Chapter 17
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
brOOKS
It takes two hours and four large glasses of wine, but Emma finally relaxes. In fact, she relaxes so hard she falls asleep in my lap as we sit around the camp fire with our friends.
Tomorrow the festivities really begin. There are the all-day bachelor and bachelorette parties. Separate ones, which in one way is good, because it keeps Emma far away from Will.
And in another way it’s bad, because she’s anxious. I can tell it in her voice, in the way she holds herself. I want to talk to her and tell her it’ll be okay but I can’t because we could be overheard.
So instead, as she falls asleep against me, I explain to Cassie and Mia that she’s been so worried about spoiling Cassie’s day that it has taken its toll on her.
“Please don’t blame Emma. It was my fault completely. I just got overcome by the moment,” I lie. “I didn’t even have a ring.”
Cassie smiles at me. “Sometimes we just get overtaken by the moment. It’s lovely, it really is.”
Mia looks at Emma, whose face is pressed against my chest. I realize I’m stroking her hair. She lets out a little snore and it makes me laugh.
“She deserves to be happy,” Mia says, looking pointedly at me.
“Especially after what happened with Will. It really messed her up, you know?” Cassie says. “God, I hate that guy.”
Will has just arrived at the cookout. He hasn’t come over, but he keeps shooting annoyed looks our way. Jemima is clinging to him, as though she’s afraid Emma is going to storm over and drag him away.
“Yeah,” I say. “I’m not his biggest fan either.”
“Seriously, though,” Mia says, her voice low. “Please treat her right. She’s such a lovely person. And after everything that’s happened. Not just with Will. The way she lost everything when she lost her parents.” She shakes her head. “I’ll never forget her face when she walked into our class and had to pick up her things. The school wouldn’t even let her stay one extra day to say goodbye. They just wanted her gone.”
“She really lost everything,” Cassie adds. “After her parents died it turned out her dad was up to his eyeballs in debt. There was nothing left for her.”
“He’d borrowed a lot of money from friends too,” Mia adds. “It caused a huge scandal at the time. I felt so sorry for her.”
I frown, because even though I knew she’d left school after her parents died I assumed it was because she wanted to go live with her grandparents. Not because her parents had left her with nothing.
I didn’t know she’d been forced to leave her friends, having just discovered that her parents were dead on the same day.
“I wish we’d kept in touch with her,” Mia says, shaking her dark hair. “We tried for a while. But we were teenagers, you know? We thought the world revolved around us. That’s why I was so happy when we reconnected. And then Will…” She wrinkles her nose. “That rat bastard broke her all over again.”
I tighten my hold on Emma, who is now snoring in my arms. Not that I mind. It’s funny how vulnerable she seems when she’s asleep. Awake, she can be feral. The she-wolf who howls at the moon.
Asleep, she’s so soft and pliant. I lean down to kiss the top of her head.
“God, you’re lovely,” Mia says. “I swear I thought you’d treat her like an asshole too.”
“Yeah, well he knows we’d rip his balls off if he did,” Cassie points out, grinning.
I smile, but inside I’m thinking about that phone call from my assistant today. Next week, if the lawyers give the go-ahead, her grandfather will get an eviction notice. This will be over. I’ll have won.
I should be happy about that. It’s business, after all. So why does my throat feel like it’s almost impossible to breathe?
“I should probably take her back to the yurt,” I say, looking down at Emma’s face. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen her so relaxed. And I hate it. It’s like being relaxed in the arms of a bear.
And I’m the damn grizzly.
“That’s a good idea,” Cassie says. “We start early tomorrow. One last breakfast together and then the rituals begin.” She grins at me. “Are you going to be able to stay away from her for a whole day?”
“Probably not,” I say. But maybe it’ll be a good thing. I can’t think properly when she’s around. Or rather, I linger on all the wrong thoughts. Ones that make me feel like I need to carry her out of here to somewhere where she’ll be safe.
The only place she’ll be safe is far away from you.
Shifting Emma in my arms, I stand up and lift her body against mine. Her eyelids flutter open and her gaze catches mine.
“Go back to sleep,” I murmur. “Everything’s fine.”
To my amazement she does. It doesn’t escape me that the only time Emma Robbins actually listens to me is when she’s unconscious.
“Goodnight,” I whisper to Mia and Cassie, all too aware of Will’s scrutiny as I carry Emma out of the firepit area and into the woods. It’s a short walk to our yurt, thank god, but I’m still covered in sweat by the time we get there.
“Brooks?” she mumbles against my chest as I put her down to find the key, one arm still around her, holding her against me.
“I’m here. Everything’s fine. Let’s just get you to bed.”
“ Us to bed,” she mutters. “There’s only one.”
Yeah, there is. But damned if I’m sharing it with her. I’m already at the front of the line for Asshole of the Year. I’m hoping not to make it Asshole of the Century.
EMMA
Light is streaming through the white canvas when I wake up the next morning. Letting out a groan – because my mouth feels drier than the desert – I roll over on the mattress and squeeze my eyes shut again, because this mattress really is quite comfortable and I don’t want to move.
“Good morning.”
When I look up, Brooks is standing by the side of the bed, a glass of water in one hand. The other is palm-up, with two little pills at the center.
“Arsenic?” I ask him, looking at them carefully.
“Close.” His lips twitch. “Swallow them down and I promise all the pain will go away.”
I take them, although there’s only a hint of a headache at my temple. Because today is going to be nonstop and I don’t need any hangover from last night to slow me down. It’s my own stupid fault. I so rarely drink, and those wine glasses were huge.
Ugh, last night. It all comes flooding back to me. Cassie’s arrival at the firepit, her knowing Brooks and I got engaged. And then…
“Wait,” I say, holding my hand up to him. “How did I get to bed?”
He quirks a brow. “You don’t remember falling asleep on me around the fire?”
I shake my head.
“Or you begging me to take you to bed.”
“I don’t beg. And I didn’t.”
He grins. “No you didn’t. I carried you back. You slept through the whole ordeal.”
That explains the dry-as-a-desert mouth. I obviously didn’t brush my teeth. That fact irks me. I’m super fastidious about dental hygiene. And then I realize something else. I’m not wearing the dress I put on for the barbecue last night.
Slowly, I lift the covers and peek underneath. My bra and panties are still on my body. I’m not sure whether or not to be relieved.
“Tell me I undressed myself in my sleep,” I say.
“You undressed yourself in your sleep.” I swear he’s enjoying this.
“Liar.”
He holds his hands up as though in surrender. “I’m just telling you what you asked me to. And try not to get too worked up. We’re engaged, remember? I’m allowed to undress you.” He emphasizes the last part, and I wince, because of course we’re supposed to be acting like we’re stupidly in love.
I sigh and reach for my phone, which is plugged into its charger. God, this man can be perfect when he’s not being annoying. Bringing up our chat, I type out a message to him.
Thank you for taking care of me. – Emma
A smile ghosts his lips as he reads it. He must have already showered. His hair is damp and I can smell the woody notes of his shower gel.
You’re welcome. We have about half an hour before we’re due up to the house. You ready for it? – Brooks
Truthfully? Not really.
Can’t wait. Can I ask you something? Did you sleep with me last night? – Emma
He frowns as he reads this last message, and I decide I much prefer his smile.
Sleep with you as in sex? Or sleep with you as in close my eyes and lay next to you? – Brooks
My cheeks flush as I read. I look at him. His expression is unreadable.
I meant did we share a bed? – Emma.
No. We didn’t sleep together in any way, shape or form. You did, however, drool on me all night by the fireplace. Those are the only fluids we exchanged. – Brooks
It’s my turn to frown.
I don’t drool! – Emma
My shirt says you do. – Brooks
How mortifying. But now he’s smiling again and damn, I like that too much. I’m stupidly grateful to him, not only for being so sweet yesterday, but for reassuring me.
“Take a shower,” Brooks tells me out loud, sliding his phone back into his pocket. “I’m going to head out and hunt us down some coffee.”
“Have I ever told you that you’re the best fiancé ever?” Because coffee sounds like the most perfect thing in my life right now.
“No, but feel free to say it again,” he tells me, walking to the door of the yurt and pulling it open.
“You’re the best!” I shout at his departing form. And though he doesn’t turn around before he closes the door behind him, I swear I see his shoulders shake with a chuckle.
Everybody has gathered in front of the ranch house by the time we arrive. There are three executive coaches lined up in the drive, as well as some white vans with ‘So Sweet Spas’ written across their sides in pink cursive. Brooks is holding my hand as we approach our friends. Weirdly, he’s been holding it since we left the yurt.
Maybe he’s worried I’m going to run back there and hide.
The spa is for the bachelorettes. Cassie’s dad has a swimming pool on the property, and the pool house – which is bigger than most people’s primary residences – has been converted into a treatment room for the day.
The guys are heading off to a vineyard for some wine tasting, followed by an afternoon at the casino. Brooks looks as excited for that as I feel about lying by the pool and gossiping all day.
From the corner of my eye I see Will standing with a group of friends. There’s no sign of Jemima. Maybe she’s stayed in bed. That would be nice.
“You going to be okay without me?” Brooks asks, his voice low.
“I’m not sure,” I tease. “Getting a back and neck massage will be a struggle. Pray for me.”
He looks over at Will, who’s still glaring in our direction. Then back at me again. Before I can say anything more, he cups my face with his warm palms and angles his head down until his lips are a breath away from mine.
I run my tongue along my bottom lip, because I’m almost certain he’s going to kiss me again and despite brushing my teeth for what felt like half an hour after my shower I’m still not certain I’m kissable. He lifts a brow, as though asking me if this is okay, which is weird, because yesterday we did more than kiss.
Still, I nod and he closes the gap between our mouths, the pressure of his lips soft against mine. He slides his fingers into my hair, angling my face to his, his tongue dancing at the seam of my lips until I open them and he slides it against mine.
The sensation sends a pulse of warmth through my nerve endings. As though he can feel the effect he has on me, he slides one hand down, his fingertips leaving a trail of fire down my spine, before pressing his palm into the dip of my back and pulling me against him.
When we part, my eyes are misty. Dear God, this man knows how to kiss.
“Keep your phone on,” he tells me, his voice thick. “I can’t go without messaging you all day.”
I nod as he steps back. The men are already boarding the buses. Will is climbing the steps to the front one, and Brooks deliberately walks to the coach at the back.
I feel a strange twinge. Like I’m missing him before he’s even left. Maybe I’m a better actress than I thought.
“Come on, girls,” Cassie says turning around to smile at us. “The first cocktails are being poured right now. It’s time to party!”