22. Emma
Chapter Twenty-Two
EMMA
S he sat cross-legged next to Georgia, packing tiny custom-made die-cast cars into special acrylic cases engraved with the date of their wedding.
Georgia’s adoptive father, Ephraim, leaned over and tapped the case when she was done.
“That’s a 1949 Talbot Lago,” he said, smacking his tongue against his yellow but minty fresh teeth. “The car used to belong to my father. Georgia was restoring it as a gift to me when she met Rainer. She took a picture of it so his security folk would let her into his office so she could warn him someone wanted to kidnap him. We call it the family car now.”
“Oh my God!” Emma gasped. “That story is true? I thought Garrett was pulling my leg.”
He’d given her a brief account of the kidnapping plot while grabbing the silverware last night, but he’d been so matter of fact, she’d thought he was kidding.
George recounted the tale, starting with overhearing the kidnappers lay out their plan while cleaning the bathroom at the car dealership she used to work at. It ended when she moved in with Rainer.
“That is the most incredible story I’ve ever heard. ”
“It was quite the adventure,” Ephraim said, patting George on the shoulder. “And even though I had my doubts, Rainer ended up being a very nice young man.”
Ephraim kept talking, packing a few more boxes before excusing himself for a meeting at his office across the street.
Emma leaned toward the bride-to-be. “Okay, now tell me all the good stuff you left out!”
Laughing, Georgia obliged, giving her the PG-13 version that involved hiding out in a snowbound cabin where the inevitable happened.
“I never imagined this when we first met,” she said, gesturing to the wedding fripperies around them.
“Rainer was so handsome, with all these glowing magazine articles describing his charity work. He seemed so high above me, so unattainable. It didn’t occur to me that he was a flesh and blood man who wanted love and affection like everyone else. I’m so glad I found him.”
Emma put a hand over her heart. “I bet he says the same thing about you.”
She had spent very little time in Rainer’s company, but it was enough to see his complete and utter devotion to the woman who would be his wife. “He’s obviously a smart man. Explains why he’s so eager to put a ring on it.”
Georgia’s smile lit up the room. It made Emma want to lean in and bask in the warmth of it.
“Not to change the subject,” George said with a little flash of her very white teeth. “But how are things going next door? I know you were a little weirded out that first night.”
Where did she begin?
“Well, it’s a bit weird, but not as bad as I thought it would be.”
George bit her lip. “And you’re still determined to find a new place?”
Emma pulled the corner of her mouth up. “I know that tone. You think I should stay.”
Her new friend swept out a hand. “It’s not like he doesn’t have the room, and talking about how Rainer and I met brought back how dangerous the world can be. But you know that already,” she said with a wince, gesturing to the place on her head where Emma’s scar was.
George straightened sharply. “I’m sorry. Should I not bring up your accident?”
“No, it’s fine.” Emma packed another box and realized she meant it. “I admit I used to avoid talking about it. I didn’t like how people looked at me afterward. But now everyone I know is aware of it. All my coworkers had to be told because of my chronic headaches. Some of them are nicer than others about it, but I almost enjoy the ones who are mean about it.”
“Why?” George asked, laughing a little.
“Because they don’t give me special treatment or act weird.” Emma reached for another tiny car. “I don’t remember the accident or anything before it. Plus, people don’t like hearing about what came after—the hospital stuff, physical therapy, therapy therapy.”
Georgia reached out to take her hand. “Well, I do want to hear about it. And anything else you want to talk about.”
“Thanks.” She pursed her lips. “You’re the second person to say that to me. Garrett wants to know every little detail about my recovery, too. Almost intrusively so.”
Emma wasn’t sure if she found his interest comforting or disconcerting.
“Honestly, I’m a little surprised.” Georgia tilted her head. “Garrett is Rainer’s closest friend, but I have to confess I didn’t think that highly of him when I first met him.”
Was it terrible that she was dying of curiosity? “Why not?”
“He was on the tail end of his post-divorce partying binge. But I guess he’s calmed down a lot since then. It’s good to see him concerned about someone else this way.”
George wiped her hands on her pant legs. “And this may sound weird to you, but it appears to be cheering him up. Which surprises me less. Deep down, I knew he and Rainer were friends for a reason.”
Whoa. Way to bury the lead.
“Garrett was married?” she asked, refusing to acknowledge the rock that had just materialized in her stomach .
Georgia hesitated. “He didn’t mention it?”
She raised her brows. “No, he did not.”
Emma didn’t know why this was so shocking. Garrett was handsome and rich. Lots of women would want to be with him. “There’s no trace of a wife in that apartment.”
Shouldn’t there be signs of a former relationship somewhere in that huge apartment? Pictures of them tandem skydiving that he couldn’t bear to put away? His and her coffee mugs tucked in the back of the kitchen cabinet?
Unless he kept the proof of his former relationship in his bedroom, close to him…
There might be a wedding picture on his nightstand. He could spend an hour staring at it every night before bed. Who the hell knew?
“I don’t think it was an amicable split,” George said, unaware of the bomb she’d just dropped. “I don’t know too much about it other than she was an heiress. A socialite with ties to European royalty.”
Royalty? Emma had never felt so pudgy or so scarred in her life.
Her self-doubt lasted until she remembered Garrett was not a romantic prospect. He was merely an unexpected roommate, one who insisted on meddling in her life because of an overinflated sense of responsibility.
Less than a week living at his place and you’re already having to remind yourself of that. This had slippery slope written all over it.
Emma picked at her sleeve. “He must have been sorry to lose her.”
Georgia burst out laughing. “I don’t think a man that parties that hard is sad. That was a celebration. But again, it seems to have run its course,” she added. “He’s been so busy at Next Chapter. I doubt you’re going to have put up with that kind of shit.”
“He did mention being very busy with work.” Emma couldn’t help but worry now. “Maybe he’ll start partying again once his busy season is over.”
“Maybe,” Georgia acknowledged. “But I’m hoping not. For Rainer’s sake and his own. I didn’t get the impression he was happy when I first met him.”
She paused, looking at Emma from under her lashes. “Not like this morning anyway.”
“This morning?” she echoed.
“We ran into him in the lobby. He was grinning even before he spotted Rainer. And he’s not exactly what I’d call a morning person.” She winked at Emma. “I gathered he was still in a good mood from last night.”
Emma tossed a bit of ribbon in Georgia’s direction. “Nothing happened. Not like you’re implying.”
George’s smile was smug now. “But something did happen?”
“A scintillating night of dinner in front of the TV? You’re right, it was the thrill of a lifetime for both of us,” she said, deciding to leave out the part where he carried her to bed.
It hadn’t been a big deal. She was heavy but Garrett had muscles she’d never heard of.
Seriously, someone should study him. They could make more accurate anatomical drawings with that man as a model.
“He’s not interested in me that way,” she added.
Georgia held up her hands in surrender. “I didn’t say he was. But even if things are strictly platonic, Garrett may be enjoying having someone to come home to. Even if it’s just to veg out in front of the TV. We all need human interaction—and no. Work doesn’t count.”
Well, crap . “Except for my cousin, and now you, the only people I’m even remotely friendly with are people from work.”
“I didn’t mean you can’t have friends from work,” Georgia clarified. “My best friend Judy was a friend from my old job until I stole her to work for my new business. But I was thinking about Garrett’s business. I’ve met the top execs at Next Chapter and they’re not what I would call outside of work friend material.”
“What about Fletcher? I thought he was Garrett’s oldest friend.”
“Well, he has known him longer than Rainer,” she said with the enthusiasm of someone discussing a dead trout.
Emma’s lip twitched. “You don’t like him?”
“Fletcher’s fine,” George said with a little moue of her lips. “Don’t pay attention to me. I just get a vibe from him. ”
“What kind of vibe?”
Georgia shook her head. “I can’t even explain it. It’s…”
“A bad vibe.”
“A… discordant one. I think he feels out of place sometimes among Rainer and the other guys.”
Emma reached for more ribbon. “Which other guys are these?”
“Ian and Elias. They are other high-powered bigwigs around the same age. The four are tight and do a lot of stuff together. Their business takes them out of town a lot but I’m sure you’ll meet them soon.”
Emma was going to nod but stopped herself. Best not to acknowledge she might be living here a while or the universe would make it happen.
“Fletcher’s a fifth wheel and knows it?”
George wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, I think so. Ian and Elias own the private security company that trained Rainer and Garrett.”
The what now? “They have military training?”
“Yeah, with a security force team. Auric is all ex-military, but they work private sector now. Rainer and Garrett still go out and run their grueling obstacle course for fun.”
Emma’s face twisted as if she had tasted something sour. Georgia laughed. “Exactly! My idea of exercise is a light jog. Maybe a leisurely swim.”
“I walk to and from work,” Emma said. “That’s it.”
“A woman after my own heart.” Georgia started packing up little cars into a bigger cardboard box. “Speaking of, do you like coffee or just sell it for a living?”
Emma leaned forward. “Coffee may be the sole reason I came out of the coma.”
Georgia’s eyes widened.
“My hand to God,” Emma continued, putting her fingers over her heart. “The nurses and my mom were always drinking it. The smell of it…”
She fell over onto her side dramatically, continuing the conversation from her prone position on the floor.
“On my first day in town, I passed by a notice on a De Olla kiosk that said they were hiring. I took it as a sign from above.”
“Hmm.” Georgia bit her lip. “Can I ask you something terribly personal?”
Well, Emma had asked some pretty personal questions today, too. It was only fair. She raised her hand. “Shoot.”
“Why did you move here? Away from your hometown and family?”
“Ah.” Emma let out a gust of air. “That.”
“It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me.”
She waved the other woman’s concern away. “No, it’s fine. I moved because my mother wanted me to.”
Georgia dropped a hot wheel on the floor. “Shit. Sorry.”
Emma laughed. “No, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m on good terms with her. I called her and my baby sister right before I came over today.”
“Then why did she want you to leave?” she asked, picking up the fallen car.
Emma wondered if this was going to make her sound like a basket case. “She was worried. Because my accident wasn’t really an accident. It was a hit-and-run.”
“Shit. That’s right.” Georgia winced. “They never had a clue who did it?”
Emma shook her head. “Some drunk is the best guess. But my mom always worried that the driver sobered up and realized what they’d done afterward. It made her paranoid. She thought we were being watched.”
Not that this was anything new. The good people of Verdant Falls had always watched her mother, the better to criticize her. Presumably Emma too, by extension. But she had no memory of it. Her chief recollections of home were of the people who’d come to see her at the hospital. How awkward each interaction had been…
Her visitors had expected the stories they shared to jog her memory. They couldn’t seem to understand that her brain was permanently damaged. She wasn’t ever getting those memories back .
“It was a mutual decision in the end. Home was a place of unspoken expectations, ones I had no idea how to interpret, let alone fulfill. It got so bad I could barely talk to people at all. That’s why I came here. My cousin had a spare room. He charged me half of what he would have charged anyone else. Of course, he turned out to be a hoarder, so it wasn’t that great a price after all.”
Georgia pursed her lips. “Are things okay with him now? You seemed kind of mad at him before.”
“I was,” she admitted with a sigh. “I mean I am. I thought he could have fought for me a little more. But he has to fight for himself first. Garrett was right about that. He found him a good therapist. I’ve texted him but he doesn’t feel up to speaking yet. Which, honestly, is sort of a relief.”
Georgia nodded, her eyes a little distant. “A refractory period can be helpful. Especially if it’s family.”
Emma sensed there was more to unpack there, but then she looked at the time. “Oh God. I need to get ready or I’m going to be late for work.”
George scanned the room for the clock. “Eek! Sorry to keep you so long but thank you for helping!”
Her hostess saw her to the door, pausing at the threshold of their shared hallway. “Hey, has Garrett mentioned bringing someone to the wedding?”
Emma froze. “Like a date? No.”
George shrugged. “I’ll get Rainer to ask him. It’s a little awkward asking if we can take back his plus-one, but a few Auric people want to come that we didn’t originally count on. They were supposed to be out of town on a long-term assignment, but it wrapped early.”
“There’s also me.” Emma winced.
George touched her arm. “You are officially team wedding. That makes you a lock.”
“Aww, thanks.” She risked a quick hug and was gratified when Georgia warmly squeezed her back. “I can come back later if you need more help.”
“That would be great,” she said with genuine enthusiasm. “ I know I should let the wedding planner do more of this stuff, but I want it to feel like my wedding, ya know?”
“I get it. You want it to have a personal touch.”
“Yes! Rainer agrees. But it’s gotten busy at work, so I haven’t had as much time to spend on our little projects as I wanted.”
Emma smiled. “Well, consider me drafted. I love the little cars and your dad is so sweet.”
“Yay!” Georgia hugged her again. “Now scoot or you’ll be late for work.”
Shit, she was right.
“Ahh,” she called behind, hustling down the hall. “Gotta run!”