screaming yes. Her heart was screaming yes. Her mind would probably have a few reservations, which was why her mind wasn’t allowed to offer an opinion tonight.
Jack groaned as he pulled away. “You feel so good, Em.”
Barnaby barked at their feet, making Emma laugh. She looked down at her furry friend and then bent to scoop him up. “Sorry, pal, but you don’t get to stay inside this time.” She carried Barnaby quickly to the back door and placed him on the porch. “I’ll open this in a little bit,” she promised. Then she closed the door again and sealed off his doggie door, which was the equivalent of hanging a DO NOT DISTURB sign for dogs. Hurrying back to Jack, she hoped he hadn’t changed his mind.
He quickly stepped toward her, getting back to where they’d left off. His hand moved down her back and tugged at the hem of her top, lifting it over her head as they moved into the dining room and then stumbled down the hallway toward her bedroom.
An unspoken question filled the silence as they finally took a breath and looked at each other in the shadowed darkness of the room. Was this really going to happen?
Emma kissed him first, giving an unspoken answer. Yes.
Chapter Sixteen
Jack shifted to look at a sleeping Emma, snuggled against him. Her breathing had slowed half an hour ago, and her body had seemed to melt into his.
As he lay here, his mind was running at lightning speed, jumping from the woman in his arms to what had just happened to what might happen next.
Next, they might wake up as a real girlfriend and boyfriend. Next, Emma might freak out and want to slow things way down. Next, he might freak out. Not because he had any regrets. He didn’t.
A soft moan escaped Emma’s mouth. He stroked her hair off her face, gazing down on her as she slept. She looked so peaceful in this moment. Was she dreaming of him? He wanted nothing more than to stay, but instead he slowly slid out of her embrace and out of bed. He was responsible for a fifteen-year-old this summer, and he needed to be at home.
He quietly dressed and headed down the hall toward the kitchen. He bumped into the table and then stumbled over a stack of books on the floor as he looked for a pen and paper, shocked that Barnaby didn’t come barking after him. Emma had let her little dog back inside the house between getting a glass of water and returning to bed for cuddling. Barnaby had simply huffed at the two and then curled up on his large pillow beneath the window.
Aha! Jack located a pen and notepad and carried it to the counter where there was a thin sliver of moonlight shining from her kitchen window. He started to write.
Dear Emma,
I’m sorry I had to leave without saying goodbye, but I didn’t want to wake you. Sam shouldn’t be left alone overnight. I’ll call you in the morning.
He debated whether to write Love, Jack. There was too much implied in that word. Later, Jack? Sincerely, Jack?
In the end, he just wrote his name. Then he grabbed his keys and quietly let himself out, locking the front door behind him.
Ten minutes later, he walked into his own home, headed down the hall, and fell into bed.
“Uncle Jack?”
Jack’s eyes popped open. “What are you doing up?” he asked, seeing Sam’s shadow in the doorway.
“I was waiting for you,” Sam said.
Good thing Jack had decided to come back. “Everything okay?”
Sam fidgeted with his hands. “I want to talk about Mom.”
“Now?”
When Sam didn’t immediately answer, Jack sighed. Then he sat up and got out of bed. “All right. We can talk. How about I make some tea?” He hadn’t gotten any at Emma’s after all.
“Old people drink tea at midnight,” Sam said. “I’m fifteen.”
“Old enough to know better than to insinuate your favorite uncle is old.” Jack clapped a hand on Sam’s back as they walked toward the kitchen. “You don’t have to tell your friends you liked it.” He pointed at the kitchen table. “Sit. It’ll only take a minute.” And in that time, he needed to make a choice about what to tell Sam.
He’d told his friends about his struggle with alcohol tonight. He and Emma had also decided to stop pretending.
The water bubbling in the kettle was the only sound for a minute.
“Are you going to tell me the truth this time?” Sam