31. Emerson
EMERSON
“Ithink you should do an interview with Arden. She’s great,” I tell Garrett as we eat dinner at Agave Moon, a little Mexican restaurant in Ironwood. “Extremely professional and you can control the narrative you, Maverick, and Lachlan want to run.”
The walls of the restaurant are bright turquoise with orange and yellow accents. It’s fun and festive, and everything from the drinks to our meals has been fantastic. It’s definitely a hidden gem in Ironwood, and I wonder if I’ll ever come here after I move back to the city.
“I’ll think about it. She’s in Tennessee, right?” he asks, adding a scoop of salsa to his taco before taking a bite.
“Yes, she’s in Blackstone Falls but Isla knows her.
She works for the local paper out there but has gained national recognition for the stories she’s done with Vetted Paws.
” When he stares at me, I add, “It’s a veteran-run dog shelter.
They take dogs from the surrounding states, kill shelters, and after natural disasters, and I think they’re expanding to another location soon. ”
“I think I heard Isla mention something like that at Tom’s wedding.”
“She was one of the investors when they started.”
“That makes sense.”
“Arden was out here a while back with Kat talking about all her author things. She ran several stories.”
“Okay…”
“I’m just saying that she’s trustworthy.”
“And?” he prompts and I huff as I pick up my margarita.
“And Theo asked me to convince you to talk to her because he’s tired of chasing you around trying to nail down a date.”
Garrett smirks and his eyes sparkle with mischief. “I knew it.”
“Why do you mess with him like that? You know you’re completely screwed if he leaves you.”
“I know, but he loves me enough that if I did drive him to quit, it would only last a few days. He’d barge through the door with groceries and lecture me on how difficult I am and why I’m not allowed to be out in the world on my own.”
“Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”
“It happened once.”
When I don’t reply, he laughs. “Twice.”
I can’t tell if I’m envious of their relationship or if I simply don’t understand it. Yes, Des and I work well together, but until I pried a little about Theo, we’d never crossed that line. Our relationship is strictly professional. He’s a confidant for work but we’re not friends.
“I could never,” I admit to him and he chuckles, his black shirt stretching against the muscles in his arm as he sets it on the table and leans in.
“And yet, you sent Des to our house for guys’ night.”
“It’s your house,” I correct because we both need the reminder considering our arrangement is already halfway over, “and I was doing Theo a favor.”
“Uh-huh.” He wipes his mouth with his napkin, his eyes never leaving mine. “Tell me about your deal in Tennessee.”
“The new properties will allow us to fulfill client requests whether they’re here for business or pleasure.
Des will go and oversee some of the initial work, but I’ll be there for a month, maybe two to make sure it’s a seamless transition.
We want the properties to reflect the luxury associated with the Andrews International name. ”
“When is your trip to oversee the seamless transition?” His words are carefully measured, his expression not quite passing for neutral.
A beat passes before I wave my hand as if I’m swatting a fly away. “Oh, sorry, no…it’ll be…”—looking around, I lift my eyebrows slightly—“after.”
“After.”
“I made sure to check the dates. It won’t interfere in what we have going on.”
“Sure.”
“Garrett.” His name is a sigh because I can’t do this with him every time the end of our arrangement comes up. We’re adults and we agreed to this.
Hell, he proposed it.
He doesn’t get to make me the bad guy because he likes what we have going on—I like it too, but it’s temporary. This only works because he’s not touring and I’m working my ass off to be available for this.
But it’s not real life.
It’s not how our lives operate.
“Sorry, yeah, I just… time got away from me.”
The shift in energy is palpable, the easygoing comradery we shared moments before extinguished by the reality of our timeline.
I know I should be more sympathetic but I just don’t have it in me. I shouldn’t have to feel guilty for sticking to the plan.
Better get another margarita because it’s gonna be a long night.
GARRETT
I killed the mood.
One minute Emerson and I were laughing and talking about our day, and the next I’m watching as her expression becomes something more practiced.
Careful.
The ride home wasn’t much better, both of us unable to break the weird tension as we pulled into the driveway.
My driveway.
Because she had to remind me it’s my house.
Not ours.
And why the fuck do I want it to be ours anyway? I haven’t even known her long enough to even consider something permanent like making mine into ours.
The thoughts warring inside my mind are starting to give me a headache because despite how this whole thing started, I want her to stay. I want this to be the start of something real and lasting.
Because I’d be lying if I said I’m not falling in love with Emerson more each day. I never thought my house was empty when it was just me, but now I don’t know how I’ll manage without her in my space.
Everything seems richer—brighter—with her here.
And I like it.
I more than like it.
And that’s a fucking problem.
And because Colt and Roan will hit me with the I told you so’s, I have to settle for probably not getting yelled at for texting after hours.
GARRETT: I need you to be my friend for a minute
THEO: The picture of the two of you at dinner was super cute!
GARRETT: I really like her
THEO: No surprise there
GARRETT: What do I do?
I watch as the little dots appear and disappear before his message pops up on my screen.
THEO: I need you to be more specific.
GARRETT: Can I get her to not adhere to the deadline?
THEO: As your friend?
GARRETT: Yes
THEO: I don’t know.
My heart sinks slowly into my shoes, because if Theo doesn’t think I have a chance…
THEO: I really want to say yes. I think you’re great together and honestly, I’ve never seen you happier. SHE makes you happy.
THEO: And I believe she genuinely enjoys being with you
THEO: But she’s complicated and I don’t know if she’d be willing to give up the fast-paced life she has in Chicago
GARRETT: But she’s making it work now
THEO: As a temporary solution to accommodate you.
GARRETT: You make me sound like a dick.
THEO: I’m being your friend
THEO: And I don’t want to see you get hurt.
And there it is.
Maybe getting hurt is inevitable, but dammit if I’m not gonna try and win Emerson’s heart before it’s time to sign the divorce papers.