Page 109 of Talk Wicked to Me

“What kind of question is that? A cookout without s’mores is just dinner.”

Oh, how she was going to miss his quick wit! “That’s what I’m talking about. Who wants plain old dinner?”

“Exactly.” He tugged her closer, kissing her cheek as they turned the corner, heading home. “We can throw blankets on the lawn, and I’ll hang a sheet so we can watch a movie under the stars with Brennan bundled up between us.”

“That sounds like a perfect night to me.”

When they got home, she nursed Brennan, and as she changed him, she called out to Baz, who was busy thumbing out another text, “I have a craving for ice cream. Do you want to go to the Cape Cone?”

He pocketed his phone and put Ollie outside. “I’m still stuffed from breakfast. Why don’t we go later?”

She wasn’t buying it. He never turned down ice cream, and his stomach was a bottomless pit. “It’s such a nice day out. Do you want to go for a drive?”

“We just had Brennan in the stroller for a long time. Why don’t we give him a break and let him play on a blanket for a while.” He went into the kitchen and grabbed a glass from the cabinet.

Frustrated and wondering what was going on, she put Brennan on a blanket beneath his activity gym and headed into the kitchen. She put her arms around Baz as he filled a glass with water. “Why don’t we ask your mom if she wants to watch Little B for an hour and go out on your bike? A little wind therapy? Maybe we can find a secluded spot to enjoy ourselves?” She went up on her toes and kissed him.

His jaw ticked and he set down the glass, his brow furrowing as his arms circled her. “Sorry, darlin’, but I’m not really in the mood for a ride.”

“Okay, that’s it.” She stepped out of his arms and parked a hand on her hip. “What’s going on? You never turn down sex, much less a motorcycle ride or ice cream, and you’ve been texting all freaking morning. I know you said it’s a scheduling thing, but if it’s work or has to do with your trip, can you just tell me?”

“It’s not either of those things. I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you, but I think you’d better sit down.”

Her stomach knotted. “Why?”

“Because I’m not sure how you’ll feel about it.”

Her nerves flamed. She lowered herself into a chair. “Baz, you’re worrying me.”

“I don’t mean to worry you.” His expression softened, and he knelt in front of her, taking her hands in his. “I set up something for you, and I’m sure it’s an invasion of your privacy on several levels, but I also think it might help you come to peace with knowing your family better.”

Invasion of my privacy? “Now I’m really nervous. I don’t understand. What are you talking about? What did you do?”

“Do you remember the first time we had dinner with my parents and my grandfather? When my family was talking about Ash painting my cat condos?”

“Yes, of course. What does that have to do with my family?”

“On the way home, you said you wished you knew some of your family’s secrets and behind-the-scenes information like my family does. So I got Gwen’s number out of your phone. I know I shouldn’t have, and I swear I didn’t look at any of your texts or anything else. I just needed her number. I called her, and she gave me hell for going into your phone and grilled me to no end, but she heard me out, and when I asked for her parents’ phone numbers, she gave them to me. Through them, I tracked down people who were close to your parents. People who were close enough to know the little things you wish you knew. Or at least it seemed like they did. I don’t know exactly what you want to know, so I can’t be sure, but I set up video calls for you with each of them today. That’s why I’ve been texting and why I didn’t want to go out. One of them had a family emergency and couldn’t talk with you at the time we’d arranged, so I had to move the schedule around. I scheduled the calls around Brennan’s nap time, but I’ll be here in case you need me or if he gets up, or the calls run longer.”

She stared in utter astonishment through a blur of tears as she processed the magnitude of what he’d done.

“And now you’re crying, which means I really fucked up. I’m sorry, Emerson. I’ll cancel everything.” He reached for his phone, jarring her out of her stupor.

“No,” she said urgently. “Don’t cancel. You didn’t mess up. I’m just…” She touched her necklace, trying to figure out how to say she was so in love with him, she could barely see straight without saying the three words that vied for release. He hadn’t said them yet, which made her wonder if he wasn’t there yet. She felt his love in his touch and in the way he looked at her, but it was one thing to feel it and another to bare your soul. In her eyes, the things he did for her and Brennan showed he loved them, but she knew how much the Wickeds did for others, and it was possible she was misinterpreting generosity for love, so she did the hardest thing and held those words back.

“I’m just stunned,” she said shakily. “Overwhelmed. But I’m also hopeful that I’ll learn more about my parents so I don’t feel like they left so many blank pages behind.”

“I hope this does that for you, darlin’. I want to tell you one more thing, and if after hearing it, you want me to call it off, I will.”

She swallowed hard.

“You know my buddy Cuffs?”

“The cop?”

“Yeah. His sister, Tasha, is a therapist. I should have gone to her before taking the first step to set this up, but all I was thinking about at the time was helping you get answers. Anyway, I finally went to see her, to make sure I wasn’t doing something that could make things harder for you. After giving me hell for going into your phone and doing all of this behind your back, she said to expect that you’d go through just about every emotion in the book, from hope and excitement and euphoria to anger and grief. And that you might not feel them right away. They could happen weeks or months or years from now, or come and go over time. But she also said that if these people could give you what your heart is searching for, it could make saying goodbye to your parents easier. She also made me promise to give you her number, in case you want to talk to her later tonight or anytime in the future.”

Emotions clogged her throat. “You talked to a therapist for me?”