Page 50 of Hat Trick
I do a quick scan of it and add the ingredients I don’t have to my grocery list.
I stopped by Lil’s suite yesterday morning in between a couple of her clients and my morning classes to bring her a coffee.Andto ask her on a date.
When she asked how she got lucky enough to have two one-on-one dates in the same week, I simply shrugged and said, “I can’t let Dominic Foster have the upper hand.”
Even though the three of us know there’s no competition, I don’t feel the slightest bit threatened at the thought of them spending time together without me. Honestly, it makes me kind of…happy. I want the two of them to have a strong relationship with one another, and I want Dominic to see that getting close to someone on a deep level is okay.
Lil is coming over for a late dinner, as she has a couple of clients this evening. But that actually works out in my favor because our practice ran a little long this afternoon, thanks to our 0–1 loss last night, and I still have to go to the grocery store.
I could have easily taken Lil out tonight, but I wanted this to be different. I want her to see that I’m capable of being more. I want her to see what I feel for her when I can’t always put it into words.
Probably because you don’t want to admit what’s happening, dumb fuck.
Pushing that thought to the side, I grab my wallet, keys, and grocery list, and head to Delectable Desserts for top-of-the-line créme brûlée ingredients before going to the grocery store. Because I’ll be damned if this night is anything less than perfect.
1 New To Country - Bailey Zimmerman
CHAPTER 31
THE L WORD
LILIANA
“Ibrought wine, sweet cheeks!” I yell through the front door of Emerson’s house.
When I don’t get a response, I slowly creep into the living room. The Bakers—as in Emerson’s parents—bought this house when Jackson, their oldest, was accepted to Palm University. There’s a total of four Baker boys, and they were banking on all of them coming to the same school. So they decided to save themselves some money in the long run and invest in a house they could all live in, rather than pay for four rounds of campus room and board. It was a smart move, in my opinion, but now it’s only Emerson here, and I worry about him being lonely in this place all on his own now that Jax has moved back to Montana.
As I walk through the spotless house and into the kitchen, where I hear music and the sound of dishes clanking, I stop and lean against the wall. Emerson hasan apron wrapped around his neck and waist, and I get lost in the view of his muscular back flexing under his dark grey Henley. I don’t know what it is about a man in a kitchen cooking, but nothing makes me want to hit my knees faster.
He moves on from plating whatever he has made for us and places the pot back on the stove. When he finally spots me leaning up against the wall, he clutches his chest. “Oh my god, you scared me!” He pants before taking a deep breath. “But it is perfect timing.” Rushing over, he pulls a chair out for me to sit in. “Sit. I’ll take this and put it in the fridge for later.” He leans down, kisses my head, and murmurs, “I have a special wine pairing for dinner.” Pulling back, he shoots me a wink, and I swear to all things holy, I don’t think I can possibly survive Emerson Baker in an apron.
The table is already set with wine glasses, glasses of ice water, and all the silverware we’ll need for what looks like a multi-course meal. I haven’t eaten at a set table in way too long, and the thought of it has my stomach groaning. Between running my own business and me being the only one living in my apartment, I often find myself eating a quick dinner on the couch while catching up on the latest episode ofYellowstone.
Because I’m not ashamed to admit I eat up the way Kevin Costner looks riding that horse.
Emerson sets my plate in front of me before grabbing his own and sitting down across from me. He looks at me anxiously as he waits for me to dig in first. “Em, this looks so good.” I take the first bite of a perfectly cooked steak, which melts in my mouth. Thenthe veggies, which are also perfectly cooked, and what have to be homemade mashed potatoes. I’m groaning and moaning after each bite. “This is the best thing I’ve ever had in my mouth.”
He watches me as I eat, only occasionally taking bites of his own food. But as the food disappears on my plate, I watch the smile on his face grow. I’m not even overexaggerating either. I’ve genuinely never tasted better food. “How did I not know you could cook?”
He shrugs. “We’ve never talked about it… and if it makes you feel any better, I just started getting good, now that Jax has moved out. Take out, and the couple of things I was good at cooking, got old fast.”
I nod because I feel all of that way too hard. I look up at him in between bites, and he’s still staring at me. “What? Do I have food all over me or something?”
“No, I just love seeing you like this.” There’s theL wordagain. It’s there—not even in the back of my head. It’s a spoken word, out there in the open. Sure, he didn’t say those three words one right after the other, but he still said it. In regard to me. But I don’t say anything about it. I don’t trust my brain to get words out properly right now.
Instead, I ask the question that’s been eating at me for the past couple of weeks. “Is it just me or does it make you sad too that we could’ve been doing things like this the whole time?”
“Do what?” he asks, his brows pinched in confusion.
“This.” I gesture between the two of us. “The real dates. You and me. Me and Dom. I just feel like wespent a year together but not reallytogether. You know?”
He nods in understanding. “We were doing what felt right at the time. But this, this feels rightnow. I wouldn’t change a thing about how we’ve gotten to this point,” he answers, his stare not wavering for a second. “I’ll always be thankful for any second you let me in your orbit, Liliana Campos.”
And there it is, Emerson being the sweetest soul when that’s the last thing my confused head needs. I give him a warm smile before we finish with dinner in comfortable silence. I just sipped the last bit of wine in my glass when Emerson says, “Okay, one last surprise—well, a couple of surprises once we get out there.”
I huff. “This has been enough surprises for a lifetime already, Emerson.” Everyone knows I hate surprises, but they seem to keep coming. I tease, “No more surprises from either of you two for at least a few months.”
He’s up out of his seat and pulling mine out. “Trust me, you’ll love this one. Come on.” Grabbing my hand, he pulls me to my feet, and we head out the back door. That’s when I see it. A little blanket set up out in the yard under the quickly darkening night sky. “We’re far enough out from the city lights to see some stars on a good night… and tonight is a good night.” He’s being shy, which is so different from how he typically acts. I like this side of him, though. “So I figured we could end our date out here.”
