Exception (9 page)

He looked equally amused and confused by her comment. “And why is that?”

“Because you went to two concerts I would die to go to.” Taylor’s questioning look deepened, encouraging Emily to elaborate. “Motörhead in London and Chickenfoot,” she said, pointing to his t-shirt.

Emily led the way towards the beginning of her favorite running track. Her mind was in a silent war. On one side, she couldn’t understand what the hell was wrong with her. Walking into a secluded place surrounded by trees, alone with a man who was practically a stranger was the furthest away from her normal behavior as she could get. Yet, she felt extremely safe with him. It was a novelty that thrilled and annoyed the living crap out of her.

“Get out of here. You know Chickenfoot?” incredulity tinged his words.

Emily laughed. “Of course I know them. What kind of rock chick do you take me for?”

Taylor was looking at her in complete awe as she stopped at the beginning of the trail to stretch. Never in his life had he met a woman like her. His sister’s previous description of how awesome Emily was no longer felt appropriate. She was beyond awesome. In a complete loss for words, he just stared at her, knowing he looked beyond stupid. He didn’t care half as much as he should, especially when Emily bent over, touching her head to her knees and stretching the back of her thighs. He quickly decided it was time to stretch and quit looking at her otherwise running would be incredibly embarrassing—and uncomfortable.

“So which good book was that?” Emily asked once she finished stretching.

They started their warm-up, walking side by side. “
The Count of Monte Cristo
, one of my favorite books.” His lips tugged beneath his stubble in a childish smile. “Doesn’t matter how many times I read any of Dumas’s work, I always feel like a little boy reading it for the first time.”

“I know exactly what you mean. I’m like that with Austen, which is my mother’s first reason to be greatly disappointed in me.” The moment her words left her mouth she cursed herself for being so careless.
You just met him, why the hell are you mentioning Jane, stupid?
She had an overwhelming desire to dig a hole in the ground where she could hide her heated face.

Taylor waited patiently for her to explain, looking at her with kind, understanding eyes. Her distraught look sent painful shocks through his heart, and he offered a small smile to encourage her, should she wish to continue her story.

For some inexplicable reason, she did. “Jane, my mother, loathed Austen, probably because my Nana loved it, hence her name.” She offered another smile before continuing. “She was obsessed with the Brontë sisters. That’s where my sister’s name and mine came from, Charlotte and Emily.”

“What about Anne?” Taylor inquired with curious eyes.

“We’re both Anne’s,” she informed him, cheerfully. “Charlotte Anne and Emily Anne Watson.” He nodded his understanding. “One Christmas, Nana gave me
Pride and Prejudice
and I fell in love with it. I still adore the Brontës, but Austen speaks to me, you know?”

Opposing feelings occupied her mind. She hated the vulnerability that came from letting someone into something so personal to her, but at the same time, there was a part of her that, for some unknown reason, felt happy to be sharing things with him. That knowledge made her annoyance at her own trust grow.

Taylor wanted her to meet his eyes. He could see that giving up information about herself was something extremely difficult for her, and he wanted to reassure her that she could trust him. But doing it without her looking at him was impossible.

“I understand you perfectly,” he said, successfully drawing her big blue eyes to him. Not wanting to waste the moment, he held her gaze and continued, “My mother spent her entire life studying Monet, when I decided to major in arts she was so sure I would follow in her footsteps.”

Emily stared at him in bewilderment. He chuckled and shook his head. “She cried for weeks when I chose modern art and photography. It’s been almost ten years, and I think she still hasn’t forgiven me.”

“You went to art school?” Emily asked. Her voice came out at a higher pitch than it should have, and her eyebrows shot up as she stared, unblinkingly, at him.

He chuckled and nodded. “Are you surprised?”

“Well yeah, the whole leather boots and beat-up denim doesn’t really scream art major,” she teased him. “Your brother looks more the part with the scarf, hat and trendy shoes.”

Taylor laughed at her description of Gabe. “We get that a lot. People always think he’s the art specialist Mom talks so much about, and that I’m the engineer.”

“I can see why.” She laughed with him “Where did you study?”

The tables turned and it was his time to look a little uncomfortable. Even though he was extremely proud of his education, as he should be, that subject always led to conversations of things he was less than comfortable with. However, he wanted her to trust him, and if opening up would help his case he would do it. “I went to Harvard for my BA and then Cambridge for my MA and PhD.”

Emily found it weird that he sounded almost embarrassed when he spoke of his degrees. His curriculum was beyond impressive; most people in his position would be gloating about it, instead of speaking of it in hushed tones. “Oh, come on, after that combo your mother must have forgiven you.”

“Not really.” He chuckled in response. “I think it got worse.”

Still laughing, they picked up their speed. They didn’t talk much during the hour they spent running, both paying attention to their breathing. They kept pace, and every once in a while they would look at each other, and smile. It was a very pleasurable, companionable silence.

When they slowed down to a walk again and moved towards the parking lot, Emily realized that she hadn’t enjoyed a run this much in a very long time.

They talked about the park; she told him about all the different trails, and about the time she made Zack and Jody hike up to the East Rock Summit with her.

The closer they got to the car, the more anxious Taylor became. Like the night before, he was enjoying his time with Emily too much and didn’t want to have to say goodbye to her just yet. His mind was working on every possible way to extend their time together.

“When are you going back to New York?” Emily’s voice interrupted his plotting.

Taylor saw that she was fidgeting with her keys in the same manner she had the night before when he’d walked her to her door, before she invited him to join her for a run. He wondered if that was something she did when she was working something out in her mind. “I’ll be heading back tonight. Mom and Dad are arriving in New York tomorrow morning, and we’re going away tomorrow night.”

“Where are you going?”

“China.” His answer came with the same hesitance he used when telling her about his education.

It was obvious that his family had money. Trips across the globe and the best schools in the world were honest indications of that, yet his hesitation made it seem like he wanted to hide the fact.

Being a very private person herself, Emily smiled at him with understanding. “I’ve always wanted to see the Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors.”

“Oh no . . . did I just made you jealous for the third time today?” he teased, glad that her response had been light and not prying.

Her answer was an exaggerated head bob followed by a long line of giggles.

“Damn. See if this helps? I’m going to spend almost a full day sitting on a plane with my brawling siblings bitching right next to me.”

Emily’s giggles turned into a full-out roll of laughter. “It did help a little. And may I ask what they’ll be brawling and bitching about?”

“Oh, where to start?” He rolled his eyes as they came to a stop in front of her Prius. “They fight about pretty much anything. You saw Gabe last night. He has no regard for other people; he simply does what he wants. Penelope hates that, and in all of her bossiness she tries to fix him, which is stupid and hellish for whoever is around.”

Emily leaned on the front of her car and smiled widely. “Was Penelope very angry about him bringing Sonia over?”

“Very angry doesn’t even cover it.” Taylor was chuckling as he settled himself next to her. “Let’s just say that there were screams coming from both bedrooms, and the poor woman left without breakfast this morning.”

She laughed at the mental picture as she untied her hair and combed it with her fingers, working through the knots. Satisfied, she tied it back again in a messy bun. “Has he always been like that?”

“Like what? Horny and inconsiderate?” he teased with a smirk, making her laugh again. “Yeah, ever since we were kids. It used to drive Mom crazy—actually, he drove all of us crazy.”

“I really miss that,” Emily’s statement was more to herself, than to him. With the corner of her eye she saw his curious look and her lips parted into a smile. “Fighting with my sister. She has an uncanny ability to drive me crazy and I love it.”

“You two aren’t close?” Taylor’s voice was a mixture of concern and curiosity.

She answered with a small nod. “Yes, we’re very close, but she lives with her husband in California and fighting over the phone isn’t half as much fun.”

“I see.” Taylor nodded and took a deep breath, before continuing, “I was thinking about getting some coffee. Why don’t you join me and tell me more about your sister?”

“Sure.” Her reply and how quickly and easily it came out of her lips surprised the daylights out of her. Despite this, her already existing grin grew bigger. If Emily were to be honest with herself, something she wasn’t inclined to be, she’d have to admit that she was working up the courage to invite him to join her for coffee herself. She was glad he made the first move and they agreed he would follow her in his car to the Starbucks she always went to. He walked to her driver’s side and opened the door for her to get in.

The drive to the coffee shop took less than ten minutes. They parked their cars side by side, and once again Taylor was there to open her door and help her out.

They walked together into the shop, talking pleasantries. As they waited in line, the barista waved at Emily, who responded in kind.

“I take it you come here a lot?” Taylor asked, mildly amused.

Emily giggled and nodded as the woman in front of them paid for her order and moved out of the line. “You could say that. Hi, Josh,” she greeted the young Asian man behind the counter.

“Hey, Emily. How’s your Saturday?” He spoke so fast his words nearly jumbled together.

“So far it’s been great, how about yours?”

“It’s been all right, but it’s definitely better now.” The young barista, who was clearly an undergrad student, did a poor job of hiding his obvious infatuation with Emily. Though she seemed to be completely unaware of it, Taylor was not. His amusement turned to annoyance quickly, and his eyes rolled all the way to the back of his head with irritation before returning to the barista dirty look. Josh cleared his throat before continuing. “Your usual?” he asked Emily.

“Yes please, Josh. And I think I’ll have an oatmeal cookie, too.”

Josh picked a venti cup from the stack by the register and marked it with her order. As she moved to retrieve her card from the tiny pocket, Taylor shook his head. “It’s on me.”

Emily looked at him with questioning eyes and he shook his head again. “Don’t even start. I freeloaded yesterday, now it’s your turn,” he said good-naturedly, then turned back to Josh with a smug smile on his lips. “A venti Americano and a piece of banana nut loaf, please. The name is Taylor.”

Josh wrote the order and went to get their food, before informing them of the amount due and taking Taylor’s card.

“You didn’t have to do that, but thank you,” Emily said with a shy smile as they moved to the end of the counter.

“I know I didn’t—I wanted to.” Taylor chuckled and winked at her. “The good company is worth every penny spent.”

A female, blue-eyed barista with long blond hair tied in a ponytail, delivered their order and plenty of smiles to Taylor, who didn’t spare a single glance at her. Taylor picked up the tray and followed Emily to one of the couches by the window.

“May I ask what exactly is in the usual?” he asked, handing her the paper cup.

She took a large gulp before answering. “A whole lot of bold coffee, some skinny milk and a drizzle of cinnamon, why do you ask?”

He took a bite of his food and shrugged. “Josh may not be around the next time I decide to buy you a cup. Now, I believe you were going to tell me about Charlotte.”

“Yes, I believe that’s why we’re here and it’s only fair, right?”

He laughed and wondered if she was stalling. “That’s right. You know both my siblings and I can bet that your sister isn’t half as embarrassing as Gabe. So, shoot.”

“You’d be surprised.” She laughed. “Now she’s a respectable married woman, but Charlie used to be a loose cannon when we were younger. But she has always been amazing. A real force of nature, you know? Like a hurricane,” she said. “She’s pregnant and I can only imagine the hell on wheels she’ll be for the poor child.” The pride in her voice spoke volumes; there was no doubt how much she admired her sister.

Taylor listened attentively as she shared stories of Charlie as a teenager. She was careful to stick to funny memories that didn’t require too much information—things that wouldn’t let her troubled past show too much, like the way Charlotte loved to party, and how she was the one who’d introduced Emily to rock bands. During the entire time Emily talked she only once briefly mentioned how Charlotte had looked after her as they grew up. Her gratitude when he didn’t probe for more information was immeasurable.