Emma awoke around 9:30, surprised by how late she had slept. She never slept that late, but then again, she hadn’t slept that well in a very long time.
She jumped up and slipped on some of her favorite clothes to wear, pulling her long, thick hair back in a braid. She went downstairs to see Pops on the phone with someone, drinking coffee.
She took a cup herself and motioned to him that she was going to her studio, and he waved in understanding.
She went to the room down the hall that Pops had set up for her when she was thirteen, when art had taken over the house.
She had taken every class that was offered at the art center, and she had ruined the carpet in two different places.
So Pops had turned a storage room into an art studio for her, and it was there that she mastered her craft. The light was perfect, the shelving was plentiful, and Emma loved the room.
The moving company had put the boxes in the corner, and she started unpacking, getting everything the way she wanted it.
A few hours later, she was unpacked and pleased with what she had set up. She set up the radio that had a docking cradle for her phone and called it a day.
She went back to the kitchen to make some lunch. It was 12:30 and she was starving. She wasn’t usually big on breakfast and today was no exception.
Pops came in from the patio as she was making a salad with smoked salmon.
“Angel, I am going to run some errands and meet some friends for dinner since you kids are going out tonight. Do you need anything?”
“No Pops, I’m good. I will be quiet when I come in tonight so I don’t wake you. Have fun!”
He kissed her forehead and bid her goodbye. She took her lunch to the patio and sat eating her salad as she watched the boats on the waterway.
She turned on her phone, listening to her favorite playlist as she sat back and relaxed, thinking about her life.
She was fortunate that she had the means to follow her dream and create. Pops had paid for her lessons and classes, and he’d funded her dreams through high school and college.
Once she’d gotten pregnant and married Adam, she was able to continue, as Adam’s family was very wealthy and she didn’t have to work.
So she raised Trevor and continued her art, making drawings and paintings for children and adults alike. She’d actually sold quite a few pieces through a dealer who worked strictly online.
That way, she could submit as she desired and not be forced to put out pieces she wasn’t happy with.
Emma knew she was blessed and so very lucky in her life, not having to worry about money. The trust fund she had been living off since her divorce had set her up nicely.
She used the money she got for child support strictly for Trevor, and set money away for him every month. The prenup that Pops and Adam’s family had negotiated was ironclad.
Adam’s family got nothing from Pops, and Emma was only getting money for child support and had gotten one lump-sum payout for Adam cheating.
She took that payout and had bought her condo, which she had lived in until her move here. She was glad that everything was working out. Pops was just glad to be rid of the snobby, New England family.
Adam’s family was cordial to her over the years, but they were never warm people. It was nothing like what she was used to with her family, the DeMarcos, and the Reynoldses.
Several of Adam’s cousins made it known that they thought Emma had trapped him into the marriage when she’d found out she was pregnant, just for the money.
It wasn’t until Emma, cleverly and in a rather bitchy tone, showed them a news article about Pops selling several of his investments for record profits that they kept their opinions to themselves.
Timing had never really been on her side when it came to love, she thought sadly. She had loved Luke since she was sixteen years old, having had a major crush on him since she was fourteen.
Before that, she thought he was just as annoying as Ben, like a brother. It wasn’t until she saw Luke kiss a neighborhood girl behind the pool shed one summer that her heart changed.
She was seething with anger and wanted to rip that girl’s hair out. She left in tears and pretended to be sick for two days before Carol finally got her to talk.
Carol hugged her, dried her tears, and told her to just wait until she got older to worry about it. So Emma hid her feelings for Luke until she was older.
Even Lydia and Jenna didn’t know she had feelings for him. Forget knowing that she still was in love with Luke. They just knew that she’d had a crush on him as a teenager.
Luke had feelings for her, and again, timing killed them. They hid their feelings as best they could from their friends and siblings. If any of the adults knew, they never said anything to them.
Without Emma and Luke knowing, the adults had actually talked in private and were all in favor of them getting together, especially Pops and Luke’s grandfather, John.
But no one knew that Luke was Emma’s first kiss and her first time. He was able to get leave for graduation and had watched her, Jenna, and Lydia graduate from high school.
No one knew that they’d declared their love for each other and no one knew that the night before he went back to base, he’d made love to her.
She smiled at the memory and thought about how sweet he was with her, and how he’d made it special on his family’s boat as they went for a sunset ride.
Emma thought back to all the emails and letters they wrote to each other over the years. She always sent packages to him when he was stationed away so he wouldn’t be without things from home.
She would never forget the letter she got from him when he found out that she was pregnant and was getting married. Her heart was broken after that, even though they had vowed to still stay friends.
Emma wiped a tear away at one specific memory that was forever ingrained in her heart and mind.
Luke had gotten a surprise seventy-two-hour leave and had flown in from his base in North Carolina. He didn’t tell anyone. He just showed up on her apartment doorstep and they spent the next three days in bed.
She had been fighting a cold, so no one called or came over. She didn’t go to class or practice. They ordered in some food when they were hungry, and there they stayed in a world all their own.
No one knew and it was a memory that she cherished.
Until they had a fight the day he was leaving. They’d just gotten out of the shower and he was getting ready to fly back when he sprang his news on her.
She cried for the rest of that day and still felt miserable, not just because of the cold. Her heart was broken and there was no one she could tell.
She did her best to forget about him, drowning herself in the swim team and school and even gave into Adam, who had been asking her out again for weeks.
He was working for one of his dad’s businesses close to the college and had seen her at a club earlier that school year.
They had gone out a few times with groups of people and a few times alone. He was a very nice guy and good looking. Hell, he and Luke even looked alike! But he just was not Luke.
