Breathe Out (Just Breathe, #2)(86)

“Hello, sweetheart,” he greets. “Looks like you’re in good spirits today.”

“Not really,” I admit, taking a bag from his arms to help. “But, having you here makes a difference.”

“You are too sweet,” he comments after putting down the rest of the bags. “Emma, this is Joanna.”

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Joanna,” I say, shaking her hand.

“Likewise,” she replies. “Aaron has told me so much about all of you.”

“I hope it’s all been good,” I tease.

“Of course,” she confirms.

“There wouldn't be anything else,” Pop-Pop mentions.

“You haven’t been with us long enough, Pop-Pop,” I say.

Pop-Pop and Joanna laugh.

The three of us sit down at the dining table and chat with Jared and Nathan once we get everything set for everyone to eat.

Joanna has a beautiful personality that is vibrant and energetic, much younger than her years. While talking, I learn that Joanna has been a yoga teacher for quite a while now, a hobby turned profession not long after her late husband had passed. We all agree to join her class tomorrow morning.

“Why don’t you tell Emma your idea, Pop-Pop,” Jared recommends.

“What idea?” I search.

“We wanted to make sure you like and approved it to add to Naturally Me,” Pop-Pop informs.

“You don’t need my permission, Jared,” I remind. “You own half the company.”

“I know,” he confirms. “But, I wanted to hear your thoughts.”

“Okay. So what is it?” I explore.

Pop-Pop beams with excitement and I can’t help but return the energy. “I was thinking,” he begins. “I know you just added a pet section, but I thought we could add a seniors section. You know, for people my age and older.”


“That’s a brilliant idea,” I commend.

“That’s what I told him,” Joanna adds, kissing him on the cheek.

With a grin, I ask, “You sure you’re ready for being in front of the camera?”

“Yes,” Pop-Pop replies instantly.

“He’s a ham,” Jared comments. “They’ll love him.”

“Definitely,” I agree.

“Maybe we should humor the idea of adding a woman like Joanna too,” I suggest. “Have a senior male and female perspective.”

“That’s a great idea,” Pop-Pop answers.

“I couldn’t,” rebuts Joanna. “I don’t want to impose.”

“Why not?” I ask.

“Yeah,” Jared adds. “It would be perfect.”

After a little coaxing, Joanna agrees to slowly integrate into the company. I think she’s a little nervous about being in front of the camera. We can ease her in, having her start with writing blog topics while letting her get a feel for it when Jared and Pop-Pop film.

The atmosphere at Nathan’s feels heavy for me as time inches closer to our announcement. As much as I want to get this whole thing over with, the minutes tick by painstakingly slow. Pop-Pop tries to spread his cheeriness to me, but it doesn’t last long. The overarching feeling inside me is dread mixed with irritation at the fact that I even need to do this. I honestly didn’t expect the news to make such outlandish comments and speculations.

As six o’clock rolls around, Jared and I get seated in front of the cameras. Two minutes before go time, the camera’s are turned on, but the sound is muted, allowing everyone watching our live stream on Youtube to see us. Sadie sits between my legs with her back to me. My hand eagerly pets her to help suffice the temptation to bounce my legs and to hide my sweaty palms.

I avoid looking at the camera and my eyes scan the faces of my family watching us with excited anticipation. Nathan jumps over, fixing my hair and Jared’s shirt two seconds before Ian signals the countdown for the sound to be switched on and for us to begin.

“Good evening,” Jared greets the unseen audience. “For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Jared and the lovely lady sitting next to me is Emma, and we’re from Naturally Me.”

My eyes stay fixed on the camera with our usual routine kicking into gear despite the current topic for our video. From the corner of my gaze, I see Pop-Pop, Nathan and Joanna smiling encouragingly. Nathan holds up a notepad with writing on it that says two point four million viewers followed by a plus sign. Jared and the social media team have been posting since early this morning about our live video announcement. Hearing the numbers eases me a little, I actually expected many more.

“A number of comments and questions have flooded our email inbox . . . and, we will be answering a few of them. To start,” Jared begins. “We would like to thank you for all of the love and support from those of you who have been contacting us. We are doing our best to respond in a timely fashion to each of you in the order your messages have been received.”

I smile and nod confirmation.

“First things first,” Jared continues. “Yes, I am gay, and yes, I am happily in love with Nathan.”

My attention is drawn to Jared’s statement and I can’t help but smile wider at his announcement. I’m so proud of him for admitting his love for Nathan to the world. A giggle escapes my lips when Nathan bounces over to our side of the room, popping into the line of sight of the camera behind Jared and me. Nathan wraps his arms around Jared, kisses him on the cheek and beams at the audience. Just before he pops out of view, Nathan kisses me on the cheek as well.