CHAPTER TWO

Emelia Stanton looked across the big Mardi Gras tent, staring at Sebastian Vernon. He was beautiful. She knew that you weren’t supposed to say that men were beautiful, but he was beautiful.

“Just go talk to him, Em. You know that he likes you too,” said Hex. He adored the Stanton girls, but it was this one, shy little Emelia that had his son’s attention. They were identical, so he wasn’t quite sure why this one stood out for Sebastian. But she did.

“Oh, hi, Mr. Hex,” she said quietly. Hex laughed, shaking his head.

“It’s just Hex, Em. I’ve known you since the day you were born. Just Hex.” She smiled at him, a soft pink blush covering her cheeks.

“I don’t know if he really likes me or not. He doesn’t say much.”

“Neither do you,” he said, grinning at her. “That could present a problem for the two of you. Someone has to be brave enough to speak first.”

“We’re so different. I mean, look at me. I’m so small and he’s so big. He might not like that.”

Hex tried not to laugh out loud. The Stanton girls were all brilliant. They did exceptionally well in school, but he noticed that they were somewhat na?ve about other things in life, and boys were definitely one of those things.

“Honey, if he likes you, he won’t care that you’re smaller than him. I have a little secret for you. Most men like a woman who is a bit smaller. It makes us feel protective of them. We want to be known as the person in their life that will save them. It’s silly, really. Very neanderthal ways of thinking, but it’s inside of us. We can’t help it.”

“What should I do?”

“Maybe just take a walk,” he said, grinning at her. “He’ll follow. I guarantee it.”

Emelia stood and started to walk away, then turned back to Hex. She bent down and kissed his cheek.

“Thank you, Hex.” He just chuckled, nodding at the young girl. He felt the womanly hands of his wife on his shoulders and turned to smile up at her.

“You’re a big softie at heart, Hex Vernon. It’s one of the many reasons I love you.”

“I know the biggest reason you love me,” he growled, standing to pull her into his arms. “Why don’t we dance, and I’ll remind you of that.”

“Let’s dance.”

Emelia told herself not to turn around. She didn’t want him to think she was doing this on purpose, even if she was. She headed toward the maze, hoping that if he followed, they could have alone time.

She loved her sisters dearly. But they were like having three identical little mothers always hovering, telling her what to do. They all seemed to be in one another’s business, and she wanted this to be between her and Sebastian. Just the two of them.

“Em! Em, wait up!”

Emilia took in a deep breath and turned, smiling at him as she wrapped her arms around herself. The wind was starting to pick up, and she could see flashes of lightning in the distance. It was cold, and they were about to get wet. Not very romantic.

As Sebastian approached, he took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. His fingers squeezed her flesh, and a sizzling heat went through her body.

“You shouldn’t be out here without a coat.”

“I needed to be away from all the chaos,” she smiled. She hoped he wouldn’t leave her. Not now.

“Oh. I can leave you,” he said shyly.

“No, Sebastian,” she smiled. “You’re not the chaos. All of that is. I love our families, but sometimes it’s a lot.” She hoped that he would understand what she was saying. She loved her parents and sisters. She loved his parents, but everyone all at once was a lot. More than a lot.

“It’s a lot all of the time. Believe me, I understand.” They walked slowly through the maze, and Sebastian felt the wind pick up. “Maybe we should get somewhere warm.”

She nodded toward the enclosed gazebo, and they jogged toward it just as the rain started to come down. Inside, Sebastian closed the door and started the fire in the small gas firepit. He then lit the lantern that was always available, and they snuggled together to get warm, staying out of the impending rain and storm.

“If I didn’t tell you tonight, you look beautiful, Em. Really beautiful.” He’d noticed, she thought to herself. She’d spent hours on her hair and makeup, wanting it to be perfect for him. She intentionally made it look different than her sisters’.

“You didn’t tell me but thank you. You look handsome as well.” Emelia heard the music coming from the Mardi Gras tent. Bull and Amanda were singing a duet while Mia played the violin. She could hear the faint sounds of everything floating across the property, seemingly directed at them.

“Would you like to dance?” he asked, standing and holding out his hand.

She nodded at him, sliding her arms into his jacket to keep warm. Emelia hoped that he wouldn’t see her shaking beneath the coat. It wasn’t from the cold. It was from nerves.

Emelia knew this would be the perfect chance for her to ask him. Maybe her only chance with them alone. When the song ended, she stared up at him, just looking into his eyes. He was so much taller than she was. She rocked up on her toes to be taller.

“Sebastian?”

“Yes.”

“Will you kiss me?” she asked.

“Are you sure, Em? You know what it means to me if we do.”

“I know,” she nodded. “Me too. We’re going to be going our own way soon, and I don’t want us to forget this. Please kiss me.”

He lowered his head to hers, finding her lips in the dim light. He didn’t pressure her with a tongue or try anything strange. He just molded his lips to hers and enjoyed every breathless moment of it. It was her first kiss, and Emelia knew it would also be the last. No other man would ever touch her again. Sebastian or celibacy.

When Em pulled back, her chest heaving up and down, they just stared at one another.

“Promise we’ll come back together?” she asked.

“You have my word.”

Emelia knew that any number of things could change between now and when they left for college and the military. She also knew that the majority of those on the property always returned.

They’d both hoped that they could date until they had to leave, but dating was difficult when there were a bunch of other people around you all the time!

For Emelia, it was enough for the time being. Finished with her master’s program, she took a job with the FBI and never told anyone except her sisters. She wanted to tell Sebastian, but she knew that if she told him, the others would all find out, and that would make their parents find out.

None of them were ready for that.

Their hand was forced when Mags was kidnapped in Egypt, and Ellie and Leif reconnected. Now, the whole world knew that they each worked for one of the agencies.

“You should have told me,” he said quietly as the others were laughing and joking around. Finally safe and happily back home, Mags and Ellie were married to the loves of their lives. She was thrilled for them, and she hoped that Maddie would stop being so stubborn and realize that Forrest was the man for her.

“I wanted to, Sebastian. So many times. I was just worried that my parents would find out, and I wasn’t ready for that yet.”

“You could have come to see me,” he said, staring at her. She could see the pain in his eyes and shook her head.

“Sebastian, it’s not what you think. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to keep this a secret from you. I’ve never been able to keep a secret from you. I didn’t want for it to be this way but look at how this turned out. Once you knew about Ellie, then you all knew about Mags, Maddie, and me. Everything we knew would happen is happening.”

“What’s happening?” he asked.

“Mom and Dad want us to quit and work here.”

“Would that be so bad?” he asked, kicking his boot toe into the dirt. “I mean, you’d be back here. I’m back here.”

Em took his hand and tugged, walking toward the maze. It wasn’t cold like their first night in the maze. It was a perfectly lovely summer evening. When she stopped, still holding his hand, she looked up at him. That impossibly tall, wide figure making her feel like a doll.

“Maybe you should sit, and I’ll stand,” she smiled. He smirked, taking his seat on the stone bench. He opened his knees, and Em stood between them.

“You’re not coming home, are you?”

“Yes, I am. I just have this one case we’re working, and then I’ll come home. I want to finish this. It’s a series of bank robberies, and I want to catch these guys and end my career on a high note.” She couldn’t tell him all the details. She couldn’t tell him that she’d received death threats for her investigation of the robberies or that she was close to finding who was responsible.

“I’m glad to hear that,” he said, exhaling.

Em twisted her body to the side, taking a seat on one of his thighs. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him sweetly. When she pulled back, the sweet, innocent seventeen-year-old was gone. In his place was a hard, wide man. His face had a scruffy growth of hair, his eyes intense with longing and burning.

“Come to my cottage,” she whispered. He stared at her, holding her tightly to his own aching body.

“Em, you need to be sure, babe. If we go back to your cottage, we’re declaring to everyone that we mean something to one another. They’ll all know our business.” She looked at him, grateful that he understood her need for privacy.

“You’re right. They will know.”

Emelia could feel the eyes of everyone on them as they walked hand in hand toward her cottage. She knew that they all understood now what their relationship was. Hand in hand, they walked out of the maze and toward her cottage. They could feel the eyes of everyone on them, but neither turned back to acknowledge it. Inside her cottage, the nerves were eating her alive.

Now, all she had to do was tell him.