She broke one of the bonbons apart. "Just a bite."
I stuck out my tongue, and she placed the sweet morsel on it. I pulled it in my mouth and bit down, chewing slowly, savoring the sweet chocolate and tart raspberry filling. A wave of energy coursed through me. Music played from nowhere, and I couldn't help but move my feet and roll my hips. "Do you guys hear this music?"
Daniel burst out laughing as my legs flayed about. "No, there's no music," he said around his laughter.
Carol rolled around the floor laughing as Deva said, "It won't last long, so enjoy it while you can."
I danced and laughed, letting the energy of the room flow through me with each step. It was a feeling I'd never forget and more than helped me let go of some of the fear I'd built up today.
The effects of the bonbon wore off, so we went on to try Deva's other tasty morsels. After Daniel finished roaring like a lion, I realized Bryan was asleep on the floor.
I looked around at my friends. "Well, it's getting late," I said. "I think it's time to break up this little party."
My friends said their goodbyes and Bryan roused himself enough to drive them home. They'd had too much wine to do it themselves.
Once they were gone, Daniel and I were alone, except for Alice and Henry, still in the basement. We stood in the living room, looking at each other for a few moments before he stepped forward and pulled me into his arms.
"Let's go to bed. I love sleeping beside you," He murmured into my hair.
The warmth of his body seeped through my clothes, and I sighed contentedly. We walked hand in hand to the bedroom, our laughter lingering in the air.
"Maybe you should bring more of your things here," I said as we walked into my bedroom. "You can stay for longer stretches."
He paused in the act of taking his shoes off. "Are you asking me to move in with you?"
Oh, boy. I loved that idea. I hadn't been asking, but now that the idea was out there, it made my heart soar. "Would you still want to? Even knowing how neurotic I can be?"
"Yes, absolutely yes." He got his shoes off and stood, putting his hands on my shoulders, and squeezing. "I'm not pressuring you at all, but the thought of moving in with you makes me so happy. You're the one, Emma. You're it."
Instead of answering, I pressed my lips to his and relaxed against him. "We're both wearing too many clothes."
His voice deepened into nearly a growl. "Let's fix that."
11
BETH
I hungup the phone as Emma walked through the door. Part of me was glad that she was heading straight for the coffee instead of toward my desk. I wasn’t prepared to tell her all the garbage that had hit the fan all morning. Before Emma came to town, my PI business had been busy, but it hadn't been very profitable. It'd still been tight. Most of my success came after my marriage failed and my ex ended up with my sister. All I had were my friends and my business.
From the day Emma appeared back in Mystic Hollow, I’d been busier than ever. So busy that I’d offered Emma a partnership in my business when she started working with me. There was no way I could keep up with the demands of all the residents of our small town. There was one complication with having Karma as my partner. Trouble followed everywhere she went.
It was good for business but bad for my heartburn.
I grabbed some antacids from my desk drawer and munched on them, swallowing them down with a mouthful of coffee that was more creamer and sugar than coffee itself. I waited for Emma to cross the room and flop down in the chair in front of me before taking a deep breath. The best thing I could do here was tell her about the calls I’d received, and not mention how worried I was that this old Karma had returned to screw with her life.
“How was the rest of your night?” I asked.
She smiled the smile of someone in love. I remembered that smile. I’d had it for a long time. I had it when I'd made Roger breakfast every morning. I had it when I'd made him dinner every night. That smile had painted my face until he'd started pulling away. Toward the end, my nights had frequently been spent sitting at the dining room table, worrying about why he’d been out so late. When he got home, there was never a good answer.
I'd let that guy turn me into some wife from the fifties and a woman who hated herself. No matter how charming a man was now, he didn’t have a chance with me. I was my own person. Never again would I trust anyone not to shatter my heart.
My thoughts turned toward my sister, and ugh. Now my chest ached. If I thought being betrayed by my husband was bad, I’d raised Tiffany like a daughter. She was so much younger than me, and our parents’ kind of sucked. When she got together with Roger, I didn’t hear from her for years. If I ran into her on the street, she'd made it a point to make me feel old and ugly.
Whether I'd wanted it to or not, my love for my sister had died a long time ago too.
“Beth?”
I jerked and looked at Emma in confusion.
