“We barely know each other,” she whispers.
“I’m here hopin’ you’ll give me a chance to change that.”
She rests her head against the couch, her eyes never leaving mine. “How would we do that?”
“Since we’ve done things a bit backward so far, I figure the best place to start would be for me to take my wife out on a date next Friday night if you don’t have any other plans?” When she nods, I press on. “Then, next time, maybe you can show me around town or introduce me to your friends—” She goes still. “Whatever you’re comfortable with. I just want the chance to work toward buildin’ somethin’.”
She cocks her head. “You said next visit. You’re goin’ to come back?”
My lips twitch up on the side. “Well,yeah. As long as I don’t screw up our first date.” She rolls her eyes. “I wish I could stay here for as long as it takes but I don’t want to rush this. I want to go at our own pace—therightpace.”
“How will we know what that is?” she asks earnestly.
I shrug, determined to be honest from the get-go. “I guess we’ll just know.”That’s what I’m hoping for, anyway.“For now, my plan is to visit you every weekend for as long as you keep invitin’ me back. I want you to know I’m serious about this—about us—and I’m prepared to do whatever it takes for howeverlongit takes to prove that.”
“How are you even real?” she says, her voice full of wonder. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who just says what they want, when they want, and do it so honestly.”
My hand finds its way to the back of my neck and I look down to my lap, my cheeks burning hot. “Sorry, it’s a bad habit. I ramble sometimes and?—”
“Hey. I didn’t say it was a bad thing,” she says, arching a brow. “It’s amazin’. Refreshin’ even. It’s just you, Jude, and I like it.”I like you, I want to say back.Too soon, Jude.
“You might not think that when I really get my ramble on. I can talk for hours about anythin’ and everythin’ if I get really fixated on somethin’.”
“I can’t wait,” she replies confidently. Just those three words are so moving that I consider pinching myself to make sure this is real. “If you’d asked me a month ago, I can’t say my answer would’ve been the same as it is now because I was consumed by Dad’s loss—as expected and as inevitable as it was. On top of that—and now here’s my truth bomb of the evenin’—I was scared of the way I was feelin’ about you and didn’t know what to do about it.”
“Really?”
“Really,” she repeats, giving my hand a squeeze. “You bein’ here tonight has me feelin’ better than I have for weeks. So, thank you.”
I cock my head. “Better?”
“I already told you I’ve been feelin’ a bit off. Almost like I’m the right person in the wrong place. Or like my soul knows I should be back home but my heart needs to be here to heal.” She worries her bottom lip between her teeth before lifting her eyes to mine. “I can’t think of any other way to describe it. I’ve never felt like that before though, it was a little disconcertin’.”
“And that’s changed with me bein’ here?” I say quietly.
Em nods. “As soon as you came inside tonight, all of those bad feelin’s disappeared.” She falls quiet for a moment, then she proceeds to rock my world, “That feelin’ on our weddin’ day? I felt it too.” She drops her voice to a whisper as her eyes fixate on our still-joined hands. “Part of me even wished itcouldbe real.”
My heart jumps at her confession.
The more I think about me sensing her leaving town, and how I’ve been just trudging through life since then, I realize that it was all because of the Call. “It really is true…”
“What do you mean?”
“They say the Call can cause physical pain and discomfort if you’re away from your One,” I explain. “It’s the spirit’s way of speedin’ things along if she thinks people are takin’ too long.”
Her eyes flash. “I remember readin’ about that in one of Aster’s books. I haven’t read them all, but they have shirtless men on the cover so theymight’vecaught my eye…”
“Oh really,” I muse.
Her lips slowly curve up. “Never thought about it bein’ the Call, though. My brothers and I didn’t know if we’dhearit after everythin’ that went down all those years ago. Dad was adamant we would if the mountain was whole again.” She shrugs. “I figured me feelin’ out of place was goin’ to be my new normal for a while.”
I make a show of drawing my shoulders back and puffing my chest out. “Andnowyou know it’s all because of me.”
She laughs.“Nowhis true colors are shinin’ through.”
I arch a brow her way. “Changin’ your mind about gettin’ to know me?”
Em locks eyes with mine, all amusement gone. “Not a chance, hubby. You’re stuck with me now.”