While there were thousands, probably millions, of other people who’d done the same in Emily’s prime, it still felt different knowing he had too.
Had he done what some boys did with such a picture? Did he imagine she was in his room? In his bed? Beneath his covers?
The thought should have creeped her out. Instead, it got her buzzed. Her legs pressed together from the outdoor chair to ease the ache.
She could hardly focus on what his mother was saying. She seemed to notice and waved a hand in front of Emily’s face from her stooped position.
“Emily,” Alessandra called. “Did you hear what I said?”
Emily knelt beside her, hands deep in the soil. “Uh…sorry, I’m just a bit jet-lagged. Could you repeat that?”
Alessandra tied a knot around a handful of herbs. Turned out gardening was one of her favorite pastimes, second only to cooking. This morning, she’d taught her how to makeCornetto Ripieno. It was an Italian croissant with filling such as apricot jam, pastry cream, Nutella, or ricotta. Nicolas’s favorite. It was surprising to learn he had a sweet tooth. Back home, his meals were consistently healthy.
He’d grinned upon seeing Emily struggle in the kitchen. “Be careful she doesn’t burn our kitchen down.”
That remark had earned him a slap on the back of the head from his mother.
Emily had huffed which made him smile. His arm had encircled her waist before pulling her to the side.
Alessandra had eyed them, caught off guard by the display of affection and need for privacy.
“I have some business to take care of. I’ll be back before dinner,” Nicolas had whispered into Emily’s ear.
“Okay,” she’d panted.
With a pat of her head, he’d left.
“I was asking whether you slept well last night.” Alessandra was nice enough to repeat what she’d said.
“Um…yes. I slept well.”
They’d forced her and Nicolas to share a room. She didn’t know if it was a coincidence, but the other rooms were under renovation and Nicolas’s childhood room’s bed was far too small to fit him despite his insistence.
“She can sleep with me,” Anna had offered, which earned her the stink eye from his mother.
“It’d be best not to. You tend to snore.”
“No, I don?—”
Her mouth had been covered by the palm of her mother’s hand.
Emily had been expecting a room big enough to host an armchair where she could seek refuge in. The size of all the others, including Anna’s room had fueled such expectations, but there had been none. Just the king-sized bed, two night tables, a dresser with a vanity.
The room had been comfortable, that much was true, but the entire night she’d been in and out of sleep.
Nicolas had opted for the floor after realizing the set up. When she had felt guilty and offered the opposite arrangement, he looked at her like she was a mad woman.
“You have a good touch.” Alessandra smiled as she handed over a trowel. “The plants like you.”
“I think it’s you who they adore. Just look at how beautifully they’ve grown.”
“If only I could’ve done the same for my children,” Alessandra murmured thoughtlessly.
Emily’s brows drew together. “I don’t understand. I think Nicolas and Anna turned out quite fine.”
“I can only hope so. I haven’t always been the best at standing up for them. Most of the time, all I’ve done is argue with my husband about what I believe is right or wrong. But that only ends up exhausting the children. I think that’s why Nicolas avoids conflict in his personal life. He’s heard too much of it growing up, I suppose.”
Nicolas was indeed the type to put out a fire before it caught or simply refuse to feed the flames if it had. She’d always credited that to his manners, but now she saw it ran much deeper.
