Page 76 of The Clover Chapel (Jamison Valley 2)
Pride swelled in my chest and a wide smile spread across my face. “Thanks, Nick,” I whispered.
He pulled me closer into his side and leaned down to kiss the top of my head.
“You know, I used to come in and teach forest fire safety classes. I haven’t done one yet this year. We could plan a visit for your kids,” Beau offered.
“That would be amazing!”
“I bet you could talk Nick into joining me too. Bring out the old ‘Stop, drop and roll.’ Make a bigger class of it. Fire safety at home and outdoors,” Beau said.
Nick nodded. “Good idea. Just wish I would have thought of it first. She’s going to be all pissed later that I didn’t.”
“If you come to teach my class, I promise to only be mad for a day or two,” I said.
“Deal.” The smile on my face was giant. I couldn’t wait to see the look on my students’ faces after spending an afternoon with Nick and Beau.
“So when are you two gonna have kids?” a man asked.
I didn’t recognize the voice so I searched the room, trying to determine who had just asked an extremely personal question to a stranger. My eyes landed on an older man standing on the other side of the kitchen. He was staring at Nick and me, waiting for a response.
“Oh, Seth. Butt out,” Maisy told him.
I was instantly grateful for her interjection. It gave me time to think of a way to politely dodge his question.
The Prescott residents were all about one another’s business. Prying came with the territory, and at times it felt more intrusive than the New York paparazzi and gossip columnists.
Nick and I still had a lot to overcome. We were a long way from adding children to the mix.
“Ignore him, Emmeline,” Maisy said quietly. “He means well but he’s one of the meddlesome old men in town. They thrive on gossip and drama.”
“I don’t know why you’re even asking, Balan. You and all your retired buddies will just make up a story when you meet at the café next week for coffee,” Nick said.
“You young kids.” Seth chuckled. “So sensitive these days. All right, all right. I get the hint. I’ll just tell everyone you’ve got ED and the Viagra isn’t working.”
The people in the kitchen burst out laughing and even Nick couldn’t keep a straight face.
Hours later and my smile hadn’t faltered. As a teenager, I’d loved attending social gatherings with my parents. But things were different now. Those fancy parties and pretentious dinners paled in comparison to a casual gathering with good people and honest friendship.
“You’re lucky to have such good friends,” I told Nick as we drove to his house.
“They’re your friends too, Emmy.”
I didn’t agree but I wasn’t going to argue. Maybe someday I would consider them friends. It wasn’t that I didn’t want them as friends, but right now,
they belonged to Nick.
Though, I was excited to spend some time with Maisy and Gigi next week. Maisy had invited me to join them for their monthly girls’ night at the Prescott Spa. We were getting pedicures and drinking wine while they enjoyed a few hours of adult conversation without their kids interrupting. I couldn’t wait.
“Do you want kids?” Nick asked.
It wasn’t out of the blue but his question still managed to surprise me. During the party, I had been grateful when he’d dodged Seth Balan’s question. But it was one of those that once asked, it was difficult to ignore.
“Yes,” I said. “Do you?”
“Yeah. How many?”
“At least two. My mother was an only child and she always complained about how lonely her childhood was.”
“Let’s go for three,” he said.
