Her Way (24 page)

She turned and walked away, stomach in knots. Footsteps sounded behind her, and as she slid into her heels, he grasped her arm.

“Why are you bringing that up now?” he asked, tilting his head to the side to meet her gaze.

“You talk about my putting everyone else first. Did you ever think that maybe my proposal wasn’t all about you and what you wanted? If you’d taken the time to look at what I gave you and talk to me, maybe you’d see that it was something I wanted, too. Yes, I want to help you, and I don’t think there is a damned thing wrong with wanting to help the people you love, but it’s more than that. For the first time, I saw something I’d like to do long-term, but you wouldn’t even consider it.” She swiped at her cheeks, cursing quietly. Crap, she probably looked like a raccoon now.

“Aw, fuck, Emma,” Will muttered softly.

“Yes, ‘fuck Emma’.” She wrenched out of his grip and grabbed her purse from the hook beside the door. “That’s the box you’ve put me into, isn’t it? Good enough to fuck, to share a bed with, but heaven forbid if I touch anything else in your life. Especially not the dream that means so much to you.”

Yanking the door open, she rushed out of the house to her car. Once inside, she used a tissue and the rearview mirror to remove the mascara smearing her cheeks. Her heart raced and every muscle trembled.
Calm down
, she thought.
Push it aside, and get through tonight
.

Her cell phone shrilled, making her jump. She shakily fumbled for the phone in her purse and answered.

“Hello?”

“Where the hell are you? Clients are going to be showing up in an hour.” Mark’s sharp voice travelled over the line.

“I’m on my way.” She snapped the phone shut without saying anything else or waiting for a response. As she pulled out of the driveway, she glanced at the house and bit back a sob. Will stood in the open doorway, arms crossed over his chest, watching as she drove away.

“Push it aside,” she repeated aloud. Soon enough she’d have to face the mess she’d just made.

* * * *

Emma strolled out the French doors onto the patio, set her clipboard on one of the iron tables and rolled her shoulders. People filled the large room, sipping cocktails and mingling. She had a moment to breathe easy before the dinner and presentation. She’d already ironed out numerous bumps, and things were running smoothly. Thank goodness.

“Hey sis.”

She turned and smiled at Matt. He grinned back and wrapped his arms around her.

“Looked like you needed a hug,” he murmured.

“That obvious?” She rested her head on his shoulder.

“Eh,” was his immediate response, then after a moment, “What’s bugging you, Em?”

Pulling back, she ran her palms on the lapels of his suit jacket. “You look very handsome this evening.”

He laughed and stepped away. “Nice try, but don’t change the subject.”

“Don’t worry about me, hon. Just tired. Once I get, oh, about a week of sleep, I’ll be just fine,” she joked.

“Can I give you a bit of advice?” he asked. “Then I’ll leave it alone.”

Knowing he wouldn’t give in, she nodded. “Hit me with it.”

“Figure out what
you
want. Don’t worry about Dad or anyone else. Figure out what makes you happy, who makes you happy, and focus on that.” He nudged her with his elbow. “And know I’ll be there to back you up. Every time.”

“Thanks,” she said, throat tight. “I’m workin’ on it.”

“Good. I hope—”

“There you are,” Tom stepped out onto the patio, impatience in his movements. “Why are you hiding out here? I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

Emma groaned inwardly when both Mark and their father followed Tom outside. What was wrong now?

Her father came beside her and dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Everything is wonderful, honey. Thank you for all your hard work. I honestly don’t know how you pulled this together so quickly, but I knew if anyone could do it, it was you.”

“Yeah,” she drawled, unable to get Will’s earlier comment about working so hard for just a pat on the back out of her head.

“Emma, there was an issue with Mr. Rogen’s car service. He is still at his hotel,” Mark said curtly.

“Okay.” She crinkled her nose. “Have you called the service? Arranged for a cab?”

“I’m not having one of our most important clients riding in a cab,” he sneered.

“Christ, Mark.” Matt scrubbed his palm over his face and glared at his brother.

Tom held out a ring of keys. “Emma, take the Lexus. He’s staying at the Grand downtown.”

“Are you kid—”

Emma stopped Matt by holding her palm up and stared at her oldest brother. “No.”

Tom blinked rapidly. “What?”

“No,” she repeated. “That is above and beyond, particularly for a job I’m not even getting paid for. Sorry,” she looked at her dad, “but I’m not doing that.”

“It’s not a big thing to ask; I don’t understand what the problem is,” Mark objected.

“If it’s not a big thing, you won’t have a problem doing it yourself. I’m not your chauffeur. I coordinated the event, which is running smoothly. In fact,” she drew in a deep breath, “in light of that, I’m done. I’m going home now. I’ll be more than happy to plan future events; however,” another courage bolstering breath, “I’ll be charging for my services.”

Emma’s heart raced out of control as she waited for the other men’s responses. Shit, she didn’t even ease into that, did she? She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from doing what was ingrained in her to do—apologize and do whatever they wanted.

“Good for you,” Matt praised.

“This is outrageous,” Tom sputtered and Mark nodded wildly in agreement.

“No more so than you expecting your paycheck. I hope you understand,” she said to her father.

“Of course,” he said slowly. “You go on home; get some sleep.” He lifted a palm to her cheek. “You look beat. We’ll talk tomorrow?”

“Thanks, Dad.” As she walked away, she heard her brothers’ voices rise, but she kept her pace brisk and didn’t look back.

Once home, Emma sat on the porch swing and just swayed in the evening air, not quite sure what to do now. While the logical part of her told her to strip and crawl in bed to sleep for an untold number of hours, she was too wound up to listen. So instead she swung and thought. Thought about everything Will had said and how she’d responded. She didn’t regret
what
she said, exactly, but the way it had come out… That could have been handled better. Pulling her cell phone out of her purse, she wondered if Will would even come home after the way they’d left it. She wanted him to. To apologize. To talk. To just be with him.

She flipped her phone open and frowned when she hit a button and nothing happened. Damn it. Battery was dead. With a sigh, she stood and went inside. After plugging her phone in to charge, she grabbed the house phone and dialed Will’s number. It rang once, twice, then in a panic, Emma hung it up. A glance at the clock told her he’d be at the end of the dinner rush and unlikely to answer anyway.

Things were bad enough between them; she didn’t need to add to it by bothering him at work. Plus, she was so worked up right now, she’d probably just make a bigger mess out of it than it already was, and if she were honest with herself, she had no clue what she was going to say to him. Not a blessed clue.

* * * *

Will sat at his desk and stared at the computer screen. In theory, he was working on the schedule. In reality? He hadn’t made any changes to said schedule in over fifteen minutes. After working the pass for a while, he’d holed in his office. His team was probably ready to strangle him. His foul mood and terse tone weren’t making him any friends. Emma’s poor nephew… It was Scott’s first evening in the kitchen. Will was certain the kid was regretting his choice.

He shoved a hand through his hair, and as he stretched, his gaze landed on the manila envelope that rested on the desk’s surface. Picking it up, he turned it over in his hands and thought about what Emma had said about his wanting to keep her from parts of his life.

“Shit,” he mumbled and tore the envelope open. He began scanning the documents inside and it didn’t take long for him to realize Emma had given this more than a passing thought. This clearly wasn’t a spontaneous offer on her part. The woman was meticulous and thorough in her research and figures. She’d explored angles he hadn’t even considered.

Vibrations in his pocket pulled him from his examination. By the time he’d pulled his phone out, it had stopped. He glanced at the screen and frowned. Emma’s home number. It was way too early for the dinner party to be over. What was going on? He debated whether to call her back. It hadn’t rung long, and no message had been left on voicemail.

He rose and walked into the bustling kitchen. When Justin walked past him, Will grabbed his arm. “Hey, you guys all right here if I take off?”

“Yes. Please leave.” Justin rolled his eyes. “You’re making everyone nervous, you ornery bastard, especially the new kid.”

“Ha. Well,” he hesitated. “Call if you need something.”

“We won’t. It’s all under control. Get out of here.” His brother shoved him roughly then headed back to man the pass.

Will watched another minute or two, then left his kitchen and staff in peace. Ready or not, it was time to see about his girl.

Chapter Sixteen

Will saw Emma as soon as he parked in front of the house. She sat on the porch swing, still in her black cocktail dress with her hair swept up in a fancy twist. Her shoes were kicked off so she kept the swing in motion with her bare toes pushing against the wooden porch. She cradled a wine glass in her hand while the bottle sat near her feet.

She watched intently as he made his way up the front walk, her fingers dancing along the stem of the glass she held. He stopped at the base of the steps and waited.

“You’re home early,” she said, her soft voice floating on the gentle breeze.

“So are you,” he responded and climbed the steps to her.

When he lowered himself next to her on the swing, she held her glass out to him. Sipping, he studied her. Damn, she still looked exhausted. A good wind could probably knock her over.

“So…” He leaned back. “You wanna talk about it?”

She chuckled and turned her head slightly toward him. “Not much to say, really.”

“Em.” He traced his fingers along the hem of her dress just above her knees. “Why are you home?”

“There was no reason for me to stay; everything was running smoothly.” She pursed her lips and stared out across the yard. “Tom wanted to send me on some idiot errand that had nothing to do with what I was responsible for, and I said no.”

“Really?” Will lifted his brows in surprise. He didn’t imagine that went over well.

“Yeah, and I told them if I planned events in the future, I’d be charging them.” She let out a dry laugh, plucking the glass from his hand, and bent forward to pick up the wine bottle before rising to her feet. “I guess it took arguing with you to prime the pump, so I could stand up to them. So thank you. You were right; they were taking advantage.”

She turned and strode into the house, leaving Will staring after her, mouth gaping. Well, shit. He jumped up and followed her. She was walking out of the kitchen and stopped short when she saw him.

“Look, Will, I’m sorry.” She twisted her fingers together. “I’m just really…raw. I thought I’d have some time to decompress before I saw you. I wasn’t expecting you to come home so early. Hell, I wasn’t sure you’d be coming at all after…after we fought.”

“Hey.” He stepped forward and with a finger under her chin, tilted her face up. “I don’t bail on the people I love because of an argument.” His chest tightened when her lips trembled. He leaned in and caught them in a quick kiss. “I’ll always come back to you, Emma. Always.”

Eyes shining, she nodded.

“And you know it was never about being right, don’t you?” He searched her face carefully. “I was worried about you, I won’t apologize for that, but I did a piss poor job expressing it, and a number of other things. For
that
, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she whispered.

“No,” he shook his head, “it’s not.” Taking her hand, he led her into the living room and gestured for her to sit on the couch, then sat beside her. He struggled to find the right words. “It’s not okay that you thought I was trying to dictate what you should do with your life. And it sure as hell isn’t okay that you thought I wanted to keep you out of any part of my life.”

Emma closed her eyes briefly and let out a shuddering breath. “It wasn’t fair of me to say that. I should—”

“Would you let me finish?” he interjected softly. God knew words weren’t his strong point and he wanted to get this out in one shot. When she nodded, he continued, “I want you to do whatever makes you happy. I’m sure I won’t always agree, especially when it comes to your family, and I’ll probably say or do the wrong thing at some point or another. I can’t promise I won’t, but what I can promise you, is if I do, it’s because I want what’s best for you.