by Brie Kraus
Jules didn’t seem to notice. Every time he greeted them and presented Emma; some revealed their dislike for her presence, while others smiled at her when they realized she was meant to be there. Usher kissed her on the cheek and the guy from Death Cab For Cutie told her, in his shy way, that she looked beautiful. As the evening progressed, Emma relaxed, but still felt that, at any moment, a security guard was going to come and hoist her over his shoulder, and put her back outside with the regular people. Emma began to realize why Jules was so cocky. They all loved him; everyone outside had been screaming for Julian. It was annoying.
Julian guided them to their table and pulled out Emma’s chair for her with a smile. She looked at him suspiciously.
“What?” she asked.
“What?” he questioned back.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” She put her hands on her hips and he only pulled the chair out a little further.
“I’m just wondering if you’re having a good time?” Emma sank down into the chair and one of his hands brushed her collarbone; she couldn’t tell if it was an accident.
“I—I suppose I am. I guess I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do here.” She looked at him as he moved into his own chair. “I mean, am I really just supposed to stand beside you and smile?”
“That’s all I do here. All anyone does. You just have to see it as an opportunity. That’s what I do.”
“An opportunity to what?” Emma asked with a smirk as a waiter put some champagne on their table. “To mingle? To promote myself? In case you haven’t noticed, superstar, I’m not really keen on publicity.”
Jules raised an eyebrow. “An opportunity to learn, actually. Everyone has something worth knowing; even the dullest person in the universe will know something you don’t. So,” he said, leaning into her and stroking the back of her hand with a finger. “I suggest you shut up and start learning.”
Emma stared at him. His gray eyes mocked her, but held an underlying strength which seemed to pulse as much as her skin under his finger, which created havoc with her concentration. “Oh,” was all she said.
For most of the night, they sat together at their little table, talking quietly and chatting with whomever came up to talk to Julian. He pointed out funny things about the people around them, telling Emma stories about some of the crazy things that had happened to him at these kinds of events. He told her that, so far, this had been the most tame awards show of his life. Emma looked up at the gymnasts hanging from the roof and told him that she didn’t think she’d be able to handle one of his rowdy nights.
He just chuckled.
It was in the middle of one of the presentations that someone came up and tapped Julian on the shoulder, subtly, and he stood up.
“Where are you going?” Emma asked.
“I have to perform. It won’t take long.” He smiled.
Her eyes narrowed. “And you didn’t think to tell me this sooner?”
“Nope.” He smiled again. “I didn’t think it was important.” And then he was gone.
Emma huffed, every time she started thinking he was decent he would go and act like a little shit again. It was a good thing he was attractive, she thought as she watched him walk on stage and sit at the piano. The spotlight hit his face and she drew in a breath. Very attractive!
The crowd roared and squealed at the sight of him, but went dead silent as the first notes of the piano echoed through the hall. Emma too, felt her own heart jump a little as Jules leant into the microphone and said quietly, “This is a new song.” He chuckled. “A very new song, actually. But it’s special.”
With that, he started playing, and Emma was instantly struck by the music; the soft, romantic, but strong melody from the piano. Soon, the music was taken over by his voice, which was more beautiful than any instrument.
Emma went dead still as she listened.
“Hello midnight eyes,
Brighter than the stars
More than anything before you
Welcome midnight my new sun
My endless light and razor tongue
More lovely than anything
More wicked than the worst thing
She’s so lovely
She’s so painful
I hope I survive her.
Midnight my new sun,
Brighter than the old one
I’ll see you
In every happy smile
In every lustful desire
In everything real,
There you’ll be midnight
Oh blue just fade away,
My burning midnight girl
My burning midnight sun
Brighter than anyone
Midnight I’m in love,
If you weren”t real
Then I’d make you up.”
There was silence. After the song, the last strains of the piano died away and Emma didn’t even dare to breathe. The applause broke out, raging and cheering, but Emma still didn’t move.
Midnight eyes?
Julian stood up to take a bow and she caught his eye. He didn’t blink and his gray eyes didn’t waver from her own. He smiled, to the collective sigh of the female audience and walked off stage.
Oh God. Emma thought.
The last lines of the song played over and over in her mind. “Midnight I’m in love…”
He loved her? What should she do now? Oh I know, she thought, I’ll pass out.
Chapter 19
Emma didn’t pass out, she wished that she could have had that release. Instead, she sat there, gawking and gaping like a moron as the stares around her slowly turned from curiosity to a general wonder if she was mentally ill.
Emma Roberts came up to her, put one hand on either side of her chair and looked her in the face. Her mouth went into a firm frown as she scrutinized her eyes. Leaving with a quick “Dammit!”
Emma sighed. Did she think her eyes were midnight? Is that why she left? Oh god oh god oh god.
“Hey.” Came a deep voice at her ear.
“Jesus!” Emma cried as she jumped in shock.
Jules laughed as he kissed her cheek. “So, what did you think?”
Emma’s eyes widened in horror. “I…uh…nice song.”
Jules raised an eyebrow, and for a moment, Emma thought she’d offended him, but then he replied, “Thank you. I’m glad you think so.”
She wasn’t lying; it was a beautiful song. She would have loved it even if it had been sung by some ugly, random guy. Emma was already trying to commit it to memory; she never wanted to forget the soft piano, the firm, deliberate voice, and the lyrics saying over and over the sweetest things she’d ever heard, the sweetest and the best…
“Anyway,” she said, breaking her thoughts, “um, when did you write it?”
“A while ago.”
“Oh.” Emma rethought her approach. She needed to find out if it was about her! “It’s just—you said it was very new.”
“A couple of weeks old is very new.
“Oh.” Emma sighed.
A couple of weeks. It wasn’t about her.
Emma smiled brightly, then quickly sunk into a frown.
Julian watched her reaction; he couldn’t tell her, not yet. It would just freak her out. Look at her right now, her beautiful face twisted in between frowning and worry as she chewed her lip and lowered her eyebrows. Jules almost groaned aloud. Of course the song was about her! How many girls with eyes the color of midnight did she think he knew? Jesus, this was getting complicated.
He had always planned on telling her of course. Jules had thought it would be funny to watch the panic in her face, but see the desire and satisfaction in her eyes—it had gone all wrong. He hadn’t meant to say he loved her; that had been improvised. He was going to end with something funny, something to make her smile, but the words had come out before he could stop them. Jules didn’t mean it of course, it just fit well with the song.
He frowned now.
They didn’t stay long at
the awards, only to accept his awards (4 in total) and politely decline frenzied invitations to a dozen after parties.
Emma had smiled the whole time, but there was a tension there, more than just the blatant dislike from before. She was wary of him now, cautious.
He looped his arm around hers on the way into the hotel and sighed. It felt good to be near her again; he had kept his distance at the awards, and in the car, and it had cost him. Jules might not love her, but he wasn’t an idiot. He definitely liked her, and wanted her.
My god did he want her!
For once, Emma didn’t pull away from him when they entered the elevator. She just stayed with his arm around her waist and a frown on her face.
Julian looked down at her. He saw her bite her lip again and smile an awkward smile.
That’s it, he thought; making a decision. As soon as they were back in the hotel room he was going to tell her. Tell her the song was about her and that he liked her enough to be with her. She would be grateful and admit that she liked him, too. Then he would kiss her like he’s wanted to kiss her from the first moment he saw her.
That’s it, planned solved. Julian Brex was no coward!
They were about two steps from her hotel door and Jules’ ultimate fantasy when a deep voice called from down the hall.
“Amanda.” The icy voice forced Jules to stand straighter, his arm tightening on Emma’s waist.
Emma stiffened and peeked around him; her eyes widened and her bottom lip quivered. “Father!”
Chapter 20
Emma froze. Oh god, she was dead. She didn’t know if she could pull off lying to her father, especially now that she didn’t think she’d be able to lie with Julian next to her, quite like she used to; something had definitely shifted there.
“Amanda,” he father answered in a quiet voice.
Her entire body shivered. Julian’s arm went from around her waist to squeezing her hand.
Her father noticed the movement. “I’d like to talk to you, please.” It wasn’t a question.
Emma nodded and walked towards him with Julian.
“In private,” said her father.
Jules looked at her with a worried expression. Whether he was worried for her, or for what her father could do to him, Emma wasn’t sure.
“I’ll be fine,” she whispered to him.
Jules wanted to argue, but chose to run his fingers down her cheek instead and nodded before continuing to his room.
Emma tried to control her breathing as she walked up to her father, meeting his gaze as he led her into a nearby suite. She had to remind herself that she had nothing to apologize for. Emma stood straighter as she noticed the other people in the room. “I thought you said in private,” she said, matching her father’s icy tone.
Her father stared at her. “Luke has a very important part in what we need to discuss; and Becca just showed up.”
Emma narrowed her eyes at Luke. “Whatever,” she said and stood by the window, watching the rain that had just started to fall. Typical.
She realized that she still wore her dress and shivered. Emma thought that if Julian was here he’d give her his jacket, or at least put an arm around her. She looked over at Luke as he undressed her with his eyes, knowing that would never do anything kind for her.
Julian may be an arrogant A-hole who wrote songs that made her think he loved her, but then turned out they were just about some random girl whom he wrote about a few weeks ago, but wasn’t in the picture anymore, even though he said he loved her—she took a deep breath—but at least he was a gentleman.
“What?!” she snapped at Luke.
He grinned at her, the grin that was once the center of her universe, but hardly made a flutter now.
Emma looked to her father. He stared down at her his expression so dark and remote that she almost didn’t recognize him. Where was her loving father? Where was the man who had treated her like the most special thing in his universe for the last 18 years?
“Father,” she said, squaring her shoulders. “Why have you come here?”
He raised an eyebrow. “My only child abandons her fiancée and runs half way across the world—was I meant to stay at home?”
“Yes, you were. Although given the… circumstances, I can understand how you’re reluctant to let your meal ticket get away.” Emma had never spoken to her father like that in her life, and the look of disbelief shone on his face.
It was Becca who answered. “Oh Emma, we were all so worried about you. Your father called me straight away to find out where you were.” She looked at him, frightened herself. “Of course, that was before I knew, sir.”
“Hush, Rebecca.” Her father took a deep breath and turned to Emma again. “I suppose you are justified in being upset. It was wrong of me to place you in that situation and I am sorry.”
Emma’s mouth gaped and Luke jumped to his feet.
“What? Sir, you know she must marry me.”
Her father kept his gaze on Emma. “But, while I am sorry, you must marry Luke now. You, and therefore this family, have given his family their word, and we do not back out on our word.”
“Watch me,” came Emma defiant response.
“Amanda, you are coming home and you are going to marry Luke.”
Luke smiled now, like the devil he was.
“I am not. Father, there is nothing you can do to make me come with you, short of dragging me to the plane yourself ,and I warn you that if that’s the case, I have the police on speed dial.”
Her father took one step towards her. “There must be a marriage!”
“Oh, but she’s engaged again,” Becca chimed in, “didn’t you know.”
He looked surprised, his bushy eyebrows raising. “Luke mentioned that you had attached yourself to someone new; he said nothing about an engagement.”
“Because that is irrelevant!” Luke burst in. “It does not matter how many jackoffs Emma attaches herself to. If it’s not me, then there’s no deal, old man!”
“Oh, fuck off, Luke.” Emma growled. “And if by “deal” you’re referring to my father paying back the debt against your family, I think you will find that any money should work the same. Not that it matters, I have no intention of giving you anything.”
Luke turned to face her, his irate eyes boring into hers. “You would leave your father to suffer?” he asked.
Emma flushed. She could never do that. It didn’t matter how much he had hurt her, she couldn’t just abandon him, and Luke knew it. “No, I couldn’t. Which is why I am marrying Julian. I am certain, if I remember the terms of my grandfather’s will, that any marriage will secure me the money.”
Luke took a menacing step towards her. “Over my dead body!” he screamed.
Emma closed the distance between them. “Gladly!”
“Enough!” her father’s deep voice cut in. “Luke, Becca, out. I would like to speak to my daughter alone.”
Luke scowled as he stomped out the door, while Becca smiled as though she’d been at a birthday party, instead of a family feud.
Her father took a deep breath and rubbed his temples. “Why are you doing this Emma? You love Luke.”
Her eyes widened. “No, I don’t. I could never, now that I know that everything about us was manufactured. How could you do that? How could you lie to me? Sell me?”
“Stop being so dramatic!” He whipped around. “We are going home, tonight! I’ve already ordered the jet.”
“Then you will be wasting a lot of fuel for just you. I’m staying here.”
“For what? What are you staying for Emma? For weather that you hate, for a city you don’t know, for friends you don’t have? Or, were you expecting me to believe that you were staying for that fake fiancée of yours?”
Emma almost gasped. “Wha—I—uh—”
“Did you really expect me to believe that if you won’t marry Luke, a boy you’ve been in love with since you were sixteen, then you would come to London and get engaged in a day?”
> The grim line that stretched across her father’s mouth held a hint of victory that drove Emma insane.
“Jules is special.” She knew she meant it as she said it.
“So, he is going to be your entire life, then? What about college, is that just not happening now? And what happens when this new boy turns out to have a fault, when he hurts you are you going to run half way around the world from him?”
“Julian isn’t like that! He wouldn’t lie to me like Luke did.”
“You thought that about Luke at the start too.”
“Why are you taking no responsibility for this? You practically sold me to pay off your debts! Well you know what, I lost mom as well and I wish she could see what you’ve become!”
Her father slapped her. For the first time in her life, her doting father had struck her.
Emma stomped out the door and ran as soon as it closed behind her, her heels clomped on the carpeted floor. She pounded on the door she needed, so close to tears that she whimpered.
She’d be okay, he would make everything okay. Then she wouldn’t have to think about what her father had said, about the things she knew she’s been putting off thinking about.
The door opened and Emma launched herself into his arms. They closed around her without a word and so tight that Emma was sure he would crush her. She pulled him closer.
“Julian.” She murmured. “I need you.”
Chapter 21
They held each other remained locked in the embrace be Jules. moved them over to the couch against the window, still not saying a word, and sat them down; still wrapped around each other, just watching the lights of London flicker on and off as it dawn approached.
Emma felt like she was trying to memorize him. His thunderstorm smell and the way his muscular arms held her gently. It was so easy with him, she realized; so easy to ignore all the terrible things she wished to escape and didn’t want to think about. Emma kept telling herself, just tonight. They could have just tonight to be with each other without remembering all of the other stuff, and tomorrow they would talk and make sense of why it felt so good to be with each other. Tomorrow they would, but not tonight. Tonight was theirs.