Southern Hotshot (North Carolina Highlands 2)
MyBoyBlue4: See you then. Sweet dreams, V.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Emma
Lindsey links arms with me as we walk up to Samuel’s front door.
“I’m proud of you,” she says.
She’s smiling for the first time in days.
I smile back. “Thanks. I’m proud of you too.”
She snorts. “Proud of my train wreck of a life? Thanks.”
“I mean it.” I nudge her with my elbow. “You got out of bed today, didn’t you? That’s no small feat. We need to celebrate the small things when the big things get overwhelming.”
“Eh…”
“Fine. Can we at least celebrate the fact that the gallon of wine you’re about to drink is the best in the world?”
“That I can get on board with.”
“See? It’s the small things.”
Lindsey glances at my stilettos. “Like those shoes?
“Like these shoes.”
Truth be told, I didn’t know how I should dress. So I went with what I felt best in: stilettos, jeans, and a bun. Little bit V, little bit me.
Judging by the way Samuel’s eyes light up when he opens the door, I’d say I got the balance just right.
The late afternoon sun slices across his face, catching on the ends of his neatly parted hair. He smiles, the skin around his eyes crinkling, and the world goes still at the same moment my heart does.
He’s sporting the same puffy eyes and dark circles I am. His cheeks are a little sunken, and I wonder how much weight he’s lost over the past few days. I don’t own a scale, but I can tell by the way my clothes fit that I’m definitely down a few pounds. Knowing he hasn’t been able to eat or sleep either makes my chest hurt.
“Hey, baby.”
A full-body rush of want moves through me at the deep timbre of his voice. I dig my teeth into my bottom lip. “Hi, Samuel. It’s so good to see you.”
“You look beautiful.”
“You look handsome as hell.”
“I know.”
I pretend to roll my eyes. “I thought Beau always hosted Sunday supper.”
“He does, but tonight he and Bel and Maisie made an exception at my request.”
I nod. “Thanks for having us.”
“Thanks for coming. Lindsey, it’s great to see you again. My family and I promise to behave better this time. Can I get a mulligan? I’d like to start over with Em’s family. Y’all are just as important to me as my own. Hopefully, you’re a little less nuts, though.”
“Don’t count on it.” Lindsey’s smile grows. She holds up her arms. “Hi, I’m Lindsey, and I already love you because I can tell how much you adore my sister.”
Samuel accepts her hug. “I’m Samuel, and I already love you because I’m starting to think you may have talked Emma into giving me a second chance.”
“How’d you know?” I ask with a grin.
He lifts a massive shoulder. “Lucky guess. Y’all come in, please. I have a couple of bottles of that drunk nun Albariño with your names on it.”
“It’s a sign,” Lindsay says, following Samuel inside. “That’s what my next career move should be. I can go from attorney to drunk nun, no problem.”
The familiar smells of Samuel’s house fill my head—soap, something savory in the oven—and my heart skips a beat.
I can hear Van Halen playing in the kitchen—“Dance the Night Away” this time.
Lindsey gawks at Samuel’s house, but I just gawk at Samuel. The way his fingers move as he expertly uncorks a frosty bottle of the Albariño. The easy charm of the questions he asks Lindsey as he hands her a heavy pour. How fucking adorable he looks with a kitchen towel slung over his shoulder and that earnest gleam in his eye.
He’s learning how to be charming without being full of shit. The transformation is breathtaking to witness.
“So I’m going to give myself a tour of this insane house,” Lindsey says. “I won’t finish until y’all tell me I’m done, okay?”
Leaning back against the counter, Samuel smiles and crosses one leg over the other. “Give Em a call if you get lost.”
“It’s not that big,” I tease.
“Yes, it is,” he teases right back. “Biggest you’ve ever seen, including all the ones you’ve peeped on the internet.”
Lindsey wags her eyebrows at me. “Lucky girl.” Then she disappears into the dining room.
The space between Samuel and me thrums the way it did that first day we met. Only this time, Samuel’s looking at me with soft eyes and a smile.
“We’re really gonna do this,” I say, throat swelling with emotion.
He holds up his glass. “If you’ll have me, yes. What changed your mind?”
“Lindsey was actually a big part of it. We talked for a while last night, and I realized I was trying to build this perfect career. But like the perfect life, it doesn’t exist. The dream is still there. The dream of enjoying my work and earning enough money to live the life I want. But maybe the dream is messy, and maybe it’s never going to look the way I thought it would. I’ll never know everything there is to know about wine or success or money. I’ll never know everything there is to know about myself.” I move across the kitchen to stand in front of him. “One thing I do know? I’ve got a long road ahead of me, and there’s no one I’d rather travel it with than you.”