Sea Glass Island (Ocean Breeze) - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,49

you really think avoiding him is the answer?” Gabi asked gently.

“She knows it’s not,” Cora Jane chided. “Honey bun, the two of you need to talk this through. Don’t let it turn into some mountain that can’t be climbed.”

“You mean rather than the molehill you consider it to be?” Emily asked wearily. “I know you’d love it if I’d just cave in and agree to move here.”

Cora Jane regarded her patiently. “Where you live isn’t up to me, now, is it? Boone saw how important this job in Los Angeles was to you, and he uprooted himself and B.J. to accommodate that. He even opened a restaurant out there. That shows the lengths he was willing to go to just to make you happy.”

“And now it’s my turn?” Emily asked miserably. “There’s nothing for me here.”

“Except family, history and potential,” Cora Jane reminded her. “And there was nothing in Los Angeles for Boone except you. He made it work.”

“You wouldn’t be the first couple to take turns following each other’s career choices,” Gabi suggested. “I saw it all the time. One partner would get a fantastic offer someplace and the couple would move. Next time, they’d go where the other one landed a dream job.”

“I’ve seen that, too,” Samantha chimed in. “One actor has a movie role on location and his wife and kids go along. Next time the wife lands a part in a sitcom and they settle in Los Angeles while that’s taping. You work things out.”

“If you say anything about it being the mature way to handle things, I may have to smother you with a pillow,” Emily warned.

“Then I won’t use that word,” Samantha said. “Even if it does apply.”

Emily sighed. “You all make it sound so blasted reasonable. It didn’t feel reasonable when Boone dropped this bombshell on me earlier.”

“Did he demand that you come home to North Carolina immediately after the honeymoon?” Samantha asked.

“No. He just said that he hoped it was something I’d consider once this safe house project was completed.”

“That sounds pretty reasonable to me,” Cora Jane said.

Emily frowned at her. “It probably is. It just felt like a betrayal. And it was even worse, because I’d been half expecting it all along. I’d just hoped I was wrong about how miserable he was out there. I don’t understand why he had to bring this up now, a few days before our wedding.”

“Maybe he understood that you’d gotten the wrong idea and thought it was important to get these particular cards on the table before the wedding,” Samantha suggested. “Perhaps you should give him points for trying to be honest and up front with you. How would you have felt if he’d waited and hit you with this in a few months?”

“I don’t want to give him points for anything,” Emily grumbled, then sighed when there was a knock on the door downstairs.

“You going down?” Samantha asked. “Or do we send him away?”

Emily glanced around at the expectant expressions everyone was wearing and sighed. “Of course I’m going down there,” she grumbled. “But he’s not off the hook yet.”

“Wouldn’t expect him to be,” Gabi acknowledged with a grin.

As Emily started from the room, Cora Jane called out to her.

“What?” Emily asked.

“Just keep in mind how much you love this man and how much he loves you. Do that and everything will turn out all right,” Cora Jane told her.

Samantha wrapped her arms around her grandmother. “And that’s where we all get our romantic optimism.”

She couldn’t quite decide if that was a blessing or a curse.

* * *

Cora Jane turned to Samantha as soon as Emily had left the bedroom. “Now let’s talk about you,” she said, an unrelenting note in her voice.

Samantha regarded her with surprise. “Me? Why?”

“Did you or did you not fight with Ethan when he called just now to let you know Boone was on his way? I could see it in your eyes when you walked back in here that you were furious.”

“Okay, yes, I was annoyed that he knew what was on Boone’s mind and hadn’t warned any of us,” Samantha said.

“It wasn’t his place,” Cora Jane said firmly. “And if you were being fair, you’d know that. Are you just looking for an excuse to keep him at arm’s length?”

“Oh, she wants him a lot closer than that,” Gabi said, her voice threaded with laughter.

“Gabriella!” Samantha protested.

Cora Jane chuckled, satisfied with the revelation. “Okay, then. I’m happy to be wrong about that. Call the man and