YES! HERE IT IS!!!
Never underestimate the power of readers!! I gave you a goal and you all kicked my ass. :)
I'm so excited for everyone to read it!!
*If you haven't read Breaking the Wrong or Every Which Way, I wouldn't read this. Might spoil some things for you. Okay... a lot of things. :) *
ENJOY!
EMILIA
APRIL
The skirt of my dress blows with the wind. I hold it against the
back of my thighs as Macsen and I walk up the porch.
Nervously, I
smooth a hand down my yellow, short-sleeved sweaterdress as Macsen rings
the doorbell.
Looking down at
me, Macsen smiles. “Why are you so nervous? You’ve met them before.”
Owen and Macsen’s
step-mom, Jayni, came to visit in March to see Macsen and Thayer. The whole
time I was a nervous wreck. And now that I’m here for Easter, I'm somehow, even
more nervous. Maybe it was the fact that it was a holiday, a time that you
spend only with your family. And people you love.
I smile nervously.
“I know but I’ve never been to their home!”
“It’ll be fine,”
he says confidently.
The red door
creaks open and Macsen’s step-mom smiles widely at Macsen and I. “Hello!”
She reaches over
and hugs me tightly. “It’s so nice to see you again, Emilia!”
I smile widely.
“You, too.”
Jayni looks over
at Macsen and gives him a warm smile. “Macsen, it’s good to see you.”
The two of them
hug briefly and I know that it’s a positive sign.
Since I’ve been
with Macsen, I know he’s worked hard to have a relationship with his dad and
Jayni. There have been bumps, but the fact that he willingly travels to
Missouri and openly hugs Jayni is a step toward the positive.
“Come in. Come
in.” Jayni urges. She opens the door wider and Macsen lets me step through the
door way first. Their home is rustic,
with worn wooden floors, a staircase that leads to the second floor on the left
and open windows letting in fresh air.
“Where is
everyone?” Macsen asks.
“In the dining
room. We’re getting ready to start dessert.” Jayni leads us through the living
room and to her open dining room, with a large oak table in the middle.
Severine sees us firsts and immediately perks up. She walks over and hugs me
tightly.
It turns out my
roommate had more good than I could imagine. It was just hidden by the many
layers of confidence and sarcasm. But I see it, and now that I do, I consider
her a close friend.
Thayer nods his
head and smiles at us before goes back to the pie in front of him.
Owen stands up
from his chair and makes small talk. His hair is dark like Macsen’s. A few
pieces of gray are starting to creep through. But he has the bright green eyes
that Macsen has. He speaks bluntly like Macsen and if I wasn’t used to it, I
would probably be afraid. But Owen just makes me smile widely.
Before he walks
back to his seat, he gives us both tight hugs. This family hugs. A lot. But I
think when it comes to Macsen and his dad it’s almost a necessity—to make up
for lost time.
“Emilia, have you
met Mathias?” Jayni asks as she cuts another pie.
I shake my head
and look over at the guy sitting next to Thayer. Mathias has the same dirty
blonde hair and gray eyes as Thayer but all similarities stop there.
Every single Sloan
brother has a rough, dangerous quality to them. But there’s something to this
Mathias. He stares me straight in the eye boldly, without caring how
uncomfortable it makes me. I stare back, but I shift an inch toward Macsen.
There is a
harshness to Mathias’s features. He lifts his brows at me and I think that’s
his greeting. I don’t know Mathais’s story but, if it was anything like
Macsen’s, I don’t blame him for being angry.
“Hello,” I say
quietly.
“Hi.” His voice is
deep, making every word practically rumble out of his chest.
Macsen and I sit
down and talk as we eat dessert. The conversation is light and friendly between
all of us. Except for Mathias. He sits back and just watches everyone.
After an hour and
one empty pie pan later, Owen and Jayni go into the kitchen to start cleaning
up.
“I need to go the
bathroom,” Severine gets up from the table and my eyes instantly zoom in on
Thayer.
Thayer has been
silent and fidgeting in his seat every few seconds the entire time we’ve been
here. A few times I thought he was going to vomit.
I take Severine’s
absence as an opportunity and lean closer. “Are you feeling okay, Thayer?”
His gray eyes
bulge wide before he nods his head. “Yeah.
I’m great.”
“No, you’re not,”
Mathias says solemnly.
I nod my head at
Mathias anxiously, glad that someone is seeing the same thing I am. “Seriously,
you look like you might throw up,” I comment with concern.
“Don’t be blunt or
anything, Emilia.” Macsen murmurs next to me.
My hand settles on
Macsen’s shoulder and I rub the muscles there gently. “I’m not. Thayer’s been
like that the whole dinner!”
An exhausted sigh
escapes Thayer. He slumps against back against his chair and stares up at the
ceiling before he looks at the three of us. We’re all staring at him curiously.
“Okay. I’ll tell you guys what’s up, but keep your mouths shut.”
We all respond by
nodding our heads.
He opens up his
blue blazer and pulls out a black velvet box. My heart speeds up when he
reveals a large diamond ring.
I gasp loudly, and
practically jump across the table to get a better look. “You’re going to
propose to Severine?”
Thayer nods.
“Yes.”
Macsen stands and
leans over the table with me. He peers at the ring. “Are you serious?” He
sounds shocked.
I look at him over
my shoulder. “It’s sweet,” I argue.
“It’s strange,”
Mathias says with a raised brow.
Thayer snaps the
box shut and looks over at Mathias. “How
is it strange?”
“You’re
twenty-two. Kind of young,” he comments.
“Not young at all," Thayer bites out. "But you’re right…guy who has slept with his student… who is seven years younger
than him. Please, tell me about age.”
My eyes widen. I
glance at Macsen and he looks just as shocked as me. Mathias’s face turns pale
instantly. He quickly hides it with a dark smile but I saw everything in that
expression. And so did Macsen and Thayer.
There’s still
something between this mystery girl and Mathias.
Macsen speaks up.
“When was this?”
Thayer smiles
widely. “A year ago?” He looks at Mathias, completely ignoring his brother’s
dark glare. “He was her piano instructor.”
“You play the
piano?” I ask Mathias.
He shakes his
head. “Used to.”
There’s so much
about this oldest Sloan brother that I don’t know. And I really don’t think I
want to know.
“Wait…” Macsen interjects.
“What’s her name? Where did this happen?”
Mathias’s jaw
clenches tightly. “Her name is Katia. I taught her in Füssen.”
Macsen sits in his
chair with a frown on his face. “In Germany?”
“No….” Mathias
drawls out. “The Füssen in Africa.” Everyone
stares at him dully and he smirks. “Yes in Germany.”
“And she lives in
the states now?” I ask.
Our questions are
starting to annoy Mathias. He looks at me sharply. “She’s here in the states. I
saw her a few days ago.”
Thayer slaps his
hand on the table and grins. “So that’s why you’re more of a dick than usual!”
“Look, I don’t
know why I’m talking to any of you about this. It’s none of your fucking
business. So let’s drop it,” he demands.
“What’s going on?”
Severine asks from the entryway.
Everyone freezes
and slowly looks at Severine. She shifts awkwardly. “What?”
I pull my eyes
away, knowing I’m a few seconds away from smiling widely and giving everything
away.
Macsen shrugs. “Mathias is just going through nicotine
withdrawl.”
Mathias sighs and
stands up. “He’s right. I need to rectify that right now.” He walks past
Severine and gives her a cryptic smile.
Before Severine
can say anything Thayer stands up and walks over to her. “I’m ready to get out
of here.”
He pulls her out
of the room before she can say anything. She gives me a questioning glance over
her shoulder and I shrug, trying to look clueless.
When they walk out
of the front door. I stand up quickly. “I want to go outside.”
“You do know that
he’s not going to propose in front of everyone, right?”
I stare at Macsen
skeptically. “How do you know?”
“Because it’s
Thayer…and he’s private,” he shrugs.
“Well….” I drag
out and tug on Macsen’s arm. “I still want to go out.”
The patio door
slams behind us, and I inhale in the clean air and walk to the white railing in
front of me.
Macsen’s wraps his
arms around my shoulders and guides me to rest against his chest.
“So much for fresh
air,” Macsen says close to my ear.
I glance across
the porch and see Mathias smoking a cigarette. His arms are braced against the
railing and it looks like he’s ready to kill something.
“He’s…scary,” I
admit.
Macsen shrugs.
“Not really. Just a lot of bark—no bite.”
Nodding my head, I
look at the scenery in front of me. Thayer drives down the driveway and I
practically shake over what’s in store for the two of them.
But my excitement
burns out a bit when I glance at Mathias. There’s more torture to him, more
confusion than I’ve ever seen in one person.
I love trying to guess someone’s story,
but I don’t want to know Mathias’. Whoever Katia is and whatever happened to
them might be darker than my mind can handle...
