Chapter 15
15
Emma
E mma had never felt more like a scared little rabbit than she felt at that exact moment. She wasn’t sure if Daniel had recognized her. It wouldn’t take much for him to figure out who she was. All he had to do was open a newspaper or go on social media.
She shut her bedroom door behind her and leaned against it, completely ignoring the way her stomach growled at her in disappointment.
The pasta would have been so good if she’d managed to eat more than one bite. Emma could go back to the table and eat, but then she’d have to explain to Caleb why she’d run—and the truth of the matter was that she had no idea why she’d done it.
Emma could tell him she was worried that Daniel would recognize her, but then she’d be forced to tell Caleb why she was scared of that happening. After his little speech about being honest, she couldn’t bring herself to tell him another lie.
She could tell him that she was scared about how close they were getting, but that wouldn’t exactly be true, either. There was a big part of her that was utterly exhilarated about the route their little romance was headed.
But kissing him? That was a whole other ball game. She wasn’t sure she was ready to let him be so intimate with her. It wasn’t that she’d never been kissed. Of course she’d been kissed. She’d had several boyfriends over the years, but none of them lasted long enough to be more than a blip in her memories.
Somehow, she knew that this little infatuation with Caleb was going to be incredibly different.
Her stomach knotted angrily. The hunger and the fear were ganging up on her. She would have to do something, or she might quite literally get sick.
Emma closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the door. He hadn’t come to track her down yet. That could mean one of two things. He was still speaking to Daniel, or he had lost his nerve.
The disappointment over that second thought hit her hard over the head. She didn’t want him to give up. But what other choice did he have when she was the one who had run?
Not only that, but he’d been so raw with her about his mother. What would he think if he knew the real her? What would he say if he found out that she wasn’t Emily Hartford anymore? Would he have feelings for Emma Hart?
Emma squeezed her eyes even tighter. She had hoped that he would be open-minded about the whole thing, but the way he clung to his despair over his parents made her believe otherwise.
Caleb didn’t forgive easily.
It had been almost too cute watching him struggle to get the words out about his mother. She had nearly had a heart attack when he’d told her he hadn’t been truthful. At first, she’d worried he had actually recognized her. But that fear turned into a concern that he wasn’t interested in her. The relief she felt over the truth was enough that had she been able to bottle it, she would have solved the world’s anxiety crisis.
She took several deep breaths. What was she supposed to do now?
Wait?
Track Caleb down?
Why couldn’t the answer come to her as easily as the music notes she used to compose her latest song?
Deep down she knew the answer to all her problems. She couldn’t just continue with the charade she was hiding behind. She couldn’t let Caleb believe that she was just Emily Hartford. He needed to know the truth. He needed to know she was here in Colorado to hide away from the prying eyes of the paparazzi and adoring fans.
He would understand, right?
Caleb would be able to see that the life she’d led was actually closing in on her and she didn’t have any other choice than to become someone else.
And once she told him, then she’d be set free, much like he’d likely felt when he told her about his mother.
Emma’s eyes flew open.
The twisted, knotted, bramble-like sensation in her gut relaxed for the most part. For the first time since she’d arrived in Copper Creek, she felt at peace with sharing this side of her. Caleb had earned the right to know who she was. She could trust him.
She turned around and scrambled for the knob before yanking it open.
A squeak tore from her lips. Caleb stood at her doorway, one arm lifted over his head and resting against the doorjamb. He was staring down at the floor, his chest heaving as if he’d run a marathon. “Caleb? How long?—”
He lifted his face, and his eyes drilled into her. She could already feel the judgment coming off of him in waves—but it wasn’t a bad sensation. Strangely enough, it only added to the heat emanating from her stomach. “You didn’t let me finish what I was trying to say.”
Emma’s mouth had long since gone dry. She’d known where he’d been planning on going with his conversation. It hadn’t been hard to decipher. She could feel it much like he’d been able to. The emotions and feelings that continued to grow between them had gotten out of hand, much like the vines that grew and covered old buildings.
Just like those vines, these sensations were full of life and vitality—one more reason she needed to clear the air and tell him who she was.
“Caleb, I?—”
He took a step into the doorway, his arm dropping to his side as he placed a gentle finger to her lips. “I wanted to help you understand where I’m coming from. That’s another reason why I needed to come clean. My parents abandoned us so they could live out a life they thought they deserved in other parts of the country. They gambled away our money. They partied in some of the biggest cities. They weren’t fit to be parents and yet they had twelve children. Living with that knowledge paved the foundation I grew up on. I don’t like to give people my trust or the benefit of the doubt because they almost always let me down.”
Her confession died on her lips as she continued to listen to him give his speech.
Caleb gently placed his hand on her cheek, preventing her from breaking eye contact with him. “I thought I knew everything about the world and the people living here. It takes a lot to surprise me and… well… you did it in less time than the moon takes to run through a cycle. Do you know how rare that is?”
She shook her head slightly.
“The feelings I have for you aren’t like any I’ve ever experienced before, and I’ve met plenty of other people in my life. I’ve gone on my share of dates. None of them compare to you. Emily, you’re honest. And kind. And somehow, you’re more down to earth than ninety-nine percent of the people I’ve met in my life.”
Emma’s insides tightened unpleasantly. It didn’t sound like he was describing her. At this point, telling him who she really was would be a death sentence. It would take away all the allure that he’d found and replace it with something truly ugly.
She didn’t want to be the source of his bitterness.
Besides, there was no telling where their relationship might go. What if Caleb grew tired of her after a few more days? What if he refused to move to LA? Emma definitely had to return eventually. Her fans might live all around the world, but the people of that city were like family.
If there was no guarantee of a future, then why should she hurt him? She would just have to keep her secret under wraps for the next few weeks, and that was it.
“Emily?” his quiet voice dragged her, kicking and screaming from her rationalizations.
Her eyes widened, and she stared into his hopeful eyes. “What?”
“What do you say?”
She racked her brain for any clues as to what he’d said when she’d been lost in thought. Guilt plagued her for not listening intently to every single word he’d said. It would be nicer if she just agreed with him. She had a feeling he’d been confessing his feelings for her anyway.
Emma forced a nervous smile. Nothing bad was going to happen. She had faith, and that was all she needed. “I feel the same.”
His brows shot up. “Really? I thought—” His brows furrowed, and he shook his head.
“What?”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s just that women don’t usually admit how deep their feelings run this early.”
Her brain plucked the memory of his words from the back of her mind as if it had been recording the whole time while she fretted over what was the better route to take. She framed his face with both of her hands and offered him a smile fitting a girl who was ready to let herself give in to the temptations that surrounded her. “I know it doesn’t make much sense. And to be honest, all of this terrifies me.”
“Me, too,” he murmured.
“But I think we’d be cowards if we didn’t take a look at all the crazy coincidences and not see that fate is pushing us together.”
The corners of his mouth quirked upward. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
She tilted her head slightly. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” he whispered. His hands came around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She gasped, clinging to him to prevent herself from stumbling and inevitably falling to the floor at his feet. Caleb didn’t give her any warning this time. His eyes locked with her lips, and he dipped his face closer to hers. His eyebrows raised in question, and she nodded her head.
His kiss was searing. It was full of passion and like nothing she’d ever experienced before. Caleb tasted like honey and a warm sunny day. She would have never thought of it, but his kiss tasted like forever. There was no other way to describe it other than to feel like she’d been wrapped in a weighted blanket.
All sense of time and space eluded her as their kiss deepened. Emma’s back pressed against the wall. Normally she would have felt cornered, trapped like the bunny she’d felt like before. But this time was different. Caleb was rescuing her from a life that she wasn’t sure she wanted to lead. He could be the person who supported her no matter what she wanted to do with her life.
Caleb was her white knight.
Emma pushed her hands into his hair, then pulled back, lifting her face to the ceiling with a gasp. “We shouldn’t…” she said breathily.
“Oh, I think we should.”
This time she pulled away by taking a decided step to the side. She ran a shaky hand through her hair. “We both know this is going too fast. We need to ease into it a bit more. Get to know each other a little more.”
He reached for her. “I know all I need to?—”
Emma placed her palms against his chest. “Just… humor me, okay? Let’s… take it slow.” Her heart hammered and the disappointment practically drowned her. But this was the right thing to do, and she was relieved when he nodded and stepped back.
“I’ll give you all the time you need.” His words made the promise, but his eyes told another story. The cloudy passion that flickered there only added to the desire boiling over within her. She placed hot hands on her flushed cheeks. “I’m going to turn in early.” It was all she could do not to throw herself at him and break her own rules.
Caleb nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow,” she confirmed with a whisper.