Page 55 of The Clover Chapel (Jamison Valley 2)
“Hit the green stripe. Not the blue one.”
“No.”
“Emmy,” he growled. “Green stripe.”
“You are pushing me, Nick. You won’t like it when I push back.”
“Oh, yeah? What are you going to do?”
I turned my gaze to our audience. “Did you guys know that Nick has an obsession with male strip shows? His favorite Las Vegas show is Thunder From Down Under. He loves it so much that he made me go to it before we got married.”
The garage exploded with laughter. Silas moved to Nick’s side and clamped onto one of his shoulders as he bent over howling, shaking Nick’s body.
“I love her!” Silas yelled.
I aimed a smug smile at Nick as he glared down at me. “Blue stripe. Or they learn about how you squeal like a little girl when you’re riding a roller coaster.”
The laughter in the room got even louder as Nick fought a grin. He bent to speak into my ear. “That’s just not even true, Emmy.”
“Blue stripe,” I repeated.
“Fine. Hit whatever ball you want,” he said
I missed the shot but didn’t care. With a smile on my face, I leaned against the back wall while Maisy took her turn.
“You two spar more than Jess and Gigi. It’s pretty fucking entertaining. I can’t wait for dinner,” Silas said.
“Thanks,” I said.
Silas’s words confirmed something I had begun to realize these last few weeks. Nick and I had that easy banter I had longed for. Something I had envied about Jess and Gigi. Being with Nick was comfortable. We fit together and I could be myself around him.
I’d had years of practice pretending to be the Emmeline Austin that New York high society had expected me to be. That Emmeline only said what was proper and polished. Her manners were impeccable. Her proclaimed opinions were never too strict or off-center.
My father had expected me to be that Emmeline. My friends. Even Logan to some extent.
I did not like that Emmeline.
But not once during the last two weeks of dinners with Nick had I felt the need to mask my emotions or stifle my opinions. He liked me just as I was. No pretense. And the real me flourished around him.
Everything I had ever wanted in a relationship I had with my husband.
How ironic.
The same day that I realized maybe Nick and I had a future was the same day my divorce papers had arrived in the mail.
Blaring sirens filled my ears. The sound was so loud, I shot out of bed and immediately scrambled for my phone on the nightstand, wincing as the light illuminated the dark room. Fumbling to dial 9-1-1, I rushed to my w
alk-in closet and closed myself in.
“What is your emergency?” the dispatcher answered.
“My alarm system just went off,” I whispered.
My heart was thundering in my chest and I was having trouble breathing. Going from a dead sleep to instantly awake, and terrified, was wreaking havoc on my body.
“What’s your name?”
“Emmeline Austin,” I said.
