14. Emily

Chapter fourteen

Emily

" A nd so he just stays there all day?" Angie asks, standing at the window of the shop.

"All day," I repeat.

"And at night?"

"They switch out–Darius in the day, Micah at night."

"And how long has this been?" She turns to look at me, worry furrowing her brow.

"Last two or three days."

"Two or three days of round-the-clock surveillance. Do you have any idea what something like that might cost?"

I hadn't honestly thought of the cost, but now that she points it out, I'm back to the weirdness that is being Easton Degarmo's little project or friend or whatever. I can't explain it nor can I really do anything about it.

"I don't know…a lot?"

She snorts. "Easton must really have a thing for you."

I pick up the flowers I'm working on and try to focus on the arrangement in front of me. "I really don't think so. He said doing this would make him feel better as my friend."

"No way." She turns away and looks at me. "He seriously said the F word."

I smile. "It's like the second or third time now. I'm his project, not a potential girlfriend."

Angie puts a hand on her hip. "I don't know. This still seems like a lot of involvement for just a friend."

"He's Easton Degarmo. He probably snaps his fingers and all the girls come running. Girls who don't have cankles or dirt under their fingernails."

She laughs. "Keep telling yourself that, love." She kisses me on the cheek. "I've got to run, hot mama. I'm meeting a handsome stranger for a scandalous afternoon."

"Parent-teacher conference?" I guess.

She laughs, "Close. We have to interview to get Katie into preschool."

"Be for real. Does she have to take the toddler SATs too?"

She sighs, "Lord only knows. We just need her to get in somewhere. The place she's at has no room in the four-year-old room."

I rub my belly and sigh. "The things I have to look forward to."

She smiles as she shuts the door behind her. "Have kids, they said…it'll be fun, they said…"

That night, I can't help but peek between the vertical blinds that cover the sliding glass door. Micah, the nighttime guard, is there, sitting in his car like he has the last few nights. I should feel safe and comforted by the fact that he's there, but all I feel is discombobulated.

Questions about Easton play on repeat like the most annoying earworm of a song ever. No matter what I do, I can't push him out of my brain. Fortunately, Gremlin Baby comes through. Incubation is just too taxing. As soon as I'm in my usual spot on the recliner, Sir Jonathon flops across my upper arms and chest, lulling me into my early evening coma with his strong soothing purrs.

I've always heard pregnancy dreams are the craziest ones, but the ones I have on this night have to be top tier.

In my dream, I'm laying in the recliner and open my eyes to find Easton Degarmo in jeans and a polo. It's weird because he's not a polo kind of guy. It's totally my first clue that this is a dream. He's reaching to brush the hair out of my face when he notices my eyes are open and looking back at him. He stands frozen for a moment as Dream Emily formulates a thought into words.

"Easton, why do you have to be in my dreams, too?"

He looks puzzled for a moment and then says. "I don't know, Emily, you tell me."

I close my eyes and open them again. I'm so tired. Exhaustion pulls me back. "I wish you were the real Easton…I'd ask you so many questions."

"What if I couldn't answer them all?"

"You're beautiful. You can do what you want."

Dream Easton chuckles. "I hope you always feel that way."

"I feel tired."

He adjusts my covers. "Then go back to sleep. There's always time for questions tomorrow."

"Tomorrow, I won't be brave," I complain, as darkness sucks me back into unconsciousness.