Then Comes Spring by CeCe Carroll

Author:CeCe Carroll [Carroll, CeCe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-08-03T07:00:00+00:00

January

The clock strikes midnight and Brandon clinks his glass of champagne against my own before leaning in to give me a delicate New Year’s kiss. His mouth is soft and wet and the night’s libations make it last a few seconds longer than appropriate for public display. Yet when I pull back I see much of the restaurant is doing the same, and my embarrassment eases. I lie back against the couch and fall into the nook Brandon’s arm makes as it rests behind me, watching as the last of the noisemakers sound and the final bits of confetti float to the ground. On stage, the band puts down their toasting glasses, picks up their instruments, and strikes up to play again.

Dinner was impeccable with a gourmet meal in the dining room set on fine china and surrounded by candlelight. Servers dressed in black and white doted on us, bringing course after course, ensuring our glasses were full and the tablecloths crumb-free. After cappuccinos and chocolate tasting plates, we moved to the lounge for champagne and jazz in a more relaxed atmosphere. Modern sofas and armchairs fixed around coffee tables in conversation style surround the endless room. Floor to ceiling windows overlook Hartford, the twinkling city lights adding to the romantic ambiance.

“Happy New Year’s, Emma,” Brandon whispers into the hair at my temple.

I lift my cheeks so he can feel my smile against his mouth. “Same to you.” I find the hand in his lap and intertwine my fingers with his.

“Babe,” he nuzzles in closer to my ear, “I know we haven’t been together that long and it’s still early for a certain four letter word, but I want you to know that early or not, I’m moving in that direction. Full steam ahead.”

I let the meaning of his words sink in.

“I care about you, Emma,” he continues, “a lot. Tonight has been amazing. Having you in my town, in my house. You meeting my folks. They really like you, I can tell.”

I shift so I can meet his eye. “You think?”

“Definitely. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mom is already getting a jersey made up for when you join the Collin’s team.”

I tilt my head to the side. “A jersey? Like a sports jersey?”

“Yeah, we all have shirts with our name and number. Our number’s our birthday. Mom got them made up for us for Christmas years back as a joke since Dad always calls us the Collin’s Team and coaches us like one. Dad loved it so much and now we wear them on game days, Football Sundays when I’m home. Grams and Gramps got them a few years back and my younger cousins, Kevin and Dave, have been begging for their own. It’s become a family tradition of sorts.”

I hold back laughter as I add the image of the family in matching Team Collins’ jerseys around a big screen TV to the perfect picture I already have of them in my head.

“Now that I think about it, as an outsider, that might seem completely weird… and lame.

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