I nodded. “It is pretty cool how safe it is around here.”
“Kids can still play outside until the streetlights come on in the summer and walk wherever they want to go. It’s still a great place to raise a family.”
We laid our bikes down on the ground and continued on foot. I nudged her with my elbow and waited until she looked up at me. “Is that what you want? To raise your family here?”
“One day,” she said. “Obviously, I’ve yet to find the father of my future children, but if I ever do find him and we have kids, then yes. I can’t imagine raising them anywhere else.”
Well, that could be a problem.On the other hand, she had made a good point. While I’d always wanted to leave eventually, Rockdale had given me an awesome childhood.
“Do you want children?” she asked as the path started letting out to a secluded bend in the river where the water ran slowly. The canopy of trees above us only let through mottled sunlight reflecting off the surface, and although Anna would’ve been worried about bug spray and what kind of creepy-crawly things might bite her ass, Emma smiled serenely and seemed genuinely content to be here.
I glanced back at her as I nodded. “I’d love to have a family, but not right now. Life is just too hectic. If I was to meet the mother of my future children and we were to have a baby right now, I’d miss out on it growing up and I definitely don’t want to be an absent father. I want to be there, holding the camera when it takes its first steps. I want to cook the mushy baby food and see it eat its first bite. I want to rub out the burps and change even the gross diapers, but I wouldn’t be able to do any of that in the phase I’m in at the moment.”
“That sounds… depressing,” she said, then gripped the hem of her shirt and pulled it right off without even breaking eye contact with me.
My eyes nearly popped out of my head at the sight of her in the bikini top she had on, a sea green that glimmered against her tan skin and made her eyes look like huge aquamarine pools that I wanted nothing more than to dive into.
As I watched, so surprised that I forgot what we’d even been talking about, she shimmied out of her pants as well and revealed matching bikini bottoms. Kicking off her shoes next, she headed for the river and waded in, glancing back at me and cocking an eyebrow.
“Are you coming, or are you going to stand there staring all day?”
The question spurred me into motion, and I wasted no time stripping off and following her in so glad she had mentioned to wear a pair of swim trunks. “So is this your favorite place, then?”
“They’re all my favorite places,” she replied. “Rockdale is my favorite place to be, and everything about it is my favorite.”
I’m starting to wonder if it’s my favorite place to be, too.
Turning around once she was in to her waist, she suddenly shot me a playful grin, scooped some water into her hand, and splashed me before she fell back and swam away.
I laughed, taking off after her without a second thought. We played in the water for a bit, and once again, I felt like we’d gone back to being the kids we used to be. Being with her was fun and effortless, and I loved holding her even if she kept slipping away, teasing me and prompting me to keep chasing after her.
Once I caught her again, I laid a big kiss on her lips and reminded myself that I wasn’t trying to get sucked in by Rockdale despite how much I was enjoying being there with her.What I should be doing is trying to convince her to leave with me.
“Rockdale isn’t bad,” I said finally. “The river is definitely great, but there are so many places out there in the world that are even better. If you gave it a chance, you might find some new favorites.”
“Yeah?” she asked softly, looping her arms around my neck and pressing her body into mine. “Like where? What could be better than this?”
She jerked her head at our surroundings. “We’re having an impromptu swim in what feels like the middle of nowhere but is actually ten minutes away from home. There are no tourists, no worries about our safety or privacy. We cycled here without having to think about getting hit by a speeding car or a cab. The water is warm and the weather is perfect, so I’ll ask again, what could possibly be better than this?”
“Swimming in Halong Bay in Vietnam and taking a cruise as the sun sets,” I replied. “Off the top of my head, there’s also snorkeling off the Amalfi Coast of Italy and surfing the warm water in Hawaii. There are a lot of new favorite places all over the world just waiting for you to explore them.”
I didn’t stop there and continued. “There’s also cycling over the cobblestones of the French countryside and finding privacy on the small islands and between the rock outcroppings in the sea in Thailand. There’s cheese and chocolate to taste in Switzerland and castles to walk to in Scotland.”
While I spoke, her gaze remained steadfast on mine. “All of that sounds wonderful, but to visit, not to live there. I’d love to see it all, but there’s a reason why there’s no place like home.”
Clearly, I hadn’t convinced her just yet. I had a lot more ideas where those ones had come from, though. While it worried me a little that none of those had swayed her at all, I’d keep trying until I had her.
Sure, I could leave her be and go back to my life without her. I could even try to find another woman like her, but I didn’t want to. I didn’t want a womanlikeher. I wantedher. I didn’t want to lose her or the relationship we could have. Now all I had to do was get her to give it a try.
26
EMMA
“There’s nothing like the smell of freshly done laundry,” I murmured to myself as I inhaled deeply, hugging a warm, clean sheet to my body before I folded it. As I reached into my basket for the next one, my phone vibrated in my pocket.
I sighed, straightening up and smiling when I saw the name on the screen. Accepting the call immediately, I left the laundry room and walked out my back door into the yard. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t my favorite honeymooner. Theodora Eldridge, I haven’t heard from you since the wedding and it’s been four days. That’s the longest we’ve ever gone without talking. How are you?”
“We’re so good,” she said dreamily. “I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner, but we’ve been… busy.”