Emma took Jules into her arms and stroked her back. “I miss him too, but he would have wanted us to move on. I know that for a fact.”
For a while, neither of them said anything.
When Jules drew back, she murmured something under her breath and led her outside. They ran into Jack outside the curtain, and he gave Emma a concerned look. She mustered up a smile and breathed a sigh of relief when they sat back down, and Jules held on to her hand for the rest of the movie.
Whatever happened next, whatever Jules decided to do, Emma could only pray she faced the future with both arms and her heart wide open.
It was all she wanted for her daughter.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“When you invited me over to help tidy up the attic, I thought it was code for something.” Jack hoisted another box and offered her a lopsided smile. “You sure you don’t want to go downstairs and watch a movie? Your parents aren’t home.”
Emma peered into another box and laughed. “I’m sure. I actually meant tidying up the attic. It could use some sprucing up.”
Jack came to stand behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He pushed her hair forward and kissed the back of her neck. “I can think of something that’s a lot more fun.”
Emma shivered and leaned into his touch. “Stop distracting me.”
He kissed a path up to her ears, his hot breath warm against her skin. “Why not? This is more fun than cleaning up the attic.”
Emma twisted in his arms and linked her fingers over his neck. “You do know that this is the first time since Andrew that I…that, you know… I haven’t even dated in seven years.”
Hadn’t even considered it till Jack burst back onto the scene in vivid Technicolor.
Jack’s smile fell, and his expression turned serious. “Emma, we can take this as slow or as fast as you want. There’s no pressure here. I just want to be with you, and I understand that some things may take some getting used to.”
Emma blew out a breath and pushed herself up on the tips of her toes. She pressed her lips to his for a quick kiss. “Thank you.”
In all the excitement, she hadn’t allowed herself to ponder what it really meant to give them a second chance.
It had been in the back of her mind, but after her chat with Jules, Emma realized her daughter wasn’t the only one clinging to the past out of fear and doubt.
But Emma didn’t want it dictating her life anymore.
Emma giggled as Jack tried to pull her into a dance. She reached into another box, taking out a folder with papers haphazardly thrown into it, and her laughter died down. As she flicked through one medical report after the next, her head started to feel light, and bile rose in the back of her throat. She pried herself out of Jack’s arms, leaned against the nearest wall, and tried to remember how to breathe.
Jack’s voice was in her ear, rubbing the back of her neck.
Then, her mother appeared, voice raised in excitement. She took one look at them, huddled in a corner, and gave Jack a meaningful look. Slowly, Emma drew herself up to her full height and brandished the folder, another surge of fear and disbelief pumping through her.
Having a physical, concrete reminder of her mother’s illness was hitting her harder than it should’ve.
Harder than she’d like to admit.
“You told me it wasn’t a big deal.”
Marie crossed over to her and pried the folder out of Emma’s viselike grip. “It’s not.”
“Mom, this looks pretty serious,” Emma whispered. “Do they know if it’s going to come back?”
“There’s no way to tell with these things.” Marie clasped her hands behind her back, hiding the folder from view. “But I’m choosing not to dwell on that.”
Emma swallowed. “But what if it does? What if—”
“I’m not going to live my life dealing with hypotheticals,” Marie interrupted with a lift of her chin. “We all agreed that we’re going to leave the past behind us. That includes my medical files. I’m going to store them somewhere, so we never have to look at them again.”
“You’ll still get tested regularly though, right? Just in case…”
