Chapter 28

Leighanne called Brian and told him she was spending the night for some girl time. She'd managed to convince Emily to get out of bed and eat something for lunch.

“Randy's a sweet guy.” Leighanne said. “He sure cares about you.”

“Don't remind me, I feel terrible for putting him through all of this. He deserves better than that. I hope he can find a nice girlfriend soon. He called like, every other day to see how I was doing after I told him about the baby. The other night he came over because I stopped answering when he called.”

“Why?”

“Because I felt bad, like it was deceitful or something. But he told me that AJ would be pissed at him but he'd be more pissed if he found out that Randy didn't even try to take care of me after I told him about the baby. Then he helped me clean the house because I'd been so damn tired that I hadn't been able to do anything.”

“God, I remember that part of pregnancy.” Leighanne said.

“You know, I think what has me feeling the worst is that I almost feel relieved. I don't have to tell AJ I cheated on him and possibly have another man's baby. How wrong is that?”

“I don't think that's so bad. It doesn't mean you didn't want the baby, it just means you're relieved you don't have to deal with the huge downside of the situation.”

“Was the baby you lost planned?” Emily asked.

“No, it was a complete surprise. I mean once the shock was over we were happy about it but we had to go through all of the thoughts about how wrong the timing was and everything. And I felt like you do, there was a part of me that was kind of relieved to be back in control of my life.”

Emily laughed. “My life has been out of my control for quite awhile now. I'm looking forward to AJ coming home and hoping things to get back to some sense of normal without all the drama.”

“Are you sure you don't want to tell him? I mean, you don't have to tell him about the Randy part but maybe he should know...so he can be supportive of you....” Leighanne tried.

Emily shook her head. “No, because every time he'd be nice to me about it I'd feel so guilty for leaving out a huge part of the story.”

Leighanne had to admit she had a valid point. Sometimes there were things that were better left unsaid.

Leighanne left Emily's on Sunday morning. Emily seemed to be in better spirits as she began to focus on AJ's return the next day. Leighanne knew she was still hurting a lot but she understood the need to try and get back to normal. She called Randy from her car as she drove home.

“Hey Leighanne, how is she?”

“She's doing much better today. I spent the night last night, I got her to talk quite a bit about everything. She's going to be ok.” Leighanne assured him.

Randy felt relieved. “Good. Thanks for letting me know.”

“You're welcome. How are you holding up?” she asked.

“I'm ok. It's just a bit hard to feel sad over a baby that I wasn't even sure was mine, you know? It's a bit confusing.”

“Well, maybe it's more the idea of a baby that you're grieving for.” Leighanne said.

“Yeah, I think that's a big part of it.”

“For what it's worth Randy, you are a terrific guy and someday, when you feel up to it, give me a call because I have a sister a few years younger than me who's still single. She's a middle school teacher and she just moved back to Atlanta....”

Randy laughed. “I will keep that in mind.”

Emily sat on her deck with a glass of wine that evening. She knew she needed to go through the motions of losing the baby but there was a huge part of her that was just so ready to go back to her regular life. She was so ready for AJ to come home, in twenty four more hours she would have her husband back. She couldn't wait to be in his arms again. She really felt like she was finally ok with everything that had happened between them. Actually, forgiving him became a lot easier when she found out she was pregnant.

AJ had just gotten back from his retreat. They had a debriefing session that night to talk about the things they had learned and how they had grown after they had some time to think about it. What AJ took away the most from being out in the wilderness for a month was that there was a much bigger picture to life. There was so much more than his job, his album. There was a higher spiritual power at work and he saw that as he took in the beauty of the untouched wild. As he scaled the mountain and tested both his physical and emotional strength. Every time he caught the beautiful sunrise he knew there was so much more meant for him, that this moment in his life was only a small part of it all and he needed to remember that. What mattered was his happiness and his relationship with Emily. He was most definitely ready to return home to her. He couldn't wait to wrap her up in his arms and hold her tightly against him. She was the thing most precious to him and he couldn't wait to get back to her.

AJ called her Monday afternoon when he was on his way to the airport. She could hear the excitement in his voice. She could tell that the retreat had been a good thing for him. He sounded so much more sure and confident than he had the last time she talked to him. Emily was jittery all day in anticipation of his return. Leighanne had called to see how she was doing and Emily chatted her ear off for over an hour, needing to be distracted. She re-cleaned the house, baked his favorite kind of cookies, took the dogs for a walk and changed her outfit five times.

Finally, it was time for him to come home. She stood by the front window watching for his car. As soon as she saw him pull into the driveway, she ran outside and flung herself in his arms as soon as he climbed out of the car. He hugged her tightly against him and buried his face in her hair.

Emily felt all the tension she'd been carrying around the last several weeks finally melt away as he held her. She inhaled his scent as she nuzzled her face in his chest. She didn't start to cry until she realized that he was and then she lost all control of her emotions. They stood there together for several minutes before he finally loosened his grip on her. Emily took a step back and took a good look at him. He looked great. He had a tan and looked even more muscular than he had before he left. He was clean shaven except for his goatee and his hair was neatly trimmed.

“You look great.” she said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“So do you.” he said.

They stared at each other a moment longer before getting his suitcase out of the car. He grabbed her hand and walked inside the house. Once she had shut the door, he grabbed both of her hands and gently pulled her towards him and gave her a slow, gentle kiss.

“God, it's so good to be home!” he said.

“It's so good to finally have you back home!” she said. “It's been hell without you here.”

“I'm sorry.” he said.

“Don't apologize. I don't want you to be sorry anymore, ok?”

“I know. I just wanted to say it one more time.” he smiled at her.

Emily grinned. “Are you hungry?”

“Not really. I ate on the plane.”

AJ began walking through his house, looking around at all the changes Emily'd made.

“You really did get bored, didn't you?” he asked.

“Uhh...yeah, something like that. If you don't like it, we can change it back.”

“No! I actually like the furniture this way.”

“Good. You should go see the dining room!”

AJ walked to the back of the house and checked out the new color. “I like it! It's more earthy.”

“That's kind of what I thought. I wanted it warmer and more neutral.”

“What else did you change around here?”

“Well, I rearranged all the kitchen cabinets. Sorry but you're going to have to re-learn where everything is now!”

AJ laughed. “I think I can probably figure it out.”

“You should come see my new hobby room!” she said.

AJ walked upstairs to the back guest room. “It's very feminine.” he said.

“That's the point. To keep you out of it!”

AJ walked into their bedroom and flung open his closet. “Hello clothes! I've missed you!”

Emily laughed. “I want you to know that your closet was the only one in the whole house I did not touch. I know how picky you are about it.”

“I'm surprised you didn't shred my clothes up and throw them out on the lawn when you thought I'd left you!” he joked.

Emily blushed. “The thought never even occurred to me.”

AJ smiled. “I'm just picking on you, not trying to make you feel guilty.”

AJ and Emily went back downstairs and sat on the couch together. He put his arm around her and she leaned against him. She sighed in contentment as his warmth spread across her body and he kissed the top of her head.

They sat like that for hours, cuddled against each other and talking into the wee hours of the night. AJ told her all about his retreat and all the things that he'd come away with from it. He told her about his last few sessions with his counselor and about what his plans were now that he was back home. Emily told him more about what her new job was like and led him to believe life without him had been fairly uneventful.

When they finally ran out of things to talk about, he tipped her face back towards him and kissed her. At first it was just a tender, soft kiss but as their eyes met, he pulled her in for another kiss. This time it was full of passion as his tongue slipped past her lips and explored her mouth. Emily was breathless when they parted.

“Do you want to go upstairs?” he asked.

Emily's face flushed. “I..um...can't really do much with you right now.”

“Monthly visitor?” he asked.

“Yeah.” Emily lied. “Sorry.” It was a much easier answer than saying it was because she was miscarrying a baby that might not have been his.

“Can we still make out?”

“Sure.” Emily smiled.

AJ helped her up and led her up the steps to their bedroom. Emily lit the candles she'd bought in her redecoration phase and the room filled with soft candlelight. She lie down next to AJ and he softly stroked her face.

“I love you.” he whispered as he slowly leaned in to kiss her. She moaned softly in his arms as his kisses intensified and she tightened her arms around him.

AJ was surprised how good it felt just to kiss her. He couldn't really remember the last time he'd made out with Emily and not done anything else. Usually they'd make out and eventually they'd make love. He couldn't really remember the last time they'd just kept it to kissing. Because he wasn't concentrating on building the pleasure, he just got to concentrate on being with her, holding her, loving her. It was an amazing way to reconnect with her and he realized that if they'd been able to have sex that night, it might have felt awkward after being apart for so long.

As AJ kissed her, Emily felt all her doubts and worries fade away. When she was in his arms, nothing else mattered. They had both made some pretty big mistakes but they were all behind them now. From this point on, things were bound to be better.

They eventually fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms. AJ had been so accustomed to waking up early that as soon as the sun was up, he woke up. It was about seven in the morning and for awhile, he just lie holding Emily. He had a sense that things had been harder for her than she had let on. She didn't quite seem herself. She looked very tired and there was just something about her behavior that seemed slightly off to him. He couldn't fault her for holding some of that back. She had been brutally honest in their phone conversations about her feelings so he trusted her to know when to communicate things to him.

After about an hour, he decided to get up. He put on some jogging clothes and woke Emily long enough to tell her he was going for a jog. He ran for about forty-five minutes through the neighborhood. When he came back, he took a quick shower and went to fix some breakfast for his wife. Emily woke to the sounds of him puttering in the kitchen and when she smelled coffee she decided to get up. She wrapped herself up in her robe and went downstairs.

“Hey, good morning!” he greeted her, kissing her on the cheek before turning his French toast.

“Good morning!” she said, pouring herself a cup of coffee. “You know, I'm not really sure I like you becoming such a chipper morning person.”

“No? Not even if I cook you breakfast?”

“Well...maybe then I could adjust to it...” Emily smiled.

AJ ushered her out of the kitchen. “You go sit down and relax. I'll come get you when it's ready.”

“But I can help!” she said.

“Emily, I have spent the last seven weeks doing nothing but thinking about myself and my own problems. What I want to do now is think about you and do something nice for you.”

Emily smiled. “Ok.” She took her coffee and sat down on the deck to read the paper. AJ came to get her soon after and pulled her chair out for her as she sat down at the table. AJ had prepared quite a breakfast for her and she had to admit that the gesture was so sweet she didn't even cringe at what the state of her kitchen would be. While AJ was a good cook, he was also a messy cook. He had made French toast, sliced up melon, bacon and scrambled eggs.

“Thank you.” she said. “This is really nice.”

“You're welcome! So, did you have any plans today?”

“Not really. I kind of need to go buy some more groceries now that you're back. I sort of stopped cooking when it was just me. But other than that I was just planning on hanging out with you. Was there anything you wanted to do?”

“Well, there's an AA meeting at noon, and I feel like I should probably go talk to Brian at some point today, and I definitely need to call my mom pretty soon. Other than that, I plan on spending the rest of the day being with you.”

“Well, why don't you call your mom while I take a shower and then we can hit the store. Then maybe this evening we can go over to Brian's if they're around.”

AJ nodded. “Alright. I was thinking I should probably invite my mom up for a visit. Do you think next week would be ok with you?”

“That should be fine. I'm sure she'll be wanting to see you. I'll have to work Monday, Wednesday and Friday but that'll give you some time together. Have you talked to her since you first called her?”

“I called her right before the retreat to let her know how things were going and when I was going home. She said she hadn't heard much from you and wanted to know if you were doing ok.”

Emily smiled. “She's a good mother-in-law. She tries so hard not to interfere when we both know she's probably been down there dying to go see you in LA and make sure you're alright before swooping in here to make sure I'm ok.”

AJ laughed. “Yeah, that's kind of why I knew I had to invite her up so she doesn't drive herself crazy.”

Chapter 29

AJ sat in the office and called his mom.

“AJ! How are you? Are you home?”

“Hey Ma! Yes, I'm home.”

“Good! I'm so glad to hear it. How's it going so far?”

“It's going pretty well. I got to come home and be with Emily. We had a nice, long talk last night.”

“Is she doing ok?”

“Yeah, I think she's ok. She just seems tired. I need to make sure she gets some rest today.”

“How about you? Are you adjusting ok?”

“I think so. It feels a bit strange to be back, actually, but strange in a good way.”

“Are you going to keep going to meetings?”

“Yeah, Em and I are going grocery shopping and then I'm going to go to one. I think I'm going to talk to her about finding a church to go to together too. Keeping my spiritual side strong helps a lot.”

“That would probably be very good for the both of you to do together.”

“Hey, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to come up for a visit next week?”

“I was really starting to think you were never going to invite me!” she laughed.

AJ chuckled. “How about if you fly up Sunday afternoon? We can all go out to dinner together! Emily has to work Monday, so you and I could find something cool to do.”

“That'd be great. I'll call you later this week and let you know when my flight gets in, ok?”

“Alright. I have to get going, I love you Ma.”

“Love you too.”

Emily and AJ drove to the grocery store in high spirits. He insisted on picking up some things to cook her dinner when she got home from work Wednesday. She started to get concerned when he started putting things like tofu in the cart.

“We don't eat tofu!” she said.

“Try it, you'll probably like it!” he said. “You can put it in almost anything.”

“You spent way too much time in LA.” she said as he picked up a jug of green tea.

“And you, my dear, eat too much meat and potatoes!”

“I'm from the Midwest! It's what we thrive on! Ok, no, absolutely not! I am not having that in my house!” she said as he put a pack of salmon steaks in the cart.

“They're not for you, they're for me! I'll eat them for lunch.”

“The whole house will smell gross like fish!”

AJ rolled his eyes. “Fine. I'll cook them on the grill and I'll eat them outside. Better?”

“Better.” she said, throwing some real steaks into the cart.

AJ had just enough time to carry their groceries into the house before he left for his meeting.

“I promise, this time I'm really going.” he said.

“I know, I trust you.” she said.

He gave her a quick kiss and headed out the door.

Emily put away the groceries and called Brian's house.

“Hey Brian, it's Emily.”

“Hey! How are you? How's AJ?”

“We're both great. He just left to go to an AA meeting but he and I were wondering if we could stop by tonight for a visit? I think he wants to talk to you.”

“Sure! Why don't you come over at six and join us for dinner?”

“That would be great! I'll see you guys then.”

AJ came home from his meeting in a great mood. He'd stayed after for awhile to talk to his sponsor, Larry. They planned to go to that meeting every day except for Sundays. He found Emily sitting up in her hobby room, staring off into space.

“Hey.” he said.

Emily jumped in her seat. “I didn't hear you come home!”

“Yeah, you looked like you were miles away. Everything alright?”

“Fine.” she smiled. “Just tired I guess.”

“Why don't you take a nap?” he suggested. “You really look like you could use some more rest.”

“Only if you're going to lie with me.” she said.

“Sure.” he said, holding out his hand for her. He led her down the hall and climbed into bed beside her, wrapping his arm around her as she snuggled up against him. Emily shut her eyes and tried to turn off her mind.

The truth was that she was sitting there thinking about all the things she couldn't talk about with AJ. She was thinking about the baby she'd lost and the fact that she was keeping so much from him. She felt terrible. It hit her in waves. One minute she'd be fine. The next minute she'd be thinking about the baby and she'd feel miserable for so many reasons.

AJ could tell something was bothering her but he didn't know what. He figured maybe all the worrying she'd been doing lately was getting to her. He gently rubbed her arm, trying to soothe her to sleep. He could tell by her breathing that she'd finally fallen asleep and he stayed with her for awhile before slowly getting up.

He went into the office and started going through the weeks worth of e-mails he'd gotten while he was away. He started by deleting all the junk mail and then began reading and responding to the important ones. When he was done with that, he sorted through the stack of mail Emily had set aside for him. When that was finished, he went back to the computer for a good old game of Doom.

Emily woke up a few hours later and smiled as she heard AJ in the office.

“Die you bastards!” he said as he shot at some bad guys on his game.

Even though she hated that game, she smiled because she realized how nice it was to wake up with him home. She got cleaned up and went into the office and sat beside him.

“Good morning!” he said, pausing his game.

“Hi. Having fun?”

“Yeah, I was in here going through all my mail and shit and thought I'd take a break from boring stuff for a bit.”

“Are you ready to go over to Brian's? We're supposed to be there at 6.”

“Yeah, I'm ready.”

“Ok. I just don't want to be out too late, I have to work at seven tomorrow morning.”

“I will make sure to get you home in time for bed!”

AJ and Emily arrived just after six. Baylee had apparently been keeping watch out the front window and came running out the door to meet them.

“AJ and Emily are here!” he screamed as he ran towards them.

AJ swooped Baylee up and threw him over his shoulder, carrying him back to the house. Baylee giggled the whole way there.

“Brian, you really should get this little guy a leash or something, he tried to attack us!” AJ said, grinning at Baylee.

Baylee's response was to giggle and run at AJ again.

“Hey guys!” Leighanne greeted as she appeared from the kitchen. “How are you?” she asked as she gave Emily a hug.

“I'm doing ok.” Emily said.

“Welcome home, AJ!” she said, kissing his cheek.

“Thanks.” he said.

Brian hugged Emily hello and she noticed that he hadn't spoken to AJ yet. AJ also noticed but he had been prepared for this kind of response from Brian. Emily gave him a reassuring smile as he asked Brian to join him out on the deck.

Brian leaned against the rail of the deck with his arms crossed. AJ stood beside him.

“I'm sorry.” he said. “I know I let you down.”

“It wasn't just me you let down.” Brian said.

“I know that.” AJ said.

“Are you ok now?” Brian asked.

“Yes. For the first time in awhile, I'm doing ok. I really think I got it this time, man. I can't explain to you how or why or even what it is that was so different when I was there, it just was. I'm not going to screw it up again. I've got a new sponsor, daily meetings and I'm even going to start going to church on Sundays.”

“That's good.” Brian said.

“So how long do you think you're going to hold this against me for?” AJ asked. “Ballpark figure.”

“As soon as I say what I need to say to you.” Brian said.

“Ok, go ahead and say it.”

“Look, Emily doesn't have anyone to stand up for her right now so I hope you'll forgive me for being the one to do it. You damn near destroyed her. I'm sure she might have told you about it but unless you were here to witness it, there's no way you can know what all this did to her. And I want you to know that Emily is a very special person to me and if you hurt her again, I'm not going to be so nice about it.”

AJ was surprised. Of all the things he expected Brian to say to him, that was not one of them. Actually a small part of him was touched that he cared so deeply for Emily and was willing to look out for her.

“I understand.” he responded.

“Good.” Brian said, walking over to a chair and sitting down. “So what are your plans now?”

AJ took out a cigarette. “Find a new manager to start with, well I guess first fire the one I have.”

“Why are you firing him?”

“That piece of shit hasn't returned a single phone call of mine since my album got dropped.”

“Are you serious?” Brian said. “That's insane!”

“You're telling me! So once I get that taken care of, I'm really hoping to get a new album deal. Maybe try and do some solo shows to promote myself, you know?”

Brian nodded. “I think I know someone who might be able to help you. I'll e-mail you his info later tonight.”

“Yeah, that'd be great.” AJ said.

“So how are things since you've been home?”

“They've been going pretty well. I talked to my mom this morning, went grocery shopping, went to a meeting. I'm just so glad to be home to take care of my wife. She looks like she needs it.”

“She probably does.” Brian agreed. “Not that she'd ever really admit that.”

AJ laughed. “You are right about that, my friend!”

Emily helped Leighanne in the kitchen while the men talked outside.

“Are you really doing ok?” Leighanne asked her.

“I think so. It seems to come in waves, you know? Like one minute I'm fine, the next minute I just want to crawl in a hole and go to sleep.”

“Have you thought any more about telling him?”

Emily shook her head. “No, I'm not going to.”

“How are you two getting along so far?”

“Really well. He's trying really hard, you should have seen the breakfast he cooked for me this morning.”

“Do you think he's adjusted ok?”

Emily thought for a moment. “Yeah, I think he is. He definitely seems more sure about things. Almost back to his old self which I'm so glad of. I know it might sound old fashioned or even selfish but in our relationship, he's always been the one to take charge, you know? I mean as much as I'm there for him, he's always been the stronger one. And while I'm more than willing to be strong for him, I feel like things just work better when he's the strong one.”

“Well every relationship has a balance. There are some things you take charge of and some things he takes charge of but you're right, when the balance is off everything changes.”

“It just feels nice to be taken care of again. By my husband.” Emily added.

Leighanne eventually called the men in for dinner and they all sat around the dining room table, enjoying lighthearted conversation. They were in the middle of dessert when Brian's cell phone rang.

“Oh hey, it's Kevin!” he said. “Hey Kevin!”

“Hey Bri, what's up?”

“Not much, I'm actually sitting here with Emily and AJ.”

“Oh really? How's that going?”

“Very well. What's up with you?”

“Well, since everyone is there, why don't you go ahead and put me on speaker phone so everyone can hear!”

Brian set the phone down and turned it to speaker.

“Hey everyone!” Kevin said. “Kristin, say hi!”

“Hi!” Kristin said.

Emily, AJ and Leighanne all responded hello at the same time.

“Well, I was calling because we have some news.” Kevin said. “I'm going to be a dad!”

“You dog! Congratulations, man!” Brian said.

“You guys, that's so awesome!” Leighanne said.

“Was it the book?” Emily asked. Everyone looked at her funny.

Kristin laughed. “It sure was! I owe this baby to you, Emily!”

“You guys are going to be terrific parents!” AJ said.

They chatted a bit longer before Kevin had to go. They still had a lot of other people to call.

Leighanne was watching Emily very closely to see how she was reacting. Emily knew she was and so she avoided looking at Leighanne.

“Man, I can't wait to be a dad!” AJ said.

That about did it. Emily looked up at Leighanne for help. Brian was the only one who caught it, wondering just what was going on between the two women.

“Emily, before I forget, I've been meaning to show you something!” Leighanne said.

“Oh, ok.” Emily said, getting up and following Leighanne into the office.

“Oh my God.” Emily said. “I am the worst person in the world!”

“Oh honey, no you're not!”

“Yes I am! I can't even be happy that my friends are having a baby!”

Leighanne rubbed her arm. “It's completely normal. You're happy for them deep down. It's just a hard reminder for you, that's all.”

“I guess so.”

AJ and Emily stayed a bit longer until, as promised, AJ took Emily home to get her to bed at a decent hour.

“Are you ok?” he asked her as she got into bed. “You seem a bit down tonight.”

“Yeah, I'm ok.”

“I know you were hoping to have started our own family by now. I'm sorry things are taking longer than you wanted. But I promise, we're going to get there soon. Things are starting to get back on track, right?”

Emily nodded. If only he knew.

Chapter 30

The rest of the week seemed to fly by. Emily had to work all day on Wednesday and Friday and when she got home, AJ had dinner ready and waiting for her. Wednesday AJ had fired his manager and met with another guy Brian had referred him to. On Thursday, AJ signed a contract with him. Mark, his new manager, had listened to AJ's demos and was very impressed.

“I really think your stuff can go places.” he said in their meeting Thursday.

“Yeah well, the record company seemed to think otherwise.” AJ replied.

“Don't listen to those assholes. Look, I know a talent scout for a smaller label, I'm going to send this to him. They might be a smaller scale but they do have some pretty big artists. I'll get it to him today and see what he thinks. I'll get back to you by the end of the week. And next week we can talk some more about those shows you want to do.”

“Yeah, that'd be great. I look forward to hearing from you!” AJ said, shaking Mark's hand as he left his office.

AJ was ecstatic when he went home. Finally he had some hope! Finally he had made some progress towards his solo career.

Friday afternoon AJ received a phone call from Mark.

“Hey man, what's the word?” he asked.

“Well I talked to Brent over at Jammin' records and he said he thinks your sound is perfect for what they're looking for. He'd like to meet with you first thing Monday morning!”

“That's fuckin' awesome!” AJ said. “I really didn't think it would move that fast.”

“And this is only the beginning!” Mark said.

AJ couldn't wait to tell Emily the news when she got home from work.

Emily couldn't wait to get home. It had been a particularly rough day at work. Her day had begun with a fourteen year old rape victim and had ended with a little boy with severe heart problems that had never been caught because he didn't have access to a regular doctor. As much as she loved her job, she hated it equally. It was always full of sadness and she really wasn't sure how much longer she'd be able to tolerate it. She kept telling herself it would get better over time, once she got used to it, but she was beginning to wonder if she ever would, and if she really wanted to become the kind of person who wasn't bothered by it all.

“I'm so glad you're home!” AJ said when she walked in. “I have something really good to tell you!”

“What is it?”

“Mark called, his friend Brent at Jammin' record label really liked my stuff and he wants to

meet with me first thing Monday morning!”

“Oh my God, that is so awesome! I'm so happy for you!” she said, giving him a big hug. “I knew it would work out for you eventually!”

“From what I hear, Jammin' records is the next up and coming label, a lot of their artists are starting to pick up in popularity so this might be an even better opportunity than my last deal!”

“Very cool!” she said, standing on her tip-toes to give him a kiss.

“So when do I get to make love to you again? I've been dying to ever since I got home!”

“Oh...just a few more days I think.” she said, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.

AJ groaned. “In a few days my mom will be here!”

“So?”

“So, you're very loud...I don't want my mom to hear us!”

“You know what? I'm not the only one who's loud!”

“Well, I think you're louder than I am.” he said.

Emily raised an eyebrow. “Fine. When your mom goes home, we'll play a little game and see who really is the loudest.”

AJ groaned again. “Dammit woman! Now I'm all horny!”

Emily laughed. “Sorry.”

“So how was your day?”

“Truthfully, it was awful.” she said.

“Why?”

“The thing I've discovered about working in a free clinic is that very rarely do you see happy, healthy people. You see people who only get medical care when it's very urgent because they can't afford it otherwise, which is actually quite a large percentage of people! So every day I'm surrounded by pain and suffering and today was just one of the worst days.”

“I'm sorry.” he said.

“Me too. I really thought I'd like this job but now I'm just not so sure I'm cut out for it. I've kind of decided that if in another month or so I'm still unhappy with it, I'll find a new place to work.”

“Good. I'd hate to see you stuck someplace that makes you miserable!”

“I really hope this record company works out for you.” she said, leaning her head against his chest.

“Me too.” he said, holding her tightly.

AJ spent a lot of time over the weekend in his studio, polishing up his newer stuff to take with him to the meeting. On Sunday, they woke up early and went to church together before going to the airport to pick up Denise. AJ took his two favorite women out to dinner Sunday evening and on Monday, while Emily was at work, Denise and AJ got the chance to spend the day together after AJ's meeting with Brent. He'd told AJ that his stuff was “fucking great” and wanted to hear more. AJ promised to send him a new demo the next week. Tuesday they all took a day trip together the lake where they rented a boat and hung out on the water all day. Denise went home Wednesday while Emily was at work.

When she came home Wednesday evening, there was a sign on the front door. It read:

Go straight upstairs and take a bath, there's a surprise waiting for you on the bed.

Emily smiled as she went inside and headed straight for her room, half expecting to find AJ laying naked as her surprise. But he wasn't. Instead, there was a box with a big, white bow on it. She opened it up and pulled out a beautiful, strapless black dress. There was a note inside the box that said:

Put this on after your bath!

Emily absolutely loved it when AJ did things like this. When he really put his mind to it, he was quite possibly the most romantic man she'd ever heard of, including the made up ones in her romance novels. She took off her scrubs and filled the bathtub, using her favorite bubble bath. She sighed as she climbed into the hot water, feeling her muscles relaxing from another long day at work. Twenty minutes later, she decided she didn't want to dawdle in the bath when there were more surprises waiting for her so she climbed out and wrapped herself in her fluffy white bathrobe. She dried her hair, did her makeup and slipped on her new dress. The fit was perfect. It was tight along her slim waist and then flared out over her hips. She was impressed with the way it fit her chest. It showed minimal amounts of clevage but definitely supported her breasts well without that feeling that her dress was about to fall off. She dug out the perfect pair of black heels to wear with it and just as she was about to spritz on some perfume, she found her next note. He knew her well, she realized, because he knew spraying on perfume was always the last thing she did.

Go downstairs!

Emily checked herself in the mirror one more time before going back downstairs. She found AJ waiting for her at the bottom of the steps wearing the same suit he'd worn the night he proposed to her in Hawaii. A black suit, midnight blue shirt and a silver tie.

“You look beautiful.” he said as he took her hand and kissed the back of it.

“Thank you. This dress is perfect, you did a good job picking it out.”

“Well, I do happen to be somewhat of a clothing expert.” he smiled.

“You look nice too. I remember the last time you wore that suit.”

“You do? I wasn't sure if you'd remember or not!” he said.

“So...what's this all about, anyway?”

“I wanted to give you a romantic evening.” he said. “Are you ready to go?”

Emily nodded. “And let me guess, you aren't telling me where we're going, are you?”

“Nope! You'll see when we get there.”

AJ escorted her out the front door and helped her into his car. He got on the highway headed towards downtown Atlanta as Emily tried to figure out where they were going. She knew where they were going right before he pulled up to it. He had taken her to Paris!, the restaurant they went to on their first date.

She smiled at him as he helped her out of the car and handed the keys to the valet.

“God, that seems like forever ago, doesn't it?” she asked.

“What, when we came here?”

“Yeah. It's just..so much has happened since then.”

AJ wrapped his arm around her waist as they walked inside. The place was exactly the same from the cobblestone floor to the twinkling lights and candles. They were seated immediately and as AJ looked at her over the candlelight with those eyes of his, she forgot all about her troubles and got lost in him.

“You know, I still can't read French.” she said as she opened up her menu.

AJ laughed. “You might not be able to read it but I can think of a few other French things that you're pretty good at....”

Emily blushed. “Thanks...I guess.”

“What do you feel like eating?”

“Umm....get me whatever I had last time, it was really good.” Emily decided, closing her menu.

When the waiter appeared with a big basket of French breads, AJ ordered their dinner, drinks and dessert all at once.

“You know, I think our first date is still my most memorable date.” she said.

“You think?”

“Yeah. I mean I can think of a few others that are close but the first one...well it was the first one, you know?”

AJ nodded. “What are some of your other favorites?”

“Well the luau in Hawaii is definitely up there. What about yours?”

AJ thought for a moment. “I know it wasn't a date, but remember when you had just started working for Brian and we were on tour and you went to dinner with Kevin, Kristin and me?”

Emily laughed. “How could I ever forget that?”

“When you tricked me into thinking you were allergic to seafood!”

“Oh come on, you had it coming!” Emily teased.

“That was the first night I knew you were so special.” he said softly.

“Well to be perfectly honest, I was attracted to you the minute I saw you dancing on stage. I believe my thought was 'Oh my God, he's practically sweating sex up there!' and to this day, I still love to watch you dance.”

“Oh you do, huh?”

“Yeah. Actually, I was thinking you should try to get on Dancing With the Stars! I bet you could totally win!”

AJ laughed. “Nah, I only want to do all my fancy dancin' with you.”

Emily sighed. “We sure have had some good times together, haven't we?”

AJ reached across the table and grabbed her hand. “We have. And the whole point of this night is to remind you that there are still plenty more memorable times to be had together.”

Emily gave his hand a squeeze. “I look forward to it.”

“I was going to wait until after dinner for this but I think now is the perfect time.” he said, pulling something out of the pocket of his jacket. He handed Emily a velvet jewelry box. “Open it.” he said.

Emily smiled at him as she opened the box and saw the most beautiful three-diamond necklace.

“It's beautiful!” she said, her eyes a bit teary.

“It's a past, present and future necklace.” he said. “So that you'll always remember our past, enjoy the present and look forward to the future. Together. When you wear it, I hope you'll always feel excited at what's yet to come for us.”

Emily wiped her eyes. “Thank you.” she said as she leaned across the table to give him a kiss. She immediately put the necklace on, loving the way the diamonds danced in the light.

AJ and Emily enjoyed a wonderfully perfect dinner together. They frequently stole long glances at each other over the candlelight, AJ's eyes still melting her heart every time he looked at her. AJ couldn't help but stare at her, he still loved the way those sexy blue eyes of hers sparkled in just the right lighting. He paid the bill after their dessert and helped Emily up from her seat. While they were waiting for the valet to pull his car up, he placed his hands lightly on her hips and gave her a soft kiss on the lips.

At the mere touch of his lips, Emily's body felt flush and her knees weak. It had been quite awhile since she'd been able to feel the touch of his hands and lips all over her body and she realized just how much she missed it.

AJ felt his wife's immediate response to him and he grinned to himself. He loved her to pieces and he had a strong desire to show her just that.