Chapter 13
By the time Thursday rolled around, Emilio was almost vibrating with curiosity to see his house. It hadn’t been easy staying with his mother for two nights, sinceshehad been allowed by Rayne to go over for consultation. Isabel had been silent about what Rayne was doing, but her smiles had been teasing, since she knew how hard a time Emilio had waiting for surprises. Given that Emilio was allowing an ex-boyfriend unrestricted access to his home, Emilio thought he was being incredibly patient and trusting.
It wasn’t as though Rayne hadn’t called and texted him over the last two and a half days, but most of it had been to tease Emilio about the decorations. It helped that Emilio had two complete performances plus practices every day, since it occupied a lot of his time, but he had plenty of opportunity to think while lying in the bed in his mother’s guest room—to remember the way Rayne had felt in his arms, against his body, and how Rayne’s lips had tasted, so familiar and yet excitingly new. Unfortunately, it was also more than enough time to wonder if he was doing the right thing by letting Rayne back into his life and giving him the opportunity to possibly hurt him yet again.
Emilio’s heart still wanted Rayne. He finally acknowledged to himself that he would probably never find anyone else because he really didn’t want anyone else and never had. Having Rayne back was an opportunity Emilio had dreamed of for years, but now that Rayne was interested in rekindling what they’d once had, Emilio was both excited and scared witless by turns. It wasn’t that he was truly worried that Rayne would deliberately hurt him, but Rayne had left him once and then changed his mind… wasn’t it reasonable to worry that Rayne might change his mind again? That the same things that had driven Rayne away from Emilio and Holiday Pines once might now surface again? Might Rayne end up feeling bored or limited? Or had he finally figured out what he really wanted?
There was only one way to find out, but Emilio didn’t know how long it would take for him to feel certain of Rayne again, and he worried that Rayne would get tired of waiting for Emilio to make up his mind. They were the kind of thoughts that weren’t conducive to sleep, so Emilio was feeling more tired than he normally would by the time he arrived at his mother’s house after the Thursday evening show.
“Mama? I’m home,” he announced as he unlocked her door, dropping his dance bag in the foyer. It was just past ten o’clock, and normally his mother was waiting for him with a glass of wine to help him unwind. To his surprise, she stepped into the foyer wearing her coat and carrying her purse, and she held something in one hand.
“I’m glad you’re back. We have somewhere to be,” she told him with a smile. “Rayne wants to show you your house, and I’m to drive you there. Blindfolded.”
“Blindfolded?” Emilio chuckled and shook his head. “Isn’t this taking the surprise a bit far?”
“Not when it’s Rayne’s surprise,” Mama said. She stepped closer, and her smile was tender. “I know you’re conflicted,mijo, and your head is at war with your heart. You feel as though your heart led you astray once before, so you hesitate to trust it again. But you can, I promise. Just give yourself some time.”
Emilio smiled crookedly. “You make it sound so easy, Mama.”
She shook her head, still smiling. “Love is simple, but I wouldn’t say it’s ever easy. Not even for your father and I, and we were luckier than most. But right now someone is waiting for you, and I have no doubt he’s feeling much the way you are. Shall we put him out of his misery?”
Emilio hadn’t thought about Rayne being conflicted too, but maybe he was. Perhaps Rayne was worried that Emilio wouldn’t be able to truly trust him again or that Emilio might decide that Rayne wasn’t worth the risk. The thought cast a slightly different light on things.
“I suppose we should,” he said.
“Then I suppose you get the ‘Nice’ side,” she replied, holding up her hand. Emilio saw she had a mask, one that was red on one side and green on the other. The red side was embroidered with the word “Naughty” in gold, while the green side read “Nice.”
Emilio chuckled, wondering if the “Naughty” was a signal to Rayne to run. But once they were in the car he acquiesced, allowing his mother to slip the blindfold over his head. The drive didn’t take long, and once they’d stopped, Mama told him to wait a moment. The passenger side door opened, and someone clasped Emilio’s hand.
“I’ll help you out,” Rayne said.
Emilio clasped Rayne’s hand and allowed himself to be guided out. He lowered his voice so that only Rayne would hear. “A blindfold made me wonder if you had more in mind than revealing decorations.”
A low chuckle reached his ears, and Rayne’s warm breath ghosted across his cheek. “I do, but only when you’re ready.”
“Probably best that Mama is here, then,” Emilio said. “Are you going to show me what you’ve done to my house?”
“Just a few more steps. I want you to be in just the right spot to get the full effect of the lights.” Rayne led him onto the walkway, but they didn’t go far before Rayne stopped. “Okay, take off the blindfold,” he said.
Emilio reached up and slipped off the blindfold and then lifted his head to look at the house. He couldn’t hold back a gasp of surprise at the sight that greeted his eyes.
The roofline had been trimmed in white lights, and nets of white lights decorated the bushes that lined the front of the porch. The columns of the porch had also been wrapped in lights, and two large, carved wooden Nutcracker soldiers flanked the front door on either side. There was also a massive wreath on the door, and Emilio could see it was also themed for the Nutcracker Ballet, with tiny, nightgown clad Claras dancing with her magical prince.
“It’s beautiful,” he said, touched that Rayne would go to all the trouble to make the design so personal to Emilio’s love of ballet. “I’m in awe.”
Rayne hovered beside Emilio and watched him closely. “You really like it?” he asked, a hopeful note in his voice. One glance revealed the apprehension in his eyes.
The sight of Rayne’s uncertainty made something inside Emilio melt. The fact that Rayne cared about how Emilio felt about the decorations did more to ease Emilio’s own worries than he would have imagined possible. If Rayne had been confident that he knew exactly what Emilio wanted, it might have indicated Rayne was certain Emilio was going to take him back. Rayne sharing Emilio’s concern helped. It made Emilio feel as though they might be able to make things work out after all.
“I really do,” he said and then turned and kissed Rayne, pressing his lips to Rayne’s and not holding back his gratitude and affection. He pulled back and smiled. “I think Mrs. Greer might actually die of envy.”
Rayne’s answering smile was suffused with relief. “If this doesn’t get her, maybe the interior will.” He clasped Emilio’s hand and twined their fingers. “Come on, I can’t wait to see what you think of the showcase tree in the foyer.”
Laughing, Emilio let Rayne pull him up the steps and into the house. The first thing Emilio saw was the tall tree they’d hauled back from the farm on Monday. It fit as well as Rayne had said it would, rising up at the bend in the foyer stairs, the angel at the top of the tree even with the level of the second floor bannister. The decorations were definitely elegant, but continued the Nutcracker theme. Emilio could see Clara and the Prince, and Fritz, and the Mayor, and the mice and their King, and Columbine and the Harlequin, as well as the snowflakes, the sweets, and the flowers. At the very top, the angel was none other than the Sugar Plum Fairy.
Behind the tree, the bannister had been wrapped with garland and lights, and more garland graced the crown molding overhead. The air was fragrant with the scents of pine and cinnamon, and Emilio breathed deeply. “Wow. It’s beautiful!”
“I’m glad you think so.” Rayne squeezed Emilio’s hand, his eyes filled with warm affection. “I wanted something that would grab everyone’s attention as soon as they walk through the door, but I also wanted it to be immediately recognizable asyourtree.”
