Page 46 of Here With You

“Did she know that?”

“Yes, because she called you with a to-go order.”

“That was her being hopeful.” She pushed off the booth. “I’ll get that order ready.”

He sat there and thought about what Cricket had said, and he felt lower than an ant in a ditch. Emmaline’s biggest fear was that he’d leave again, and his was that she’d push him away. They were both doing their best to sabotage what they had together.

“Cricket?” He called from his booth. “Can I get that to go?”

She tapped her head. “I already put the order in that way. I’ll get the pie and ice cream ready too.”

He shook his head. “She won’t need it.”

“That’s my boy. You were always my favorite.”

CHAPTERNINETEEN

“And he left me,” Em said as she poured herself a cup of coffee and sat at her kitchen table talking to Charlotte and Marybeth on a three-way call. Had it only been a day since she sat there getting all gussied up to make Miles regret leaving her? This was history repeating itself, only she was squarely at fault this time. Why she did what she did, she couldn’t say, but she imagined it was to prove something. She’d been proving herself worthy all her life, and then Miles comes along and changes everything.

“He didn’t leave you. He’s probably just taking a break. You know, sometimes when you call and I don’t answer, I’m here, but I need a break too,” Marybeth said. “You can be intense.”

“What?” She didn’t usually take anything in her coffee, but today she put three teaspoons of sugar because her sweet meter was falling below empty. “You ignore my calls? At least Charlotte doesn’t abandon me. Right Charlotte?”

Her friend took far too long to answer. “I try not to. I was there yesterday when you needed a makeover.”

Marybeth cleared her throat. “Don’t you leave me hanging out to dry. You were home that weekend she wanted us to come over and watch movies, but you told her you had plans in Austin.”

“Oh my God. You lied about that?” She sat alone, watchedThe Notebookby herself, and bawled ugly tears for an hour.

“Well,” Charlotte said in a pitch that would make a dog squeal. “It wasn’t a real big lie. I watched Austin Powers with Tilly. I couldn’t doThe Notebookone more time. Honey, we’ve watched it so many times that you know the script.”

Em gasped. “Tilly said she was checking out a new farmer’s market in Beaumont and wouldn’t be back to town in time for movie night. She had all kinds of fruits and veggies when she showed up the next day.” There was no way her closest friend of all would betray her. It couldn’t be true.

“She stopped at Kroger on the way to work that morning,” Charlotte said.

“I can’t believe it. What kind of friends are you?”

“The kind who love you but know when they’ve hit their capacity. We’ve been filling your emptiness for years. And we don’t mind, but sometimes we need to fill our tanks too,” Marybeth said.

“And Austin Powers does it for you? I thought you had better taste. At least when Tilly abandons me by herself, it’s for David Hasselhoff.”

“Wait,” Marybeth said. “The actor?”

“No, the electrician, but what does it matter? You lie to me.” Her mind moved through a dozen dates where all her friends were mysteriously absent or busy. “You act like I’m high maintenance. I don’t ask for much. All I wanted was your time.”

“Don’t be mad, Em,” Charlotte said. “Now tell us what happened with Miles. Tilly said you were in the boathouse for hours. Did it really take that long?”

Em wanted to be furious with her friends and hang up, but she needed them right this minute, so she would postpone her rage and hang up on them later.

“No, we were cleaning the cobwebs out.”

Charlotte sucked in a breath. “Oh honey, I know it’s been a lifetime, but cobwebs? Is that even possible?” She made atsk tsksound. “Marybeth, I told you we should have left a tube of lube. She’s like a rusty gate that needs some WD-40. A little dab would do a body good.”

“Not my hoo-haw. We were cleaning out the cobwebs from the boathouse. Don’t forget, there’s a critic either here or coming into town, and I want to be prepared.”

“See, you need a program,” Charlotte said. “I don’t know how many steps it will take to get you off the resort sauce, but you have a man you’ve been in love with all your life. You’re alone in the boathouse, and all you did was clean cobwebs? Your priorities are skewed. One day you’ll be lying on your deathbed with Marybeth praying over you, and I guarantee you won’t wish you’d impressed a stupid critic. You’ll be looking at your old, wrinkled hands, wondering why someone isn’t holding them, and telling you everything will be okay.”

“Harsh,” Em said.

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