He couldn’t really be that stupid. Then again…
Emma smiled and picked up the first box. He was so confident she would follow along behind him that he didn’t notice her closing and locking the door once he reached the hallway. She moved toward the window and put the box down carefully, then unlocked and slid up the pane of glass. She picked the first box up again and waited. When Damian emerged from the apartment building, she called his name. He turned and looked up.
“Here you go, honey,” she called out. Then Emma dropped the box. It fell two stories and hit the ground with a satisfying crash. She had no idea what was in that one, but poor Damian turned a few shades of green. Emma walked across her living room, grabbed another box and dropped it out the window next. It landed a few feet from the first one. The last and final box was heavy when she tried to pick it up. Curious, she opened it to find his laptop and some books. Emma was going to love tossing this one. She hated his damn laptop. Every night for the past several weeks, he’d stayed up late and surfed porn. She knew because she’d checked his history file. It pissed her off, not so much because of the porn itself, but because she’d tried so hard to get him to make love to her. Every time she tried to turn him on, he’d push her away as if she’d done something horribly obscene. Old insecurities had surfaced each time. Her overweight childhood. Her lack of a college education. The fact she had such a small circle of friends, while he was always surrounded by people.
She hauled the box into her arms and went to the window one last time. He stood there looking like a child on the verge of a full-blown tantrum. He pleaded with her not to drop his laptop.
“I really hope you and your online whores live happily ever after, Damian.” She dropped the last box, then slammed the window shut on his furious shouts.
“Damn, that felt good.” Emma breathed deep, and for the first time in months, she felt truly free. Sad, confused as hell, but free. She went to the refrigerator and took out a longneck bottle of beer and popped the top. She took a long swallow, enjoying the cold amber liquid. It calmed her temper so that she was able to look at the mess Damian had made. She still couldn’t believe it.
“I wasted way too much time on a guy who cares more about his laptop than he does me.” Emma would have felt more depressed about it had she not just gotten the loan she’d been wishing for. She wouldn’t let Damian ruin her euphoria. Her heart should be ripping apart ri
ght now, though. And why wasn’t she crying? She was angry. Pissed, actually. But not ready to fling herself in front of a train or anything.
Then again, Damian wasn’t really the type of boyfriend to inspire those sorts of feelings. There had never been fireworks between them. No awe-inspiring moments. Just a casual, secure feeling. She’d enjoyed sharing expenses and having company to come home to after a hard day at the restaurant. But souls connecting and hearts soaring? Nada.
The phone rang, and she set her beer on the coffee table and looked at the caller ID. It was Damian on his cell phone. She let it ring. The machine picked up, and her now ex-boyfriend’s angry voice filled the room. She turned the volume down, then went back to her beer.
“What I need is a hot shower, then my comfy clothes. Maybe a tub of ice cream.” Afterward, she’d go about getting her apartment back in order. The great thing about being single again was that she could move the couch wherever the hell she damn well pleased.
“Maybe I’ll get a cat.” She sighed.
Chapter One
Present day…
Outside Champagne’s nightclub, the fog was coming in fast. As she waited in line to get into the club, the gray mist seemed to surround Emma. She shivered as fear crept in. She took comfort in the other people who shuffled along on the sidewalk around her. Life was always uncertain, ready to explode at any moment, but Emma didn’t intend to let it blow up in her face. She had few real friends, and her curio shop, Her Heart’s Desire, was finally up and running. Tonight she planned to celebrate her grand opening with her friend Brenda.
Suddenly, a huge brute of a man popped out of the alley in front of her, startling her. “Excuse me,” she mumbled as she moved around him and clutched the mace hidden in her purse a little tighter. Okay, maybe she should’ve listened when Brenda had insisted on them riding together. But Champagne’s was right down the street from where Emma lived and worked, so it only made sense to meet Brenda at the club. In hindsight, Emma realized that walking alone wasn’t at all sensible.
When Emma reached the front of Champagne’s, she opened the huge heavy doors and was almost knocked down by the overwhelming blast of music. She gave herself a minute to adjust to her new surroundings. When a few men looked her way and smiled, Emma’s cheeks heated. She tugged at the hem of the emerald-green silk dress and worried it was too short. She’d fixed her long brown hair in loose curls that cascaded past her shoulders. When a few more heads turned her way, the introvert in her wished she were at home, wearing her baggy PJs. She mentally smacked herself. No, she wasn’t going to chicken out. It had been a big day. She’d made her dream come true. She was now a business owner. That was reason for smiles, not frowns.
When her cell phone chirped, signaling a text message, Emma dragged it out and read the screen. It was Brenda, and she was bailing on her. Emma sighed. She should turn around now and go home. But she didn’t, because celebrating her new business venture was important to her. Even if she was doing the celebrating alone. She sidled up to the bar and ordered a glass of white wine. As her eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room, Emma glanced around. That was when she spotted a familiar face. Jason Kershaw. She’d recognize his sexy smile and dreamy eyes anywhere. She let out a frustrated sigh. The one night Emma decided to step out of her comfort zone and hit a club, she managed to nearly run into her high school crush. What were the odds?
In high school, he’d been the bad boy with the dark hair and slick Mustang. She’d melted the moment he’d walked into history class and sat next to her. He’d grinned, and she’d let him cheat off her all the rest of that year. Had he ever asked her out? Nope. Flirted? Nope. She’d dredged up the nerve and asked him to homecoming once, but he’d turned her down flat. There was one obvious reason for that. The extra one hundred pounds she’d carried on her small five foot four frame. Instead, he’d dated the prom queen. Emma had been horribly jealous, but she’d been too afraid to do anything about it.
She was no longer that chubby, shy girl, though. She’d worked long and hard to lose those extra pounds and shed her backward nature. Still, walking up to Jason and asking him to, what, dance? Nope, she wasn’t quite that sure of herself. A bathroom break, that was what she needed. Emma put her glass down and started across the room, keeping all her attention on creating a path to the restrooms at the back of the nightclub. She darted a quick glance toward Jason and noticed that he sat at a table with three other men and two women. She knew who they were because she’d waited on them at the restaurant she used to work at. But it was Jason who held all her attention tonight.
Electricity sizzled along her nerves as her feet took her closer to him. Determined to ignore the riot going on inside her stomach, Emma forged ahead. When she was just a few feet from his table, Emma lifted her head, and suddenly their gazes connected. Time seemed to stand still. Emma tried to speak, but no words came.
Without warning, someone shoved her. The room spun, and she tipped forward. A pair of strong arms came around her, catching her before she fell. Embarrassment filled her as she realized she’d not so gracefully landed on Jason’s lap. Crap.
Jason didn’t know what to think. One minute he was listening to a joke his brother, Jensen, was telling them, and the next, a woman was practically falling at his feet. He reached up just in time to catch her before she dropped to the floor. He wasn’t even sure what made him turn around to begin with. Just an odd prickly sensation at the back of his neck. It was like a strange sense of déjà vu. Now he sat with her in his arms, but it was her soft words that had him holding her just a little tighter.
“Oh God, I’m so sorry,” she mumbled.
“Don’t be,” he said as he looked into the face of the woman on his lap. His heart kicked up a beat. He knew her. Emma Ryan. They’d gone to the same high school. She’d also waitressed at Pete’s Pizzeria, the restaurant he and his brother frequented. At least she used to be a waitress there. Until recently. He’d asked about her when he’d noticed her absence, and that was how he’d learned that she’d quit. He’d hated the hollow feeling that had settled in the pit of his stomach at the thought of never seeing her again.
Jason had missed her, which was downright odd, considering they were nothing more than passing acquaintances. Their one and only encounter had occurred when he’d flirted with her at the restaurant. At the time, Jason hadn’t remembered Emma from high school. She’d just been a pretty waitress, one he’d wanted to get to know better. When she’d reminded him that they’d actually had a few classes together and that he’d never bothered to give her the time of day, he’d felt like a total dumbass. She’d even asked him to homecoming, and he’d turned her down. It still bothered him that he’d been so utterly blind.
He took advantage of Emma’s position and examined her face. She was striking. Unlike any woman he’d met. Her hair, a rich shade of brown, caught the light and tumbled over his arm. Her huge brown eyes, set in a small oval face, widened with embarrassment. Her full lips parted as if she’d speak. Right now she stared up at him as if he had seven heads. She squirmed, and he realized he was holding her in place.
Jason released her and let her get to her feet. Damn, he’d kind of liked the feel of her on his lap. He smiled, but she only frowned before turning and hurrying away. Jason stood and rushed after her. He caught her arm and said over the loud music, “Is that all the thanks I get for saving you from what could have been a very nasty and embarrassing fall?”
She stopped and seemed to consider that for a moment, then turned toward him. He practically tumbled over himself when her gaze connected with his once more. He spit out the first thing that came to mind. “You have the most incredible eyes I’ve ever seen.”
That brought the frown back, and Jason wanted nothing more than to erase it for good. “That sounds a lot like a line,” she said.