Chapter 42
Emma didn't wake up particularly early. Once she was up, though, the first thing she did was call Adrian.
He answered almost immediately. "Emma! You finally called me. Miss me?"
"Where's my scooter?"
Adrian's excitement took an immediate hit.
Emma had spent plenty of time in expensive cars lately, but none of them had changed her mind about her scooter. The cars were nice, sure, but they were temporary. Her scooter was hers, and not having it around was becoming seriously inconvenient.
"Ryan has it," Adrian said. He recovered quickly. "I'll pick you up. We can go get it."
"Okay."
After they hung up, Adrian went upstairs to get dressed. Twenty minutes later, he came down in a pink shirt loud enough to announce his arrival before he did, humming under his breath.
Mrs. Mercer looked up from the living room. "You're in a good mood. Going on a date?"
"Yep."
Technically, Emma was dating Lawrence, which made Adrian's current position in the situation a little questionable. He wisely decided not to explain that part to his mother. She'd probably break his legs.
Mrs. Mercer smiled. "Good. Go have fun. Take her shopping or something. Buy her something nice."
Adrian paused.
He hadn't actually bought Emma a proper gift before.
"That's a good idea."
Mrs. Mercer watched him leave with a pleased smile. Apparently her son really did like Trace. Maybe this marriage arrangement wouldn't be such a battle after all.
Emma got into Adrian's red Ferrari expecting to retrieve her scooter.
Instead, they pulled up outside one of the city's largest luxury malls.
She looked through the windshield, then turned to him. "Ryan left my scooter here?"
"No." Adrian shook his head, his blue hair falling loosely over his forehead. "We're shopping. Get whatever you want. I'm paying."
That was tempting. Very tempting.
Emma stayed in her seat.
"You have ten minutes to start driving toward my scooter."
Adrian stared at her. "Seriously?"
"Yes."
Free things were wonderful. Free things from Adrian Mercer came with potential legal fees.
If Mrs. Mercer found out her son had dropped a small fortune on designer goods for Emma, there was no telling what she'd think was going on between them. Emma liked money very much. She just preferred money that wasn't likely to require a lawyer later.
Adrian, meanwhile, was staring at her stern expression in disbelief. Most people wouldn't need to be asked twice, yet Emma was sitting outside a luxury mall threatening him over a scooter.
His heart gave an embarrassingly hard thump.
How was she this uninterested in money?
"Fine. I'll give you the address." Adrian pulled out his phone, then tossed her the Ferrari key. "You drive. I'm tired."
Emma caught it without thinking.
Now that was an offer she could accept.
She'd driven plenty of cars before, but never a custom Ferrari. Whatever rich-kid mood Adrian was in today, she wasn't about to argue with this part of it.
She slid behind the wheel while Adrian settled into the passenger seat. He turned toward the window, the corner of his mouth twitching.
Ryan had parked the scooter farther away than Emma expected, which gave her plenty of time to enjoy the Ferrari. The acceleration alone put her in a much better mood.
Once they reached Ryan, Adrian tried to turn that good mood into lunch.
"Let's go eat."
"No."
Emma got on her scooter and rode off.
Adrian stood there watching until she disappeared down the street.
Ryan followed his gaze. "At this point, you're basically waiting around for somebody else's girlfriend."
Adrian punched him in the arm.
"Shut up."
Emma plugged her scooter in downstairs and headed up to her apartment.
She stopped when she reached her floor.
Her doorway was buried in shopping bags.
Emma looked down one end of the hallway, then the other. Nobody was there.
"What the hell?"
For a second, it looked like someone had opened a luxury pop-up store outside her apartment. Gucci, Chanel, Hermès—along with three arrangements of deep pink roses, each with a card addressed to Emma Carter.
She narrowed her eyes.
Adrian.
Of course.
Emma crouched down and started checking the bags for receipts. After the third bag came up empty, she gave up.
Great. Returning everything wasn't going to be easy.
There were two handbags, several outfits, and enough smaller accessories to make her wonder exactly how much damage Adrian had managed to do in ten minutes. Most of it looked like it had come from the newest collections too.
Emma sat back on her heels.
Was he actually serious about this?
That could become a problem.
She dragged everything inside, pulled out her phone, and texted him.
The reply came almost instantly.
Emma looked around at the small luxury department store that had apparently moved into her apartment.
A second message followed.
Emma stared at the screen.
This idiot.
That afternoon, Emma received a message from Client L.
Tonight's session had been moved to 11:30 p.m.
That seemed unnecessarily late, but a few hours later Emma found herself appreciating the timing.
Lawrence texted her.
Emma looked at the message with renewed affection for Isabelle's return.
Lawrence normally hired her once a week at most. This was already the second time this week.
Business was booming.
At six, Emma appeared downstairs in her white dress, looking soft, elegant, and exactly like the devoted girlfriend Lawrence was paying for.
His gaze settled on her for a moment.
"Is that the only white dress you own?"
Emma blinked.
She'd bought the dress specifically for this job. It was from an expensive designer, looked appropriate beside Lawrence Vance, and had already cost far more than Emma liked spending on a single piece of clothing.
Of course she'd only bought one.
Lawrence glanced toward the driver. "Stop at a mall first."
Emma turned to him. "Why?"
"Clothes."
Apparently everyone had decided her wardrobe needed intervention today.
They didn't have much time, so Emma kept it simple and chose several white dresses that fit the image Lawrence usually wanted from her.
He looked through them, told the sales associate to take all of them, then pointed to one. "Wear that tonight."
It was a fitted silk dress with a low open back. Emma changed into it and stepped out of the fitting room a few minutes later.
The sales associate smiled. "That looks incredible on you."
Emma checked herself in the mirror. She had to admit, it did.
Lawrence looked at her for a few seconds, then gave a small nod.
Good enough.
Once they were back in the car, Emma finally asked, "What are we doing tonight?"
"Family dinner."
She turned toward him. "Family dinner?"
"Yes."
Emma was genuinely surprised for a moment, but then Isabelle came to mind.
Of course.
Isabelle was back, and now Lawrence was bringing his supposed girlfriend to a family gathering. Apparently tonight's assignment came with an audience.
Emma's expression softened into a smile. "Okay. I'm looking forward to meeting your family."
Lawrence glanced at her. "It's my mother's birthday. Just family and a few people close to us. You don't need to be nervous."
"It's her birthday?" Emma looked down at herself. "I didn't bring a gift. I can't show up empty-handed."
"You don't need one."
"But—"
"She won't care."
Emma smiled. "Okay."
Elsewhere, a silver-gray Rolls-Royce moved through the evening traffic.
Nathan sat in the back with a tablet in his hand.
"Did you get the gift?"
His assistant nodded. "Yes. The necklace is ready. It should be appropriate for a birthday."
Nathan gave a small nod and returned his attention to the screen.
"Good."