“I don’t think we have any vases.” It wasn’t the right answer, but she was fortunate to form words at all.
He took the flowers from her and set them on the counter. “They’ll be okay here for now. Come keep our guest company, while I bring out dinner.”
“Sure. Okay.” She let herself be led to the table and took a seat across from Justin.
“I’m not used to seeing you at a loss for words,” he said, teasing in his voice.
She gave him a weak smile.
Through the meal, both men tried to draw her into the conversation. They chatted about the fact that Justin was partnering with the company, and asked for her thoughts. They talked about what had changed since Justin was last here and asked about her favorite parts of the city so far. It only lasted an hour or so, but the meal seemed to Emily to stretch on for an eternity.
It was as if they were never angry at each other. As much as she tried to tell herself she was overreacting, she couldn’t silence the part of her asking if she was about to lose something wonderful.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
JUSTIN HAD EXPECTEDAntonio to be antagonistic this afternoon in the office. When the meeting went better than Justin dared hope for, he dropped his defenses. Which meant he was doubly unprepared for the lukewarm reception from Emily. Her cool, single-word responses and refusal to make eye contact during dinner dug deep, jarring him more than he expected.
He followed Antonio’s lead through the meal, keeping up his half of the conversation. Dessert was served, and Justin sectioned off a forkful of tiramisu. “I missed your cooking.”
“There are leftovers. I’ll wrap some up for you,” Antonio said.
Emily pushed back from the table without touching her food. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to do a thing.”
“Em, wait.” Antonio hurried after her and stopped her halfway between the dining room table and what Justin assumed were the bedrooms. Antonio grabbed her arm. “What’s wrong?” He kept his voice quiet.
Justin couldn’t help but hear, anyway, in the small space. He tried to busy himself with his food, rather than eavesdrop.
“This is a bit out of the blue is all.” Emily’s grumble carried through the room.
Unless Justin plugged his ears, he was going to hear the conversation. “I’m not here to cause a rift. I can leave, if you’d prefer.”
“No.” Antonio glanced at him, then turned back to Emily. “We talked about—”
“I know what we talked about. I was there.” Emily’s tone was curt.
“It doesn’t matter. That’s not why he’s here,” Antonio said.