Chapter 37
Disoriented, Emily collapsed onto the back seat of Talia’s car. They were well on their way back home. She smiled, recalling two days ago when Nicolas greeted her with the gossip of her and Taylor, her male co-star.
The newspaper fell onto the coffee table with a thud. Emily’s eyes focused on the content on the front cover. She looked happy, embraced in Taylor’s arms. It was a cut of a scene that had been leaked.
“I swear, it’s not what it looks like.”
His face was emotionless. “How exactly does it look, Emily?”
She pouted, standing up. “Taylor and I are just friends, and that’s part of a leaked scene.”
“Good friends, I see.”
“Nico…” Her face crumpled at the expression he was giving her. “Stop looking at me like that. Not after everything.”
His defenses fell. “I’m sorry I—” He blinked, hands finding her hips, fingers digging into them possessively.
“I’ve been seeing photos of you two on set for a while now.
He makes it very obvious he’s not just acting when the cameras are off.
I despise the way he looks at you. The way he smiles at your every word, memorizing the shape of your lips as they move… only I should be able to do that.”
She sighed wistfully. “He can look, but he can’t touch, Nicolas. Only you get to.”
His eyes lingered back to the shot, so she used her hand to turn the paper facedown.
She grasped his hands in both of her own and looked up at him.
Swallowing, Nicolas said, “I don’t want to be like this, Em, but now that I know what it’s like to have you, I don’t want anyone else to.”
His hand reached up to caress the side of her face daintily. Emily shuffled closer to his touch, but it disappeared before she knew it.
“Why’d you stop?”
“To do this instead.”
After he’d kissed her senseless, it had her thinking: could she really endure him only giving her pieces of himself anymore?
Emily was so far gone she’d even dreamed of him, a lust-soaked vision of Nicolas on his knees in a dimly lit car on set, her cheeks burning at the sight. Outside the half-rolled window stood Taylor, speaking to her, oblivious to the fact that her husband’s hands were tracing the length of her leg.
With the partition raised, privacy cloaked them, and Nicolas’s fingers claimed their path while her co-star lingered just beyond. She bit down on her fist to stifle the sounds threatening to escape, her brows furrowed as she forced herself to keep up the conversation.
Just as she was about to come, the dream had shattered with the blaring of her phone’s alarm.
Her recollections ended when the car stopped in front of the driveway.
“Bye, Emily.”
She waved goodbye as Talia drove out the front gates. Just as she entered the living room, Emily saw Nicolas there. The clock above showed half past six so she wondered why he was home early. She took her shoes off before throwing her bag and coat onto the hanger.
“Hi,” she greeted softly.
She saw him smile a little. “Hi.”
“How was your day?”
Putting his phone to the side, he gave her all his attention. “It was fine. The usual stuff. I’d go into detail, but I don’t want to bore you to death.”
She shook her head, laughing. “What you do never bores me, Nicolas. You’re a hardworking man who puts a lot of time into every aspect of his company. Why would I be bored by that?”
His eyebrows raised. “How was your day?”
She stifled a yawn while walking past him and into the kitchen. He followed closely behind to hear her answer. Taking out a pitcher of water, she glanced at him. “Want some?”
He shook his head no.
Emily poured some into a glass for herself. She drank before she responded to the earlier question. All the while he leaned against the door with his hands in his pockets.
“Today’s been packed. Filming for the movie continued, then a magazine shoot. I’ve been at it since I was dropped off there.”
A pair of hands came to massage her shoulders. Nicolas gave careful kneads to the junction beside her neck. Her eyes rolled back in bliss.
A man’s hands have never felt better. A man who liked her, and whom she liked back.
“That sounds awfully stressful.”
All Emily could do was nod as she tilted her chin to look up at him. Was it possible that he was getting even more handsome as the days went by?
Her lips parted, “May I kiss you?”
He took his hands off her like he’d been tased. “No. It’s going to escalate.”
This again? “It won’t.”
“It will.” He gave her a stern look.
She never imagined that when she was more than ready to give herself to a man, he would be the one disciplined enough not to go all the way. It was obvious Nicolas had plans for her, but she didn’t need those. She needed him.
She gave him a defeated smile and nodded, but then said, “I feel like I’m always doing the stuff a man should in this relationship.”
He choked on air. “W-What?”
“Nothing!” she piped out before she was on her way. It wasn’t true, but that’ll get a reaction out of him!
As she’d hoped, he was on her tail. Just as he reached for her, her phone rang. She gave him a motion to be quiet.
His jaw dropped.
“Hey, Chels.”
He grunted as if he knew this would take a while. His fingers fondled with hers as Chelsea spoke. “Are you coming to our grandfather’s party on Friday?”
Emily’s brows tugged together. “Grandfather’s birthday party?”
“Mother didn’t tell you? She said she and Father had dinner with you the other night. Total family reunion vibes. I felt so left out just hearing about it.”
She froze. “Did she tell you anything else?”
“No, only that you’re acting again, but you’d already told me,” Chelsea said. “Is there something else I should know about?”
“Um…no?”
She wondered why they hadn’t told her sister about the marriage.
“But Grandfather overheard us and is really looking forward to everyone being gathered for his 70th. Please say you can make it.”
She sighed. “You know we’re not on good terms.”
“Well, this is your opportunity to change that! You’ve done it with Mother, so he shouldn’t be that difficult.” Oh, but he could. “Come on, are you going to wait until he dies before you see him again?”
“Chels!”
“It was Grandmother’s words, not mine!”
Emily’s lips twitched uncontrollably. There was a pause, then she aired, “I’m only going because I don’t want that to come to fruition.”
Chelsea squealed. “Amazing! See you on Friday, Emmy!”
Nicolas’s eyes held a glint of mischief. “Emmy? I think I heard that from your friend back in California as well.”
She shook her head at him at the teasing.
“Emmy,” he dragged out, voice dripping like honey. “Take me to meet your family.”
The breath got knocked out of her chest. “What?”
She searched his face for a punchline, but he just stepped closer.
“I heard everything. Take me to meet your family,” he repeated. “Formally this time.”