The Running Series Complete Collection: 3-Book Set plus Bonus Novella (53 page)

We finish eating and Emmy helps me clean up in the kitchen.  “Oh, Jette, thank you so much for having us over.  Everything is so perfect.”

“I’m so glad you’re having fun.  You deserve it, Emmy, especially now, with Grant being gone, and the whole job situation.  Anything new to report?” I ask.

“Funny you should bring that up.  I got a job offer the other day.  I haven’t decided whether or not I’m going to take it, though.”  Emmy adds, “The owner is someone I used to work with.  I don’t know if I can handle working for someone I’m friendly with.”

“That’s great news, Emmy.  Let me know when you decide.  Did you know that Marcus got a job offer, too?”  She nods her head.  “I wonder how Derek’s prospects are looking.”

“Well, by the looks of things out there,” she points out to the deck, “I’d say his prospects are looking pretty damn good right now.”

“You saw that, too?” 

“Oh, yeah!”

“You know, Emmy, Adam’s here alone tonight.”

“What?  Do you think Derek would be better off hooking up with Adam?” she teases.

“Ha, ha.  Very funny!  You know exactly what I mean.”

“To tell you the truth, Jette, I really do like him, a lot.  But I just got out of a relationship and I don’t want to ruin it by running right into another one.  I think it’s just a little too soon.”

She’s right, of course.  But Emmy’s not one to be patient.  I wonder if she really can take her time without rushing into anything.  Time will tell.

Together, Emmy and I plate my desserts.  We grab the tray of strawberries, the platter of cake pops, some small dessert plates, and head out to the deck.  We don’t have to look very far to find a place to set the trays down, the boys immediately clear a spot on the table for us and start helping themselves.

All of a sudden, out of the clear blue, Evan walks over to turn down the music, clanks his fork on his wine glass four or five times, and makes an announcement to our guests.  “If I could please have everyone’s attention.”  He pauses for a moment while everyone finishes their conversations.  “It’s time.”

Adam walks over to Evan and hands him a large, flat gift box.  He motions for Adam to place it on the table in front of us, and then shakes Adam’s hand.

“Juliette, I’ll never be able to tell you how sorry I am for everything that happened.  My bad choices and poor judgment have affected your life terribly, and I will never be able to forgive myself for it.  But through it all, you stayed strong and I think it actually brought us closer together.”  He takes my hand in his and lifts it to his lips, placing a soft kiss on my hand. 

“Having you here with me is the greatest gift I could have ever asked for.”  All the girls sigh in unison.  “I wanted to get you something to show you how much you mean to me and how much I want to share my life with you.”  He pushes the gift box closer to me.  “Please open it.”  Evan watches me with a hopeful expression that makes me nervous.

My hands are shaking.  I cannot imagine what could possibly be inside this large box.  All eyes are on me, including my mother and Evan’s parents.  “Jepetto, go ahead.  Open the box, baby girl,” Auggie gently prods me on.

Somehow, I manage to rip the paper off the box, and I slowly lift the lid.  Inside is a large black picture frame with two matted documents under the glass.  I look closely at the first document, and it’s a lease agreement in Evan’s name for a storefront property on Cookman Avenue in Asbury Park. 

I look up at Evan, “I don’t understand.”

“Read the second one, baby,” he tells me.

The second document has an official State of New Jersey seal on it.  As I look more closely, it’s a liquor license for the city of Asbury Park made out to Evan and me under the business name “Rush”.

“What’s Rush?” I ask, still not understanding what I’m looking at.

“I know it’s your dream to open a dessert bar, and I wanted to make your dreams come true.”  I look over at Evan, and he looks over to Reese.  I can’t believe it.  They have been conspiring this whole time. 

“You’ve named it
Rush?
” I ask.

“Let me explain.  You see, I wanted to choose a name that reflected our life together.  I struggled to find the perfect name.  Then, a few days ago, I was sitting in the living room reading my playbook while you were bake dancing in the kitchen, and it hit me.  See, in football, a
rush
usually involves a handoff from the quarterback to the running back.  That’s exactly what I’m trying to do here.  I’m the quarterback, and I’ve started the play.  Now I’m handing it off to you, my running back.  The ball is literally in your hands now.  Run with it, baby.”  I gaze lovingly into his beautiful blue eyes.  Eyes that ache with hope and devotion. 

His words melt my heart. Cookman Avenue has some of the trendiest restaurants at the Jersey Shore.  I have prime real estate and a liquor license to start my own restaurant.  The enormity of it all is sinking in.  “I own a dessert bar?”

“Technically,
we
own a dessert bar,” Evan corrects me.  “We can change the name if you don’t like it.”

“Evan, I couldn’t have picked out a better name.  I don’t know much about football, but I do know that to
rush
means to move towards something quickly and deliberately.  I vow to always run towards you and to never away from you again.  No matter what happens, I will always come running back to you.  I guess that means I really am your
running back
.” 

“I’m so glad you’re happy, Juliette.  I love you.”  He scoops me up in a passionate embrace and kisses me deeply in front of everyone.  “Now, if you’re not too busy, I set up a few interviews for our new staff.”

One by one, my friends walk up to me and hand me their job applications.  Emmy hands me an application for bartender.  “Emmy!  You told me you got a job offer.  Please tell me you’ll forget about that job and come work with me.”

“Jette, you dummy, don’t you get it?  The job offer was from Evan.  And I’ve decided to accept his offer.”  She gives me a quick hug and slips away.

Marcus follows behind with his application for general manager.  “Oh, Marcus.  You, too?  Is this the job Camilla told me you wanted?” 

“Well, that depends on you.  Evan offered me the job, but the final decision is yours.”

I give him a hug and tell him, “Of course we want you!”

Next is Derek.  He hands me an application for head bartender.  “Derek, you’d make a great head bartender.  I’d be lucky to have you.”

There’s one more person in line with an application in hand.  It’s Reese and she’s applying for the position of head chef.  “Is this the new concept restaurant you told me about?  You would move out here to New Jersey to do this with me?”

“I told you, I quit my job.  If you won’t have me, then I’ll have nowhere to go.”  She seems genuinely concerned that I might not want her.

“Oh, Reese.  This is too good to be true.  You’re really staying?”  She nods and I give her a big hug.

All the rest of our friends and family come up to congratulate us and wish us well with our new venture.  My new head bartender makes a round of Woo Woo shots that he passes around.  With a quick toast, we toss them back to celebrate this new exciting chapter in all our lives. 

It’s starting to get dark out, and it’s definitely past Regan’s bedtime.  Callie and Dean are the first to head home, followed by Evan’s parents and my mother.  Evan and I help them gather their things and walk them to their cars.  Evan and I stand arm-in-arm on his front porch and wave them off as they drive away.  I’ve dreamt about a time when we would play host and hostess for our friends and family, but this night exceeded every hope and dream I could have imagined.

We rejoin our friends out on the deck.  Everyone has gathered around the fire pit.  Reese is busy passing around graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate.  Emmy is handing out sticks.  It would appear that I’m not the only one that brought a dessert tonight.

I look around at the group of friends who have joined us here tonight.  I know that each and every one of them played an important part in Evan’s surprise.  “So, I guess all of you had a hand in this, right?” I ask the entire group.

One by one, each person takes a turn explaining his or her contribution.  Auggie admits that he helped Evan find the location.  Adam takes credit for putting a rush on the liquor license (no pun intended).  Evan confesses flying Reese down to help him with the business plan.  Derek, Emmy, and Marcus have been going out every night to scope out the competition, gathering menus and doing research.  Brandon offers to help me decorate the space when I’m ready.

I thank each and every one of them for their help.  They each have enriched my life in ways I cannot adequately measure.  They have been with me and supported me through one of the most difficult events I could have imagined, and now they are here to celebrate one of my happiest.  I don’t know how long each of them will be a part of my life, but for now, I am grateful for them all.

I take Evan by the hand, and we steal a private moment together, sneaking away to the far corner of the deck.  Evan wraps his free hand tightly around my waist while I stand on my tip toes, wrapping both arms around his neck.  “Look around, chief.  See all these people here with us tonight?”

He kisses me.  “I do.”

“Do you think there is anyone on the planet as lucky as we are?”

He kisses me again.  “I do not.”

“Me either.”  Evan kisses me deeply, while I run my hand through his thick, brown hair.  We find a vacant spot to sit and cuddle, close enough to our friends to enjoy their company, but far enough away to enjoy each other.

We watch as they sit around the fire, making S’mores, laughing, and socializing.  Derek, as usual, is entertaining them all with a story about one of his misadventures.

As for us, Evan and I are snuggled up on the very lounge chair that he brought me to the first time he found me on the beach. Maddy is once again lying at his feet.  “Evan, thank you.  You’ve given me more than I could have ever dreamed of.  I love you so much.”

Evan’s arm is wrapped around me, holding me tightly to his broad chest, and he whispers in my ear, “Juliette, you’ve given me something I didn’t even know existed, a life.  I love you, too, more than you’ll ever know.”

Running Home to You

By Suzanne Sweeney

No Time Like the Present