Chapter 16
CHAPTER 16
EMERSON
Having grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator, I spin about to wait for the arrival of my ICON gala prep team, only to walk straight into a wall of muscle.
“ Oof !”
Ford gently grips my biceps, and a shiver runs the length and breadth of my body at the memory of what those hands can do to me. I raise my eyes to his, finding sweat beading his brow. A quick perusal of his t-shirt and jogger-clad body tells me he just finished working out.
His eyes tell me that, like me, he spent the remainder of the night tossing and turning, recalling everything that happened between us prior to Hayley’s arrival in minute detail. Rehashing every single interaction since he’s come back into my life.
In all the years since I left you, not a moment has passed when you haven’t been at the center of everything I do.
And when I finally plucked up the courage and asked for his reasons behind leaving, his forthright honesty only served to add fuel to the simmering tension between us.
So, when he turned up at my door, cherry juice in hand and a hangdog expression in his big blue eyes, I threw all the rules out the window. The simplest touch had been explosive, and his lips on mine were akin to a homecoming following an exile.
He played my body as though no time had passed, with a skill all of his own, making me come so hard I almost blacked out.
Yet, his almost admission before Hayles arrived had been the sharp reminder that I should put some distance between us. I need to tread carefully, because the last time I walked this path, I wound up with so much more than a broken heart.
“Have you eaten yet?”
His simple question throws me off, and all I can do is blink owlishly as the words eventually sink in, spurring me to shake my head. “No, umm…my stomach is too full of nerves to eat.”
He regards me for a beat before nodding, as though coming to a decision. “Okay then, a spinach and mushroom omelet it is.”
Even as I shake my head, he presses his index finger over my lips, silencing my protest before it’s begun.
“Egg yolks help to lower your anxiety, and spinach and mushrooms are proven to help soothe a nervous stomach.” My eyes flick between his, and my chest swells almost to bursting at the concern I find in those oceanic depths as he gently drops his hand away from my mouth to pinch my chin between his thumb and index finger, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Let me do this for you, Emerson. Let me take care of you… please .”
And just like that, with his voice breaking on that last word, telling me more than any of the words that came before, I nod slowly, watching as a broad smile spreads across his sinfully handsome face.
“You might want to shower first.” I shoot him a dubious look.
“Nah, the food’ll taste better with a little man sweat running through it.”
I can’t help chuckling when he pops a playful eyebrow before stepping back with a shit-eating grin. Then he grips the material of his t-shirt at the back of his neck to smoothly yank it over his head.
“ Oh my God .”
The air is knocked from my lungs as my knees physically weaken beneath me, and I grip the kitchen counter to keep from falling to the floor. My eyes move from Ford’s broad, tatted chest up to his eyes, watching as realization dawns on his face at what he’s unintentionally revealed to me.
Because right there, stretching from one side of his chest to the other, surrounded by an intricate design of brush strokes and swirls, is my name in bold, black ink.
He looks to his chest and back up again, watching me as though fearful I’ll bolt.
“If I couldn’t keep you, I could keep you with me.” He presses the flat of his palm to my name, right over where his heart resides. The action makes me gasp as the enormity of everything he’s disclosed these past days permeates me down to my very bones. “Because even when my arms couldn’t hold you, my heart always held you close.”
My nostrils flare as a ball of raw emotion forms in the back of my throat. I can’t breathe, I can’t speak, I can’t move. I can only feel the uncompromising love flowing between our bodies, as though it never left.
And in a way, I don’t think it ever did because even though this man broke my heart, I’ve still loved him with every single fragmented piece.
I don’t think I could ever truly stop.
The sound of the elevator alerts us that Hayley—the only person with penthouse access besides Ford or myself—has returned, and if the incoming ruckus is anything to go by, she’s brought my ICON prep team with her.
Ford’s lips quirk on one side in a half-smile as he tosses his discarded t-shirt over one shoulder. “I’ll bring you that omelet when you’re settled. Eat it. You’ll need the energy for later.”
Then he quickly escapes to his room before chaos descends, successfully distracting my mind from the revelations bouncing around my brain as I prepare for a gala like no other.
Four hours later, I’m plucked, primped, preened, and pampered to within an inch of my life when my cell chimes several times in a row. Hayley rises from her place at my back, where she’d been helping Simone to button up the gazillion buttons on the back of my Ava Sinclair masterpiece under the watchful eye of my stylist, Carter, to pass me the device.
“It’s the family group chat. Look!”
She glances over my shoulder, her lips curling in a smile to match the one on my own face as we read the messages on the screen.
REESE
Best of luck tonight, Em xx
DAD
What have I forgotten to remember now? *face palm*
REESE
It’s an award ceremony, dear. Emmy is presenting to Mimi Harper!
DAD
Oh wow! Tell her I said hi, Em. And best of luck. Is it being televised?
EASTON
Good luck, Em. And yes, Dad. It’s online. I’ll send you the link.
Hayley chuckles at my side, and I turn to catch her shining eyes. “Your dad cracks me up. For such a smart man, he’s really quite oblivious.”
I join her laughter even as I shake my head and type my reply.
ME
Thanks guys! I’ll smile extra wide just for you xx
Then I pass Hayley my cell before I adjust my stance slightly. The dress is heavier than I remember it being before, and I glance down, noting the mass of feathers on the train that Ava must have added as an afterthought. I’m suddenly grateful for the delicious omelet Ford delivered as promised, watching silently as I ate every bite.
And as though manifested from my thoughts into reality, there’s a sharp knock at the bedroom door before his deep baritone fills the room.
“We’ll need to get moving soon, Emerson, if we’re to make it in time for your red-carpet allocation at The Yardley.”
“Just a sec,” Hayles cries out before jumping to her full height with a bright smile. “And we’re done, baby!”
She shakes her head as her eyes look me up and down. “Holy shit, I mean, you’re always beautiful, Em, but…just wow !”
Carter edges her out of the way, seizing me on either bicep with a giant grin. “You’ll break the internet looking like this, baby girl.” He reaches up to fix one of the soft curls framing my face, his eyes tracking the motion. “Let’s get moving before we lose any volume. Your hair can’t hold curls for shit.”
We’re chuckling as we file out of my room and into the living area as Ford, whose back is facing us, finishes up on a call. “Thanks for the update.”
As he turns around almost in slow motion, I tug a ruby red lip between my teeth, suddenly nervous for him to see me, but those nerves disintegrate the second our eyes meet.
I can feel Carter, Hayley, and Simone rushing around us as several other members of my team lean closer to touch up my hair, eyes, and lips, but my attention stays fixed solely on Ford.
His dark blue eyes deepen almost to black as he consumes me, sending butterflies swarming in the depths of my stomach. It’s not until he moves closer, extending his hand to me, that I notice the enormous bouquet of peonies in varying coral and burnt orange hues that he’s holding.
I raise a trembling finger to trace the outline of one bright bloom.
Saving me from a response that’s not coming, thanks to the emotion lodged in my windpipe, Hayley plucks the bouquet from Ford’s grasp. “I’ll get these in some water.”
She shoots me an understanding look before striding toward the kitchen to do as she said. The team surrounding me disperses until it’s just Ford and me in the center of my living area.
His expressive gaze holds mine with a potency I can feel down to my marrow, and when he speaks, his voice is husky.
“You’re like a living, breathing dream come to life, Tink.”
I can feel my cheeks flush even as my body stands a little taller under the worship in his eyes and the simple honesty of his words.
“Thank you.”
I sound almost shy, even to my own ears, as he steps forward and extends his arm with a chivalry that makes me smile.
“Your chariot awaits.”