Chapter 20 #2
So this was the falling out she’d mentioned. I’d imagined it had been caused by creative differences or clashing personality types. I’d never thought it could be something like this.
“I’m so sorry. That’s awful.”
“Yeah. I’ve spent the last couple of years trying not to think about it.
But a few weeks ago, a reporter reached out to me.
Apparently, it wasn’t just me he did this to.
She’s writing an exposé on him and wants me to make a public statement.
Most of the other women are bound by confidentiality agreements and she’s desperate for some more sources before she goes to print.
” Emily fiddled with the draw string dangling from the hoodie she was wearing.
“I didn’t realize this until the reporter reached out, but a friend who I met on the set of Clique had the same thing happen to her. She’d seen how he’d damaged my career, so she ended up going along with it.” Emily tugged at the draw string.
I clenched my jaw. “He sounds like a monster. What are you going to do?”
Emily bit her lip. “I’d put off deciding what to do until after filming wrapped.
But now that’s over, so I do need to make a call.
Seeing Austin come on to Ava earlier made me want to take Phillip down more than ever.
” She paused. “But Phillip sent me some flowers last week with a threatening note, basically saying if I don’t stay quiet, my career would be over.
And he’s not bluffing. He ruined my career before; he could do it again.
And the thought of having to rehash what happened in public, having to tell my family...
” Emily cleared her throat. “My agent doesn’t think I should speak out either.
But I can’t stop thinking about him continuing to do this to other women. ”
A lump rose in my throat. I wanted to move closer to Emily to comfort her. But would that be appropriate? Given the topic, being touched might be the last thing she needed.
“It’s definitely not an easy decision. It’s also one you don’t need to make tonight.
You’ve already had a lot happen today, with filming ending, Austin, the whole lost-in-a-snowstorm thing, and now being trapped with me here.
” And our kiss. “You should take your time. Enjoy Thanksgiving and give yourself a few days to think about it. Now that you’re not so busy filming, perhaps things will become clearer.
And if you want to talk it through with anyone, I’m happy to be a second pair of ears. ”
Emily gave me a small smile. “Thanks. You’re right. I should at least sleep on it.”
“Hey, do you feel like dessert?” If I couldn’t comfort her physically, at least I could try to cheer her up with food.
“Sure!” Emily’s face brightened. “Can I help?”
“I’ll bring all the ingredients and we can make it together.”
Emily raised her eyebrows. “Now I’m intrigued.”
I collected the supplies from the kitchen and then sat down on the rug and deposited them on the wooden floor between me and the fireplace. I used the fire tongs to rearrange the wood so there was a section of hot coals.
“Oooh, fancy s’mores?” Emily asked, surveying the ingredients.
I laughed. “Impressive deduction skills, Detective Hayes. Although I’m not sure how fancy they will be.”
Emily picked up the chocolate. “Swiss dark chocolate is definitely a step up from Hershey’s, and these marshmallows look like some deluxe version as well.
” Emily peered through the plastic bag at the large, cubed marshmallows Jenny had left in a cupboard after a bonfire over the summer. “Now, what can I do to help?”
I handed her a toasting fork and some marshmallows. “You can help toast.”
Once the marshmallows were golden, we took them off and pressed them into graham crackers before placing a square of chocolate and another graham cracker on top.
“I like to return them to the fire, just to make sure the chocolate melts.”
“See...fancy.” Emily grinned at me.
I held her gaze, butterflies in my stomach.
“These are officially the best s’mores I’ve ever had,” Emily declared after taking her first bite.
We sat cross-legged in front of the fireplace, eating the s’mores and chatting about childhood camping memories. It felt magical, just the two of us surrounded by flickering flames from the candles and fire.
I flicked another glance at Emily as she wiped chocolate from her lips.
I hastily looked down at my watch. “Wow, it’s already ten.”
“What?” Emily’s eyes widened.
“I know.” The evening had flown by. “We should be getting you home. I’ll go check what’s happening outside.”
The wind was still howling, but hopefully the snow had stopped.
“I’ll come with you.”
We walked to the front door. Perhaps on the drive back to Emily’s house we could talk about the kiss. While she said she got carried away, was that really all it was? Surely you didn’t kiss someone unless you were at least a little bit attracted to them?
I opened the door and a blast of snow hit us, flakes scurrying into the living room. Shit.
Not wanting to let all the warm air escape, I closed the door halfway and shined the flashlight outside to assess the situation.
Snow fell at a rapid pace, blanketing everything.
“Oh no.” I glanced at Emily next to me, her forehead creased. “It looks like there’s at least six inches of snow.”
“That’s not safe to drive on,” Emily said. “And you’re definitely not going out in those conditions to get the truck.”
I pushed the door firmly shut. “It looks like you’ll have to stay the night.”
As I turned back to face Emily, I stopped short. She was closer than I expected.
I swallowed and tried not to glance at her lips.
“I’ll, uh...get things ready.”
Emily nodded slowly then stepped aside, and I hurried toward my bedroom before I was tempted to linger in the moment.