It wasn’t that Emily didn’t care what he thought or felt. She’d made it clear in the way she interacted with him and his family that she did. But this was all new territory for her. Maybe if she’d had experience juggling the demands of a relationship, kids and work, she would have understood the hardships of what they were facing.
Unfortunately Dan knew all too well what the odds were of their union succeeding within the parameters Emily was contemplating. Bitter experience with his own family had taught him that good intentions were a dime a dozen. Wanting to be with loved ones wasn’t enough. For it all to work, sacrifices had to be made.
Speaking of which…
He had a major forfeiture coming up. And like it or not, so did she.
“About my family and the upcoming holiday—” Dan began.
Emily lifted a silencing hand, cutting him off. She sat up in bed, her knees drawn to her chest. “I’m with you.”
That was interesting, Dan thought, since he barely knew what he was going to say.
Emily clasped her arms around her upraised knees and continued with heartfelt emotion, “I know it’s going to be a complicated week, Dan. But I’m ready for it.”
The question was, Dan wondered, was he?
“Holidays have been tough at my house since the divorce,” he said. “Actually,” he corrected, “they were tough before then, since there was always a lot of disarray and disconnection in the household.”
“I know,” Emily said sympathetically, regarding him with kind eyes and a soothing smile. “I guessed as much.” She reached over to clasp his hand in hers, the warmth of her fingers as gentle as her voice. “And the truth is, holidays can be a lot to handle for everyone, even when everything in the family is ‘normal.’”
“Go on,” he said quietly.
Her lips twisted ruefully again. “I’ve certainly worked enough of them as a chef, seen how people interact when under stress.” She sighed. “And in extreme cases like mine, where I’d lost both my parents—or in the case of your kids, who are still dealing with their mom’s habitual absence and the fallout from the divorce—the pressure of those special occasions is even worse.”
“I just don’t want anyone to be disappointed,” he admitted.
She squeezed his hand. “Believe me, I understand, with Thanksgiving now only five days away and Brenda arriving, that you and I are going to have to do what is best for the family and put our own needs on a back burner.” She locked gazes with him. “I get that you and I are not going to have any time alone together. And I want you to know it’s okay.”
Had Dan harbored any doubt about the generosity of her spirit, it would have disappeared in that instant.
It was his own selfish nature, he realized, that bore closer examination. He was tired of hiding his feelings. Tired of having to disavow the best thing that had ever happened to him. Tired of basically lying to everyone around them.
“We don’t have to hide in the shadows,” he said. “We can let my family know that we’re…friends, and we’re spending time together.”
Emily studied him for a long silent, moment. “You really want to do that?” she asked finally.
He really did.
She, however, clearly did not, if the frown tugging at the corners of her mouth was any indication.
Dan pushed on in an attempt to persuade her. “I don’t really see that we have much choice unless we want to wait until we’re confronted. Probably at some very inopportune time.” Dan shrugged. “I can tell from some of the looks I’m getting that Walt has already guessed we’re—”
“An item?” Emily interrupted wryly.
Dan had been about to call it something a whole lot more romantic. But he was glad he hadn’t. He sensed he was pushing her too hard, too fast, as it was. “Correct,” he confirmed. “And the kids aren’t far behind.”
“The point is,” she said, “they haven’t brought it up, and given the complicated nature of the holiday, I don’t think we should, either.” She paused. “Our relationship is too new, too special. I don’t think anyone should know about us just yet.”
“So you want to just get through the week,” Dan surmised. Although it was hard to contain his disappointment, he knew it would probably be best to proceed with caution.
Emily nodded. “And see where we go from there.”
“I DON’T KNOW HOW TO thank you,” Brenda Kingsland said the following Thursday afternoon as she and Emily lingered over coffee in the formal dining room. They were enjoying the peace and quiet while Dan, Walt and the kids dealt with the dishes in the kitchen. Emily had been given a reprieve because she had cooked the meal, and Brenda had been spared because she was a guest. And, as had been proved repeatedly during the past four days, because she was inept when it came to anything domestic.
“This has been the best Thanksgiving ever,” Brenda continued with what appeared to be real contentment.
Emily was quick to agree.
She hadn’t known what to expect when Dan’s ex-wife had arrived in town on Monday for a week-long holiday. Certainly not that she and Brenda would forge an easy friendship. But that was exactly what had happened.
Emily smiled at the tall, lithe physician with the deeply tanned skin and pronounced crow’s feet around her eyes. Brenda was dressed in her usual outfit of loose-fitting khaki trousers and shirt and sturdy lace-up hiking boots. Her long, silvery-blond hair was plaited in a single braid. Her nails were short. And her makeup was nonexistent.
The only flaw Emily could see in Dan’s strikingly beautiful ex-wife was that she was so tied to her work, she was often oblivious to everything else. She was frequently on the phone or the computer, conferring with colleagues halfway around the world, rendering both medical opinions and managerial advice.
Fortunately, due to the time difference, she did a lot of her work at night and so could spend a lot of time getting caught up with her three children, to their continuing delight.
“Glad I could help,” Emily said in response to Brenda’s compliment.
Brenda slid the BlackBerry from her pocket and checked for messages. She read quickly, then typed in a response, before pocketing the phone once again. Leaning back in her chair, she sipped her coffee contentedly. “I can’t get over the difference in the kids. In the past when I’ve come home, they’ve been moody and resentful to the point I’d begun to think it might be better if I just stayed away entirely.” She beamed. “But this time they’ve been really glad to see me, almost relaxed. Dan, too. And that was a surprise. Usually he’s tense and irritable. We all are.”
She flashed Emily a grateful look. “It’s obviously helped, having you around. Making everything run smoothly, reminding us through your own example that we don’t need everything society says we do to be happy, that we can get by simply by focusing on what we most need.” Brenda summed up thoughtfully, “In your case, a baby. In Dan’s, a normal family life. And in mine, the knowledge I’m bringing medical care to people in desperate situations.”
There was no doubt, Emily thought, that Brenda was not only a very talented physician, but a noble one.
She imagined that chivalrous streak was one of the things that had brought Dan and Brenda together, even as their vastly different goals and dreams had torn them apart. To the point now that not even a hint of sexual chemistry remained between the two of them. They were like distant relations, who while still having the power to get under each other’s skin, mostly had no real reaction to each other at all. Hard to imagine they had once lived together and had three children together, whom they both clearly loved.
Knowing it was none of her business, Emily found herself asking curiously, “Do you ever regret the divorce?”
Brenda’s reaction was automatic. “No. Dan and I were never all that good together.” Brenda grimaced. “Never really on the same page. If it weren’t for the intense passion we had in the very beginning and the fact that we had kids we both cared about, we never would have stayed together as long
as we did.” Brenda made a face. “Dan doesn’t do well with long-distance relationships.”
Which doesn’t bode well for me, Emily thought nervously.
“He tried. We both did. But he’s a man who needs a woman around. Not—” Brenda took another long sip of coffee “—a wife who is off on a mission.”
Without warning, the kids came back into the living room.
Kayla skidded to a halt next to Brenda. The eight-year-old hugged her mother exuberantly. “Okay, Mom, the dishes are all done! So you can tell us where you’re taking us for Christmas now!”
PANDEMONIUM REIGNED for the next two hours. Finally Walt’s SUV was packed with suitcases and skis, and Walt, Brenda and the kids headed for the Dallas-Fort Worth airport in plenty of time to make their 7:30 p.m. flight to Colorado.
After four days of constant activity, respective work demands and time with family, Emily and Dan were finally alone.
Emily savored the realization, her spirits lifting even as her body sagged with the fatigue of a long and demanding week.
She turned away from the front windows and saw Dan watching her with the affection he no longer had to hide. Relaxing, she let her feelings for him show, too.
They linked hands and made their way into the living room, where they sank onto the sofa. Dan draped his arm over her shoulders, and Emily nestled into the welcoming curve. She thought about all the surprises the week had brought, then asked, “Did you know that Brenda planned to surprise Walt and the kids with a ski trip?”
He’d certainly been warmly enthusiastic. But they were his kids, too, and it was a holiday weekend, a long one at that. Emily wasn’t sure how Dan felt about being left behind.
Dan shifted, then pulled Emily onto his lap. “She didn’t share that with me, but I can’t really say I’m surprised.” He put one arm around Emily’s waist, threaded the other through her hair, stroking softly.
He continued matter-of-factly, “We all love to ski. It’s a great gift and an easy way for them to celebrate an early Christmas—especially since the resort is providing an already-decorated suite complete with tree. The only downside is that the kids won’t get back here until late Sunday evening, which will make getting up for school tough on Monday morning. But I’m sure they’ll manage.”
Emily flattened her palm against the center of his chest and felt the strong, steady beat of his heart. “What about you?” She noted how delicate her hand looked against his broad, muscular chest. “Are you sorry you’re not going?”
“No,” Dan said sincerely. He captured her hand in his and rubbed his lips sensually over her knuckles. “Then he entwined their fingers and smiled down at her. “Brenda needs time alone with the kids. I want her to have as much as possible.”
As usual he was generous to a fault, Emily thought.
“It’s just too bad you and I both have to work this weekend,” he continued.
Emily’s brow furrowed. She shifted around slightly, her bottom rubbing across the hard muscles of his lap. “I knew I had one last gig tomorrow,” she murmured. “But I didn’t know you had to work.” Didn’t most businesses—like Dan’s architectural firm—take the day after Thanksgiving off?
Abruptly Dan’s expression closed. “There’s a prospective client I have to see.”
“I’ll be done by around four tomorrow afternoon,” Emily said.
“I’m not sure how long my meeting will go,” Dan said evasively. Taking her by the hand, he led her toward the stairs.
But until then, he knew exactly what he wanted to do. And Emily did, too…
“ARE YOU SURE THIS IS A GOOD idea?” Grady asked Dan as the group gathered in the unfinished atrium of One Trinity River Place.
“I know you want her to stay,” Travis added. “But excluding Emily this way…”
“Emily’s had enough stress the last few weeks as it is,” Dan said. To the point that the accumulation of fatigue and anxiety had made her faint.
He thought about how exhausted she’d looked the night before, how she’d fallen asleep in his arms immediately after they’d made love.
“Still,” Jack cautioned, “if there’s one thing I remember well about being married, it’s that women like to be consulted….”
“And Emily will be,” Dan said firmly, “just as soon as I know there is actually something to consult her about.”
Nate rubbed his jaw with the flat of his hand, his expression skeptical. “I hope you know what you’re doing,” he told Dan finally.
Dan did. He looked at his friends. “Emily doesn’t want to leave Fort Worth.”
“You mean you don’t want her to leave,” Travis corrected.
“She’d be better off here,” Dan insisted stubbornly. “Even her obstetrician thinks so.”
“Don’t you think that’s for her to decide and not you?” Grady argued back.
“The reason she wants to leave is that she doesn’t think there is any way she can successfully restore her family’s orchard business and still be here in Fort Worth.”
“She might have a point there,” another voice said dryly.
All five men turned.
The interloper extended a hand and said gruffly, “Let’s get started, shall we?”
EMILY COULDN’T BELIEVE it was working out this way. She and Dan finally had a chance to enjoy an entire weekend alone together, and they’d barely seen each other. He was gone when she’d woken up Friday morning. She’d called him at noon, but he wasn’t answering his cell. By the time he returned her phone call, she was working and couldn’t answer him. She thought they’d be together Friday evening. Wrong again. He and the partners of One Trinity River Place were all deep in the middle of some mysterious negotiations that were set to go all through the dinner hour. Emily offered to cook for them—no charge—but Dan had turned her down, saying it was already taken care of.
Trying not to feel hurt he had selected someone other than her to cater the meal, she’d spent the evening finishing up her packing. Saturday morning, she’d been busy supervising the emptying out of her loft and the loading of her belongings onto the moving truck so they could be taken to storage.
She’d thought Dan might come over or at least offer to help with that. He hadn’t. Nor had he shown up for lunch. Or been able to meet her for the afternoon movie she’d been dying to see.
Finally, around four-thirty, he called her and asked her to come down to One Trinity River Place to give her opinion on something.
Hardly the romantic date she’d been hoping for.
But he sounded both insistent and oddly formal in his request, so she agreed and drove there to meet him.
He was waiting by the security gate of the twelve-foot-high steel fence that enclosed the construction site, talking with the last person in the world she would have expected to see.
Heart thrumming in her chest, Emily moved forward and extended her hand. “Hello, Tex…Dan.” She greeted both with the same careful politeness Dan had used on the phone with her. “What are you doing here?” The question was directed at Tex.
Tex exchanged glances with Dan. “I wanted to talk to you,” he said in an all-business tone.
Emily knew her ex-fiancé could be pushy when it came to getting what he wanted, but this crossed over the line. “Our meeting with the attorney isn’t until Monday afternoon,” she reminded Tex. And although after weeks of indecision, she now knew exactly what she was going to say at that meeting, she didn’t want to have that conversation now…and she didn’t want to have it with Dan present.
“Actually,” Dan interjected smoothly, with a convivial look from Tex, “we’d both like to talk with you.”
The weekend took yet another surreal turn.
“Why don’t we go inside,” Dan suggested.
Feeling at a distinct disadvantage regarding whatever was going on here—and clearly there was something going on—Emily fell into step between the two men. She’d been shut out of some major decision-making when she’d been engaged to Tex
. She’d never expected to be similarly shut out by Dan. But to her consternation, that was exactly what seemed to be happening.
The three of them walked in silence across the roughly paved lot and into the beautifully designed stone-and-glass building. Along the way, more than one surreptitious glance was exchanged between the two men.
Finally Emily’d had enough of it. Hands in the pockets of her jacket, she swung around to square off with them. “One of you better tell me what is going on.”
“Dan came to me with a business proposal,” Tex said. “And it’s a good one.”
For the next few minutes Emily listened in numb disbelief. At last Tex and Dan finished talking. Still thrown for a loop, she decided to recap, just to make sure she understood the plan that had been developed completely in her absence. “So what you’re proposing, Tex, is that you and I go into partnership together, but instead of me being caretaker of the orchard in Fredericksburg, I live here in Fort Worth.”
“And oversee the building of the new retail store for all of Tex’s orchards,” Dan said, “and the adjoining tearoom, which will both be located on the first floor of One Trinity River Place.”
“Obviously we’ll need to go over the details,” Tex said, “and we can do that on Monday afternoon when we meet with the lawyer about our partnership agreement. But I wanted to be here when Dan first broached the subject with you,” Tex said. “Just to be sure you knew I was fully on board with this. And have been since Dan and the other guys and I first started meeting yesterday morning.”
Still feeling a little like she’d been run over by a Mack truck, Emily signaled her comprehension with a slight nod of her head.
“Anyway, as I told Dan, I’ve got to get going.” Tex paused to shake hands with Dan. “But we’ll talk Monday, okay, Emily?”
“We certainly will.” Doing her best to control her turmoil, Emily offered a tight smile.
Thinking the matter settled, Tex strode off.
Dan and Emily faced each other in the empty building.
A Baby for Mommy Page 16