Always Mine

by Ruth Cardello

  Emily hugged her coat closer. “I was wrong, and I’m here to apologize.”

  “And to get your artwork, I would imagine.”

  Emily swallowed hard. “Yes, that too.”

  “Have you spoken to Asher?”

  Emily looked away and blinked back tears. “No. What could I say? I really thought he had done it. I can’t imagine he could forgive me for that.”

  Dale’s face was carefully devoid of expression. He was looking at her as if she were a stranger. And why wouldn’t he? After everything I said? “Come with me to the solarium. Sophie is looking forward to seeing you.”

  Sophie put down the book she was reading and stood as soon as she heard them enter. She crossed the room and hugged Emily.

  That was all it took for Emily to burst into tears. She cried for several minutes in Sophie’s arms as the woman murmured to her as mothers do. She cried because she missed her mother and felt she was letting her go all over again. She cried because she knew she had hurt Sophie, and the woman had done so much for her. To round it off, she sobbed because Emily knew when she’d lost Asher, she’d lost his family, too.

  Sophie put a tissue in her hand and led her to the settee. “Oh, Emily. Everything is going to be okay.”

  Emily blew her nose, roughly wiped her tears away, and gave herself a mental shake. “I didn’t come here to cry all over you. I wanted you know how badly I feel about what I said to you. What I said to all of you. You were so good to me, and I hurt you. I’m so sorry I didn’t answer your calls. I didn’t know what to say.”

  Sophie looked over Emily’s head and said, “Dale, could you have the cook bring us some sandwiches and tea? Emily looks like she hasn’t eaten in a week.” She brought her gaze back to Emily and gave her a pat on the knee. “Oh, Emily, sweetie, you were in shock. You didn’t know what you were saying. Let’s put all that behind us.”

  Emily almost burst into tears again. I needed to hear that, Sophie. You have no idea how much I needed that. I never wanted to disappoint you. Aloud she said, “Thank you, Sophie. You have no idea how much that means to me.”

  After a quiet moment in which Sophie blinked back her own tears, she said, “The news said the fire was electrical and caused by rodents?”

  “Yes. It was in the part of the house I hadn’t renovated yet.”

  “I’ve no doubt you must have been devastated. Still are. That house meant so much to you, let alone the museum. How long will it take you to rebuild?”

  “I sold my land to B&H. I won’t be rebuilding.”

  Sophie’s lips rounded in surprise, but whatever she would have said was cut short by the appearance of Dale. A member of their house staff placed tea and a tray of sandwiches on a table beside Sophie. Sophie waited until the staff had stepped away before she said, “Asher bought her property.”

  Dale didn’t say anything, but his lips pressed together in displeasure.

  Emily hastened to add, “The idea to sell was mine. I’m going to use the money to start over somewhere else. Artwork is meant to be seen, and it wouldn’t have been seen in Welchton. Now I’m free to find the best place for my museum . . . and for me.”

  Sophie poured Emily a cup of tea and handed it to her. “Your exhibit is still intact if you would like to reopen before the auction. You are still participating in the auction, aren’t you?”

  Dale stood behind Sophie and placed a hand on her shoulder as they both waited for Emily’s response. Although Emily had come with the intention of apologizing and then organizing how to move her things to storage, she found herself saying, “If you still want me to.”

  Sophie smiled at Dale, who nodded with approval. “I’ll leave you two ladies to talk. I have a few calls to make.”

  Once they were alone again, Emily said, “The news reporters made a huge deal out of the investigation that followed the fire. I wasn’t sure you’d want that kind of publicity associated with your event.”

  Sophie poured herself a cup of tea and shook her head sadly. “There are some who won’t come, but they’ll wish they had when they see how well we do without them.”

  Emily smiled for the first time that day. Sophie reminded her of her own mother at times—strong in ways that mattered. “The worst of it should be over now. The insurance company closed the investigation and accepted the fire marshal’s findings.”

  “You must be relieved.”

  Emily shrugged. “I was in shock through most of it. It’s all sort of a blur.”

  “Was Celeste with you?”

  Emily put her tea down and picked up a sandwich. “She stayed until last night. We drove back to Boston together.”

  “I like her,” Sophie said.

  “Me, too. She’s a good friend.”

  After a quiet moment, Sophie said, “Emily, we have all missed you and are very sorry for your loss. The others are coming to dinner tonight. Can you stay so they can see you too?”

  The idea of seeing Asher’s brothers and sister made her hands cold and clammy again. Would they be as quick to accept her apology as Sophie? Would Emily have been if the situation were reversed? “I’ll see them at the auction.”

  Sophie sipped her tea. “Have you seen Asher yet?”

  Emily dropped her sandwich to the floor, picked it up, brushed it off, then didn’t know what else to do with it so she put it back on her plate. “Not yet.”

  “He looks as exhausted as you do. He was afraid he might have been responsible.”

  Emily blinked a few times at the confirmation that she looked as bad as she thought, then focused on the more important part of what she’d said. “He wasn’t, though.”

  “No, but he could have been, and we all know it. I felt awful about what I said to him the night of the fire, but he needed to hear it. This week has been good for him. He needed to wake up and see where he was headed.”

  Emily hesitated before sharing more with Sophie, but she craved some maternal advice. “He has been calling me, but I haven’t answered him. I was angry with him at first, and then I was sad. Now all I can think is that too much has happened, and if I were him I wouldn’t forgive me.”

  Sophie put down her cup and laid her hand on Emily’s arm. “I grew up thinking I had to be perfect. My father was a very wealthy man, and he wanted the best of everything. The best house, the most beautiful wife, and daughters who were perfectly groomed to marry the men he chose for us. My sister was the first to defy him. She married an Italian straight from Italy. It was so romantic and that gave me the courage to choose Dale. My father was furious with both of us. I moved north to live with Dale, and I don’t regret that choice even though it meant I wasn’t there when my mother passed away. Patrice and her husband stayed with our father. She wasn’t happy, and she blamed me for some of that. I had to cut them out of my life because they couldn’t love me, not the way a father should love his daughter or a woman should love her sister. Was the rift my fault? I don’t know. Maybe I could have tried harder to make amends with them. I’m not perfect, Emily. My children certainly aren’t, either. You don’t have to be perfect to be part of this family, you just have to love my son.”

  “I do,” Emily whispered.

  “I hope I’m not interrupting,” Kenzi said as she walked into the room. “I heard Emily was here.” She took a seat across from them.

  Emily leaned forward and said, “Kenzi, I can’t begin to tell you—”

  “Mom, I had the most interesting conversation with Asher this morning.” Kenzi wasn’t looking at Emily, and she felt she might cry again. She had thought she and Kenzi would become friends, but it now didn’t seem likely.

  “Asher?” Emily blurted then regained control and told herself to not intrude in their family’s business.

  “He asked for my help with something. Imagine that. Asher asked me for help.”

  Sophie’s voice rose with her curiosity. “What does he want you to do?”

  “He asked me not to say,” Kenzi said. The expression on her face implied s
he’d considered refusing his request. Her gaze returned to Emily. “Does he know you’re back in Boston?” Her tone was cooler than Emily was used to hearing from her. Emily couldn’t blame her, but it hurt to think what she’d said might have destroyed their friendship.

  “I haven’t spoken to him.”

  Kenzi shrugged. “Dad called me. He may have told him.” Emily’s attention flew to the door of the solarium, them back to Kenzi. “You think he might be on his way?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Emily stood. She wanted to see Asher again, but not like this, not with an audience. The last thing she wanted to do was start crying again in front of Sophie. “I can’t . . . I have to go.” The sound of the front door opening and closing had Emily scrambling for her purse. “Sophie, I’ll call you about the auction.”

  Andrew and Lance strolled into the room and smiled when they saw Emily. Lance said, “Dad said Emily was here.”

  Andrew winked at Emily. “We figured we would all celebrate her not going to jail and Asher not being the ass who sent her there.”

  “Andrew,” Sophie admonished and shook her head at the joke.

  “Too soon?” Andrew asked. His smile was irresistible.

  Emily wasn’t upset. She and Andrew had thrown several jokes back and forth in the short time they’d known each other. “What do you call a Marine with an IQ of 150?”

  Andrew’s eyes narrowed, but he was smiling in anticipation of the punch line.

  “A platoon,” Emily said with a huge smile.

  Lance laughed. “Ouch, she got you.”

  Andrew joined in the laughter then waved a finger at Emily. “Oh, just wait. I will find the perfect artist joke.”

  Grant stepped into the room and said, “All that laughing can only mean one thing. Emily, are you staying for dinner?”

  Emily met his eyes hesitantly. Of all of Asher’s siblings, he had put aside the most time to help her design a financial plan for the museum. “Grant, I am so sorry about what I said.”

  Grant shrugged a shoulder. “That was a horrific night for you. I’m sure we can all put it behind us.”

  Ian appeared at Grant’s side. “Dad called and told me to get my ass over here, but I was at B&H because Asher wanted to talk to me about something. What did I miss?”

  Kenzi cocked her head to one side. “Wait, Asher asked you for help too? Did he swear you to secrecy?”

  “Maybe,” Ian answered vaguely.

  “Me, too,” Andrew and Lance said at the same time.

  Grant looked skyward and said, “And here I was thinking I was the special one.”

  Sophie looked around at each of her children and said, “What is going on?”

  That’s exactly what I’m asking myself, Emily thought, but before anyone answered, Dale came back into the room. He said a few words to each of his children then looked at Emily. “Can I speak to you for a moment? Alone?”

  Emily’s stomach clenched nervously. “Sure.” They stepped off to one side of the room and Emily held her breath while she waited. He couldn’t be upset with her, could he? If he was, why would he have called all of his children to come home while she was there?

  “You and Asher have some things you need to figure out before we can have you stay here again.” His tone was firmer than Emily was used to hearing from him.

  It wasn’t what Emily had expected to hear, but she held her tears back and told herself he was only saying what she knew was true. If things didn’t work out with Asher, she didn’t belong there. “I understand.”

  Looking into Dale’s eyes, Emily saw why Sophie had defied her father for him. He was a kind man even when he was protecting his family. “But I want you to know that we care about you.”

  Emily blinked, but she couldn’t hold back the tears. She wiped them away as quickly as they fell. “Thank you, Dale.”

  “Don’t you cry, or I’ll get a lecture from Sophie.”

  Emily sniffed and smiled. “I blubbered all over her, I’m sure she won’t blame you. Believe it or not, I’m not usually so emotional.”

  “I hope you’re around long enough to back up that claim.”

  Emily nodded, although she wasn’t at all sure she would be. “Did you call Asher?”

  “No. You two need to figure this out on your own.”

  He makes it sound so easy. “Do you want me to go now? I feel strange leaving after everyone just got here.”

  He gave her a sympathetic look. “Stay for a while, Emily, but perhaps not for dinner. I’d love to see you marry into the family. I just don’t know if my son can pull his head out of his ass long enough to make that happen.”

  In addition to his regular work, Asher spent the day preparing before he went to see Emily. He wasn’t going to plow forward with Emily. He had a plan.

  He hated to admit it, but Alessandro and Victor made a solid argument, modifying his methods. If anyone would have told him he’d be taking relationship advice from two old men, Asher would have laughed the idea off, but the longer they’d spoken, the more what they’d said made sense.

  According to Alessandro there were four steps to winning a woman’s heart.

  “Step One: The Grand Gesture. Women say all they need is for you to love them, but they actually need more than that. They need tangible evidence that the man they are about to spend the rest of their lives with is willing to move heaven and earth for them.

  “Step Two: The Talk. Address the problem. Don’t make excuses. And it’s not enough to say you’re sorry, you have to know why. Women ask a lot of questions. Some can be tricky to navigate. Prepare responses ahead of time.

  “Step Three: The Proclamation. If it’s love, say it. A proposal, do it. Don’t leave much time between the talk and the proclamation or Step One will be necessary again.

  “Step Four: The Sex.”

  Asher had stopped Alessandro there and thought about Emily’s offer to sell her land. He completed his personal purchase of the rest of the property in that town and had told the lawyer to move forward with purchasing hers.

  Grand Gesture? I’ll show those two geezers a grand gesture. He’d met with each of his siblings and had given them tasks to help make it happen, then had sworn them to secrecy.

  He wasn’t overly worried about Step Two. She was the one who had accused him wrongly, but he’d prepared a brief apology anyway. If two simple words were what was standing between him and waking up next to her every morning, he’d say them gladly.

  Step Three required some reflection and then a trip into the city to buy the perfect diamond. If time had allowed, he would have designed her ring, but he wasn’t waiting past the night of the auction to propose.

  He’d cleared his schedule for work the day after the auction in anticipation of Step Four.

  All in all, Asher was feeling confident that everything would go smoothly. All he had to do now was convince Emily to come back to Boston for the auction.

  Ryan beeped in. “There’s a woman here to see you.”

  Asher checked the time on his watch. It was almost six. “Tell her I’m busy.”

  “It’s Ms. Harris.”

  Asher stood up with a force that sent his chair flying into the wall behind his desk. “Send her in.”

  Emily stepped into his office, looking so beautifully fragile Asher wanted to rush to her side, pull her into his arms, and kiss her, but he didn’t. He’d said he wouldn’t plow over her feelings, and he was determined not to.

  “Can we talk?” she asked.

  Shit. Talking was supposed to come after the Grand Gesture. He walked around his desk and motioned to a chair. “Have a seat.”

  “I’d rather stand.”

  The conversation reminded him of the first time he’d met her. In retrospect, he admired the courage she’d shown by coming to Boston to tell him to his face what she thought of his offer. Had she not done that, they wouldn’t have met. Asher didn’t want to say or do anything that would make her walk out of his life again. He didn’t
know if he should say he was sorry she’d lost her museum or let her bring it up.

  She raised her chin and met his eyes. “I misjudged you, and I’m sorry. I should have trusted you.”

  Asher clenched his fists and took Alessandro’s advice to choose his words carefully. “I gave you enough reasons not to.”

  Her eyebrows rose and lowered in agreement. “Still, I hope you’ll accept my apology.”

  He stepped closer to her. He didn’t want her to be sorry. He wanted to tell her all the ways he would be a better man for her. “Emily.”

  She put up a hand. “You were right about a lot of things. There was nothing left for me in New Hampshire. Even if it had all worked out the way I’d planned, it wouldn’t have been what my mother and I had envisioned.”

  Asher didn’t want to agree or disagree. “I’m sorry,” he blurted out.

  Emily’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry, too, but I don’t know where we go from here. I want to believe we could get past this, but we keep coming right back to this place. How do I know we won’t be here a month from now? How do I know . . .?”

  That I would move heaven and earth for you?

  He approached her. “Are you attending the auction?”

  Emily nodded.

  “Then I’ll see you there.”

  Emily frowned, searched his face, and nodded. “Of course.” She turned quickly away and started toward the door.

  “Emily,” Asher said as she opened the door.

  “Yes?” she questioned, without turning around.

  “The auction is an important night for all of us. Make sure you come.”

  She stood absolutely still for a moment, then said, “Your family has been very kind to me. I’ll be there.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  ‡

  The day of the auction Emily met her eyes in the full-length mirror in the bathroom of Celeste’s apartment. I can do this. She hadn’t heard from Asher since she’d left his office, and she told herself it was for the best.

  Seeing him had been torture. How could he dismiss her that way? Had he already moved on? Women usually want to sleep with me, and it’s never been more complicated than fitting them into my schedule. Well, he’s always been honest, I have to give him that.