Her Way (21 page)

“Will?”

Glancing up from the pass, Will saw his mother in the doorway. “Hey, Ma.”

“Emma’s here,” she said cheerfully. “Ready for a break?”

He pulled the towel from his apron and wiped his brow. It’d been a hellish lunch service as they were short staffed, but things were slowing down. He turned to his brother. “You good?”

“Yeah, get outta here. Give Em a big ol’ kiss for me.” Justin grinned.

Will snorted. “Can you seat her and tell her I’ll be right there?” he asked his mom.

“Already done. She’s at table twelve.” She winked and left the kitchen.

Walking into the small office adjacent to the kitchen, Will pulled off his apron and the cap he wore. He threw them both on the desk and took a long pull from the water bottle sitting on the surface. Eyes closed, he rolled his shoulders, working out the kinks. With a sigh, he headed into the restaurant to where Emma sat at a small table. Her face lit up when she saw him approaching.

“Hey,” she said happily.

“Hey back.” He bent at the waist and planted a kiss on her mouth. “God, it’s good to see you.”

“Rough day?” she asked as he sat across from her.

“You could say that. Had a no-show in the kitchen so lunch was harder than it had to be.” He shrugged. “Was hoping you’d come in. It was my light at the end of the tunnel,” he teased. “What about you? Did you fit your nap in?”

She laughed and pushed her hair from her face. “Sadly no. Turned out to be a busier day than I planned.”

“Hi, Emma, Will.” Felicia came up to the table and set ice water in front of them. “You ready to order?”

“Yes, I’ll have the chicken parm. And an iced tea, please. Oh, and breadsticks!” Emma held a hand to her stomach.

“Did you eat anything today?” Will laughed.

“Yeah,” she murmured.

“You had the cold pizza, didn’t you?” He lifted a brow.

“No.” She looked at him, lips twitching. “I nuked it first.”

“Heathen.” He glanced up at his sister. “Seafood crepes and just the water to drink.”

“All right. I’ll have the tea and breadsticks out real quick for you.” Felicia grinned.

When they were alone, Will sat back with a sigh. “So, what happened to ruin your lazy-day plan?”

“I’m working on a project for my dad, and I don’t have a lot of time to pull it together.” She took a sip of water, and gave a little shrug.

“What’s the project?”

“A formal dinner. Pretty simple, just a tight timeline and a lengthy guest list,” she explained dryly.

“Hmmm, and you do this kind of thing a lot for him? Plan dinners and events?”

“Well,” she drawled thoughtfully, “I don’t know if I’d say a lot. Every few months or so. Usually more around the holidays. I really don’t mind doing it. Heck, I’ve been doing it for years, and know what to expect. If Dad hired a planner, he’d probably scare them off in the first day. Not that he’s unreasonable,” she rushed to add. “Just very specific about what he wants. And I’ve had plenty of practice smoothing his feathers and putting out fires.”

“Is that info on the project?” He nodded toward the large manila envelope next to her elbow.

“Oh!” Her cheeks pinkened slightly. “No, actually this is—”

She clamped her mouth shut as Felicia came and placed a basket of breadsticks and Emma’s tea on the table. When she walked away, Will leaned forward, curiosity piqued.

“What do you have there, Miss Emma?” he cajoled.

“Well…it’s for you,” she blurted out and pushed the envelope across the table.

“For me?” He picked it up and turned it over in his hands.

She took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. “It’s about the property you’re looking at, for your bed and breakfast. I know when I mentioned investing before, you were hesitant, but I’ve run some numbers, looked at the property and put together some things. A proposal, really.”

Will pursed his lips and looked from the envelope in his hand to Emma, back to the envelope. “I wasn’t
hesitant
. I said no.” He struggled to keep his tone gentle, knowing her heart was in the right place. “This is something I’m going to do on my own. I
need
to do this on my own.”

“I know, but—”

“No buts, Emma,” he snapped, tossing the envelope on the table.

“Would you just hear me out?” she asked quietly, looking down at her hands clasped in her lap. “Please?”

Closing his eyes, he counted to ten. When he opened them, she was staring at him imploringly. He gave a go-ahead gesture. It wouldn’t hurt, surely, to hear what she had to say, though his mind was made up. God, even entertaining the possibility of her investing was exactly what her asshat brothers would expect of him.

“I did a walk-through of the buildings and the property,” she began.

“You went there? Without saying anything to me?”

“The property is for sale and available for any potential buyer to view,” she said stiffly. “I didn’t realize I had to check in with you to do that.”

Well, fuck, where did that icy, lady of the manor tone come from? This was a new side of her, and one he didn’t particularly care to be on the receiving end of.

“May I continue?” she asked.

He gave a sharp nod.

“I did a walk-through,” she repeated. “While the upper levels still need a lot of work, the main level is just beautiful. The wood work is restored, the floors redone… Well, you know all of that. The thing is it puts you in a good position immediately. Even though you couldn’t run it as a B-and-B right away, you could cater and host events—corporate, weddings, and so on. Bringing income in, which you could then funnel into the renovations and restorations needed in the rest of the building.

“Even though I’d be happy to just invest, I think a partnership would work well.” She bit her lip a moment, then continued, “Will, I’ve done this kind of thing for a while now. I’m good at it. Planning, keeping things running smoothly. And it would allow you to focus on what you needed to, instead of the mundane details.”

When she stopped and took a drink of her tea, Will reached across and took her free hand.

“I appreciate the time you spent looking at this. I really do.”

“But?” she prompted in a whisper.

He sighed. Damn it, he didn’t want to hurt her or think he didn’t care that she wanted to help him.

“But,” he tilted his head, trying to catch her gaze, “I can’t accept your offer. As sweet and generous as it is. Please understand. This is exactly what your brothers were talking about. How would it look if I let you do this? If I agreed to this…proposal of yours?”

Her head snapped up and she yanked her hand out of her grasp. “How would it
look
? That’s what this is about? You’re worried about what other people would think?”

The anger, the heat in her eyes shocked him. He’d expected her to be hurt, sure—sad, even—but not pissed and raring for a fight.

“My brothers’ opinions matter to you more than mine?”

“Of course not,” he said quickly. “That’s not what I’m saying at all. I’m considering what’s best for you here, too.”

“Oh really? And what is best for me, Will?” she questioned. “Sitting back, watching you work so hard for a dream that is just beyond your grasp? When I know I can help? How is that better for me?”

“It isn’t just about money, Emma,” he said carefully, slowly. “Doing this is a big step for me, and is going to take a hell of a lot of time, effort and work. It isn’t something you can just throw money at and make happen.”

“Don’t talk to me like I’m an idiot,” she said through clenched teeth. “Despite what my family believes, I’m not some little rich girl with half a brain living off her trust fund, throwing money around. I actually use my brain, and I’ve managed to make some damned good investments—even more than doubled what I started with.”

“I wasn’t implying anything like that.” He sighed. “Em, going into business with anyone is a major commitment. One that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Mixing business and…well, pleasure isn’t the best thing to do. If one aspect of the relationship goes sour, the other part is affected too, and that is a big risk to take. I don’t know—”

“You’re afraid if you break up with me, I’ll walk away from the business and leave you floundering.” She gave a sharp nod, grabbed her purse and stood. “I’m really sorry I bothered you with this. It won’t happen again. I’ll let you get back to work. No doubt you need all the hours you can get, so you can do this all on your own.”

As she stalked past him, he could do nothing but sit and stare. What the fuck had just happened? He scrubbed his hands over his face and replayed the last few minutes in his head. How the hell had it gone so wrong?

“Well, I’m guessing by the way she stormed out that Emma’s not coming back for this?”

Will dropped his hands and glared at his sister, who deftly balanced two steaming plates and regarded him with a raised brow.

“Fuck,” he muttered. “See if anyone in back wants it, or box it up and take it home. I don’t really care; I’ve lost my appetite.”

* * * *

Emma pressed her fingertips to her temples and rubbed. She glanced at the clock and cursed inwardly when her eyes burned. It was not tears, she thought firmly. It was eye strain. She’d spent the better part of the afternoon and evening staring at the computer screen, so it was definitely eye strain. Certainly not because it was an hour past Will’s shift, and he had yet to come home.

Get over it. It’s not the first time he’s stayed late at work.
He ran the kitchen, after all. But he always called if he was running late. She sighed. She could hardly blame him for not calling. Not after their argument and her walking out on him like that. Would he even come? Or would he stay at his apartment tonight?

The thought made her chest ache, and she struggled to pull in an even breath. Even though they weren’t
officially
living together, more often than not, he was there with her. She’d come to think of this as their home, not just hers. Though clearly he still had doubts about their future together.

She shouldn’t have walked away. Dropping her hands in her lap, she leaned her head back against the chair and closed her eyes. Could she really blame him for worrying what her family would think? Especially after what Mark and Tom had said.

No, but it still hurt. Even though she understood where he was coming from, she couldn’t make the pain disappear completely.

“Hey.”

The sound of Will’s voice, just that little word, jumpstarted her heart. She opened her eyes and slowly turned the chair. He stood in the doorway, legs braced apart, arms at his sides. Looking as miserable as she felt.

“Hey,” she returned.

“Sorry I’m late.”

“It’s okay. Um, I’m just finishing up here.” She turned back to the computer and started saving and closing documents.

He moved behind her and laid his hands on her shoulders. “You’re tense.” His fingers rubbed and pressed into the tight muscles.

“Shocking,” she said, then cringed.

With a sigh, he continued massaging. “I started the hot tub. Figured we could both use a little relaxing tonight.”

Though the thought of the hot jets appealed, she started to refuse. Unsure how to even talk to him right now. What to say. “I’m really tired, and—”

Slowly, he swiveled the chair around then knelt in front of her. “Emma, I’m sorry.” He took her hands and looked into her eyes. “I know you were trying to help, and I just shut you out from the get go.”

She shook her head. “Please don’t. I shouldn’t have blown up like that. I really did just want to help you. I see someone I love working for something, and I want to help them. I can’t help it. But…” she forced a smile, “I crossed a line I didn’t realize was there, and for that, I’m sorry. I just butted right into it, didn’t I? It’s your dream, and I took it over. It won’t happen again.”

He brought her hands to his mouth and pressed a kiss to each. “I’ll look at what you put together.”

She cupped his cheek. “You don’t…”

“I want to, okay? I’m not promising anything,” he warned, “but I’ll look at it.”

Sniffing slightly, she leaned forward and rested her forehead against his. “Today kinda sucked.”

Will chuckled softly and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Yes, it did. Come on, let’s give it a better ending. Hot tub’s waiting.”

“Okay,” she whispered. “I’ll be right behind you. Just let me shut everything down here?”

Will slanted his mouth over hers, pushed inside boldly. His tongue swirled around hers, and an ache clenched low in her belly.

“Hurry,” he said against her lips.

Letting her go, he stood and left the room. After a moment, Emma shook herself and turned to the business of shutting her computer down. That done, she padded into her room and exchanged her clothes for her swimsuit. She twisted her hair up in a clip and grabbed her robe from the bathroom.

When she walked out onto the deck, she couldn’t hold back her smile. A couple of candles flickered on the railing near the hot tub, and soft music drifted on the air—from where, she wasn’t quite sure. When Will saw her, his grin widened.