Emery #2
I wanted to retort with, “Other things, like finding a husband?” but I decided against that. I’d already rocked the boat, and there was no point in fully sinking it. So I settled on a gentle, “Oh.”
“But you have found a husband, so I thought this would be the perfect place to showcase him.”
My eyes widened at his suggestion. Noah and I could barely carry on a conversation when we were alone together. We were going to fail miserably at being in love in front of a crowd. This was a very, very bad idea.
“I—er—well…” My first inclination was to thank him for his offer and politely decline. But I feared that he would start asking questions. If he asked why we couldn’t go, what would I say? So I cleared my throat and lied through my teeth. “That would be a great idea.”
I could feel Noah’s intense stare. It felt like it was going to burn a hole through me. I could only imagine what he was thinking right now.
“Wonderful. It starts at eight tonight at the Met.”
I nodded along with his instructions. “We’ll be there,” I said.
“I look forward to it.”
We said our goodbyes, and then I hung up. I set my phone down in my lap and stared at it before I slowly brought my gaze up to meet Noah’s. He was studying me with his eyebrows knit together.
“That was Charles,” I said slowly. I smoothed out the fabric of my pants against my thighs.
Noah didn’t respond, so I continued. “He wants us to go to a charity gala tonight…” My voice drifted off as I contemplated the next few words.
And then I felt ridiculous for hesitating, so I took a deep breath. “As a couple.”
After the last three words were out, I glanced up to gauge Noah’s reaction.
I wasn’t sure what I thought I would see in his expression, but apathy hadn’t been at the top of the list. He didn’t look startled or bothered.
He didn’t look mad or upset. His expression didn’t change, and it certainly didn’t match the tornado that was currently wreaking havoc on my stomach.
“Oh,” he said as he shifted his weight on the couch.
“Yeah,” I replied with a heavy sigh. “I hope that’s okay.”
He frowned as he met my gaze. “Why…why wouldn’t that be okay? We’re getting married on Monday.”
“Right.” I nodded, but then I paused when I realized that all the awkwardness between us had been my fault.
I was the reason we couldn’t just be. I was the over-thinker and over-reactor.
To Noah, this was just a job, while I’d built the situation up in my mind to be more than we’d agreed it would be.
I needed to get my head on straight. Deciding to change the subject, I lifted up my phone as I stood. “I should text Kennedy to see if she can watch Timothy tonight,” I said as I headed to my room. “The gala starts at eight, so we should probably leave around seven.”
I didn’t wait for his response. I needed some time alone in my room to gather my thoughts. Today had been a lot, and I was already exhausted. I needed to conserve my strength if I was going to make it through a night of handshakes and polite conversations.
Thankfully, Kennedy responded right away with a whole lot of exclamation points and emojis.
I took that as a good sign and let her know that she should come to my condo around 6:30pm.
She gave me a thumbs-up. I spent the rest of the afternoon in my room, researching the paperwork Noah and I needed for the City Clerk’s office on Monday.
When I realized we needed a marriage license and that there was a 24-hour waiting period before we could get married, I grabbed my purse and shoes and hurried out of my room. We had two hours before we needed to pick up Timothy, and downtown traffic was insane.
The line at the Clerk’s office was short—which was surprising for a Friday afternoon.
We were in and out with the marriage license in hand with time to spare.
I tucked the paper into my purse as Noah drove to Timothy’s school.
I was ready to see my son and spend the evening with him.
I was grateful for the social lubricant he provided between me and Noah.
He kept the conversation flowing and kept our focus on him instead of how awkward things were between us.
Timothy was excited that Kennedy was coming over. He couldn’t wait to show her the dinosaur set Bash bought him while we were in Harmony. He’d created his own little Jurassic world on his dresser, complete with to-scale trees he’d made with construction paper.
I had Noah pick up pizza for dinner, and we drove home with the scent of marinara sauce and melted cheese filling the car.
When we got back to the condo, I set Timothy up with his food and a movie on his iPad before I kissed him on his head and told him that I had to go get ready.
He waved me away—or was fighting off a second kiss—so I chuckled and left him to his dinner.
I spent longer than I cared to admit staring at the dresses in my closet. It was a black-tie event—I’d researched it during my time on the computer earlier—but all the outfits I had were ones I’d worn out with Carson.
There was the butter-yellow satin dress with the scooped back that I wore to his cousin Tabitha’s wedding. There was the navy sleeveless dress with the empire waist that I wore to the Grammys. I remembered walking the red carpet in that dress with my arm wrapped around Carson while cameras flashed.
Every dress had a memory attached to it, and I was struggling. It was like I was cheating on Carson. That thought caused a lump to form in my throat and my heart to tighten in my chest.
I knew that none of this was going to be easy, I just didn’t think it would be this hard.
There was a soft knock on my door. I glanced at my clock and blew out my breath. I was late. I’d told Noah we needed to leave by 7:00, and it was now 7:10.
“Hang on,” I called out as I grabbed my robe and flung it over my black lace bra and panties.
I held it closed and pulled open the door.
The movement knocked one of my curlers loose, causing some hair to fall in front of my face.
“Yes?” I asked as I peered out into the hall.
I was face to face with Noah’s tall stature as he rested his shoulder on the doorframe next to me.