Reid ran his slick palms down the side of his navy khakis. He’d paired them with a collared shirt, open to reveal the neck of a T-shirt. With his loafers, he should hit the right note for an evening at Wolf Trap. Hopefully Emilie would enjoy the picnic he’d bought from the Whole Foods deli counter and the show that would follow. He had enough citronella to keep a swarm of mosquitos at bay. If the projected rain would hold off until after the show, the night would be perfect, since the seats under the covering had sold out before he had the idea. His mom had always said Wolf Trap was a romantic venue. He hoped Emilie agreed.
Kinley hobbled into the kitchen, looking alive and so good. Things weren’t easy right now, but he had her with the best counselor the Haven staff recommended, and she was slowly settling in. Brandon had promised to come stay with her this evening, and Emilie had said her friend Caroline would be over as well. Like Brandon couldn’t handle anything that came his way . . . but if that made Emilie comfortable leaving Kinley, it was good with him.
It would be an intimate concert.
One shared with around seven thousand.
But he hoped it would make an impression.
A knock at the door had him hurrying to it. “You ready, Kinley?”
“Sure.” Her voice sounded small, but she sank onto the couch and lay down. Her little legs left plenty of room for Brandon, he hoped.
As soon as he opened the door, Brandon pushed through with a bag slung over his shoulder, holding another filled with takeout.
“Thanks for coming.”
“Sure. I needed the break.” There were new stress lines near his eyes. While Reid had won the contest at work, he hadn’t done much to help Brandon.
“Hey. We’re still going to find you the funding.”
“Sure.” Brandon forced a grin as he walked to the couch. “Hey there, princess. Remember me?”
She giggled. “You’re Uncle Reid’s friend.”
“And I brought Strawberry Shortcake and American Girl DVDs.”
“You’re a good man, Brandon.”
“Just used to working with kids.”
Someone else knocked, and Reid would have sworn Brandon puffed even bigger. His little girl would be safe with him. “Calm down, big guy. I was expecting one more.”
“Why?” Brandon looked around. “You think I can’t handle her?”
Reid opened the door, and a cute brunette walked in. She was petite. Even shorter than Emilie, but she sparkled somehow.
“Hey, y’all. I’m Caroline Bragg.” She stuck out her hand and shook his with lots of energy. “Here with my Mary Poppins bag and ready to get you out the door. You’d better scoot, man, or you will leave Em waiting. I don’t recommend that.” She stepped farther in, and Reid closed the door. “Who’s your friend?”
Brandon looked frozen in place, like he couldn’t quite take in this little fireball. Reid had to agree. She was more forceful than Emilie had described.
“Well, I know Kinley’s safe with you two.”
“’Course she is. Hey, sugar.” Caroline sat down on the coffee table in front of Kinley. “Tonight is manicure night. Just wait until you see all the nail polish I brought. I’ve got rhinestones too. Everything for enough bling to blind the boys.”
Kinley giggled and looked at Reid. “I like her.”
“Me too.” He turned to Brandon, who still looked a little starstruck. “I’ll text when we leave the park, but call if anything happens.”
“We’re fine.” Caroline’s voice assured him they were. “Have a good time and get out of here.”
Reid hurried from his apartment down to his Lexus and headed toward Em’s town house. The streets of Old Town overflowed with the normal array of summer tourists searching for experiences that made the local history come to life. Or maybe they simply wanted a good meal or some ice cream to cool down.
He pulled into a street parking spot a few feet from her door and climbed from the car. When he knocked on the front door, he saw movement through the gauzy curtains, and a minute later she opened the door.
His lungs clenched, and he had to blink a couple times as he took in her appearance. She was wearing a sundress in bright pink with a polka dot sweater thrown over her arm. The broad-brimmed straw hat secured to her hair made her look ready for the Kentucky Derby. Between the dress and hat, he wouldn’t lose her in the crowd.
“You look amazing.”
A pink almost as bright as her dress crawled up her neck to her cheeks. He liked the look of softness and femininity it gave her.
“Thank you.” She closed the door, then took the arm he offered and walked with him down the stairs. After he settled her in his car, she pivoted toward him. “What grand adventure are you taking me on?”
“Is a surprise good?”
She studied him a moment before nodding. “I’m not usually big on surprises, but I’ll let you do it this time.”
“So it’d better be a good one?”
“Yes, please.”
“What’s that look like?”
“Roses, good food, and sweet music.”
“Hmm.” He opened the dash and made a show of shoving things around as he tried to ignore the feel of her soft skin against his arm. “I’m already doomed since I forgot the roses. Any special color I should know about?”
“You’ll have to surprise me.” Her smile had a coquettish tinge to it, and he couldn’t resist smiling back.
“We’ll see if I can hit the rest of your list.” He was feeling good about his chances as they drove toward Vienna and the park.
“I finally got the article turned in that my editor has been demanding. The night Kinley came home with you, the words began to flow. Olivia sounds pleased.”
“Sounds like you are too.”
“I’d begun to wonder if I could write again. With the Haven in such chaos, they don’t need the pressure of my salary right now.”
He bit back the urge to tell her he knew she didn’t need the money at all, but decided that was her secret until she chose to share. As he listened, he could forget the stress of the competition at work as well as the legal wrangling with Robert. For a little while those stressors lessened their hold on him. Though from everything he was seeing, Robert would be plenty busy trying to snake his way out of the murder charges the prosecutor was pursuing. It wasn’t an open and shut case, but it wouldn’t be an easy escape.
As they turned into the park, Emilie started bouncing on the seat like an overexcited teenager. “Did you get tickets to the show?”
“I may have.”
“Can you believe I’ve only been here one time, but I loved it. The setting is perfection.”
He slid into a parking space, then pulled the basket and a picnic blanket from the trunk. “I have folding chairs if you’d like them.”
She shook her head, and the hat miraculously stayed in place. “Leave them for now. I like the idea of enjoying a picnic on the lawn.”
When they reached the grassy field leading to the amphitheater, people had set up areas for their picnics all around. The scent of rain highlighted the air, but the clouds didn’t let it loose. Instead, the sun poked through, its rays warm on his face as he flipped the blanket open and let it settle to the grass.
As soon as Emilie sat down on the blanket, he opened the basket and pulled out tubs of food. In no time she was spooning dainty samples of each onto two paper plates.
“This is amazing.”
“You can thank Whole Foods for that.”
She leaned toward him. “I’ll thank you for getting it.”
A light breeze ruffled her hair, and he leaned forward to tuck a newly loosened strand behind her ear. She stilled and he didn’t pull back. The sparks of electricity were almost enough to create lightning, and he knew he wanted to experience every charged moment.
Emilie hesitated, the feel of his warm touch on her cool skin electrifying.
She should lean away, break the connection, but all she wanted was for Reid to lean in and do exactly what his eyes promised. Oh, how she wanted him to kiss her. To feel his lips seal the promises his eyes were saying. Kinley was safe; surely she could now pursue her heart’s desire.
He leaned a little closer, his thumb brushing her cheek in a soft stroke that had her resting against him. “May I kiss you?”
The question startled her. Had he really asked for permission? She nodded, the words locked in her suddenly dry throat.
When his lips touched hers, it was featherlike. Then she leaned in, and he deepened the kiss. Her arm reached around his neck until she could tangle her fingers in his hair. This . . . It was even more than she’d anticipated.
“Get a room.”
Emilie jerked back as the words were followed by laughter. She didn’t want to scan the crowd, but instead buried her face in Reid’s shoulder, her hat bobbing up as she did. His chest rumbled, and she peeked up at him. Laughter spilled from him as she met his gaze.
“I guess we made an impression.”
She wanted to whisper that he had certainly made one on her. Instead, she pushed away and started fumbling with the food containers. Why wouldn’t the lids fit?
“Emilie.” His voice was like a caress.
She didn’t deserve this. Her hands trembled and she looked for something else to do. “We should go get the chairs.”
“Not yet.” He took her hands, and his thumbs began to caress circles on the back of her hands. How could such a simple motion make her a ball of putty he could shape any way he wanted? Is this how her clients found themselves with the wrong man? A simple touch? Perfect words? Then their defenses crumbled like hers?
“Come on.” He tugged her to her feet.
“But the food. The blanket.”
“It will still be here when we get back. And if it’s gone I can get more.”
“All right.” She chose to let go of the questions. Reid had proven himself to be the opposite of those other men. She would choose to believe in him, in the possibility of them. He was a worthy man.
He led her on a stroll away from the crowds of the amphitheater toward the woods with the smaller children’s theater. Then they slowly made their way back, fingers interlocked, her heart content.
The show was magical. Reid never did go claim the chairs from his car. Instead, Emilie leaned against him, safe in the circle of his arms as the music of a string quartet wrapped magic in the evening air.
Later, as he walked her up the sidewalk to her front door, awkwardness filled her. What was she supposed to say now? Did he expect another kiss? Did she want to give him one? That was a ridiculous question; everything in her screamed yes! But was that the wise thing to do, or would this growing thing between them explode out of control?
What had happened to her firm rule about not getting involved with a client? As she looked at her fingers nestled next to his, she reminded herself the worst was over. He didn’t need her lawyering as much as she needed him.
He must have read the warring thoughts on her face, because when they reached the door, he pulled her closer and leaned down. “What you do to me, Em.”
She loved hearing him say her nickname that way, in that voice. “You melt me, Reid.”
He leaned down and captured her lips again, this time in a sweetly passionate way. Time stopped as she let herself trust this man. When he pulled back, he leaned his forehead against hers. “You captivate me, woman.”
She giggled. “I think I prefer ‘Em.’”
“Duly noted.” He tugged her close and sighed. She fit so well against him. Could she fit so well for the rest of her life?
“Go out with me tomorrow?”
She stepped back and laughed. “Can’t get enough of me?”
“No.” He grinned and took a step back. “I thought we could take Kinley to the zoo. I’ve got a wheelchair for her and thought the fresh air would be good for her.”
“I’d love that.”
“We’re going to see where this leads, Em.”
She couldn’t contain her grin. “All right.”
“Thanks for a great evening.”
“It was perfect.” And it was.
TWO WEEKS LATER
Emilie leaned back against her love seat. She held her laptop and felt the joy of words spilling from her. She’d talked to Olivia, and after she turned in this article she was taking a break from writing, at least for a while. Not because the words were gone. No, those had returned in a flurry of delight the week after Kinley’s hearing.
With Robert under arrest for murder, thanks in no small part to Kinley’s testimony, the flood had been unleashed. She hadn’t let Kaylene down in the end. The story just had a different conclusion than she would have hoped.
Kinley told the judge that her father had been yelling and threatening her mother, and then Kaydence suddenly appeared with a gun and waved it at him. As their mother tried to get the gun from her, it went off and hit Kinley. And then she saw her father take the gun and shoot both her mother and her sister. What had started as a terrible accident had turned into a heinous crime.
In a week, she and Taylor would move over to Daniels, McCarthy & Associates. Emilie hadn’t expected the move, but Savannah had assured her she could take the pro bono cases, and she thought she’d keep them a little more separated by not working at the agency.
With the Haven in disarray following Rhoda’s death, Emilie knew she didn’t want to become the executive director. She could do the job, but her heart was in helping people through the law. Until a new funding source could be found, the Haven needed the break from her salary. Jordan lingered in a coma, but the blood loss made it unlikely he’d survive if he didn’t have a fortune paying to keep him alive. If he did survive, he’d spend the rest of his days in jail.
She hoped the distance from the Haven would help her hear what she was supposed to do now. She wasn’t sure, but even as it unsettled her, she knew she was taking the right steps. God was the best career planner, and He would lead her.
Heavy footsteps sounded overhead, and she bit back the grin that wanted to explode across her face. Reid. Lighter steps double-timed after his. He’d brought Kinley. Her heart felt full as they reached the stairs. He was so much more than she’d hoped for, and Kinley was an unexpected blessing. Helping her heal soothed the aching places in Emilie’s heart. Kaylene and Kaydence were gone, but Kinley would recover.
Emilie hurriedly clicked a few words and then hit send on the article as the two who held her heart clomped down the stairs. She set the laptop aside just in time, because Reid hurried to her and tugged her into a hug.
“Em.”
She sighed and let herself be loved. “Reid.”
Kinley squeezed between them, and it became a hug of three.
Justice might have been imperfect, Kaylene and Kaydence were gone, but they had saved Kinley. In the process she’d found Reid, and he was perfect for her. Her heart was full.