“Emerald, thank you for coming here and telling me this but I’m okay,” Adonis told her. “I shouldn’t have tried to push you into something you weren’t ready for. I figured out pretty soon that you weren’t that into me, but I didn’t want to throw in the towel. You never encouraged me to believe there would be more between us. I saw what I wanted to see and that is all there is to it.”
Emerald had never felt such relief in her life. “Are you sure? I never wanted you to feel bad for wanting to be with me.”
Adonis placed his hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “No, you didn’t do a thing wrong. You were always very upfront and honest with me. I was the one who was blinded by something that wasn’t there. So, how about we forget about all of this? I’m dating someone new and she’s wonderful.”
She was very happy for Adonis. He was great boyfriend and even husband material, so she hoped things turned out great for him. “I’m so glad to hear that. I wish you all the luck in the world.”
“Thank you,” he smiled. “How are things going for you? I heard you were dating a cop. I never saw you as the type to go for a man in uniform.”
Chance...Emerald tried not to think about him.
She’d been lucky enough that the times she had been out with Shauntie and Sapphire that she hadn’t crossed paths with him. Honestly, she hadn’t heard a word from him since the night they shared together.
A couple of days after she’d gotten back home, doubts about leaving Chance had entered her mind. Yet, seeing how he hadn’t tried to contact her at all, Emerald realized that she had made the right decision about ending things with him.
“Oh, we aren’t together anymore,” Emerald answered, trying to keep it together.
“Well, it’s his loss. You’re an amazing woman and this guy should have known it.”
“You’re so sweet. Thank you for that, but I have to leave now. I just wanted to tell you about how I felt,” Emerald said.
“There was no need for it, but thank you,” Adonis told her.
“Okay, bye.”
“Bye, Emerald.”
Pivoting, Emerald walked away from Adonis feeling good about what she just did. A lot of times she came across as selfish and self-centered, but she felt she had grown as a person by apologizing to Adonis. Now all she had to do was get over her lingering love for Chance and her life should be right back on track.
****
“Emerald, you’re awful quiet. Are you okay?”
Placing the bridal magazine back down on the table, Emerald found Sapphire staring at her across the dining-room table. She almost thought about canceling this lunch with Shauntie and Sapphire after her talk with Adonis, but she didn’t.
“I’m fine,” she answered, hoping the conversation would end.
“Why are you lying?” Shauntie asked as she placed turkey club sandwiches down on the table next to the glasses of lemonade. “We’ve known you for way too many years not to know when something is wrong with you. Does it have anything to do with Chance?”
“Why do you think it has anything to do with him?” she asked.
“Come on Emerald,” Sapphire said. “All of us have eyes and ears. We all know how the two of you have been trying to keep your relationship a secret from us. Brian isn’t too thrilled about it. He thinks you can do better than Chance.”
“Okay. Chance and I were going out for a while, but it’s over now,” Emerald confessed. “We weren’t able to get over the baggage between us.”
Shauntie took a seat at the table and stared at her. “How do you and Chance have any baggage?”
“Yeah, I was wondering the same thing,” Sapphire said. “You aren’t making any sense.”
It came as no surprise to her that her girlfriends caught her slip of the tongue. She became fully aware that she wouldn’t be able to leave today without telling them about her past with Chance.
“I guess I should have told both of you about this before now, but it isn’t something that I’m proud of so I just kept it to myself,” Emerald admitted.
“You’re scaring me,” Shauntie said. “Tell us.”
“Don’t get excited. I’ll tell you.”
Blowing out a deep breath, Emerald got herself together allowing her thoughts to filter back to the first day she laid eyes on Chance. As she proceeded to tell her girlfriends about her past with him, she watched as Shauntie and Sapphire leaned back in their seats in stunned silence.
“I can’t believe it,” Sapphire gasped. “Talk about second chances.”
“Emerald, do you know what this means?” Shauntie asked her.
“No, what does it mean?” Emerald asked in a shakier voice that she would have liked. Just thinking about Chance was still hard for you.
“He’s your hunk. You can’t let him go. Why are you fighting this so hard?
“I’m not fighting anything,” she managed to reply through stiff lips. “I’m seeing reason and that’s it. Please just drop it. I thought I came here to help you look at wedding dresses and plan a Valentine’s Day party. I’m done talking about Chance. Will you please respect my decision?”
“I still think you’re wrong, but I’ll stop,” Shauntie agreed. “Now, will you help finish looking at wedding dresses with me? I’m torn between two and I also still need help on the list for the party.”
Emerald gave Shauntie a glance of utter disbelief. Why had her friend given up so easily? Usually once Shauntie got hold of something, she didn’t like letting it go until she got her way. She spent another two hours at Shauntie’s house going over wedding plans and last minute things for the Valentine’s Day party.
She tried to keep her disappointment at a minimum that she was going to be alone on her favorite holiday, but it wouldn’t be the first time. So, she would just deal with next week and get through the day.
“I hate to leave, but I have a few errands I need to run before I get home,” Emerald said as she grabbed the notepad off the table. “I’ll be sure to get these items and bring them by before the party.”
“How about I come by and pick them up from your house?” Sapphire suggested. “I’ll be near your house tomorrow.”
“Could you?” Emerald asked. “If you did that then I wouldn’t have to drive back out here until the night of the party.”
“Girl, you know I don’t mind helping out with this.”
“Shauntie, I want to thank you again for not bringing Chance up again with me.”
Shauntie placed the wedding invitations magazine back down on the table and looked at her. “I told you I would and I did. I only wanted you to be happy and if Chance isn’t the guy then I’ll leave it alone.”
“Alright, I’ll see both of you next week at the party.” Emerald said a few more words to her friends before she walked out of the room and let herself out of the house.
****
“What are you up to Shauntie?” Sapphire questioned. “I don’t believe for one second you aren’t going to try something to put Emerald and Chance back together.”
Grinning at her, Shauntie folded her hands on top of the magazine in front of her. “You’re right. Emerald is too quick to let someone go out of her life. Chance is the perfect guy for her. I’m going to make sure they end up together and this is how you’re going to help me achieve it. Are you game?”
“You better believe it,” Sapphire answered. “Did you see how sad she got when you talked about her breaking up with Chance? His arrogance gets on my nerves, but I saw how he was looking at Emerald when he was dancing with her. He’s in love with her and I won’t stand in the way of it.”
“You know Nash and Brian might not be happy with us interfering with this,” Shauntie pointed out.
“I believe you have Nash wrapped around your finger enough that he won’t give you too much of a lecture.”
Shauntie smiled. “You’re right. What about Brian?”
“You just leave Brian to me. After I’m finished with him he won’t care about what is going on
with Chance or Emerald anymore. He’ll be way too happy to care about their love life.”
“Wonderful, let me fill you in on my plan.” Shauntie leaned closer to Sapphire and proceeded to tell her exactly what to do.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Sitting in the very back of Peppers Chance took a sip of his drink watching as his sister Kate rushed towards the front of the stage to watch Coco perform. He wasn’t in any mood to be at a concert, not when he hadn’t found a way to get Emerald to listen to him. A week had passed and he was still struggling without her in his life.
Every time he went by her job to see her, Dr. David would come out in the hallway and tell him that Emerald wasn’t available and he needed to leave. He wasn’t even sure if her boss was being honest with him or not.
Over the last couple of years, he had been crashing and burning with different aspects in his life, but Chance was tired of going to the extremes and exhausting himself with women who weren’t right for him.
He probably would still be doing the same thing if Emerald hadn’t come into his life. She made him see that he was fed up with obsessing over small things that he shouldn’t have. He was almost at rock bottom but wasn’t ready to admit it until now. Emerald made him want to know about her desires, what she aspired to be in life.
Chance wanted to ride with Emerald through every one of her desires, emotions and dreams. He treasured the fact he could let down his guard with her and be himself. The night they had dinner at her house was one of his favorite memories.
But he dreamt about making more memories with her like private glances just between the two of them. Or quiet, yet thoughtful moments where they would get lost in each other eyes like no one else was around them.
Emerald probably ran the last time because she believed he wasn’t the kind of man she could count on. She didn’t understand he desired to be a part of all of her feelings and moods no matter how hard or scrambled they might be. He wasn’t going to run from any of her problems. She could call him and tell him about anything.
Why wouldn’t Emerald listen to him long enough to understand that he’d do anything in his power to protect their relationship? If he could, Chance would find a way to take away the pain Emerald might be experiencing because of him.
No matter what happened all of those years ago, he was in love with her. It could be them against the world if Emerald would stand still long enough to listen to him. All he had thought about doing over the last several days was getting lost in Emerald’s love.
Placing his glass back down on the counter, Chance watched as the club’s announcer came out on stage. Well, he guessed it was about time for Coco to perform. Chance hated being here with his little sister instead of Emerald, but he couldn’t change it. So, he might as well enjoy it as much as he could.
Getting more comfortable on the bar stool, he listened as the announcer hyped up the crowd before introducing Coco. Only a few minutes passed before she walked out on stage behind her husband/bodyguard Jax. Chance had to admit Coco was cute before she got married but now she owned this new sex appeal about her. He saw why her fans were drawn to her, but Emerald was so much more beautiful in his eyes.
Chance quickly glanced around the front of the stage and found his sister standing right below the microphone where Coco was standing. Even from this distance, he could tell how happy she was. Maybe he should have done something like this with her a long time ago.
After he got Emerald back, he might take all three of them out to dinner. Emerald was going to be a part of his life and he would love for her to be with him while he got to know his siblings better.
Drawing his focus away from his inner thoughts, Chance gave his attention back to the stage and the singer standing there.
“I want to thank everyone for showing up here tonight to hear my newest song, ‘If’,” Coco said, standing behind the microphone. “I hope everyone loves it as much as I do.” Looking over her shoulder, Chance watched as she cued her music and seconds later the song filled the room followed by Coco’s soft, smooth voice.
I have a secret
Something I have been
Holding on to for a while now
I don’t know how to tell you.
Should I leave it by text message?
Send it in an email?
Or should I go old school and
Write you a letter?
There is a tingling in my body
To reveal the truth to you.
Every time that we meet, but
I’m not sure of how you will react.
If I told you my secret
Would you tell me yours?
If I gave you a hint would
You get it or need another?
If you finally knew the truth
Would you look at me the same?
If the three little words ‘I love you’
Passed through my lips,
Could they make you stay?
Or would you still open that
Door and walk out of my life?
Men like you are so hard to understand.
You fight your emotions tooth and nail
To keep from feeling.
But you probably feel things deeper
Than me, yet are too afraid to open
Your heart a crack and let me in.
Why are you battling what we both
Know is right in front of us?
Something this good shouldn’t be
Ignored but explored.
If I told you my secret
Would you tell me yours?
If I gave you a hint would
You get it or need another?
If you finally knew the truth
Would you look at me the same?
If the three little words ‘I love you’
Passed through my lips,
Could they make you stay?
Or would you still open that
Door and walk out of my life?
My secret is yours all you have to do is
Let me know.
Some secrets are worth keeping
Close to your heart for eternity but this
Isn’t one.
Just give me a wink or smile to let me know
And I will tell you my heart’s desire.
If I told you my secret
Would you tell me yours?
If I gave you a hint would
You get it or need another?
If you finally knew the truth
Would you look at me the same?
If the three little words ‘I love you’
Passed through my lips,
Could they make you stay?
Or would you still open that
Door and walk out of my life?
Chance sat in his seat in shock as Coco took a step back from the microphone and bowed as the place went crazy with applause. Her song was about him and Emerald, every single word she sang talked about how Emerald felt about him all of those years ago.
She used to look at him in Psychology class every day like he was the love of her life and he just blew it off. The only time he was drawn to her was the night of the party. No, he was still lying to himself. He had truly wanted Emerald from the moment he walked into the classroom, but he had been too nervous to approach her.
Back then, he was just a jock and fraternity boy but Emerald was smart, funny and gorgeous. Half of the kids had hated her, but the male teacher loved her and with good reason. Why hadn’t he asked her out back then instead of acting like she wasn’t there?
Chance could finally admit that his world was lonely and cold because Emerald wasn’t in it. She brought such a light to everything around him. She might think they were far away from each other, but she truly didn’t know how close they were. He was going to prove it to her, but he was going to need some help from a few other people first.
Chapter Thirty
Valentine’s Day
Emerald checked the sheet of paper in her hand again to mak
e sure she had the right address of the restaurant. Shauntie had left a message on her answering machine telling her to come to this new location. She was surprised by the change because Shauntie had been so excited to have it at her house the last time she spoke to her.
Walking up the spiral staircase, Emerald paused at the closed door wondering why she didn’t hear any music coming from inside. Maybe she just couldn’t hear it through the door, but she knew everything was going to be perfect once she got inside.
She pushed opened the door, walked inside and literally stopped in her tracks when she spotted one candlelit table in the center in the room.
What in the hell was going on? Where was everything? There wasn’t a party here at all. Did she write down the wrong address?
Going further into the space, Emerald’s eyes searched the area hoping to spot someone she could ask about Shauntie’s party, but there wasn’t another soul around. Just as she was about to turn around and leave, Emerald heard the door click shut behind her.
“Hello, Emerald,” Chance said as he took a step towards her.
Taking a deep, unsteady breath, she stepped back from Chance. “What are you doing here? Where is everyone else?”
“We’re the only two people here tonight. Shauntie is still having her party at her house, but she planned this for us. I didn’t know about it until I called her yesterday for help winning you over.”
Emerald stared wordlessly at Chance across the room, her heart pounding away inside her chest. As his eyes held hers, she felt a shock run through her body. “I don’t understand why you’re here. I thought the letter I left for you settled everything.”
“Your ‘Dear John’ letter wasn’t worth the paper you wrote it on,” Chance said, walking across the room closing the distance between them. “I thought about running after you the second the door closed, but I held back. I knew you wouldn’t listen to me. You were way too upset.”
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