A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies - Christina Lee Page 0,57
their youth had suddenly materialized, and the more Rhys pictured him and Neil sitting closely in the stands, the more his gut churned. Fuck.
So he kept himself busy by dusting surfaces and vacuuming rugs and asking the kids to straighten their rooms so Emerson could cross some chores off his to-do list.
Then he rounded up the laundry, and after putting a load in the washer, he sat beside Sam and inquired about his science-based computer game, where he was busy creating his own galaxies. Pretty cool stuff.
He watched as Audrey texted and smiled at her phone practically all afternoon, and he shook his head, wondering if he’d looked much the same at that age.
“Aunt Janice wants to know if we want to spend the night,” Audrey said in an excited tone, holding up her cell.
“Sam?” Rhys asked, and he nodded absently, distracted by his game. “Okay. Let me check with Emerson.”
He fished out his phone to text him.
Can the kids have a sleepover with their cousins?
Sure!
He felt weirdly satisfied at the immediate response.
Cool, we’ll let her know.
Once the arrangements were set, Rhys felt oddly hollow when he should’ve felt anything but. The kids would be leaving in a couple of hours, and he didn’t know how long Emerson would be out with Neil, so he was free to do whatever the hell he wanted. Not enjoying the unsettling feeling, he lifted his phone to scroll to an earlier text from Lance, asking if he wanted to meet for a drink. He didn’t even realize until last week that Lance had quit working at Flying High and was now a deejay at Sneaky Pete’s, so they obviously had plenty to catch up on.
My plans have changed. I’d love to meet you.
The rest of the afternoon flew by, and before he knew it, Audrey was pacing nervously in front of the entryway, tension rolling off her, as she waited for Aunt Janice to pick them up.
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” she replied with a sideways glance out the window. “I’m just anxious to see my cousins.”
But something seemed off. When he placed his hands on her shoulders, she relaxed a bit. “You sure about that?”
Her gaze dropped to her feet. “I dunno.”
“Does this have anything to do with you being grumpy earlier?”
“I just want to be picked up before Emerson and Neil get home.”
Yep, definitely grumpy about something or someone.
“Why is that?” He tried for a soothing tone. “Something wrong with Neil?”
She frowned and kicked at the edge of the area rug. “He’s not you, okay?” Her entire body stiffened, and her hand came down over her mouth. She looked like she was going to cry.
“Audrey, honey. Why would you say that?” His pulse was battering as he knelt down in front of her. “It’s okay, you can tell me.”
She shook her head vigorously. “Em doesn’t want me to.”
Suddenly all the stern looks between them the last few weeks began adding up. What in the hell was going on? All he could come up with was that maybe she had envisioned something about all of them being a family. Or he was totally off track.
“It’s okay for Emerson to spend time with other friends,” he said. “Were you hoping that me and Em might—”
“It’s not something I made up in my head,” she bit out. “I saw you.”
His entire body tingled from his head down to his toes as some sort of awareness lurked in the shadows of his brain.
“Saw us what?” Why was he so fucking afraid of her answer?
“Kissing.” She motioned behind her. “In the kitchen. I was upstairs in bed, but I came down to get a glass of water, and you guys were…um…” Her whole face grew tomato red, and she turned away, offering him her profile.
Was he having an out-of-body experience?
“When was this?” he asked around a tight throat.
“Right before your accident,” she whispered, as if saying it out loud was too sacred. The gravity of what she’d confessed came crashing down on him like waves, pulling him under.
Why the fuck didn’t Emerson tell him this? He could not get a grasp on the thoughts flashing through his brain at warp speed.
Did that mean the two of them… Was that even possible? Was it just something stupid that happened, or was it something real and true and…and…holy shit!
“Were Emerson and I dating?” He could barely push out the words; it seemed surreal, unlikely. Her answer was liable to turn his entire world upside down.