Melissa Brayden: Heart Block

“Em, wait. Don’t go. There’s something I need to say.”

Emory turned curiously and pointed at the hospital, tilting her head in question. “Did you just—”

“Yes, but that’s not important. Please just let me say what I need to say.”

Emory opened her mouth and then closed it again, seeming to honor the request.

“You can’t leave. I get why you walked away before, but I shouldn’t have let you. I should have told you that I love you. Because I do, love you, I mean. And I’m asking you to build a life with us, Emory, and to give me what I never knew I needed. I want to make plans with you and change them as we go. I want the fights and the day-to-day and the milestones and the make-up sex and all the snarls and tribulations that come with being together. It’s going to take work, and things are not always going to be perfect. But we’ll work on it. We’ll figure it out as a family.”

A soft smile appeared on Emory’s face as tears touched her eyes. “A family?”

Sarah nodded and took a step in. “Yeah. You, Grace, and me. We’re a team. So don’t go.”

Emory paused and slid a glance to her car and then back to Sarah. “So you don’t want the Whopper?”

“What?”

“Lunch. I was going to pick us up something to eat. A certain someone favors Burger King if I remember correctly.”

Sarah stared at Emory in confusion until the happy understanding settled. “You’re not fleeing the scene,” she breathed.

Emory covered the short distance that separated them, pulled Sarah in, and kissed her the way she’d imagined kissing her for the past six weeks. She sighed into perfection. “Nope.”

Sarah was cradling her face, and as much as she wanted to kiss her again, there were things she needed to address. “But there have to be terms.”

“Terms?” Sarah’s eyes widened. “Okay, what are the terms?”

“I love you.”

Sarah smiled, taking it in. “I think I can live with that one.”

“And you have to believe that I don’t fall in love with just anybody. In fact, I have very high standards and always have.” She picked up Sarah’s hand and threaded their fingers. “I happen to think that you are the most wonderfully smart, funny, and beautiful woman I have ever encountered. And I need you to accept that about yourself.”

It was Sarah’s eyes that filled then and her voice was meek. “I can do that. I can try and do that.”

They held each other’s gaze, the electricity between them already in full force. Emory’s voice was quiet and a small smile tentatively took shape on her face. “So we’re agreed?”

“We are.”

“One last thing.”

“All right.”

Emory took a breath and tilted her head sideways. “Can you say it again?”

Sarah smiled. “Emory, I love you. I don’t know why I thought it would be hard to say, because it’s not. I love who we are when we’re together and I love who I think we’re capable of becoming.”

“God, I love you too.” Emory squeezed Sarah’s hand. “And I’m so glad I thought to get the damn cheeseburgers.” They both laughed and there was only one thing left to do. Her eyes dropped languidly to Sarah’s lips as she moved in ever so slightly. “We should probably shake on it or something.”

Sarah leaned in and hovered just shy of Emory’s mouth, her voice a near whisper. “Or something. But once we do this, it’s binding. No going back. Got it?”

“Only forward.” As their lips met, Emory felt her world right itself and she sank into the kiss. What they were embarking upon was scary. But she couldn’t let that take precedence anymore. This, right here in her arms, was what mattered. The last few days had shown her that. Connection to another person, in a life where nothing was guaranteed, was more precious than anything. The details all seemed so much smaller in comparison.

As they stood there in the parking lot, the early afternoon continued all around them. Pedestrians bustled, and cars whizzed past, the midday rush hour in full effect. But Emory barely noticed. She was too busy dreamily kissing the woman she loved.

It was a moment. It was the moment.

Chapter Seventeen

It was the first week of December and as tradition dictated, Sarah had spent the entire Saturday baking cookies with the kids at her parents’ house. Carmen had helped and in good news, her boys had been less than destructive, only starting two food fights this year. Needless to say, it had been a day.

The kids had long since retreated to the backyard for marshmallow roasting with their Uncle Danny, a part of the cookie baking tradition Grace always looked forward to. A Johnny Mathis Christmas carol drifted in from the living room. Sarah looked around the kitchen at their masterful work and offered Carmen an exhausted high five. “I’d say we conquered cookieland.”

“Cookieland had no hope.” Next to them on the counter sat a stack of coconut macaroons, next to a platter of peanut butter reindeer, alongside colorfully decorated sugar cookies in the shapes of bells, stars, and remarkably accurate cutouts of Santa Claus himself. “Prisoners of war,” Carmen mused. “I think we’ve earned a hot toddy.”

“Sounds good. I’ll make them,” her mother called out as she walked into the kitchen.

“Not for me. Emory will be here any second. How do I look?” She’d changed from her jeans into black pants and a form-fitting red sweater for their date. It was the first chance they’d gotten to spend time on their own together since Grace’s release and she’d been counting the hours.

“Smokin’ hot, Sar.”

“That’s all I can ask for.” She grinned, switching gears. “Everything all right outside, Mama?”

“The kids are having a ball out there. Danny’s taught them his super slow roasting method and they’re transfixed.”

“How’s Grace?”

“Very energetic. I think her strength is back in full force.”

“Clearly,” Sarah said as Grace sped into the room and came to a stop in front of her.

“Can I have ice cream later?” Grace asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

“If you’re grandparents say it’s okay. But do me a favor and take it easy. Maybe don’t run everywhere you go. Let’s give that new pacemaker a chance to settle in.”

“The doctor said it’s fine to run now.”

Sarah sighed. “That he did.” She kissed the top of Grace’s head and watched her speed back into the yard to join her cousins. “She just seems so much lighter, carefree. It’s nice. The cardiologist says that with the new pacemaker, she shouldn’t see the inside of a hospital room until she delivers her first child.”

Her mother placed her hand on Sarah’s shoulder as she passed. “And now that Grace is back on track, it’s your turn.”

As if on cue, the doorbell rang and Sarah broke out into a smile. “I think that’s my date.”

*

The beach house was dark and quiet when they entered, but the moonlight reflecting off the water just yards away illuminated much of the room. Dinner with an adult had been just what the doctor ordered, and the fact that it was with Emory was delicious icing on the cake. Throughout dinner, Sarah had enjoyed the conversation, the laughs, the flirting, but she couldn’t help letting her mind drift to the promise of things to come. It didn’t help that Emory was looking both gorgeous and sophisticated in the pale blue dress she’d worn to dinner. Her favorite combination.

Now that they were alone, Sarah led the way in and wordlessly moved to the glass, staring out at the endless ocean. She wrapped her arms around herself and shook her head ever so slightly. “The water seems so calm tonight.”

Emory settled in behind her and gently kissed one shoulder. “It’s chilly out, but we could walk down to the beach, if you want.”