley said, “Told you so.”

At the same time Emily said, “Thank you.”

Holy shit. I’d been so mesmerized by Emily that I hadn’t even noticed Ashley, or Mrs. Taylor, on the stairs behind her.

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