over his heart as if that had hurt him deeply. “So you didn’t kiss him? Or other stuff?” He grinned. “Good. You deserve better.”
He wanted to step even closer, but his own words stopped him in his tracks. Those were her father’s words too. She deserved better, and that wasn’t him.
So he took a step backward, increasing the distance between them. Then his cell phone rang in his pocket. He tapped the screen and brought it to his ear. “Hello.”
“Jack,” his sister said. Her voice sounded threadbare and tired.
“Amanda.” Jack connected gazes with Emma, and he held up a finger. She nodded and went around the counter to continue closing the café. “How are you?” he asked, returning to the chair he’d been seated in a few minutes earlier.
“I’m okay. They’re feeding me three square meals and talking during everything in between.”
Jack could only imagine what topics she was discussing in the addiction facility. Their family life had been rocky. There’d never been any physical abuse, but emotional abuse, yeah. Emotional neglect too. Their mom had tried to counter their father’s negative influence, but she didn’t leave their father until Jack and Amanda were grown.
“How’s Sam?” Amanda asked.
Jack turned to look out the storefront window, wondering if he’d catch a glimpse of his nephew in passing. No sign of him. “He’s doing okay. Don’t worry about him. He’s spending his days at the park with me or at the café with Emma, working part-time.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” Amanda said. “I’ll try to call his cell phone tomorrow when I can.”
“He thinks you’re having the time of your life with your boyfriend,” Jack said, standing and walking off his restless energy. He stepped over to the glass door of the café to look out on Main Street for Sam again.
“I know. That’s for the best right now. Tell him I love him,” she added.
“Will do.”
“And I love you too, Jack.”
“Ditto.”
They disconnected the call, and Jack stood at the door a few minutes longer, watching couples and families stroll along, seemingly without a care. Were they lying too? Or were they really that carefree? He didn’t have anything to complain about. He had a good job, a nice home, and friends who had his back when he needed it. He got a little lonely sometimes, and those little urges to take a drink sometimes tapped his shoulder. He ignored those urges. Overall, life was good.
“All done,” Emma said from a few feet behind him.
He turned to face her.
“How’s Amanda?”
He gave a nod. “She seems to be doing okay. We could all benefit from some outside help sometimes.”
Emma didn’t look away as he stepped toward her. “Right. And some of us just avoid our issues altogether and pretend like they don’t exist.”
Jack kept walking until he was standing right in front of her once more. “Is that what you do?”
“Maybe.” She hesitated. “After my mom died, I distracted myself and tried not to think about her. It hurt too much. And now I find myself forgetting her and trying to remember. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?”
Jack wanted so badly to reach out and touch her. Being around Emma was an exercise in willpower. “The good news is that we’re all crazy. The bad news is—”
“We’re all crazy,” Emma said, finishing his sentence. A soft smile played on the corners of her lips.
“Good to know because I’m entertaining crazy thoughts right now,” he said.
Her lips parted just a fraction. He saw her throat tighten as she swallowed. “Oh? What thoughts are those?”
This is where he needed to stop talking. “About kissing you,” he said instead. “We’re friends. Kissing isn’t allowed.”
She didn’t turn around and run at his confession. She also didn’t laugh or criticize his words. So maybe it wasn’t the worst idea.
“Then again, if we’re going to pretend to be together, it might be easier if we crossed that line. We can call it research.” He kept his gaze steady on hers. Was her heart beating as fast as his?
He never did satisfy his sweet tooth in coming here, and she was the sweetest thing he knew. Willpower shattered and weak, he leaned in slowly, holding her gaze and searching for any sign that she wanted him to stop.
Emma didn’t flinch. She was so still that he wondered if she was even breathing.
As he dipped toward her, he reached for her hand and felt her fingers tighten around his. He saw her eyes close, and his did the same, preparing for something that he’d wanted