Page 36 of Family Bonds- Emma & Warren

In two years, he’d be more relaxed.

They brought him in to win championships. He had two years to do it or at least give it his all and know that he did everything that was asked of him.

“I can compromise if you can,” he said.

“We’ll see about that,” she said.

He reached for the container of her dessert. Her eyes popped open while he flipped the lid.

Inside was a four-layer chocolate cake.

He took his fork and went right down through the thick frosting and put it in his mouth. “Mmm,” he said.

He went for another bite, and she pulled it away from him.

“You made your point. Don’t eat it all. I’m not ready for it yet and you’re teasing me.”

“The teasing has only just begun.”

11

HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND

“I’m not sure what I expected of your house,” Warren said two days later.

Emma was surprised that he wanted to stay at The Retreat for a few more days to get to know each other better.

“What did you think I lived in?” she asked. “Come in.”

They were in her foyer now and he was toeing his sneakers off, leaving him in small white socks that she hadn’t even known he’d had on under his sneakers.

“I imagined you were in a mansion,” he said.

“Nope,” she said. “I struggle to keep this clean, but it’s not that small either. Since it’s just me, it was more about the location.”

She needed the water. That was where she did her best work. Sitting anywhere she could look out into nature.

“It’s a great location,” he said. “Even hidden back some.”

“It’s difficult to find property on the island. I’ve been here for about six years now. The people before had done some work to it, so I didn’t have to do much more than put my touch on it.”

Which was a good thing because she wasn’t in the mood to wait any longer to get in it.

“Where did you live before?”

“In my parents’ house on the island. They spend the bulk of their time in Boston for my father’s job. Now that is a mansion, or at least by most people’s standards.”

“I’m sure it is,” he said.

“It was my grandfather’s house years ago,” she said. “My Uncle Charlie didn’t want it. He raised Hunter and Hailey in Boston and they had another smaller home on the island when they were here. My Aunt Melanie didn’t want it either. She said it was too big and she and my uncle work in Boston too, so my mother ended up with it.”

There was no reason to say that her mother wrote her first several bestsellers in that house. It was a place for her to get away and create at her own pace.

She couldn’t say those things to anyone. Or at least no one that wasn’t a family member since her mother’s pen name was a secret.

“Is your grandfather not alive any longer?” he asked.

“Oh, he is, and going strong. But he downsized a long time ago. There was no reason for him to stay in that big of a house. I’m the only one who lives on the island full time in my immediate family. I had plenty of space there, but I like this better.”