Bottle It Up: (A Between the Pines Novel) Read online

  “Emmy, it’s gonna be hard, but it’s gonna be okay.”

  She pulls back, wiping some stray tears from my face and then after wiping her hand off on her jeans she holds it out to Max, and he stands accepting it.

  “Welcome to the family. I hope things will be okay for your son, and I can’t wait for you to bring him here so we can meet him one day. But I think it’s time we give you guys some time to decompress. I mean you came home from Paris and walked into all of this. You must be exhausted.”

  “Thanks, I can’t wait to bring him here too. I think he’d love it.”

  Amelia says goodbye to Josh, and Miles follows suit. The front door clicks closed, and it’s just the three of us left in the house.

  Drowning in the silence, I’ve never felt so awkward around either one of these two men. Really, what is there to say at this point? We’ve said it all, and now we just have to figure out what to do with Jace, how Max is going to explain this to his son, and Josh has to decide if he’s going to blow up his entire life. So, really. What is there to talk about?

  Max cleans up his workspace on the kitchen table and lets out a heavy sigh before he turns around.

  “Babe, I have to get to the airport so I can catch my flight to Portland and my connection to LAX. You know I hate to ask you this, but I don’t think Eastlyn has joined the world of ride sharing yet, and I’m going to need a ride.”

  “Of course...”

  Josh cuts me off before I can get my sentence out and steps in front of Max.

  “Listen, I really don’t know what to say except I’m sorry, Max. I helped you plan the trip to France with Jace, and he did what he did and now here we are in this mess. And now your little boy is caught up in the middle of it. I hope you know if I could make it all go away, I would.”

  Max doesn’t break his eye connection with Josh for three full heartbeats before he says, “I know, Josh. I know.”

  The man I love steps around my fake fiancé, grabbing his bags. The tension hangs over us like a dark cloud about to open up and pour down on us.

  As much as I hate for Max to leave, I follow him out of the house to avoid anything being said that one of us might regret. We both know that Josh could fix this if he wanted to, but I get it’s not a simple ask. It would be a life-changing decision for him to do what needs to be done to right the situation.

  The ride to the airport is quiet, but he holds my hand the entire way there, and I’m so glad I traded in my 5-speed for an automatic last year. Pulling up to the tiny regional airport terminal I already miss him. And he’s still in the car. After spending every moment with him over the last week and falling more in love with him every day it’s hard to imagine going through these next few days without him.

  “Don’t get out, it’s cold.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  I know I sound put out, but he’s really going to leave without me giving him a kiss outside the car?

  “Emmett, none of that. It’s freezing out there, and I would rather kiss you goodbye inside the car.”

  I slip off my seat belt so I can turn and face him. “I miss you already.”

  “Me too, baby. But I want you to know something. And I need to be sure you’re listening. Are you listening?”

  “Yes, Dad. I’m listening.”

  “Smart-ass.”

  He kisses the back of my hand.

  “Things are about to be really hard. You’re gonna feel like the world is coming down all around you. But I need you to know that no matter how hard it gets, no matter how many tabloids try to tear us apart, I will never wish you hadn’t signed that contract. Never. It brought you to me, and for that I will always be grateful. When you’re feeling low, I want you to remember that. Can you do that for me?”

  I nod my head in reply.

  “If you feel tempted to cry yourself to sleep, I want you to remember making love in front of the Eiffel Tower. Baths by candlelight. Holding hands as we strolled through magnificent ancient churches. Getting lost in the Louvre and chased by pigeons. And most importantly, remember I love you. We will get through this. We will figure this out.”

  “I love you, Max.”

  “I love you too.”

  He takes my face in his hands kissing me long and hard. Pulling back, he rests his forehead against mine, and his breath mingles with mine for a few seconds before he gets out of the car, grabs his bag from the back and disappears inside with a wave.

  Chapter 29

  “So, the truth of the matter is, Emmett Ford is my best friend. She has been since we were kids. In the sixth grade we made each other one of those silly promises kids make. We vowed to one another that if neither of us were married when we turned thirty, we would get married. Well, the thirty-year mark came and went for both of us and no mention of the vow was made. Then one day the two of us were talking about some issues I was having with my personal life. Issues I knew were sure to soon be affecting my work life, and she offered to help. Reminding me about our childhood promise. I should have said no.”

  He finds me off camera and speaks directly to me.

  “Because I was too afraid to be my true authentic self, the person who I loved went to extremes and hurt my best friend who is currently being torn apart in the press. She’s fallen in love and had to hide that love. This should have been the happiest time of her life, but instead, the two of them had to sneak around because of me. Because of my career. After a lifetime of hiding who I was and who I love, I know how it feels, and I expected them to do the same for me. How could I ask that of them? Because my career was more important than their happiness?”

  I mouth, I love you, through my tears and Josh directs his attention back to Candy after giving me a barely noticeable smile. Max takes my hand in his, and my nerves settle, his presence grounding me. While my other hand is fisted over my heart as I watch my best friend tell his truth to the world.

  “Listen, I don’t need more money or fame or accolades, but I do deserve to be happy and for the first time in my life, true to myself. I may lose job opportunities, and that’s a shame, but I’ve finally come to the conclusion that it's okay. I’d rather lose work than those who mean the most to me. And Emmett. Well, she’s the best person I know, and I won’t let the press continue to vilify her.”

  Max squeezes my hand because we know what’s coming. We’ve all been together these past few days, and his journey feels like our journey.

  The day after I got back to Eastlyn, I needed to get out of the house. So Reeves and I went to the grocery store since Max was in LA with Nicholas and putting out fires. My trip to the store was a disaster. One simple trip to the grocery store equated to glares from my neighbors, whispers as I passed by, and people I’ve known all my life pretending they didn’t see me so they wouldn’t have to talk to me.

  I came back to the house in tears. Utterly devastated.

  My parents had already expressed their disappointment and my boss had called and politely asked me to take a leave of absence. My life was falling apart, and Josh couldn’t help but blame himself.

  After my trip to the store, I locked myself away in my room for an hour or so, and when I finally gathered myself enough to join Josh and Reeves at my kitchen table, Josh had already called Sibby. He told her to make the arrangements with Candy and Wake Up America.

  Now, here we are back in Josh’s LA living room standing behind the lights and cameras of Wake Up America.

  Today, they’ve brought the show to him. They think they’ve got the exclusive about my cheating. They have no idea their exclusive is going to be one of the most life-changing moments in Josh’s life.

  He wanted to be sure that Max and Nicholas were here with me as well. He wanted Nicholas to hear this before the rest of the world. The guilt he had when I told him about the things the kids were saying to him at school broke his heart.

  Candy has always been kind to him over the years, so Josh went to her first with the exclusive. Of course, she jumped at the chance. But whe
n Josh West asks for a one-on-one in his very own living room, any journalist in the entertainment business is going to jump at the chance.

  “So, Josh, what is it you want to share with us today?”

  “Well, Candy, the reason my best friend reminded me about our childhood agreement was because someone had been threatening to out me to the world. And she thought if she followed through on our promise and the world thought I was engaged, those threats would stop. And you know what? They did.”

  “Well, that’s good, right?”

  “It would be, except as long as I was in the closet, the fear of those threats never really went away. It was a momentary fix. As long as I was too afraid to admit to the world that I was a gay man, I would always be living in fear of being found out. I had gotten used to living in fear, but when it was Emmett who was having to deal with that fear, when her safety was in jeopardy, and now with the world thinking she’s cheating on me when that couldn’t be further from the truth, I finally realized the lies had to stop.”

  “How does it feel?”

  Josh exhales, smiling. “You know, it feels good. But only because I have the support of my friends and family. I wouldn’t be anything without them.”

  “And you mentioned that you had someone in your life. Do you still?”

  Josh looks down at the ground and doesn’t answer for a few seconds. After everything he’s just shared, losing someone he loved seems to still be the hardest part of all.

  “I did. But unfortunately, because of all of this, it has come to an end.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “Thank you.”

  “So what comes next for you, Josh?”

  “That’s a good question, Candy. I’m not sure. I hope to continue working on all the projects I already had on the calendar, but if not, I have other things I’ve always wanted to do, and maybe I’ll find a new path.”

  “Well, thank you for trusting me and Wake Up America with your truth, Josh. We wish you nothing but success in your future, and I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more of you on the silver screen.”

  “Thanks, Candy. I sure hope so.”

  “Thank you to Josh West for joining us this morning, and we’ll be right back after these messages.”

  “And that’s a wrap,” a man to the right of me says.

  The thunk of the big LED lights turning off next to me makes me jump out of my skin. Besides Max’s hand in mine, I had been oblivious to everything but Josh.

  “Hey, you okay?”

  Max pulls me into him so my back is against his front, and then he wraps his arms around me and kisses me on the top of my head.

  “I’m just so proud of him.”

  “I know you are, babe.”

  “Miss Ford?” Nicholas asks shyly.

  “Yes, Mr. Hopper?”

  His adorable little head tilts to the side, and with a puzzled look on his face, he says, “You love my dad?”

  Because I’m leaning against his chest, I feel his dad stop breathing for a beat, but it’s the easiest question I’ve ever been asked.

  “I do. I love him a whole lot.”

  “That’s cool.”

  Max kisses the top of my head. “It sure is.”

  Epilogue

  Max

  There’s a sweetness in the refreshing inhale of the summer pines that clears my head and feeds my soul. It’s the scent of home.

  I had no idea how much I had missed it until I felt the first twinge of home hit me when she walked into my life. Emmett Ford made me want more out of my life, to be a better man, to make sure those most important to me knew I loved them, and to right what were wrongs in my life.

  But watching the two loves of my life lying on their backs in the middle of my dad’s acreage counting fireflies? Now that feeds my soul. More than anything, it feels like home.

  As West Coasters, neither of them had ever seen a Firefly before. As an East Coaster, I never really gave them a second thought. These days, I think if I could catch every single lightning bug in Phillipsburg for them, I would do just that.

  I would give them the world if it were possible. Because that’s what they are to me. My world.

  However, at this moment, my world needs to call it a night. So, I meet them out in the grass.

  “Hey, you two, we have to get up early to get to the airport. I think it’s time we go in.”

  “Aw, come on, Dad. Just a little longer?” Nick half-heartedly pleads through a yawn.

  “Sorry, buddy, but Grandma and Grandpa want to say good night before you hit the hay.”

  “He’s right. We do have to get up pretty early. We should probably head in and say good night.”

  They’ve known each other for about eight months now, and they are two peas in a pod. She never tries to be his mom, and he has never acted like she was trying to move in and steal me away from him. In fact, he wants to include her in everything we do. It’s me who has to make sure we get time to ourselves, just father and son. If anything, I’m the one getting replaced.

  Emmett holds her hand up so I can pull her to her feet. Once she’s up, she plants a peck on my lips, and as always, my heart races. Against my lips, she whispers, “I’m with him. I wish we could stay just a little bit longer.”

  Spinning around, she offers her hand to Nick so all three of us are standing amongst the fireflies.

  “Dad, this was the best summer vacation ever! Can we come back every year?”

  I pull him into me and squeeze him tight. “I’d love that, little man. I think Grandma and Grandpa would like it too.”

  “Can Emmett come next year too?” he says into my chest.

  Her eyes grow big at his question. She’s surprised he asked, but I also think she’s anxious to hear my answer.

  “Nick, if we’re lucky, she’ll be here with us every summer.”

  With my sweet eleven-year-old boy still in my arms, I’m able to lock my gaze on her. It may be dark, but I can see the happy pools of tears glistening in them, and the small nod she gives me in reply says my answer was exactly what she had hoped it would be.

  Beautiful People ~ Ed Sheeran (feat. Khalid)

  Superposition ~ Young the Giant

  I See You ~ MISSIO

  The Long Way ~ Brett Eldredge

  Break Up in a Small Town ~ Sam Hunt

  Look What God Gave her ~ Thomas Rhett

  Speakers ~ Sam Hunt

  Love Lies ~ Khalid & Normani

  Bottle It Up ~ Sam Hunt

  Saturday Night ~ Sam Hunt

  So Right ~ Eric Dodd

  hostage ~ Billie Eillish

  Obsession ~ Vice (feat. Jon Bellion)

  Lost My Mind ~ FINNEAS

  Beyond ~ Leon Bridges

  All To Myself ~ Dan + Shay

  Love Me Less ~ Max & Quinn XCII

  Stay Bullets ~ Joshua Speers

  Belong ~ X Ambassadors

  Lauryn Hill ~ Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You

  Listen Here:

  https://bit.ly/3fvQsIGBottleItUp

  Want more of The Crew?

  Amelia and Beau’s story is coming up next with Leave the Night On and will bring us back to Eastlyn for another small town romance that will melt your heart.

  Preorder Here!

  Thank you!

  Thank you so much for reading Bottle It Up! I hope you enjoyed Max and Emmett’s story. There’s a lot more love to come, so let’s stay connected!

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  What To Read Next

  The Between the Pines Series

  (Meet The Crew from Eastlyn in this four book series of standalone contemporary romance novels.)

  We Are Tonight

  Raised On It

  Bottle It Up

  Leave the Night On – Preorder Now

  Blackbird

  Standalo
ne second chance contemporary romance.

  The Gorgeous Duet

  A steamy, suspenseful romance about breaking the rules and following your heart.

  Gorgeous: Book One

  Gorgeous: Book Two

  The You & Me Series

  Read this three-book series of sweet and sexy standalone novels filled with love, loss, secrets, and sass.

  You & Me: Part One

  You & Me: Part Two

  More

  Something Just Like This

  About the Author

  Lisa Shelby is an ever-so hopeless romantic and self-professed love geek. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest and proud to call Oregon home. It’s here that she resides with her husband, son and two dogs dogs. Reading has been her obsession and writing had been her secret passion. It was that passion that led her on my journey to write a book for her husband. What began as a gift turned into an inspiration of love and the desire to share that love with everyone. With the encouragement of her husband and the support of her family and friends, she began her journey and published her debut novel, “You & Me” in September 2016 and hasn’t stopped since.