Chapter 28
28
Caleb
C aleb stared at the door as if doing so hard enough would allow him to see inside. In that room, Emma would be waiting.
Well, maybe she wouldn’t be waiting to see him . She could be waiting for her security team to whisk her away into one of the waiting limos outside. She could be waiting for any number of fans who paid for a backstage pass in order to meet her. Maybe she wasn’t even in there at all.
Carter nudged him. “Are you going to knock or what?”
He shot his brother a dark look. The fact that his brother and sister convinced him to come at all still didn’t sit well with him. As much as he’d wanted to come to satisfy that gnawing ache he had in his chest, he was equally terrified that she would take one look at him and tell him to get lost. “What if she doesn’t want to see me?” he whispered.
Charlie rolled her eyes and let out a groan. “Who else would have upgraded our tickets? Who else would have thought to confirm us with your phone number? I don’t know of anyone on her team who would have done that, do you?”
“She’s right,” Carter said.
“And did you hear the way she sang your song?” Charlie punched him playfully in the arm. “If that wasn’t her proclaiming her love for you, I don’t know what is.”
“Right again.” Carter nodded. “You know what I don’t understand? You’ve been moping around since she left, clearly not over her. You sit there half-angry and half-lovesick. Pick a side and stay there. You can’t live your whole life trying to make everyone play by your rules. That’s not how life works. They get to decide how they feel and what they want to do.” The way he said it made Caleb wonder what actually happened while Carter was gone, but his brother refused to acknowledge any of it.
Caleb’s eyes lingered on his brother, then shifted to Charlie.
She groaned again. “If you don’t knock, I’m going to. You can’t just stand out here.”
“Why?” Caleb huffed. “Because wishing doesn’t do any good without action?”
“No…” she drawled. “Because we don’t know how many other people have VIP passes. What are you going to do if a hoard of them shows up—which could happen at any moment, by the way. Then you’ll lose your shot.”
“Will you just knock on the blasted door already?” Carter said.
Caleb glanced at the only barrier that remained between him and Emma. They were both right. He couldn’t drag this out any longer. He held his breath, then rapped his knuckles on the door.
Shuffling sounds followed by voices, then the click of the doorknob followed in succession. The door opened and an unfamiliar face materialized. She took one look at him and blinked. “Caleb?”
He glanced at his brother and sister. “Yeah.”
She shut the door and more muffled sounds followed.
Caleb released a disappointed breath. “I guess that’s that, then. See? She doesn’t want to see?—”
The door opened again, and the woman he didn’t recognize slipped out. “Hey. I’m Jessica, Emma’s sister. She wants to talk to Caleb alone for a moment, and she asked that I take you two to the refreshment table.” She motioned to Carter and Charlie. “There’s loads of junk food. You’re going to love it.” At Charlie’s defeated expression, she laughed. “Don’t worry. We’ll come back, and you’ll get an autograph and a picture and whatever else your heart desires.”
Caleb watched with dismay as his entourage disappeared and he was once again standing in front of a door he wasn’t sure he was ready to pass through. He knocked once more, then reached for the doorknob, but the door opened before he had a chance to touch it.
Emma stood in the doorway, just as stunning as ever. No amount of makeup or costume could cover up her natural beauty. Caleb sucked in a sharp breath and choked on it. He pounded his chest and glanced at her with embarrassment. “Hi, Emily— Emma … Emma,” he repeated. “You look…” Why was this so difficult?
“Do you want to come in?” She stepped back, holding the edge of the door as she motioned for him to enter. “I’m not sure how long my sister will be gone.”
He chuckled. “If Charlie has anything to say about it, we probably only have a few minutes.”
She laughed along with him. “Then I suppose we should make this quick.”
Caleb nodded, moving past her. The room was smaller than he’d expected. There was only enough room for her vanity and a loveseat. A coffee table was positioned in front of the latter, and a vase of red roses was placed in the middle. He stared at them, his heart crumbling just a little. He was too late.
Emma stood beside him after shutting the door. Her eyes dragged to the flowers, and she smiled. “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?”
“They’re… roses.”
“Yeah,” she said. “My mom sends them to every show.”
He stilled, sweeping his gaze back to meet hers. “Your mom.”
Emma nodded. “Yep. She’s probably my biggest fan. She can’t make it to all my shows, so she does what she can to support me.” Her fingertips traced the petals, and she appeared to be deeper in thought. “Anyway…” Her voice trailed off.
“I was wrong,” he blurted.
She glanced at him, startled.
“I should have never pushed you away.” He raked a hand through his hair and paced the small room. “I’ve made so many mistakes, and I’m regretting every single one of them. I don’t know what got into me.” His grief and distress over his current situation burst from him like a volcanic geyser. It didn’t matter that he knew he was going to hate himself for this outburst later. He needed to tell her exactly how he felt before he lost his nerve. “I shouldn’t have let you leave—especially with the way things were.”
Emma blinked, her mouth dropping open. He couldn’t tell if she was simply surprised or if it went deeper than that. He prayed that this wouldn’t make her pity him. His control over the situation was completely forsaken. It was as if a dam had burst after holding it all in for the last six months.
Well, it was too late to take any of it back now. He just had to move forward, or he’d regret it for the rest of his life. “I know I haven’t shown it, but I love you, Emma. I think I fell in love with you that day you fell off your horse. I didn’t know it then. It developed slowly, quietly… it snuck up on me until I couldn’t deny it any longer. That was when I finished that song for you. Every word, every lyric… they’re written in my heart.”
His heavy breathing and his uneven heart rate did nothing to help. The only thing worthy of his relief was that he’d finally told her how he felt. Caleb nearly pleaded with her to give him a second chance. He would have been willing to get on his knees at that very moment and beg her to take him back.
But by the way she was standing—unmoving for so long, he could tell no amount of groveling would bring back what he had said. He’d made a mistake in coming. She could have just as easily gotten a text message or an email.
Caleb’s shoulders slumped, and he looked down at his hands. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have come?—”
“Caleb,” she whispered emotionally, her hand reaching for his and stopping him from escaping. “Were you not listening to a single word I said on that stage?” Tears filled her eyes, but she was smiling. Emma moved closer to him, taking his other hand in hers so she could hold onto him more securely. “I think we both have a habit of getting too much into our own heads sometimes. I never thought someone like you could want me… for me .”
He frowned. “What are you talking about? You are one of the most amazing people I’ve met. You could have your pick of any one of the guys in that audience tonight… and you pick?—”
Her hands squeezed his, and she whispered, “I pick you.”
His stomach felt like it dropped to his knees. It churned like a tempest in the ocean—out of control and wild. Even though his ears had registered what she’d said, his heart and his head were still trying to figure out what it all meant. Was this actually happening? All his worry and agony had been for nothing.
Emma moved a little closer. Her face was inches from his, and her smile tugged flirtatiously at the corners of her mouth. “You won’t be able to comprehend how much I’ve missed you even if you lived a thousand years,” she murmured, her breath soft and delicious against his face. “There is no one I want to be with more. No one I feel I can trust to take care of my heart better… than you.”
Caleb exhaled, unable to hold his breath any longer. She continued before he had a chance to speak.
“I want you to know how much I’ve agonized over what I did. I’m so sorry I was dishonest with you. There really weren’t any excuses that warranted the sacrifices we ended up making after you found out the truth.” Tears slipped down her cheeks, and she brushed them onto her shoulders. “If you want to try again, I swear that I will never lie to you. Anything you want to know, I’ll tell you.”
That promise was more than he could have asked for. It was better than he had hoped. He nearly told her she didn’t need to make such a promise when she inched even closer to him.
“Can we… start over? Maybe… go on an official date?” She released one of his hands and brought her fingers up to feather them through his hair. “My treat.”
He opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by the door bursting open.
“He says yes!” Charlie announced.
Both Emma and Caleb turned toward the intrusion. Their siblings stood in the doorway, a mixture of expressions. Charlie was understandably thrilled. Jessica looked more apologetic. And Carter’s pain was being covered up by a flat and yet unreadable expression. Only Caleb could see just how hard it was for him to be there.
Emma turned back to Caleb and tilted her head. “Well?”
Caleb chuckled, and for the first time in half a year, it felt normal again. He didn’t have to force the sound. He didn’t have to pretend he was okay.
This was so much better.
“You heard the girl. How can I turn down a request like that?”
“You can’t,” Charlie interrupted again. “Because it’s Emma Hart. No one could say no to her.”
Caleb slipped his arms around her waist. “No, they can’t.”