by Kate James
“Thanks, Sherri.”
“No problem. Could I get you a coffee or something cold to drink while you wait?”
“No, thanks. I’m fine.” As Sherri closed the door behind her, Emma settled in the chair in front of Josh’s desk and idly leafed through a veterinary supply magazine.
She couldn’t remember feeling this good—this optimistic—in a long time.
When the door opened and Josh entered, she rushed to him and threw herself into his arms. Josh stumbled under her unexpected weight. “Is everything okay?”
As Emma knew she was generally more reserved with her emotions, and especially so with the recent distance between them, no wonder he looked surprised. She framed his face with her hands and dropped a quick succession of kisses on his brow, his cheeks and his mouth. “Oh, things are a lot better than okay! Thank you! Thank you for believing in me and encouraging me.”
The confused, uncertain look on his face made him just that much more adorable.
“Okay. You’re welcome for...?”
“I called Arlene and she likes my work! So much so, that she wants me to work for her firm exclusively,” she blurted out.
A mixture of emotions played across his face, but then joy and maybe something akin to pride settled on it. He lifted her off the ground and spun her around. “Congratulations! That’s terrific news. What does it involve?”
“I have no idea,” she laughed. “I don’t have the details. Arlene suggested we have lunch to discuss it.”
Grinning at her, he said, “All right, but I’m taking you out to dinner tonight to celebrate. Okay?”
“It was just a call, Josh.”
“Doesn’t matter. She recognizes your capabilities and wants to meet with you to talk terms. That’s cause for celebration.”
She was touched that he would see it like that. “Okay. I’d love to.”
“Great. I have to get back to my patients, Emma, but I’ll pick you up at seven. Does that suit you?”
“Perfectly!” She took his face in her hands once more and gave him what she wanted to be a heart-stopping, hormone-elevating kiss. It must have worked, as he didn’t immediately follow her out. She hoped it was because he needed some time to settle before he resumed his appointments. The thought made her smile.
On a whim, she opened his office door again and stepped back inside. With her eyes locked on his, she whispered, “Thank you, Josh, for not ridiculing or dismissing me. It means a lot to me.” Surprising them both, she reached for his hand and, with her eyes steady on his, added softly, “I love you.”
Speechless, Josh could only stare at her as she turned her back to him and walked out of his office a second time.
Still in a state of euphoria, Emma drove home. She wasn’t a complete failure. Someone who knew her history liked her work and wanted her to do more of it. And—entirely unexpected—she’d fallen in love again! If she was honest with herself, she’d known for some time that she was falling in love with Josh. She’d just been too afraid to admit it...until today.
And it felt wonderful!
She was going to take a long bath and then pamper herself to look as good as she possibly could for dinner with the man she loved.
The man I love, she repeated to herself. It sounded good to her. It sounded right. And he loves me, too. Which made it perfect.
When she got home, she placed her mail on top of her desk in her office and let the dogs out, before she went upstairs to soak in the tub.
True to his word, Josh arrived at seven. Winston trotted happily in to greet his pals. Though they hadn’t discussed where he was taking her, they both appreciated the celebratory nature of the evening and had dressed accordingly.
Emma had decided to wear a long A-line skirt in a deep russet, with a soft, cream-colored cashmere sweater and high-heeled brown boots with a matching leather jacket. She’d left her hair straight and loose, but she had formed two thin braids on either side at her temples and secured them together at the back of her head. The color she’d put on her eyelids picked up the rich tone of the skirt, and her lipstick was a pale cinnamon gloss that accentuated rather than overpowered the natural hue of her lips.
She was pleased when Josh told her that he thought he’d never seen her look more beautiful.
He’d chosen a wonderful Italian restaurant in the town of Kingston. Emma had veal parmigiana, and Josh selected the osso buco. He delighted her by ordering a bottle of Dom Pérignon, in keeping with their festive mood.
“I’m going to do it!” Emma declared during their meal.
“The work for Elite?” he asked, apparently not following her.
“No. I’d like to adopt one of the Hanson pups and train him to be a service dog. I’ve done the research. They even have grants and I’ve applied for one. Whether I get it or not, I’d like to do it.”
Josh’s smile faded.
“What? What’s wrong? You don’t think I can do it?”
“No. It’s not that. The Hanson pups all have homes.”
“Oh.” Now that she’d made up her mind, Emma felt the disappointment acutely. “Well, maybe next time.” She loved the idea and she comforted herself that she wouldn’t give up. There would be more pups.
They finished their dinner with tiramisu and lattes. The slight tension between them in recent weeks seemed to have completely evaporated. Josh appeared both proud and excited for her, and Emma found herself falling even more in love with him.
The temperature had cooled significantly by the time they returned to the cottage, and there was a light snow falling. The silvery sweep of moonlight and the brilliant sparkle of the stars filtering in through the vestibule’s windows provided the only illumination as they said good-night.
* * *
THERE WAS A new tenderness to their caresses, a new dimension to the sensations, a new quality to their kisses. When he told her again that he loved her, she gave back the words of love without reservation.
“You make it very difficult for me to leave you,” Josh conceded with a small shake of his head. “How am I supposed to just walk out the door after that?”
“Look at it another way,” she countered with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “It’ll give you something to think about until tomorrow.”
He laughed. “Trust me. I didn’t need that kiss to keep me thinking of you.” After a final hug, he whistled for Winston.
As Josh let Winston hop into his truck, a thought started to form in his mind and he mulled it over as he drove home.
Yes, he accepted he was in love with Emma. He’d known that for a while. But now he also knew absolutely that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. She’d finally admitted to him that she loved him, too. It got him reflecting beyond the present.
Marriage, he thought with a jolt. He’d never considered marriage with any woman he’d dated before Emma.
Yet, there it was. He wanted to marry Emma. He felt it with a quiet confidence—an unquestionable certainty.
With the offer of steady work from Elite Consulting, hopefully there would be no incentive for her to move back to the city to resume her career. And even if she did?
They’d find a way to work around it. Couples had to deal with greater obstacles.
The challenge, he knew, would be to get her to trust enough in their love to be willing to marry him. He pulled into his drive with a smile on his face and determination in his mind.
* * *
EMMA WOKE WITH a feeling of sheer contentment. She wandered into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee while she let the dogs outside. Mug in hand and the dogs at her heels, she headed to her office. Only then did she realize that she’d neglected to open her mail. Her excitement from getting the call from Arlene and—more importantly—admitting she loved Josh had caused her to forget just about
everything else.
The item that caught her attention was the large manila envelope. It was light and thin. There was no name, personal or corporate, with the return address. Just the address itself. She didn’t recognize the street name, but noted uneasily that the zip code looked familiar.
A ripple of apprehension coursed through her. She searched her contact list, just to be sure.
The zip code was American Freedom Munitions’ head office location. This couldn’t be good.
With a sigh, she slid her letter opener under the flap. She reached inside and found—nothing.
She opened the envelope wider and peered inside. Nothing. That’s odd, she thought.
What’s the likelihood that someone intended to send me something but forgot to place it inside the envelope before sealing it? Then again, what’s the alternative? Someone sent me an empty envelope?
Curious, she booted up her laptop and did a search for the return address. She repeated the search to be certain, but got the same result. The address didn’t exist. The street name existed but not the number. There was a large break in the numbering on the side of the street where the return address would have been. More than a little disconcerted and with her curiosity piqued, she did a satellite street-view search of the location. The area appeared to be a large green space, a park perhaps. Zooming in, her fingers jerked away from the keyboard. She pushed back in her chair.
It was a cemetery.
She set aside the envelope and tried to put it out of her mind. She didn’t want it to dampen her good mood.
She took a sip of her now cold coffee and started work on the latest assignment she’d received from Arlene. Although she had trouble concentrating at first, her focus gradually shifted to the task at hand. By midday she had effectively blocked the empty envelope out of her mind.
* * *
JOSH AND WINSTON arrived at Emma’s shortly before six and followed her into the kitchen so they could get dinner started. He leaned back casually against the counter, legs crossed at the ankles, one hand tucked into the pocket of his jeans, the other holding a glass of red wine. He admired yet again how much more confident she seemed since he’d first met her.
“How was your day?” he asked.
He could see that giddy sense of excitement she still had over the fact that her work was valued and, hopefully, her financial situation would be resolved, too, and was happy for her.
Emma glanced over her shoulder and grinned. He felt an altogether different sensation blow through him, nearly bringing him to his knees. He’d never felt such an all-consuming love before, and wondered if he’d live through it, if she decided she didn’t want to marry him.
He set down his glass, pushed away from the cabinets and walked over to her. “I’m very proud of you.” He placed his hands on the counter on either side of her, effectively blocking her in, and nuzzled her neck. He’d just have to make the most of every moment they had together and not worry about what might come next.
“And you smell wonderful.” He turned her toward him. Taking her hand into his, palm up, he raised it to his lips and placed a kiss in its center. “So, do you know when you and Arlene will get together?”
“She suggested some dates for us to have lunch in the city. Could I leave the boys with you when I go? I doubt it would take too long, but I don’t want to worry about missing a feeding or walk time with them.”
“Of course.” He stepped away to give her room to finish their dinner, and he started to set the table.
She turned off the stove and plated their meal. “It’s been a lot to absorb, and—and it’s been a strange day.”
“Strange? In what way?”
Carrying the plates to the table, she paused. “Something odd happened.”
“You got another contract offer in the mail for exclusive freelance work and there’s a bidding war for you?” he teased as they sat down.
She smiled. “No. But it did have to do with mail. I received an envelope and there was nothing in it.”
He looked up from his meal.
“No big deal if not for this,” she continued. “The return address is from the zip code where American Freedom Munitions has its head office. When I searched the address, I found that it doesn’t exist. There’s a cemetery in the location that corresponds to the street address.”
Josh put down his cutlery. “You need to tell Chad about this.”
Emma let out a nervous laugh. “I’d hoped you’d tell me it was someone’s silly mistake and nothing I should worry about.”
“I’m sorry to disappoint you.”
“You think I should be concerned about it?”
“I don’t want to alarm you unnecessarily, but the scientist in me doesn’t accept coincidences, and this one sounds like a big one.”
“So what’s the point of it?”
“I can’t dismiss the idea that it’s a message. First your ex-fiancé calls to try to scare you off, and now it seems that someone wants you to know that they, whoever they are, know where you are.” He held her gaze. “It might be nothing. But we can’t dismiss the possibility that it’s a form of intimidation, as perhaps the incident in the forest was intended to be.”
“Intimidation for what purpose?”
“They know you’ll be a key witness for the prosecution with respect to the criminal negligence charges against Morgan. Maybe they hope you won’t testify.”
“I can’t do that!”
“Well, then maybe they hope your testimony won’t be as convincing.” He leaned over and took her free hand. “It’s probably nothing, but I’d rather we err on the side of caution. I’ll let Chad know.”
“Maybe I’m just jumpy because of what Daniel said about being cautious.”
“Maybe, but Daniel made an important point. I’ll fill Chad in and I want you to be very careful. Call me if anything worries you.”
“Okay.” She moistened her lips. “This discussion is making me nervous. What’s Chad going to do about an empty envelope? He can’t trace it, can he?”
“Unless the person sending it had previous run-ins with the law and had their fingerprints on file, there probably isn’t. I just want Chad to know what’s going on. Try not to worry about it,” he said, but knew he’d be having another beer with Chad as soon as he was available.
“All right.” She picked up her cutlery but only toyed with her food.
If he’d lost his appetite, he supposed she had every reason to have lost hers, as well.
* * *
EMMA AGREED TO meet Arlene Greenberg for lunch at Le Meurice on 52nd Street in New York City.
Emma was both nervous and excited as she drove to the city. It helped for her to keep thinking of the positive feedback Arlene had given her on her assignments. Josh’s support and unquestionable belief in her bolstered her confidence, too.
Arlene was already sitting at a corner table when Emma arrived at the restaurant. She smiled as she walked toward the table, and Arlene rose to greet her.
Arlene’s handshake was firm and warm. Emma was relieved that her hand was cool and dry, conveying confidence as opposed to the nerves she felt rioting under the surface.
“It’s a pleasure seeing you again, Emma.”
“I’m grateful for the opportunity.” She paused. Her smile broadened. “And for your confidence in me.”
Arlene lifted a bottle of Perrier from the table and, at Emma’s nod, filled her water glass. “Emma...” she began, but paused as the waiter approached. He offered cocktails, which they both declined, and ran through the specials. With the waiter’s departure, Arlene continued, her voice business-like. “I’m not going to play games with you. It’s not my style. I prefer to be direct.”
Emma’s breath caught. Had she decided to back out? Had she set up a luncheon meeting to
tell her she was not interested in having Emma do work for Elite Consulting after all? No. Although Arlene’s statement had her nerves jumping even more, she did her best to not let it show.
“As I said over the telephone,” Arlene continued, “I’ve been very pleased with the work you’ve been doing for us. So much so that, as I said, I want a bigger role for you and one that’s exclusive to us.”
Emma smiled hesitantly.
“Believe me, Emma, this isn’t altruism. We’ve grown sufficiently enough to expand and I’ve decided that we need another client executive. You’d be a great addition to our team, and I believe we’d work well together.”
Emma could feel her mouth drop open and there was a roar of blood rushing in her ears. “A client executive? I don’t understand.”
Arlene smiled at her encouragingly and outlined the role in broad brushstrokes. The job itself sounded similar to the role she’d had at Tyson, Myers and Smith. If she accepted it, she’d no longer be able to hide behind a computer; she’d have to interact with clients again.
“I’m honored,” Emma said, at a loss for what else to say.
When the waiter came back to inquire if they were ready to order, Emma hadn’t even glanced at the menu, nor did she think she could eat much under the circumstances. She ordered a Caesar salad, and Arlene ordered the salmon special.
As they ate, Arlene gave Emma additional insights into the company, its clients, its revenue and growth projections. Arlene went on to summarize the terms of the offer.
“Your offer is very generous,” Emma acknowledged.
“You’ll have an office overlooking Central Park, and company paid parking, should you choose to drive to work,” Arlene added.
Office and parking? Emma hadn’t thought about the details, but, of course, as a client executive Arlene would want her to be in their offices in New York City, not working from Sanctuary Cove. She’d known that at some level, but had pushed it to the back of her mind. If she had to move back to the city, she could at least afford to keep the cottage, but it would again be for weekend use only. She thought of Josh, and what that would mean to their relationship.