“Your wedding night!” A plump, smiling, dark-skinned woman approached and wrapped Stefanie in a hug. “Sandy, you didn’t tell me you were engaged! Introduce me!”
“Emmett, this is Lakesha. Lakesha, Emmett.” Evidently there was no need for him to have a fake name.
“I’ve worked with Sandy for two years in a row and I love her to bits and pieces. Probably as much as you do.” Lakesha shoved his chest and then squeezed one of his pecs. “Oh, and he’s solid as a rock. Nicely done.”
She high-fived Stef and Emmett snapped a look from one to the other. Never before had he been high-fived over. A reluctant smile itched the corner of his mouth.
Not only had Stef proposed to him, she’d initiated a kiss and now claimed him. He straightened his shoulders, forcing his posture into a stance that he hoped made him look like he belonged with her. A bizarrely heady thought since he knew he didn’t.
Stef lowered her voice to just above a whisper. “Do me a favor and keep it under wraps. My family doesn’t know yet.”
Lakesha visibly bristled and peeked around to make sure no one had overheard. Then pulled an invisible zipper over her lips and winked up at Emmett. “My lips are sealed.”
Emmett watched his fiancée from the edge of the party, choosing to sandwich roasted turkey breast on a roll rather than sit down for dinner. The police officers who were working the event deserved to enjoy their meals.
Stef didn’t sit much, either, hopping up to give a waiter direction or hustle off to the kitchen. He watched her stop at least six times in front of one of the Christmas trees to rearrange the donated presents, or fuss over bow or ribbon placement. She was ridiculously adorable. It was the first time he was able to watch her with unabashed admiration, no other eyes on him caring that he did, so he watched. Watched her with equal parts pride and wonder.
He’d known Stefanie in relation to Chase. He knew she was wild, quick-witted, sharp—and from observing her cry happy tears at Zach and Penelope’s wedding, a romantic sap.
He smiled to himself at the thought. She was tender and open alongside headstrong and determined, and those combined traits made her even more attractive to him.
He could do a lot worse in the wife department. She could do a hell of a lot better in the husband one.
Even dressed down in black pants and a white sweater with sparkling gold thread woven into it, Stefanie Ferguson looked like royalty. Or at the very least a celebrity.
He couldn’t believe no one had recognized her, but then he guessed she was mostly of interest to the city’s elite. The good people of Harlington, Texas, had bigger priorities than a Dallas it girl. Working hard to provide for their families, putting food on the table and shopping for school clothes for their kids took a lot of focus and effort. He could relate.
After his mother and brother died, Emmett had taken on the role of parent. Van stopped caring, damn near stopped breathing. He mostly sat in front of the television, oxygen tank at his side and a glazed expression on his face courtesy of the prescription medication.
At age ten, Emmett had been as responsible as an adult. He’d mowed lawns, picked up groceries for his elderly neighbors and had let some of the smaller kids in school pay him to play bodyguard. Anything to bring in cash so he could put food in his belly and his father’s.
A little girl approached Stefanie, a battered stuffed teddy bear in her arms, and Stef knelt to give her a hug. Her face was so genuine and her touch so light, his chest give a tug. She wasn’t doing this for the publicity but for the people. He was beginning to see why she’d kept her secret, too. Chase talked to her as if he were in charge of her. As if she were a princess locked in a tower. Emmett could understand her desire to escape home and make her own way. He’d felt like that a lot growing up.
The remnants of dinner and dessert cleared, they moved on to the gift portion of the evening. A dressed Santa in red-and-white velvet was stationed at each tree handing out gifts to the kids.
Emmett watched from afar, sipping on a cup of cocoa delivered to him by Lakesha with another wink, a squeeze of his biceps and a “Congratulations, again!” And then something remarkable happened. He began to feel comfortable at the last place he should—at a charity dinner for the financially challenged...and as Stefanie’s fiancé with only a few hours to go until they were husband and wife.