Light Unshaken (Unveiled #2) (3 page)

chapter three

Redo

The morning sun kissed the treetops and warmed my cheeks through the living room window. A new day. A chance to start over and give Riley the same support he’d given me last year. Even if it meant saying goodbye.

I wrenched back my sleeves and the thought.

The soft boiling of the teapot rumbled from the kitchen. Hopping on one foot, I slipped on my other fuzzy sock and rounded the partition.

While my tea steeped, I grabbed a frying pan from the drawer under the oven. It clanked into the pot next to it. I froze.
Please don’t wake Jae.

Not a sound.

Delicately this time, I lifted the pan out the rest of the way and inched the drawer closed. One screech after another bounced off the kitchen walls all the way down the hall. I held my breath.

A loud
thud
answered the awaited silence. Our bedroom door opened to reveal a disoriented, tousled replica of my best friend. Jaycee squinted at me through half-opened lashes.

My shoulders nearly touched the bottoms of my ears. “Sorry.”

Her arms stretched with a yawn. “I needed to get up anyway.” She stumbled into the kitchen on autopilot and snagged a mug almost the same size as the coffeepot. “Trev should be here by eight. He made me clear my whole day for him. He’s up to something.”

We exchanged a foreboding look.

“That reminds me.” She swirled creamer into her coffee. “I can’t take you to the center today, but Trev promised me he’d have something worked out.”

No telling what that meant. I was scared to ask.

She leaned against the counter and breathed in the hazelnut-scented steam from her mug as if it were some kind of aromatherapy treatment. Her eyes fluttered open a minute later, awake and alert.

I scanned the label on the coffee can. “Sure this isn’t laced with something else?”

A don’t-ask-don’t-tell grin snuck around the corners of her mug.

“Oh.” Pushing off the counter, she held her mug away and wiped a streak of coffee from her chin. “Shoot, I forgot to tell you. Trev heard from his advisor yesterday about that internship he wanted. Guess someone ended up backing out last minute, so Dr. Jenkins got him in.”

“That’s awesome.”

“Yeah. Except . . . that means he can’t do the coaching gig you asked him about.” She scrunched her lips to the side. “Sorry. I know you were counting on him.”

“It’s fine. His internship’s important. Seriously, don’t worry about it. I’ll come up with someone else.” Someone like . . . ? The one person who’d be perfect for the job was barely talking to me.

A gentle knock at the door rippled into the room.

“That’s my cue.” Jaycee pivoted on her bare foot and made a beeline to the shower.

With my hand on the knob, I straightened my shoulders.
Don’t think about goodbye.

Riley whisked me into his arms before the door had a chance to swing shut behind him. “Good morning.”

He wasn’t going to make this easy on me. Not with those unfairly gorgeous eyes crippling my willpower.

I unwound his arms and eased out of danger territory. It was either that or forfeit breathing from the way he looked at me. “I was just making us some breakfast.”

“Really?” His voice slanted with his brows.

“I even made coffee.”

“Now I know it’s serious. Did you have Jaycee taste test it first?” He snickered.

“Very funny.”

He followed me into the kitchen. “Breakfast . . . my own barista . . . what’s the occasion?”

“I heard you have some news we should be celebrating.”

His smile fell. “Emma. . . .”

Hands on my hips, I fixed a glare on him. “This is my redo, remember?” I tugged a band off my wrist and swept my hair up into a loose ponytail. “Okay, I admit I’m the world’s worst actress. Just humor me, all right?”

I pored over the stovetop as if the pan of eggs would provide some kind of golden armor I needed to make it through this. “So, you heard from your agent?”

“You don’t have to—”

Bits of eggs flung onto the linoleum as I spun toward him.

He laughed. “I’m not sure that flustered look will ever be less adorable.”

“Ahem.” I shook the spatula at him. “Your agent?”

He gave me a short yes-ma’am nod and took a seat at the table. “Brett called after my run with Jake yesterday. Said Momentum Records had a change in schedule, and they want me to come out to Nashville next week.” Riley kneaded his shoulder blade. “Brett sounded almost as shocked as I was. Guess things don’t normally come together this quickly.”

I ducked into the fridge in search of the shredded potatoes I’d bought earlier in the week. “Have you called your parents? I bet they’re beside themselves.” I pushed a gallon of milk to one side of the shelf and a carton of orange juice to the other. Swishing liquid filled in for Riley’s reply. I peered over the door.

He picked at a scratch in the Formica tabletop. “It’s complicated.”

“What’s complicated about it?” The refrigerator door closed, potatoes still inside. “This is a dream come true for you. Your parents will be thrilled.”

Riley ran his hand through his hair. “You don’t know my dad.” He scooted his chair in and leaned on his elbows. A second later, he dropped his arms on the table. “We really don’t have to talk about them right now.”

“Yes, we do.”

The look on his face said otherwise.
Fine
. I didn’t want to waste a second arguing when we had so few left as it was. The air conditioner kicked on with a gurgle. A question I couldn’t put off shuddered over me.

I swiped the cup of coffee I’d made for him, downed it fast enough to make Jaycee proud, and clanked the mug on the counter like a drained shot glass.

Not sure which was harder to swallow—black coffee or the idea of being without Riley.

“Did Brett mention how long you’d be gone?” I scraped the spatula along the bottom of the pan on the stovetop to drown out the break in my voice.

Another long pause expanded between us. Too long.

Riley’s chair legs screeched against the floor.

His hands, warm and tender, rested on my shoulders. “I didn’t expect this to happen so quickly.” He turned me around to face him. “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to move out there until after you graduated. Until after we wouldn’t have to be apart.”

Since when did things work according to plan?

“I know.” I fashioned a nearly passable smile on my face. “But sometimes our plans change for the better, even if we can’t see how at first. Right?”

Could he tell I was trying to convince myself more than him? If he took one look into my eyes, he’d know. My shoulders sagged with an overdue exhale. “I have to believe we can do this and that we’ll be stronger for it.”

Riley interlaced his fingers around my back and pulled my torso tight with his. “My valiant fiancée. I knew if I told you long enough how brave you are, you’d start to believe me.”

“Don’t know about that. I’m just trying to have faith in what I see when you look at me.”

His eyes embraced mine. “That love will never change. No matter what.”

Enclosed in arms of promise, I yielded to hope. But as quickly as the serenity came, it retreated behind the force of the question still persisting in the forefront. “How long, Riley?”

He blinked slowly, chin drifting to his collar. “At least a semester.”

At least?

“It shouldn’t take that long to record the album, but they want me to spend some time in the industry. Get acquainted. Work on some new music.”

I tried to channel even a fraction of Jaycee’s usual optimism. “It’ll fly by. We’ll both be busy. Your days will be packed, and I’ll have school, my internship. We’ll hardly notice how quickly time passes. And we’ll talk every day, right?”

He grinned the way he always did when I rambled. His lips brushed mine. Soft, encouraging—the exact opposite of the angst raking over my tendons. I held on and sank deeper into the one place I’d have to learn to live without for the next four months.

Riley lifted a hand to my cheek. Before his mouth moved, his eyes spoke the words we’d exchanged countless times before. “You’re braver than you think you are.”

He made it so easy to believe. At least, until our single hour together depleted to mere minutes.

Breakfast ended too quickly. I smeared a glob of leftover ketchup across my empty plate with my fork. Having a full stomach didn’t stop it from churning. I snarled at the clock. It smirked back, apparently planning to tag along with us for the next few days as an uninvited third wheel.

In front of the sink, I slid our plates into the dishwater and gripped the counter. Each goodbye became more prominent.

From behind me, Riley ran his hands along my arms. His touch spread assurance down my body as he turned me around. “Thanks for breakfast. You know, I could get used to waking up to you in the kitchen every morning.”

“Oh, really?”

He brought my hands to his mouth. “Mm hmm.”

“You’re trying to distract me, aren’t you?”

“That depends.” He edged closer, his lips just above mine. “Is it working?”

“Maybe.”

The front door blew open. Riley and I turned in time to see Trevor flying into the room like Kramer sliding through Seinfeld’s front door. I laughed until I noticed someone follow him in—someone who hadn’t stepped foot in my apartment since the end of last semester.

chapter Four

Reminiscent

“Em, I need to steal Jae this afternoon, but don’t worry.” Trevor winked and patted A. J.’s shoulder. “Bowers is gonna give you a ride instead.”

I twisted toward the kitchen counter.
A. J., me . . . alone? This should be interesting.

Riley’s hand constricted around mine.

A. J. stood at the living room window with his back facing the rest of us, probably dreading the idea as much as Riley seemed to.

How had A. J. and I gotten here? We were supposed to stay friends. I had to try.

I headed into the living room. “All right, Trev, how much did you have to bribe him to drive me?”

Trevor’s full patronizing tenor kicked into gear. “Just ‘cause he’s getting to see the UFC fight this Saturday on me doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have driven you pro bono.” He jabbed A. J.’s arm. “Right, bro?”

A. J. turned, a statue coming to life. “Of course.” His hollow tone betrayed the soft look in his eyes.

“Think you better up the payoff,” I whispered to Trevor.

Riley slipped in front of me. “Why don’t you let me drive you? I can go in to work late.”

“It’s just a car ride.” A. J. stopped on his way through the door. “You coming?” He trucked into the stairwell without waiting for a reply.

Just a car ride. One he obviously wanted to get over with. Other than a possible speeding ticket, Riley had nothing to worry about. Besides, the sooner I got to work, the sooner I’d make it through the hours keeping us apart.

I kissed Riley goodbye. “I’ll see you tonight.”

He didn’t let go of my hand until our arms stretched to their max over the threshold.

If I could handle time waning with Riley, surely I could endure a single ride with A. J.

Our silent walk to the parking lot begged to differ. Apparently, my need for extra strength today wasn’t over. The sun-coated paint on A. J.’s black Acura ZDX emitted heat waves into the air like some kind of sonar force warning me to enter at my own risk.

I slid onto the hot leather seat. The scene seemed oddly reminiscent of the last time we were in this same car, heading up to the same city. Except that everything had changed.

A. J. included.

My mind sprinted to catch up with the pavement passing outside my window. I hurt him last year. And if this summer was any indication, he hadn’t let that go. Maybe it was selfish of me to hope he ever would. If nothing else, at least we could make the car ride bearable.

“So, when are we having that rematch on the basketball court?” I asked with as much lightheartedness as I could assemble.

The corners of A. J.’s mouth tipped into a reactive grin. “Whenever you’re ready to lose.”

Should’ve known competitiveness would be the hole in his armor. “Ha. Don’t hold your breath. I’ve been watching the kids play at the center. I’ve learned a few moves that’ll make your head dizzy.”

“Psh, you wish.”

Laughter seeped out before I could stop it. I missed our teasing.

“Thanks, by the way, for driving me.” I snuck a ten-dollar bill into the cup holder.

A burst in acceleration sent the back of my head colliding with the headrest. A. J. eased his foot off the gas pedal, but an edge clung to his voice. “What’s that?”

“Gas money.”

“No way.” He yanked the bill from the cup holder and tossed it in my lap. “You can barely afford your rent.”

“Portland isn’t exactly a drive around the block. I don’t want to take advantage of your generosity.” Couldn’t he at least glance in my direction to see my sincerity?

“It’s no big deal. Don’t worry about it.” He wrenched the gearshift into the wrong slot, his voice gruffer than the confused engine.

Two could play the stubborn game. I wadded the money into a ball and flicked it at his face. “I’m not taking it back.”

Huffing under his breath, he swerved as he fumbled around the floorboard in search of the bill.

The beginning of an impish smile crept up the side of his cheek a minute later. “I’ll tell you what. You beat me at basketball, and I’ll let you pay me for the gas.”

“You’re really that sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

A. J. slid his sunglasses down his nose and stared at me as if I’d asked a no-brainer. “I’ll even give you a ten point lead.”

“Wow, I’m glad to see that head of yours hasn’t gotten any smaller this summer. It might’ve really thrown you off balance.”

For one brief, candid moment, A. J. laughed with me, and things almost felt like they had always been.

Almost.

An unexplained sense of gravity returned to his voice. “Just consider the gas a donation to the center. What you’re doing there is really great.”

I twisted my seatbelt. “Sometimes I wonder about that. I’m glad to help Trey out with the business part, but I feel like it’s not enough. Like I could be doing more for them.”

“I doubt he sees it that way.”

Picturing Trey’s contagious smile made it hard to disagree. “He has a special way of looking at most things.” One of the reasons I admired him so much. And the same reason he could drive me crazy.

“He’s been talking about offering weekend classes to the community. Wants me to teach on finance. I’ve been piecing together some lesson plans from my coursework, but I’m really nervous. Tutoring the kids isn’t the same as teaching a real class, especially for people who have so much more life experience than me.”

When I finally stopped to take a breath, I had trouble finding one. A. J. used to be so easy to talk to. It was hard to remember we weren’t as close now. I let go of my seatbelt and tucked my hands under my legs. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to unload on you.”

He lifted the bill of his hat to scratch his forehead, tugged it back down, and exhaled. “Don’t underestimate yourself, Emma.” Without turning to face me, he placed the crumpled-up ten-dollar bill in my hand. “The center’s lucky to have you.”

Same as they’d be lucky to have him if he’d consider the coaching job. I leaned into my door panel and stared at the exit signs passing my window. It wouldn’t be fair of me to ask him.

An uncomfortable silence returned, but maybe that was the way it was supposed to be.

He pulled up across from the building where I’d been interning all summer. “You want me to walk you to the door?” he asked without shifting his focus from the windshield.

I followed his line of sight to a cluster of guys on the street corner. Shrugging off his concern, I climbed out of the car. “The door’s only like twenty feet away. Think I’ll be fine.”

“Don’t be so gullible you forget where you are.”

A city bus turned off a side street and chugged past us. I lifted my shirt over my nose. A trail of exhaust rustled the plastic bag wedged inside an overflowing trashcan a few stops ahead.

So, maybe the center wasn’t in the nicest of areas. Still, I’d never felt unsafe here.

“It’s broad daylight. But if it makes you feel better, you can watch me cross the street.”

A guttural laugh from the corner drew my glance over the hood of the car toward three guys staring in our direction. The way the one in the middle smirked at me sent a chill down my spine with enough force to reconsider A. J.’s offer. Except that’d mean letting him and those guys think they intimidated me. Not going to happen.

I hunched over the open window. “Thanks again for the lift. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem.” His gaze finally flicked to me. Yet even hidden behind his sunglasses, the hollow look in his eyes was too painful to miss. I almost preferred he didn’t look at me at all than to look straight through me.

Clasping both elbows, I backed away from the car. “See you later.”

A palpable glare from the guys on the corner followed me across the street until I skirted out of sight around the side of the building.

A. J.’s tires didn’t screech away until I’d had ample time to make it safely inside. Figures. It was his nature to protect, despite whatever he might’ve felt toward me. That didn’t make the rift between us hurt any less.

“’Sup, Miss E?”

I jumped off the wall.

Four of the center’s regular kids strode down the walkway toward the side door. “Was that guy in the car out front messin’ with you?” Brandon asked. “’Cause I can take him.” He tossed a basketball in the air, caught it, and flexed his bicep. “I been working out.”

His little eleven-year-old self couldn’t get any cuter.

The thought of our kids running into whoever those guys were turned my blood hot. I didn’t know what they were selling or what game they were hustling, but they were messing with the wrong place.

I looked behind me, looped an arm around Brandon’s shoulders, and prodded him down the walkway. “Thanks for lookin’ out, but I think I’ve got it covered.”

“A’ight, but you let me know. I watch out for my girl.”

He strutted inside with his friends snickering behind us.

At the door to the classroom, I caught his basketball midair. “How’s that book report coming?”

Brandon swayed in place, head down. “Aw, Miss E, you can’t be calling me out like that. I gots a reputation to manage.”

He held out his hands for his ball, and I placed a pen and paper in them instead. “How about a reputation for passing school?”

He flipped up the bill of his hat. “That ain’t gonna win me the ladies.”

Like a big brother, Trey pulled him into a headlock and lugged him into the classroom. “It might win you that one.” He winked in my direction.

“If my heart wasn’t already taken,” I said with a wave of my engagement ring.

The door closed a trail of grumbles and laughs behind it.

I toyed with my ring. Alone, the emotions from the morning rushed in again.
Don’t think about it
. I rolled my chair up to my desk and scanned the piles of work waiting for me. Right. Brandon was closer to finishing his book report than I was to concentrating on anything except having only two nights left with Riley.

A steady murmur of kids’ voices seeped underneath the door and filled the office like soft background music, urging me to focus.
Grant requests. Focus on grant requests
. I rifled through a stack of overdue bills cluttering my inbox until an envelope slipped out onto my desk.

The sender hadn’t bothered to fill in the return address, but the Palmer Foundation was the only benefactor from the last batch that I hadn’t heard back from yet.

Please be good news.

Leaning on my elbows, I scanned the first two sentences of the form letter and dropped it. After seeing the word
unfortunately
on fifteen other rejection notices, I didn’t need to read any farther, but a comment toward the bottom of the page caught my eye.

Not enough activities? Seriously? We weren’t the YMCA. Tutoring should be more than enough to warrant financial assistance. And it wasn’t as if we weren’t trying to get a sports program going. If they’d make an investment in us, maybe we could actually hire the kind of staff they seemed to expect us to have.

I shoved the letter into my side drawer with the others and slumped in my chair.

There had to be somebody out there willing to help. I pinned my bangs back with a paperclip, unburied my grant notes, and Googled the second to last organization left on my list. I transferred their information into my letter template and breathed a prayer while the decrepit printer spit out the page a row at a time.

Give us a chance. Please.
The kids needed the center. And so did I.

Movement flickered outside the window. The guys from the corner slinked around the building opposite ours, but not before the apparent ringleader flaunted a dark look my way.

A tinge of apprehension stirred up memories of my internship supervisor almost forcing himself on me last year in Xander’s parking lot. Maybe it was a good thing A. J. drove me in today instead of Riley. With his leaving, he didn’t need any reason to worry about me.

Drawing my shoulders back, I returned to my post and tackled the pile of paperwork closest to me. One thing at a time.

Daylight made a steady descent down the side of the building as the afternoon crept toward the end of my shift. The closer it neared, the more intently I kept any eye out for Riley’s arrival, only breaking my stare from the window every few minutes to check the clock.

“If you keep tapping that pen on your desk, you’re gonna drill a hole through it,” Trey said from the doorway to the classroom. He had one of those husky voices that would be perfect for an audio book or maybe a radio host. The kind that could ease the tension in almost any circumstance.

I dropped the pen. “Sorry.”

Trey crossed the room and reclined in his chair. “Got a hot date tonight or something?”

I threw him a sassy look. “Always.”

“Mm hmm. I don’t think staring out that window is gonna make him get here any faster.”

“Tell me about it.” I spun the pen in half turns. “Sorry to be so distracted today. Riley’s leaving on Friday, and to be honest, it’s sort of torturous to be at work right now. Not that you’re not great company, but, you know.”