by Stella Rhys
So after walking cross-town, I hopped the A train and spent the twenty-minute ride people watching. I got off a few stops early to walk and feel the sun on my shoulders, and by the time I was in my elevator, my head was at least a little bit clearer.
But I knew I wasn’t completely out of the woods yet.
I’d done damage control on the whirlwind that took over the last few nights, but I knew I still had the situation with Aly to fix. She hadn’t texted me back yesterday when I said I couldn’t come home, and after letting two of my calls go to voicemail at night, she finally sent a quick text saying she was fine and she’d see me soon.
And most of the time, that text from a girl was my green light to go on with my day – even when I knew that “I’m fine” never actually meant “I’m fine.” But once upon a time, I was also an asshole who was happy to do the bare minimum of communicating, so if I asked what was wrong and got an “I’m fine,” then I was in the clear. I’d tried.
But I couldn’t be quite as relaxed when it came to Aly.
I couldn’t help but feel anxious and suspect that I’d fucked things up with her on the night that I needed her most, so after I got into my apartment and showered, I canceled my noon meeting, made a note to cancel Ozzy’s walker, and arranged for a car to take me to the heliport. All I wanted was to get to the Hamptons, find Aly at work and take in the comfort of her scent as I wrapped my arms around her tight.
That was all I needed to feel okay. I knew that, so when I saw the car waiting for me when I got out of the building, I could feel my heart already lift at the idea of being that much closer to her.
But I’d gotten barely two steps into the courtyard when my phone rang. I froze, and when I looked down at the screen, my heart sagged again.
“Everything okay?” I answered without saying hello.
“Yes. I think so. But… are you available to talk for a minute?” she asked.
Her voice was trembling and she was trying to hide it, but I’d always been good at detecting her lies. I quietly drew in a breath, letting it out inaudibly before excusing myself to wave off the car. Then I walked over to the closest bench, sat down and returned the phone to my ear.
“Okay. I’m here,” I said. “Talk to me.”
The gala was being held at the Atrium, a historic bank-turned-party venue that was the go-to spot for any event my family held. I’d been attending parties there for over twenty years now, and I knew the place by heart, starting with the grand pillared entrance manned by Keith and Barry, the same mustachioed doormen who’d been working there since the eighties.
After catching up with them, I strode down the same marble hallway to the main ballroom that all the Hoult Foundation galas were held in. I smiled at Paula, the venue liaison who came up to brief me on all the recent conversations she’d had with Britt and my events planning company. Mid-conversation with her, Julian showed up to let me know that our tuxes had just been messengered over.
Everything was running on time. It was all routine and completely familiar.
But I was still an anxious wreck.
Because even before noon, Aly’s phone had been going directly to voicemail, and it stayed like that even as the gala was well underway.
“E. You gotta stop doing that. I can’t be the only one getting anxious just from looking at you.” Drew tugged at the collar of his tux as he watched me check the door for the tenth time in a minute. “Just take it easy for a second, alright? She’s probably just doing her hair or something.”
“She knows this thing started an hour ago. And she doesn’t take that long to do her hair.”
Drew furrowed his forehead as he searched himself for an explanation
“Lipstick? Shit, I don’t know. Boss. Help me out here,” he said just as Julian came by with a tumbler of Scotch.
“You looked like you needed it,” he said to me before cocking an eyebrow at Drew. “What’s going on with him?”
“He’s worried the girl’s not coming.”
“Aly?” Julian faced me. “If she’s here as your date, you should keep in mind that Mom is also here and if she catches onto what’s happening, she’s going to spend the night scheduling when you two start trying.”
“You told her about your wife being pregnant?” Drew asked.
“I did.”
“She happy?” Drew grinned.
“She’s over the moon,” Julian grinned back, making me note what a weird sight to see them getting along so well. I would’ve laughed over it if I weren’t so completely preoccupied.
“Yeah, that’s the least of my worries,” I said to Julian. “Mom’s free to find out that I’m with Aly. Just as long as I’m still with Aly.”
“What are you talking about?”
“He thinks she’s not coming tonight, even though she’s probably just late. I mean what – you had a little fight?” Drew asked.
“No. I mean maybe. I was just… away from the house for a bit,” I answered vaguely. I hadn’t told him about the past few days. It didn’t make sense to because he wouldn’t understand, and as much as I wish he could, neither would Julian.
“Well, whatever that means, you need to breathe, Emmett. You have speeches to make tonight,” Julian reminded me.
“And you look like a fucking mess,” Drew added.
I stared at them. “Thank you. You guys are great,” I said, lasting about another ten seconds in their company before I excused myself.
Maybe it was actually good that Julian and Drew weren’t normally friends, because teamed up, they were pretty irritating. Or maybe I was just losing it and seriously needed to get my shit together before introducing the keynote speaker.
Even if it meant forcing Aly out of my head for a minute.
The thought crossed my mind as I passed the bar and felt a hand on the small of my back.
“Emmett.”
I turned around to see Britt breathless from rushing over.
“Hey.”
“Hi.” She laughed at her flustered self, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear as she looked from her clipboard to me. “You alright, sweetie?”
“Yeah. What’s up?”
“Well, we’ve got Dr. Richards on deck in twenty, and the Kelley family will be standing beside him during the speech,” Britt said. “So wherever you are in about ten minutes, make sure I can find you because I need you onstage to introduce all five people. You have your notes ready, right?” she asked while using her eyes to direct her assistant to do something from well across the room.
“Yes,” I said, patting my pocket to make sure they were there. “I do. Sounds good.”
Britt eyed my tapping foot. “You sure you alright, Emmett? You seem anxious –despite the fact that you know I’ve got you covered, babe,” she assured me, nudging me to try to get me to laugh. “Come on, Emmett. Have you ever had to worry when I’m running your shit?”
Warmth spread through my chest as I took a sip from my Scotch.
“No.”
“That’s right,” Britt beamed, rubbing my arm for a second before snatching it back. “Oop. Can’t do that now.”
“Why?”
“Because no one needs to see me getting all hot and bothered right now,” she smirked, eyeing me from under her lashes. “Not the most professional look in the world. Even if it’s common knowledge that you’re the sexiest man in the room.”
I took another drink in response, letting it stay quiet for a second. Britt sucked in her bottom lip.
“So… still haven’t gotten a hold of Aly?”
“She’s running late.”
“Very late,” Britt noted, eyeing the clock and drawing my eyes to it too. We were an hour and forty-five minutes. Damn it. Come on, Aly.
“I’m going to step out to call her.”
“Babe.” Britt caught my arm as I headed off. “You really don’t have the time for that. You have to be on stage soon, so if you’re not okay, we can take a minute somewhere and calm you down,” she said
, stroking her thumb against my forearm. “Whatever way you need to decompress, you know I’m more than happy to help,” she added, dropping her voice. “In whatever way you need.”
I could actually see the blood rush to her lips with the last sentence she spoke. I knew what she was getting at because she’d been dropping these same hints every meeting since we started planning this event.
“What do you say?” Britt asked, her hair falling into her eyes as she tilted her head. I watched her step closer, my brain scrambling as she dropped her hand into mine, entwining our fingers.
As I felt the warmth of her palm press against mine, I clasped my other hand over hers. And in a way that was both gentle and firm, I pried her fingers off me.
“Thanks, Britt, but I’m good,” I said, catching the fire in her eyes before heading for John and Dev, two of my chairmen waving over to me at the other end of the bar.
I excused myself through the crowd to get to them, though that process alone took another five minutes because of all the people I needed to say hello to. By the time I got to the guys, I managed my first real smile all night because they were laughing hard at the amount of people I was drowning in.
“You’re used to Julian doing this part, aren’t you?” Dev snorted.
“Yeah, but he deserves a break this year since – ”
I cut off when I saw a flutter of rose gold and blonde at the top of the stairs. The guys followed my eye line and I heard John go, “Whoa.”
I couldn’t blame him as my eyes caught first on that long skirt skimming the floor. It was the same one I’d held scrunched in my hands last week when I dressed and undressed that beautiful body in that fitting room.
Lifting my gaze, my eyes finally locked on Aly standing at the top of the steps. And like a dam had broken, relief poured through me, carrying my feet to her before I even knew what was happening.
“Welp. There goes our chance, Dev.”
“Yep, we lost him. It’s over.”
I grinned, ignoring the guys’ jokes as I passed them and several others to get to the stairs.
I knew there were eyes following me, but all I could see was her.
Unlike the day she’d tried the dress on, her hair was swept up, giving me a clear view of that gorgeous neck I just wanted to bury my lips in already. For once, she had jewelry dangling from her ears and it drew my eyes to them like candy. All I wanted was to grab her, kiss her and put my hands all over her body, but in a room full of people, I held back and settled on meeting her halfway up the stairs.
True warmth flooded my veins when I saw that she was already smiling for me.
“Emmett, I had an emergency with Evie and Mike – I’m so sorry I’m late.”
“You’re here now. That’s all I care about,” I said, standing a stair below her so that we were for once the exact same height.
Our hands were clasped already. I didn’t know when it had happened, but I knew that I needed it. Just the touch of her skin on mine made me feel almost completely at ease. It made all the stress trapped under my bones break up and disperse, freeing the weight in my chest, allowing me to breathe. It felt like I was inhaling long and deep for the first time in two days, and judging from the concern deepening in Aly’s eyes, she could see it – that in the past forty-eight hours, I’d been to hell and back.
“Baby,” she said so softly it hurt. “What happened?”
I’d expected the question but the way she said it made me heart ache. I was so fucking sure she’d be furious with me. I thought that even if she did show up, I’d have to spend an hour groveling before she finally spoke to me.
But I should’ve known that she’d surprise me. She hadn’t stopped doing it since that night we found each other again.
“I don’t… even know where to start,” I finally said, letting myself lean tiredly against her soft palm. “But I promise I’ll explain it soon. Not now, but tonight, when all this is over. Is that okay?”
“Of course,” Aly nodded, letting me just gaze at her for a bit. Then she bit a shy smile back and peered past. “Emmett, everyone’s staring at us,” she whispered, barely moving her lips.
“Yeah?” I chuckled. “Who?”
“Everyone. Julian. Sara. Drew. Britt’s looking at me like she wants to eat my head.”
“Yeah, ignore that.”
“Your mom though. And my parents – oh my God. My mom’s face right now.”
“I take it now’s not the time to ask for a kiss then, is it?” I laughed weakly, feeling all my exhaustion hit me now that I was with her. It was like my body knew that with her, I didn’t need to fake anything. That I could just relax.
“Um, I feel like kissing now would be a big statement to everyone, which I’m not sure you want to make at an event of this caliber,” Aly giggled nervously, her big eyes flitting from the party back to me. But when she saw the look in my eyes, her own narrowed and she smirked. “You want it now, don’t you?”
“Yeah. I have to be on stage for awhile and I feel like I need the re-up on energy.”
She breathed out a laugh so sweet I wanted to taste it.
“Fine,” she murmured before leaning forward to touch her lips to mine, brushing them gently against me before kissing away the last of my worries in that moment. It was a one, maybe two-second kiss, but it was just enough to bring me back to life.
“Jesus. Was that Drew?” I snorted when I pulled away and heard a loud whoop behind us, followed by a small round of applause.
“Yeah. That was definitely Drew,” Aly said with laughter in her eyes despite the red in her cheeks. “And now a very pissy Britt is coming to collect you for your speech, I think, so you should go.”
“Fine,” I said, starting back down the steps. “But I’ll get you right after.”
“You better,” she countered, giving my hand a tight squeeze before letting it go. “Because our parents are looking at me like they need an explanation STAT, and I’m not having those talks with them all on my own.”
I knew Mom had already gotten to Aly by the end of Dr. Richards’ speech because she locked frantic eyes on me from across the room and made such a fast beeline to me that it felt like I’d blinked and she was there.
“Emmett, I feel like my heart is going to burst,” she whispered, clasping her hands over mine. I could already feel her emotions pouring over, but then Julian and Sara approached and she burst into tears.
“Mom!” Julian frowned, looking briefly at me for explanation.
“Happy tears!” Mom clarified, dabbing her eyes with her pinky and patting his arm. “They’re happy tears! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle anyone.”
I managed a smile as the three of them broke into laughter, and I gave the obligatory groan as they pulled me in for a big family hug. With all of us smashed together, I somehow still managed to peer over Julian’s shoulder and catch Aly laughing with her mom at the bar.
Her eyes crinkled when she laughed, and she looked so happy I couldn’t help but feel it myself. I was so completely fixated on how beautiful she looked that it took me a second to catch her dad standing next to them, already looking at me. When he caught my eye, he smiled big and waved excitedly, saying something to Aly and her mom before leading them over toward us.
“Oh, Charlie’s coming over with Donna and Aly,” Mom said, her bejeweled hand blinding me as she reached up to dry the last of her tears. And in a flash, she had the poise of a princess again, wearing that beautiful smile of hers while warmly bringing the Stantons into our huddle.
To my relief, the first ten minutes of conversation were devoted to Julian and Sara. Apparently, Sara knew the sex of the baby but hadn’t told Julian yet.
“It’s supposed to be a surprise because she likes having the upper hand on me,” Julian smirked, breaking into a grin when he and Sara exchanged a look. Everyone laughed, our moms talked about names if it was a boy or a girl, and for a moment, everything felt good and breezy.
But then Charlie spoke up.
“Well, you know you can’t have that, Julian,” he chuckled, rocking back and forth on his heels. “It’s gotta be the man with the upper hand. That’s why it rhymes.”
Christ. He had clearly taken a minute to come up with that dud, and somehow he still thought it was a good idea to say it.
It was quiet for a second. Mom offered a polite laugh but I could see smiles falter all around the circle.
“Anyway, can we please talk about the fact that you won my daughter’s heart?” Aly’s mom asked, giving me a teasing grin. “From what I recall, you two defined the word rivalry growing up.”
“Rivalry implies there was competition,” Charlie interjected with a fat snort. “And I don’t think it was ever a close race.”
For fuck’s sake.
This was the exact kind of comment he used to make. It was never a direct hit because that meant he could get away with saying it. It meant he got to make his point enough that Aly felt like shit, but leave it vague enough to say, “I didn’t mean anything by it!” if someone asked him to clarify. Then he’d turn it on either Mom or Dad for “ruining a good time” by “getting all serious.” It was annoying and cowardly, and as I caught Aly’s eyes hit the floor, I decided enough was enough.
“What do you mean by that, Charlie?” I asked.
The circle fell quiet as he paused for a second, caught off-guard. Then he shifted his eyes around comically, giving a belly laugh and a big shrug.
“What do you mean what do I mean about it? It was a joke.”
“Well, can you explain it? Because ‘it was a joke’ seems to be your fallback line when you know you can’t back up something you said,” I remarked, faking a good-natured chuckle to throw everyone off.
Charlie raised his eyebrows at me. It was the look he gave before he launched into some ball busting but tonight, nothing followed. He simply looked at me another second, frowned into his Scotch then stayed quiet for the next few minutes of conversation, which eventually veered to the topic of Aly’s restaurant.
“Argh, my friends have all been! But I haven’t yet because Julian keeps waiting for a day when we can go with Emmett,” Sara said. “But I have seriously been craving a lobster roll like no other.” She made everyone laugh when she rubbed her belly. “I think baby’s got fancy taste. Like Daddy.”