Page 39 of A New Chapter

“I’m going to play with my dolls,” she called, and the next minute, her bedroom door slammed shut.

“So much for missing me,” Zack said and smiled.

Emma was still trying to get her bearings. Between the kiss, the interruption, and the emotional reunion she had just witnessed, her head was spinning.

“I could use a drink. How about you?” Zack held out his hand to her.

Emma let him pull her up from the couch and lead her into the kitchen, where she plopped down on the counter stool. Zack extracted two bottles of water from the fridge and sat down beside her.

“So,” he began.

“So, what happened with Alicia?”

“You want to talk about Alicia?”

“Well, yeah.”

“I thought you might want to talk about the kiss.”

“Shh,” Emma hissed. “We can’t talk about that now.”

“Em, four-year-olds don’t have a super power that allows them to hear through walls. We’re safe.”

Safe? I don’t think so. Safe is sitting at home reading a book and munching on potato chips. Safe is NOT getting caught messing around by his ex-wife and child!

Just then, Gracie came bounding down the stairs, and Emma shot Zack an I-told-you-so look.

“Dad, I’m hungry.”

“Didn’t you eat with Mommy?”

“Yes, but I didn’t finish it all.”

Perfect excuse for me to leave. “Zack, why don’t you drive me home and then you and Gracie can have dinner together.”

“You can eat with us too,” Gracie suggested sweetly.

“Thanks for inviting me, but I’m not really hungry right now,” Emma replied, noting the disappointment in Gracie’s eyes. “Maybe some other time.”

Zack looked disappointed too, but he stood up and said, “C’mon, Gracie. Let’s take Miss Emma home.”

On the drive, Gracie chattered on about the movie that she had seen while Emma listened with one ear. Every so often, she caught Zack studying her, but she tried to ignore it. When he pulled up in front of her house, Emma hastily said goodbye and hurried up the sidewalk. She glanced back to see Gracie waving wildly from the back seat, and Emma waved back until they were out of sight.

When Emma entered her quiet house, relief washed over her. So why was it that five minutes later she was back to feeling lonely?