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Emma was cradled between his legs as they finally ate the flan and finished off the strawberries covered in chocolate. As he set aside their plates on her nightstand, he wrapped his arms around her and drew her back against his chest.
“Delicious. As good as mine,” he said and kissed her temple.
“Liar. There’s no way it was as good as yours,” she said and rubbed his forearms with her hands.
“Way better since we actually ate it, Em,” he teased.
She laughed and shook her head. “You’re incorrigible,” she teased.
But a second later he had his hand between her legs, touching her intimately and rousing need again.
“No, that’s incorrigible, meu amor,” he whispered in her ear and proceeded to show her just how good it was to be bad.
***
CONNIE RETURNED THAT weekend from her honeymoon and brought with her a couple of unseasonably warm December days. With the temperature hovering in the mid-fifties, Emma and her friends had grabbed a couple of big blankets and laid them out behind the Pierce and Sinclair beach houses to enjoy the weather, sun, and a picnic lunch that Emma had picked up earlier from Jesse’s shop.
Connie had finished eating and was lying on the blanket, wearing a lightweight jacket. Unbuttoned, it fell open to reveal a very pronounced baby bump.
“OMG, Con. Did you swallow a coconut or something on your honeymoon?” Emma kidded and gently ran her hand over Connie’s newly burgeoning belly.
Connie leaned up enough to see it and smiled, happiness radiating from her like summer sunshine. She skimmed her hand across the growing mound and said, “It’s like the baby was waiting until after the wedding and then said, ‘Bam it’s time to show me around.’”
Tracy laughed and said, “You tell that little girl she’s got to wait. It’s not time for her to come out yet.”
Connie glanced at her friend, a slight scrunch to her brows. “You think it’s a girl? That’s the way I’ve been feeling too.”
“I hope it is so she can have wonderful friends like all of you,” Tracy said and hugged Emma, who was sitting beside her on the blanket.
Cross-legged, Maggie was opposite Connie on another blanket. She turned to take a look at Connie’s protruding belly and with a laugh, she said, “Are you sure there aren’t twins in there?”
“No, twins, thankfully. We have enough going on with the new building, the house renovations, and my new job,” Connie said.
Maggie swiveled and laid shoulder-to-shoulder beside Connie. Maggie spread her hands across her own belly and said, “Good thing since Owen and I are having twins and may need some help.”
Connie shot up to stare at her friend while Tracy squealed and leaned over to hug both of them.
In shock, Emma covered her mouth with her hands as tears came to her eyes. “Twins?” she said shakily.
Maggie nodded and grinned. “I guess all that trying worked for us,” she said with a laugh. “The doctor said twins. I’m almost at the start of the third month and we heard the two heartbeats at our last visit.”
“Wow, Maggie. That’s amazing,” Emma said and reached out to grasp her friend’s hand.
“Amazing and scary, but it’s nice to think that Connie’s baby won’t have to wait too long to have friends around,” Maggie said and hugged Emma.
Tracy clapped joyfully and said, “And the babies will have Aunt Tracy and Auntie Em –”
“Sweet lord, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that,” Emma said with a heavy sigh and a roll of her eyes.
“But you’re going to be a fabulous aunt, Emma. So am I,” Tracy said and hugged her hard, sensing that she needed the support.
Emma could picture it. Tracy and her, the favorite old maiden aunts, taking their friends’ trio of babies for ice cream or to the amusement park on the boardwalk a few towns over. But then the image in her mind morphed and that reddish-haired, hazel-eyed baby came into the picture again as it had the other night and joined her friends’ babies. She embraced that image and found the courage to say, “Carlo and I . . . we’ve been seeing each other. Seriously.”
The squeals that followed that announcement were as loud as those for Maggie’s news.
“That’s epic, Em,” Connie said, earning a groan from Maggie.
“That’s so Jon of you, but it is epic,” Maggie teased, mimicking the surfer lingo Connie’s husband was so fond of using.
“It is,” Emma said, but her friends knew her too well not to see she was still reluctant.
“It’s going to work out, Emma. He loves you,” Maggie said and leaned forward to squeeze Emma’s hand to emphasize the point.
Connie added her support by moving across the blanket to hug her. “When Jon and I first got together, I was worried too, but Jon said to take it organically. I laughed and thought he was crazy, but look,” she said and gestured to her belly.
“Organically, huh?” Emma said with a shake of her head. “I’ll try, Con. I’ll try not to over think it,” she said, recalling the words Carlo had said to her just the night before.
“Try, Emma. Try to set aside all the hurt your dad did to you. Trust Carlo,” Connie said.
Tracy emphasized it with a hug. “Carlo is a good man. He’ll make a good father.”
“I hadn’t thought that far ahead,” she said although she had. Not that she could admit it yet or even truly believe it.
“Liar, but we’ll let it go for now, Emma. We can all tell it’s too soon,” Maggie said.
“It is and all I want to think about right now is enjoying this gorgeous day with my best friends forever,” she said and to prove her point, she joined them all together in a group hug.
Their laughter and smiles filled Emma with joy and comfort. She knew that no matter what, they’d be there for her through good times and bad. Her one hope was that the times to follow would only be good for all of them.
***
CARLO SCROLLED THROUGH his electronic ledger one last time and then his 401K summary. Not that he wanted to tap into that, but he would if it would secure the future for him and his brothers. And Emma. For the last several years his dreams had always included Emma both in his personal life and his business one. But he still hadn’t had the courage to talk to her about the convention center and as much as he dared hope, he feared Emma remained unsure about their personal relationship. Flipping to the spreadsheet he’d created to keep track of the funds he’d been able to put together for the bid on the convention center, he sighed with regret. With what Paolo and Tomás could contribute they only had enough for a substantial portion of the purchase price, but nowhere near what they’d need to finish the renovations to the building.
He could reach out to Emma, but his gut tightened with concern. He wanted her to be a part of it so much. But how would it affect their too new relationship? he wondered and settled more deeply into the cushions of his chair. He steepled his hands before his mouth and rested his head on the back of his chair, considering what to do. How to do it.
A sharp series of knocks on the frame of his door yanked him from his thoughts.
Jonathan Pierce stood there, looking tanned, relaxed, and incredibly happy. “Dude, why do you look so down?”
Carlo hopped to his feet and hurried to bro hug his friend, clap his back, and clasp his hand. “Mano, you look great. Marriage obviously agrees with you.”
“I feel great, Carlo. I never thought I’d say this, but married life is awesome,” Jonathan said with a huge smile. His sea blue eyes gleamed like sunlight on the ocean.
“I can tell. You really do look happy,” he said and motioned him in the direction of a chair in front of his desk. “What brings you here today?”
“I just got back and found out the convention center is for sale. You know me. I wanted to jump on that, but when I called Mary Sanders, she said she couldn’t help me. That she already had another client interested in the property.”
Carlo nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets as he sat on the edge of his desk. “I guess you’re here because you figured out who it was.”
“I did and it makes a lot of sense. I know Emma and you have talked about starting an event planning business together and that’s a perfect location. Lots of opportunities for holding events,” Jonathan said, the surfer dude replaced with the businessman who had turned the energy and vehicle industries on their heads.
“A good place for you to have conferences as well. The ballrooms seat a nice number of people,” Carlos said.
“According to the specifications on the main ballrooms, they’re approved for five hundred people each. Perfect for the kinds of conferences I wanted to have. I’ve got some ideas on the first one I’d like to hold there, but I want no part of dealing with the food, planning, and everything else it takes,” Jonathan admitted with smile as he tacked on, “I’d rather be surfing.”
“Or inventing another fabulous new car.” Carlo reached across his desk to grab the fob sitting there. “It worked like a dream,” he said as he returned the key to Jonathan.
“Glad to hear that, Carlo. We have high hopes for the Thunder. Are you game?” Jonathan asked and pocketed the fob.
“Game? Does that mean you want to be like an Angel Investor?” Carlo said, wanting to make sure that he understood just what Jonathan was proposing.
Jonathan laughed. “An Angel Investor, huh? Haven’t been called that before, but I like the sound of it.” His friend eyed him thoughtfully and plowed on. “I have total faith in you, your brothers, and Emma. Partners, Carlo.”
“Partners, huh?” Carlo asked, liking the idea of working with a man like Jonathan. An honorable, smart, and loyal man. A true friend as unexpected as it was considering how different their backgrounds were.
“In exchange for my contributing a share of the funds, I expect to have use of the spaces for conferences and meetings. We’ll coordinate to avoid conflicts. You and Emma can use the property for events,” Jonathan clarified.
“And a restaurant. My brothers and I would like to have a restaurant in one of the smaller ballroom spaces so that there’s regular income for our workers. Also help employ more people in the area,” Carlo said, holding his breath and hoping Jonathan wouldn’t be opposed to that part of the bargain.
Jonathan held out his hand to seal the deal. “I like that idea, Carlo. There’s always room for another restaurant and more jobs in the area.”
Carlo wrapped his hand around Jonathan’s. The other man’s hand was calloused and strong. The hand of a man who had worked hard for everything he had, just like Carlo had labored to build his life so in some ways they maybe weren’t all that different. “Deal, Jon.”
“Good. I’m going to reach out to my corporate counsel about setting up a new LLC for this project. We’ll need the names of all the partners from you and then we can sit down and discuss the finances. I’d like to get moving on this quickly.”
Quickly, Carlo thought and a scintilla of fear curled through his gut. Quick was not what he had in mind when it came to Emma and the business they had talked about so many times. But they also couldn’t risk losing a once in a lifetime opportunity.
“I’ll talk to my brothers and Emma and give you a rundown on what we can contribute to the purchase,” he said, burying his worry about Emma’s reaction.
“Awesome. This is going to be an epic project,” Jonathan said and enthusiastically shook his hand, his blue eyes bright with excitement which alleviated some of Carlo’s misgivings.
“Epic,” Carlo repeated, praying that Emma would think so as well.
