Chapter Thirteen #2
“That may be harder than attacking him.”
“I know.”
“Can you do it?”
Piper looked toward the front window.
A dark truck turned into the drive.
Emmett.
Her pulse changed before the vehicle stopped.
“Yes,” she said.
The answer was not only about Owen.
Emmett entered through the front door three minutes later.
He wore dark jeans, a black shirt, and the expression Piper now recognized as controlled anger.
Everyone looked at him.
Piper stood.
“What happened?”
“The suspension remains.”
Her chest tightened.
“Even with the Briar Bean footage?”
“The department believes it proves one allegation was fabricated. They are reviewing the punch separately.”
“Did they watch the complete gala video?”
“Yes.”
“What did they say?”
“That I violated conduct rules.”
“You did.”
“Yes.”
The agreement came without defensiveness.
Piper stepped closer.
“How long?”
“They have not decided.”
“What about the professional contract?”
“Withdrawn.”
The room became quiet.
Piper stopped.
“Because of the suspension?”
“Because I fired Graham and refused the campaign requirements.”
The losses arrived one after another.
Team.
Agent.
Contract.
Millions of dollars.
Maren’s words returned.
Trust him to decide whether the cost is his.
Piper looked at Emmett.
“Are you all right?”
“No.”
The honesty surprised everyone.
Especially her.
Emmett continued.
“I am angry. I may lose the season. The offer is gone. Graham is threatening to enforce the termination clause in our agreement.”
Piper’s throat tightened.
“What do you need?”
His expression changed.
The question belonged to him.
She gave it back.
Emmett looked around the room.
“Five minutes alone with Piper.”
Maren gathered the laptops.
“Sasha and I need to call Daniel.”
Ava, Griffin, Tyler, and Beckett were in the guest house reviewing the event timeline. The kitchen emptied quickly.
Piper remained beside the dining table.
Emmett waited until the back door closed.
Then he looked at her.
“You are planning to let Owen propose.”
It was not a question.
“Sasha told you?”
“Griffin.”
“Of course.”
“I do not like it.”
“I had not noticed.”
“You are going to sit there while he lies about you, attacks me, and presents a ring to complete his story.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Piper folded her arms.
Emmett blew out a breath.
“I do not want you to.”
“That is better.”
“It does not feel better.”
“It is.”
He stepped closer.
“Why let it happen?”
“Because he believes the proposal proves he won.”
“You do not need him confident.”
“I need him careless.”
“He planned this for six months.”
“And every plan depends on me behaving exactly as expected.”
“What will you do instead?”
“Nothing.”
Emmett stared.
“I let him finish,” Piper said. “I let him show the ring. I let the audience see the future he thinks he can assign me.”
“Then?”
“I say no.”
“That is the entire plan?”
“No.”
She showed him the legal pad.
Let him talk first.
Beneath it, Piper had written three steps.
Owen presents his story.
Piper rejects the choice.
Evidence proves the story was manufactured.
Emmett read the list.
“He will attack you before step two.”
“Yes.”
“He will use the private messages.”
“Yes.”
“He will play the punch.”
“Yes.”
“He may release client material during the interview.”
“Daniel is locking down the accounts now.”
Emmett looked at her.
“You are still afraid.”
It was not phrased as a criticism.
Piper nodded.
“Yes.”
His expression softened.
“You do not have to hide that.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
She looked down at the legal pad.
“No.”
Emmett stepped closer.
Not touching.
Waiting.
Piper hated how much that waiting moved her.
She closed the distance.
Her forehead rested against his chest.
His breath stopped.
For one second, neither of them moved.
Then Emmett’s arms came around her.
Slowly.
Carefully.
As if she had handed him something breakable.
Piper closed her eyes.
“I lost the Arden wedding,” she said.
“I know.”
“Two other clients canceled overnight.”
“I know.”
“Owen has private information about people who trusted me.”
“Daniel is protecting it.”
“I should have retrieved the laptop.”
“You did not know he would use it.”
“I should have known.”
Emmett’s arms tightened.
“No.”
Piper laughed weakly against his shirt.
“That sounded like an order.”
“It was.”
She should have corrected him.
She did not.
“I am scared he will say something tonight that I cannot answer.”
“You do not have to answer everything.”
“The audience will expect it.”
“The audience does not own you.”
Piper lifted her head.
Emmett looked down at her.
No cameras.
No crowd.
No contract requirement.
His hands remained at her waist.
This close, she could see the tiredness around his eyes. The anger. The loss he was trying not to make her carry.
“Why did you ask for five minutes alone?” she asked.
“To tell you something before Owen tries to use it.”
Her stomach tightened.
“What?”
Emmett released her slowly.
He reached into his pocket and removed a folded page.
Piper recognized the Ridgeview athletic department letterhead.
“What is that?”
“My statement from the meeting.”
“You kept a copy.”
“Yes.”
She took it.
The opening described the gala confrontation.
Emmett admitted the punch.
Accepted responsibility.
Explained that Piper had not known about the incident.
The final paragraph was different.
Piper read it twice.
My feelings for Piper Quinn existed before her relationship ended.
I did not disclose those feelings to her or pursue a relationship while she was with Owen Keller.
I considered transferring from Ridgeview because I believed distance was the only ethical way to manage those feelings.
My decision to remain was mine. My later decision to participate in the public bet was also mine.
Piper did not manipulate, pressure, or compensate me.
She looked up.
“You put this in an official statement.”
“Yes.”
“It could be leaked.”
“Probably.”
“You admitted everything.”
“Not everything.”
“What did you leave out?”
Emmett looked at her.
The intensity in his eyes changed the air between them.
“That I was already in love with you.”
Piper forgot the room.
The interview.
The ring.
Every rehearsed answer.
“You were what?”
“Before the bet.”
Her heart struck hard against her ribs.
“Emmett.”
“I did not know whether you would ever want me. I did not expect anything. I still do not.”
“You cannot say something like that and then remove the expectation.”
“I can.”
“No.”
His eyebrows drew together.
“No?”
“You do not get to tell me you were in love with me while I was dating someone else, lost a contract, fired your agent, accepted suspension, and then calmly say you expect nothing.”
“I do not want you choosing me because of what I lost.”
“I am not choosing anyone today.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
The calm answer irritated her.
It also steadied her.
Piper looked down at his statement again.
“How long?”
Emmett did not pretend to misunderstand.
“The golf club dinner.”
Her breath snagged.
That night.
The curb.
The stolen dinner roll.
The first time she had felt more seen by Emmett in twenty minutes than she had by Owen in months.
“You fell in love with me while I complained about centerpieces.”
“Chair rentals.”
“Both.”
“You were very upset.”
“They were wrong.”
“I know.”
A laugh escaped her.
Emmett watched it with the expression she had begun recognizing.
Not victory.
Relief.
Like every real sound she made became something he kept.
Piper folded the statement.
“You should have told me.”
“You were with Owen.”
“After the breakup.”
“You were hurt.”
“During the bet.”
“You asked for no feelings.”
“That rule was already broken.”
“By me.”
“And possibly by me.”
The admission entered the room before Piper could stop it.
Emmett became completely still.
She felt the shift in him.
“Possibly,” he repeated.
“Do not make it larger.”
“I am trying not to move.”
“That is worse.”
“Why?”
“Because now I know you are reacting internally.”
“Strongly.”
Heat climbed her throat.
Piper looked toward the kitchen doorway.
Still empty.
She looked back at Emmett.
His gaze dropped to her mouth.
The almost kiss on the court returned with humiliating clarity.
His arm around her waist.
Her hand against his face.
His quiet question.
Your choice.
She had removed the mask.
She had leaned closer.
The cameras had not moved her.
“Tonight is not about us,” she said.
“No.”
“Tomorrow may not be either.”
“I know.”
“I cannot promise what happens after the bet.”
“I know.”
“You keep saying that.”