Yours to Keep (19 page)

“Have you figured out what to do about Emma yet?”

Cat sighed. “No. But if I don’t do something, we’re going to part ways with this silliness between us and I don’t want that.”

“You’re still planning to give her the house?”

“Definitely. John and I both wanted her to have it, and that was before she grew up and made it her home.” She took a bite of her salad, at a loss as to what to do.

“You said she got upset at the Fourth of July barbeque when you mentioned giving it to her as a wedding gift. Have you mentioned it again?”

“No. That day I thought she was on the verge of confessing everything and we didn’t want that. We meaning Mary Kowalski and I. We wanted Sean and Emma to have a little more time together.”

He nodded as though it all made perfect sense to him. “But now the time’s running out anyway.”

“Maybe I’ll push her on the subject tomorrow. I need to see a lawyer about it anyway, so I might as well start the process before I go home.”

“And you think she’ll confess?”

“I don’t think she’ll accept the house as a wedding gift knowing it’s a lie. I know she won’t.”

He toyed with the mashed potatoes on his plate, dragging his fork through them in a grid pattern. “And what are you hoping will happen between her and Sean when that happens?”

That was a harder question to answer. “I’m hoping that, when faced with going their separate ways, they’ll both realize they don’t want to do that. And maybe they’ll go on as they are now, only they won’t be pretending.”

“They do seem like a nice couple.”

“They really are good together, though I’m not sure they see it.” She chuckled. “Leave it to my granddaughter to accidentally choose her Mr. Right to be her fake fiancé.”

Even with her alarm turned off, Emma was up at the crack of dawn. They weren’t working these last three days before Gram flew back to Florida, so she slid out of bed without waking Sean and threw on her boxers and T-shirt.

Not surprisingly, Gram was already up. There were no signs of breakfast yet, but she told Emma she’d brewed a pot of coffee along with making her tea, so Emma poured a cup and sat down at the table.

“I can’t believe we only have three days left,” she said after the first bracing sip.

“I know. And I’ll miss you, honey. You know I will, but I miss being there. My friends and all my activities.”

Emma smiled. “I’m glad, Gram. You know I miss you, too, but it’s great that you have all that in your life.”

“Before I go, I’m going to go into town and talk to a lawyer about giving you the house.”

The little bit of coffee she’d gotten into her stomach did a slow roll. “I told you I want to buy it from you, fair and square. We’ll get a fair market value for it and then you can sell it to me.”

“That’s ridiculous. It’s a gift.”

“I don’t feel right about that. And it’ll be good for my business to build credit.”

Gram snorted. “Then you buy a new truck and lease a tractor or something. You don’t buy an old farmhouse. My mind’s made up, Emma.”

Crap.
Once she said that, it was over. But there was no way she would let Gram give her the house without knowing the truth. She stared down into her coffee for a minute, and then took a deep breath. They’d almost made it, but it was time.

“It’s all a lie, Gram. All of it. There’s not going to be a wedding.”

There. Now it was done and the entire month had been for nothing. Now her grandmother would be angry and maybe sell the house to a stranger anyway. And Sean would have no reason to stay. She wasn’t sure which hurt more.

“Maybe you should explain yourself.”

“I made up a boyfriend so you’d stop being so nervous about me being alone. Sean’s name just kind of popped out. He was still in the army until a month or so ago. And I met him for the first time four days before you arrived, when I knocked on his door and asked him to pretend to be my fiancé.”

Gram actually chuckled. “That must have been an interesting conversation.”

Emma was confused. The very last reaction she expected from her grandmother was amusement. She’d been hoping and praying it wouldn’t fracture their relationship beyond repair. Laughter wasn’t something she’d anticipated.

“You’re not upset?” She looked into the older woman’s eyes and reluctantly recognized the truth. “You already knew.”

“Of course I knew. Couples who’ve lived together for a year are comfortable with each other. There’s familiarity. I could tell as soon as I got off the plane you and Sean didn’t have that.”

She’d known the
entire
time? “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because I wanted to figure out what you were up to. And then, later, Mary and I decided you two needed a little more time to get to know each other, so we played along.”

“Oh my God.” Emma covered her face with her hands. “Mrs. Kowalski knew you knew?”

“I had to practically drag the truth out of her but, once she realized I already knew you two were lying, she gave up. I must confess, though, I was a little put out that you thought I’d fall for this.”

“By the time I realized how really crazy it was, I was in too deep to back out. I know it sounds dumb, but I did it because I love you, Gram. I wanted you to let me go so you could enjoy being in Florida.”

“I’ll never let you go. But maybe I did give you the impression I was worrying more about you than enjoying myself. But you also wanted the house.”

Emma’s cheeks burned. “Of course I wanted the house. It’s my home. But I wanted you to
sell
it to me. I never expected you to just give it to me. You have to believe that.”

Gram reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “I knew you wouldn’t take it. I told Mary and Russell both you wouldn’t accept it as a wedding gift without telling me the truth and I was right.”

“If you’d said something, we wouldn’t have wasted the entire month playing games.”

“Oh, I don’t think it was a waste,” Gram said, smiling. “I see Sean’s sleeping in this morning. Did you keep him up too late last night?”

When the implication behind her grandmother’s words sunk in, Emma shook her head. “It’s not like that. We’re not…it’s not real.”

“Well, it’s certainly not pretend.”

“No.” Emma really didn’t want to have this conversation. “It’s like friends with benefits, Gram. Once he knows I told you the truth, he’s going to pack up his stuff and go.”

“Maybe he won’t if you ask him to stay.”

“Who says I want him to stay?” she asked, forcing a little attitude into her voice. Maybe if she could convince somebody else she didn’t care, she’d believe it herself.

“I think we’ve had enough lies, Emma.”

“We had a deal, Gram. Love wasn’t part of it.”

“I’ve spent the last month living with you two and I’ve watched your relationship change. Don’t sell him short, honey.”

She got up and rinsed her empty teacup, then walked over to kiss the top of Emma’s head. “I’m going to go have a nice bath and get dressed. I’m still going in to town and I’m still giving you the house.”

“Gram, I—”

“My mind is made up, Emma,” she said as she left the kitchen.

Sean was whistling when he hit the kitchen, hunting for coffee, but he stopped when he saw Emma sitting at the table. Her nose was a little blotchy and her eyes still damp from a cry.

“I told Gram the truth,” she said. “It’s over.”

His lungs deflated in a rush, leaving behind an ache he hoped was a lack of oxygen and not the beginning of a heartache. That would be stupid, since it wasn’t like what they had was real. It was all pretend and he’d known the day would come he’d walk away from her without looking back.

But he thought he had three and a half more days before he had to face that.

“Are you okay?” he asked. She nodded, even though she didn’t look it. “How did she take it?”

“You were right, that day we were working and you said you thought she was on to us. She knew all along.”

That set him back a bit. “She knew?”

“She said she suspected as soon as she saw us together in the airport because we didn’t look like a couple who’d…been intimate. And she and Mrs. Kowalski have been in cahoots since the first barbeque.”

“I don’t understand. Why didn’t she say anything? And in cahoots with Aunt Mary to what?”

“She didn’t say anything because she wanted to know what we were up to.” Her cheeks flushed and she looked down at the table. “And they were in cahoots to make us a real couple.”

“Oh.” He really didn’t know what to say to that. “They thought we’d make a good couple?”

“Crazy, huh?”

That’s not the direction he’d been heading, but it was probably best she’d said it. It
was
crazy. They were so different. They were in different places in their lives and wanted different things.

“Where’s Cat now?”

“Taking a bath. Then she’s going to go into town and…” She had to stop because she was tearing up again, and then she took a deep, shuddering breath. “She’s going to talk to a lawyer about giving me the house.”

“That’s good, then.”

“That’s why I told her the truth. She was insisting on giving me the house as a wedding gift, so I had to tell her.”

“But she already knew.”

“And she knew I wouldn’t accept it based on a lie. She wanted me to tell her the truth.”

Sean went and poured himself a cup of coffee, hoping the caffeine would help restore some of his equilibrium. Even though he’d been blindsided, this turn of events was a good thing for Emma. She could stop lying to her grandmother. Cat wouldn’t be selling the house out from under her. And, while Emma would still be single, maybe the shenanigans would be a wake-up call to Cat that she didn’t need to worry quite so much.

“I’m happy for you,” he said, and he meant it. What he wasn’t sure was how he felt on his own behalf.

She nodded, but she didn’t look as happy as he expected her to. With the house soon to be in her name and him soon to be out from under her feet, he was surprised she wasn’t dancing across the kitchen.

He took a bracing sip of the coffee, not bothering with cream or sugar. “So…I guess that’s it, then.”

She nodded again, her hands folded so tightly on the table her knuckles were pale. “I guess it is.”

He started for the door, but then stopped and looked back at her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m sure.” She even managed a wobbly smile. “Emotional shock, I guess. So much drama for…no reason. Telling her was terrifying and such a relief at the same time, so it’s probably just the letdown.”

“Okay, then.” He took his coffee into her office and closed the door.

It was over. He was free to go be his own man again, his life revolving around steak, football, beer and women. He could go back to his wild pluralizing ways, as she’d put it during their first dinner together.

Before it could all settle in, he pulled out his phone and hit Kevin’s number on the speed dial. He answered on the second ring, sounding groggy, and Sean belatedly remembered that, due to owning a sports bar, Kevin and his family stayed up late and slept late in the morning.

“Shit. I didn’t mean to wake you.” Sean scrubbed a hand over his face, realizing it was too early to be calling anybody. “Quick question and then you can go back to sleep. Can I still mooch that apartment?”

“Uh-oh.”

“Long story short, she told Cat the truth so my services are no longer needed.”

“You okay?”

He wasn’t sure yet. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Okay. You still got the key?”

“Yup.”

“It’s yours, then. Head on down for a beer later, on the house. You know, when it’s not dark o’clock.”

“The sun’s up, dude. But thanks.”

It took him a depressingly short time to pack his stuff. A few minutes to empty his drawer. Less than two to grab his stuff out of the closet. It took him a little longer in the bathroom sorting his toiletries from hers. He’d just retrieved the stash of condoms from the bedside drawer and tossed them in the duffel, because he’d be damned if he’d facilitate her sleeping with some other guy in the future, when Emma walked in.

“I’ll be out of your way in a few minutes,” he told her. “Just have to gather up a few things downstairs.”

“You don’t have to run out of here, Sean.”

“No sense in hanging around,” he said, maybe a little more gruffly than he’d intended.

“Oh. Okay, then. Gram wants me to go into town with her and she’s ready to go.”

“I’ll leave the key in the mailbox when I leave. Don’t forget to grab it later.”

“Sean.” He shoved a pile of socks into the bag. It was like ripping off a Band-Aid. A clean and fast exit was best for everybody. “Goddammit, Sean, it’s obvious you can’t wait to get out of here, but she wants to say goodbye to you before you go.”

“What about her goodbye barbecue? Or am I uninvited?”

“There’s no sense in dragging your family over here now. She’ll probably have lunch with your aunt or something.”

She tossed something onto the bed and then turned and walked away before he could apologize. He was being a jerk and he couldn’t help it. If he showed any weakness and she gave him some indication she didn’t want him to go, he might stay and this isn’t where he’d wanted to end up.

Sean shifted his bag so he could see what she’d tossed onto the bed. It was the small diamond ring he’d put on her finger a month ago when he asked her to marry him and, as the sun hit the stone, it winked at him. Feeling nothing but hollow, he closed his fingers around it, squeezing it in his fist. Then he tucked it into the front pocket of his jeans and took a deep breath.

It was best for both of them if he shut Emma out and walked away. But first he had to get through a moment he’d been dreading.

Cat was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. Emma was next to her, but she wouldn’t even look at him. He could tell by the way her jaw was set he’d pissed her off.

“I’ll wait in the truck,” she said, and then she seemed to collect herself. She turned to face him and stuck out her hand. “Thanks, Sean.”

A handshake? After all that, he was getting brushed off with a handshake? But he was the one who’d made it very clear to her none of what they had was real.

He gripped her hand in his, running his thumb over hers. “I’ll see you around, Emma.”

She nodded and pulled her hand back. Sean squeezed her fingers for a second, but he couldn’t hold on to her. Before he could say anything else, she walked out of the house.

“You two are going to be stubborn about this, aren’t you?”

Sean turned to Cat and chose to ignore her words. “I’m going to miss you. And I mean that.”

“Even though Emma thinks a party isn’t a good idea now because it would be awkward, I’m sure I’ll see you again.”

“Don’t know where I’m going from here. But you never know. Maybe I’ll drive down to Florida and crash one of your wild and crazy beach parties some day.”

She opened her arms and he enveloped her in a hug. “You’re welcome to hang out under my beach umbrella anytime.”

After extricating himself from her arms, he kissed her cheek. “Take care of yourself, Cat.”

“And you…don’t be
too
stubborn.”

She went out the door before he could ask her what that was supposed to mean. He heard the truck door close and then it was heading down the driveway.

He stood there for a few minutes and then went into the kitchen. Over the last few months, he’d actually accumulated a few things and his belongings didn’t fit in the duffel anymore. He grabbed a trash bag because what the hell did he care, then scoured the downstairs, tossing in anything that belonged to him.

Then he finished upstairs and there was nothing left but to get in his truck and drive away. But first he went into the bathroom and pulled the pad of sticky notes out of his pocket. He stuck a pink one to the mirror and pulled the cap off his Sharpie.