by Dawn Brower
“It wouldn’t hurt to have Emma take a look, but let me assess him first. Emma has some paperwork to fill out right now before she can officially start working with any of the players.” Henry turned to Emma and gestured to a manila folder. “Everything you need is in here. Read it over, fill in, and sign where necessary.” Turning to his son he said, “I’m going to go look at Bryant and see what’s going on. Can you keep Emma company? I want to talk to you before you leave. There’s something I need to go over with you.”
Colt folded his arms over his chest and glared at Emma and Ian. What did he have to be irritated about? She could talk to anyone she wanted to. He lost the right to have a say over a year ago. Emma turned her back to him and walked over to the desk.
“Are you coming, Colt?” Dr. Ellwood asked.
“Yeah,” he said, anger evident in his voice. “I’m right behind you.”
Emma sat in one of the plush chairs in front of Henry’s desk and opened the folder. She began to read over the paperwork. Everything was standard, so she began to fill out the forms and signed her name where needed. She left the contract for last so she could give it a full read through before signing it.
“So, you’re going to work with a bunch of men who decided never to grow up?”
Emma laughed. “That’s one way of looking at it. I enjoy working in physical therapy. Your father offered me the job and I found I couldn’t refuse a second time.”
“Second time? Wow, now it’s my turn to be impressed.”
“How so?”
“People don’t often say no to my father. In fact, you’re the first person I’ve met who managed to do it at all.”
Emma tilted her head and studied him. “Why do you sound irritated?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s not you. He’s trying to talk me into changing specialties. He doesn’t understand why I don’t want to work in sports. I’ve never liked football—or any athletic event for that matter. Working with them day in and day out…” Ian shuddered. “No, I couldn’t do it.”
Emma nodded. “I get it. You can’t spend the rest of your life doing what you hate. Don’t let him browbeat you into doing something you would regret.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.”
“Good.”
“So what’s your story, Emma?”
“What do you mean?” She studied him, puzzled.
“That football player—”
“Colt Lewis?”
“Yeah, it was clear you two had a history. Are you sure you want to work with him?”
How to answer him? Did she want to work with Colt? That would be a huge negative—hell no times a bazillion. The thing was, she did want to work in physical therapy. She had to make concessions somewhere and working with Colt on a regular basis was her compromise. The first chance she got she’d sit him down and explain to him how things were going to be. Colt wouldn’t be too difficult if he understood the rules. The biggest one was to leave her the hell alone.
“Colt won’t be a problem.”
“You sound so sure of that.” He frowned. “How can you know he won’t be?”
Emma sighed. “Colt has many faults, but he’s respected my space so far. I have no reason to believe he’ll do anything to make me uncomfortable. It’s been more than a year since we broke up. We’ve both moved on and are much happier apart.”
Emma looked down at the contract. The words swam in front of her. She didn’t want to revisit a painful part of her past. She silently begged the fates that Ian wouldn’t ask what happened between her and Colt. Nothing was going to get her to spill her guts. She barely held it together in his presence—her heart a constant aching wound.
“I see,” he said, quietly.
Emma’s eyes shot upward and looked into his. “What do you mean?”
“You do have a broken heart in need of repair.”
“Oh, you mean earlier—no, I was joking.”
Was it that evident? No, she’d been careful to conceal how much hurt she still carried within her.
“Sure, if it makes you feel better to believe that.” Ian held up his hand to stop her from talking. “Don’t feel like you need to explain. I’ve been there, trust me I understand.”
Emma sat back and stared at him. How sad, they commiserated over understanding the pain of losing someone they once loved. She wouldn’t push but couldn’t help being curious. If he wanted to tell her, she’d listen.
“I don’t feel like talking about it.”
“Neither do I.” He smiled. “I think we are destined to be good friends.”
Emma grinned back at him. “Is that so?”
“Yes, but first I need you to tell me one thing.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“What’s your last name and would you like to have dinner with me tonight?”
“That’s two questions.” Emma laughed.
“I know, but it didn’t occur to me until I wanted to ask you to join me tonight that you never told me your full name. I wouldn’t know it was Emma if the football player hadn’t interrupted us earlier.”
Going to dinner with Ian was a good idea. A brilliant, wonderful, and serendipitous opportunity to start finally getting Colt Lewis out of her heart for good—even if she and Ian were only going to be friends. She had to start somewhere.
“I’d love to have dinner with you tonight.”
“Good.” Ian paused. “I’m afraid I need to ask you one more question.”
Emma laughed. She’d not had this much fun in a long time. “I don’t know if I want to answer any more.”
Ian sighed and tapped his fingers on the desk. “I really must insist.”
Emma waved her hand, amusement filling her heart. “Okay, fine. Ask your question.”
“Do you like Italian?”
“The food or the people?”
“Both I guess—but in this case the food is more on topic.”
Emma grinned. “I love it.”
“Perfect.” Ian grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down his phone number. He handed it to her. “Store my phone number and when you get a minute text me your address. I’ll pick you up at seven.”
He got up to walk out of the office.
“You’re not going to wait to talk to your father?” she asked.
He turned to look at her and shook his head. “No, I decided it’s best if I don’t. Less likely we’ll end up arguing that way.”
Emma nodded. “Probably a good idea.”
“Until later.” He waved goodbye as he exited the office.
Emma turned her attention back to the contract in front of her. She read it through and made sure she was familiar with all of the fine details. Nothing seemed wrong with it, so she signed and dated it and placed it back on the folder. She closed it and slid it across the desk, letting it rest in front of Henry’s chair. Emma didn’t know when he’d be back, and she didn’t want to leave without talking to him. Sitting back in her chair she pulled out her cell phone. She opened her contacts and stored Ian’s number. She clicked on Message and typed out Tori’s address and hit Send.
Dinner should be fun later on—it’d also give her the opportunity to avoid Wes. After she stopped by Tori’s office to pick up the spare key, she’d get settled into the guest bedroom and start getting ready for her date. If it went well, she’d be gone before Wes could stop her from leaving. Emma didn’t look forward to a repeat of her conversation with Dallas. Hopefully she could count on Tori to keep him from getting too pissed off and attempting to order her around. If her brother got too dictatorial, she’d have to hurt him. Working with the Starlings was her dream job—nothing and no one was going to talk her out of keeping it.
Chapter Three
Colt watched Ian exit Dr. Ellwood’s office. He debated whether or not it would be a good idea to go in and talk to Emma. It had been so long since he’d seen her. The sight of her talking to Ian, her cinnamon hair floating around her shoulders, had made his heart beat hard inside h
is chest. Of course, she turned her icy stare on him and dismissed him as something not worth her time. It hurt to see her, but her indifference decimated him in ways he would never be able to explain. He knew what it was like to have her look at him with sunny smiles and love-filled gazes. Damn Missy for messing things up so brilliantly for him. Parts of him wanted to strangle the woman for creating the scandal that caused him to lose the woman he loved—Emma.
Now it looked like she was hell-bent on moving on and forgetting he ever existed—a hard truth for him to swallow. Colt scrubbed his hands over his face and took a deep breath. It was time to face her and find out what was going on with her. If she really intended to work as the team’s physical therapist, they would need to at least be on speaking terms. Any other time he’d come across her she’d walked the other way refusing to say a word to him.
Colt walked into the office and found her looking at her phone. She’d pushed her hair behind her ears and bit her bottom lip between her teeth. Colt was momentarily mesmerized by the sight. Emma had never looked more beautiful to him.
He rapped his knuckles on the door frame. “Emma.”
She whipped her head around and gasped. “Good grief, Colt, you scared me.”
“That wasn’t my intention.”
Her left eyebrow rose, derision filling her eyes. “Really? What exactly are your intentions then?”
“I thought we should talk…”
She nodded. “As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right.”
Colt opened his mouth to tell her all the reasons they should talk but stopped, startled at her agreement. Did they still have a chance? Was he reading too much into her acceptance? No, he couldn’t let himself feel any kind of hope. He knew from experience it was actually a very dirty, four letter word. It made you feel things and pray it could go how you want—only to have it come crashing down around you and annihilate your world in millions of tiny pieces.
He hesitated inside the door. “You do?”
“Don’t look so shocked.” Emma waved her hand at him. “Come in and have a seat.”
His heart was racing as he did his best to keep his emotions in check. He strolled into the room and sat in the chair opposite her. How did he proceed? Now that he made the move to get her to talk to him, he didn’t have a clue how to start.
“So…”
Emma laughed. It stabbed him in the chest like a hot brand leaving its mark. God it’d been an eternity since he’d heard her laugh. It warmed him as it wrapped around his soul, easing some of his heartache.
“At a loss for words?”
Yes, he really was. He didn’t want her to know how much being around her made him nervous though, so he did his best to carry his end of the conversation. “No, not at all.”
“You wanted to talk.”
“I did, but you agreed we needed to. What’s on your mind?”
Emma sighed and began to fidget. “You know I’m going to be working here.”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“I assumed that is why you insisted we talk.”
Where was she going with this? “Of course.”
“Good. I don’t want there to be any—how do I put this?—negativity between us. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable because we have to work together.”
How could she think—Oh, he understood. She wasn’t going to forgive him. Not really. No, Emma wanted them to agree on some kind of neutrality for the sake of both their jobs.
“I see.”
“I thought long and hard about accepting the position. You know better than anyone how much I wanted this job.”
“Yeah, I do.”
She used to want him much more than she ever wanted to work as a physical therapist though. She’d been thrilled their career choices could coincide with each other. They’d be able to be together, and both enjoy what they’d decided to do with their lives. Amazing how much a year can change everything. In one fateful night, he’d lost the best thing he’d ever had.
“Good. So you agree.”
Agree? What the hell did he agree to? Fuck, he should really learn to not tune out. She’d probably rambled on about why they should be congenial and pleasant to each other. All he really wanted to do was punch the wall. How was he going to pretend he never stopped loving her?
“Maybe you could tell me exactly what I’m agreeing to?”
Emma sighed. “Were you even listening to me?”
“A little,” he admitted.
“Good grief, Colt. Why do I even bother?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I’m sorry. I have a lot on my mind. Could you explain it to me again?”
“Fine.”
“So what did you have in mind?”
“Okay. I’m not going to pretend we don’t have a history.”
Damn right she wasn’t. He’d not let her forget for one moment how good it had been between them. “Good.”
“But I’m also not going to lie to you. I can’t forget about what happened.”
He gulped down the lump in his throat…and right there lay his problem. She couldn’t forget. “I understand.”
Emma began to wring her hands in her lap. Her nervousness was beginning to shine through. “I would like us to be on friendly terms.”
“I’d like that too.”
“It’d make our lives easier, especially since I’m starting to date again. I don’t want any awkwardness to follow me around while I’m here.”
He paused and let that information sink in—wait a minute, did she mention dating? As in someone other than him? Hell no, he wasn’t going to allow it. Except he didn’t have a say in who Emma decided to date. How was he going to fix this mess? Colt let it swirl around in his brain and decided he couldn’t do anything at the moment, but he’d file it away for later. He’d devise a plan of action when he wasn’t sharing air space with Emma. He couldn’t think straight in her presence.
“I completely agree with you.”
“You do?”
“Of course.”
“And you don’t have a problem with me dating?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Why would I?”
She nodded her head. “Good. I was afraid you’d make things difficult for me.”
“I’d never do that.” Colt shook his head. “I want you to be happy.”
“So you’re dating someone too?”
Where the hell did she get that from what he said? “Yeah, absolutely.” And why the fuck did he say he was? He was losing his freaking mind.
“Oh good,” she exclaimed. “I can’t wait to meet her. What’s her name?”
Colt said the first name that popped into his mind. “Alison.”
Damn it, now he’d have to talk to Alison and fast. Emma was close to her last time he’d checked. As soon as he left the office he’d shoot her a text telling her not to talk to Emma until they had a chance to talk. He hoped his new best friend was willing to help him out.
“Alison?” Emma frowned. “She never mentioned…”
“She probably didn’t feel comfortable telling you—considering our history.”
Emma nodded, uncertainty entering her blue eyes. “Yeah, you’re probably right. I’ll have to talk to her.”
“Let me talk to her first,” he interjected. Colt needed to make sure Emma didn’t talk to her first. “I can tell her I talked to you and it’s okay to, um, mention it to you now. It’s all kind of new. We’ve kept it all pretty quiet.”
“I see.”
“Yeah, thanks. When I see her later, I will, um, tell her to call you later if that’s okay.”
Damn what a mess. He needed to learn to keep his mouth shut. How could he have let the woman he loved believe he moved on with his best friend? He hoped Alison didn’t get too pissed off at him. That woman had a temper to match her copper-gold hair.
“Of course that’s fine. If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure,” he said.
“Well, I was going to say I have to stop off at the off
ice in a little bit anyway. I’m staying with Tori until I find my own place. I can talk to her when I stop by to get keys to the condo.”
Good lord, it was getting worse and worse. He’d have to get Alison to leave the office before Emma showed up so she wouldn’t get the third degree. Colt would shoot her a text begging her to meet him for lunch. He was such a moron.
“I’d rather be the one to tell her. I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable. You understand.”
Please let her not make a big deal out of this. He didn’t want her to talk to Alison only to have her tell Emma she didn’t have a clue what she was talking about.
“Yeah, I suppose I understand. I wouldn’t want you to go running off to talk to the guy I’m dating. Tell her to text me when she gets a chance after you talk.”
Thank goodness she saw things his way. One hurdle down and only a hundred more to get over—the hardest one was getting Alison to agree to pretend to be his girlfriend.
“I will.”
Emma looked at her watch and sighed. “How bad was Bryant anyway?”
Colt had completely forgotten about Bryant and the reason Dr. Ellwood had left his office. His teammate must have been hurt far worse than he thought.
“He didn’t look too bad, but I’m not a doctor.”
Emma frowned. “I’m not sure how long I should wait.”
“Oh good, you’re still here, Emma,” Dr. Ellwood said as he walked into his office. “Where’s Ian?”
“He had to leave. He said to give you his regrets.”
“Did he now? Somehow I doubt that. I know my son.”
Emma laughed. “He did say he needed to get to work, but if you want me to give him a message I can tell him when he picks me up for dinner tonight.”
Ian and Emma were going on a date. Damn. She hadn’t been lying when she said she was starting to date. How cruel life could be.
“Did you need something, Colt?” Dr. Ellwood asked.
“No, I needed to talk to Emma. I’m going to leave you two to discuss whatever you need to. I have to finish my workout and take care of a few things myself.” Colt stood and nodded his head at Emma. “It was nice seeing you again. Take care.”
“You too. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again soon.”