Imperfectly Real (A Series of Imperfections) (8 page)

“Want some Starbucks?” I asked as we turned a corner headed towards the small park close to our condo.

“Sure.” She smiled.

“What do you drink?” I asked.

“Anything with caffeine.”

I gave her a smirk, thinking to myself that that actually sounded a lot like a typical Emma answer, before promising her that I’d be right back.

I hustled into the shop and ordered two grande caramel macchiatos. I hummed a happy tune to myself as I handed her the cup and she took a tentative swig. “I forgot how happy-go-lucky you were.”

“What do you mean?” I asked as we continued down the sidewalk pushing the strollers, the kids babbling back and forth to each other in excitement.

“You were always so happy growing up. You know, that’s what I loved about you. That and how you made sure I was always taken care of. Do you remember when you yelled at Emma for ditching me to go play with soccer with Shane?”

“I actually do remember that,” I replied. It was funny thinking how such a small part of our lives had stuck with us. Somehow—for whatever reason—it had been important to us both, permanently etched into our precious memories.

“You seemed different to me after your dad died … but I guess I was wrong. You’re still the same guy I knew back then.”

I winced at the mention of my dad’s death. It had been the roughest time in my life. I was just a kid, still in high school. I practically lived at Emma’s for months. My mother drowned her sorrows with mimosas and I couldn’t stand her for it. The only thing that kept me going back to my house was Talon. He was just a kid, a preschooler at the time, and he needed me to take care of him, because God knew my mother couldn’t. I’d sneak him out of the house and put him to bed at Emma’s. She’d sneak us in through her daylight basement, so that Mrs. Sloan wouldn’t ask too many questions. All that really mattered was that Talon was taken care of, and we wouldn’t have to listen to Mom sob while she got drunk.

Elizabeth was right though—I had changed after dad died. I did my best to put on a front and give people what they expected from me, but I was never the same. He’d been the one to keep our family together, and without him I just became a reminder of all that was lost to my mother.

“Sorry,” she whispered, obviously sensing my emotions. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Don’t be, it’s the truth.” I forced a smile, to let her know that it was okay, just as we turned the corner to the park. Despite the sun shining, it was pretty barren with only a few couples, kids, and a handful of dogs running around.

We found a grassy and secluded spot in the park. The sun was shining and the last bit of warmth from the summer was still in the October air. I laid a blanket on the ground, and Elizabeth put out some toys out for the kids. Once we got them settled I lay back on the blanket and put my arms behind my head, letting the sun warm my face. I felt Elizabeth sit down next to me so I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her close. She giggled and my heart thundered in my chest. I briefly thought that I could get used to this until I remembered that she was married. She wasn’t mine, and she probably never would be—and that was the cold hard truth.

I looked at her and really
saw
her for the first time. The night before had been clouded with primal need. She’d looked hot, and it had been about nothing more than numbing our loneliness. But looking at her then, sitting in the sun, she honestly took my breath away. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever laid eyes on. Period.

Growing up, I had always known that she was going to be a knockout, and she had turned out to be just that. It was something that Emma had always hated her for. Emma may have been confident in a lot of things, but when it came to her sister she was a totally self-conscious woman.

Elizabeth’s short blonde hair caught the sunlight just so, offsetting her slightly olive skin. Holding her in my arms I was reminded again of how tiny she truly was. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what she must have looked like when she was pregnant. It pained me that I would probably never know.

What. The. Fuck?

I told myself to pull it together. Seriously, I was going off my rocker.

I felt her finally relax as she leaned back onto my side. She put her hand in mine and sighed.

“So,” I said, “are you going to tell me what’s going on with you?” She stiffened and I could tell her mind was reeling, trying to figure out her next move. “You’ve gotta give me something, Half-Pint. I have a right to know what I’m getting myself into.”

“I know you do.”

“So …” I prodded again.

“I want to tell you everything, Tyler. Truly I do. But I don’t want to spoil this. Let’s just wait and see where this takes us. For the first time in a long time, I feel alive. I just want to be with you, without worrying about anything else. Just us.”

I wanted to argue with her and demand that she tell me the full story, to know what sort of damage had been done. Yet at the same time, all I wanted was for her to smile. I sat up and pulled her back tightly to my chest. My heart jumped to my throat and I kissed her on the cheek. “Just us,” I promised.

She smiled up at me. “See, isn’t that so much better than worrying?”

“Well, I can think of something else that would be even better than this.” She immediately blushed at my innuendo. It was refreshing to see someone as prim and proper as her. The only girls I had ever surrounded myself with had been rude and crude—case in point, Emma Sloan. She could cuss with the best of ‘em, and that included Rob. I’d heard the two of them showdown with some downright dirty words before.

She turned around and let her lips meet mine again. We got lost in one another until I felt little hands slapping my leg. I broke away from her, my stomach in knots, and looked down at Felix who was giggling. “You little devil!” I picked him up and tossed him into the air, and he squealed in delight.

I looked at Elizabeth, who had a smile plastered on her face. I winked at her, in spite of the road we had chosen to travel down. It didn’t really matter though, it was already too late—there was no turning back now. In a matter of days, Elizabeth Sloan had wrapped me around her little finger … again.

We were laughing at something Emily had mumbled when we walked back into the condo. Shane, Em, and Rob were sat at the kitchen table and immediately turned from their coffees to look at us. Well, stare would be a more appropriate word.

“Have fun?” Shane asked while Rob’s eyes pierced right through me. That son of a bitch wasn’t going to let me go on with this without hearing his opinion.

Ashamed, I looked down to my feet. “Yeah, the kids had a great time,” I muttered as I unfastened Felix from his stroller. Emma quickly stood and grabbed him from my arms, smothering him in kisses. “I missed you, baby boy,” she purred.

“Well, jeez, I’ve only been gone a couple of hours,” I joked, hoping to divert some attention. Emma rolled her eyes and shook her head before excusing herself to go feed Felix. Elizabeth discreetly followed her up the stairs with Emily and headed straight into Felix’s nursery. The door shut and I grabbed a cup of coffee before sitting down at the table with the guys. Rob glared at me as his foot struck my shin underneath the table. I winced before shifting my attention back to Shane.

“You guys enjoy sleeping in?” I asked, hoping to change the focus to someone else.

“We sure did, thanks, man.” Shane stood and stretched. “Well, I’m going up to go take a shower.”

I watched helplessly as he walked away from us, knowing the onslaught of verbal abuse I was about to face. I wanted to flee, because I knew what was coming. Rob was about to light into me. He smiled smugly while his own eyes followed Shane until he finally heard the bathroom door shut and the shower kick on.

“What the fuck, Tyler?” he whispered angrily. Leaning closer to me, he continued his verbal assault. “You are a fuckin’ idiot! God! Elizabeth Sloan is poison, you know that better than me. You told me so yourself. Did you forget about that? Did you?!”

I thought back to when I had issued that warning to Rob. He’d been all sorts of horny over the thought of Emma having a younger sister. When he’d found out that she was going to be coming to New York for our college graduation, he immediately declared her his latest conquest. I quickly deterred him, filling him in on all things Elizabeth Sloan. She was a few years older than Talon, and from what I gathered from him she’d been a bitch throughout high school. Word was that she had become nothing more than a snob and a man-eater. Talon had told me horror stories of how she had terrorized three of his buddies from the football team. She’d toyed with each of their emotions while she sought out some extra attention. She was the epitome of a mean girl, and it spoke volumes to me that Talon despised her, because Talon liked everyone. He was as kicked back as a guy could be. He made Shane look like a head case. Yes, Talon was
that
laid back.

“I know what I said, Rob, but I knew her when she was just a kid, it’s different. Hell, she was different then and deep down I know that the little girl she was is still in there … somewhere.” I paused because I truly believed in what I’d said. “Besides, I think there’s more to her than any of us could ever begin to imagine.”

“God! She’s
married
, Ty,” Rob whispered harshly. He pushed away from the table causing the chair to drag across the floor. “Not only that but she’s part of our family. You’re going to fuck everything up. Mark my words, this will come back to bite you harder than anything you’ve ever done before.”

I watched as Rob stalked angrily out of the front door. I wanted to be pissed at him for butting into my business, but he had a point. Elizabeth was fire, and I was attracted to it like a moth—surely I would get burned.

I carried myself to the futon where I fell and absent-mindedly watched the Sunday morning cartoons. Minutes passed and I kept opening and closing my eyes. I was still exhausted from the previous night’s antics when Shane appeared in the living room, a shit-eating grin on his face and a towel wrapped around his waist.

“You’re a fucking creep,” I muttered before closing my eyes again. Hoping that if I ignored him he would leave me alone.

I felt something drop into my lap. Opening my eyes, I looked down and saw a small turquoise box with a white ribbon tied around it. I wanted to be surprised, but I wasn’t. It only made sense for them to take their relationship to the next step. I smirked, seizing the opportunity to make a weak joke at Shane’s expense. “Aw, man, Em is going to be pissed, but yes! Yes, you big stud muffin! I will marry you!”

“Shhhh!” Shane grabbed the box from my lap and put it between his hands. “Idiot.”

I chuckled. “Seriously though, man, Em
is
going to be pissed. I thought you guys decided you weren’t going to get married?”

“She decided that,” he groaned as he fell back onto the beanbag. “But damn it all to hell, I want her to be mine.”

I rolled my eyes. He should have been happy with what he had. I know I would have been thanking my lucky stars to think I wouldn’t have to walk down the aisle. But not Shane. No, Shane was as old school as they came. He wanted it all—always had, always would. Someone to take on his name and love him forever. He didn’t need a piece of paper to prove that to me, or anyone else for that matter. “She already is, dude.”

“You know what I mean,” he scoffed.

I did know what he meant. Shane was a true gentleman. A dying breed, and everything his dead-beat dad wasn’t. He prided himself on that. As a kid he’d vowed that he would never be the asshole that his father had been. He believed in the sanctity of marriage and wanted nothing more than to marry Em. But he had met his match on this one. Emma, was a bit of an extreme feminist, and she never wanted to get married. If for no other reason than the sheer fact of her knowing what a spectacle her mother would make of it. Shane had spent the last year trying to convince her to marry him anyway, but every mention of it was instantly shot down. She didn’t think a piece of paper was necessary to prove that they loved each other. I kind of agreed with her on that one.

“So when are you going to do it?” I questioned, my curiosity getting the better of me.

“Today,” he smiled.

“Holy shit!”

“Yep. I’ve got the sitter coming over here later. How do you feel about a day trip to O’Malley’s?”

I needed no further explanation to know what his plan was, and I had to hand it to him—it was absolute perfection. I smirked, imagining the shit-show that would surely follow his proposal. Hilarity would ultimately follow his public display of affection considering that Emma hated all things romantic. This was gonna be good.