To her horror, it seemed that news of Alex’s presence had reached Lauren. The employees on her floor were all trying to look everywhere except at the tall blonde who had been waiting for her sister. To Emma’s relief, her mother arrived just in the nick of time. Helen would be able to ensure that no scene was made.
‘Alexander, how nice to see you again,’ Lauren said sweetly.
Emma rolled her eyes.When will you stop?she thought to herself. They were at work. And they were professionals.
‘It’s good to see you too, Lauren,’ he said politely. ‘And, please, it’s Alex.’
Alex was curious to see what sort of game Lauren would play. After all, everyone working on this floor would have either seen or heard that he had kissed Emma. Part of him smiled inwardly at the possessiveness of it all...another part was screaming warnings at him.
‘Well, Alex,’ she purred, ‘it’s a surprise to see you here. Wouldn’t you rather come up tomyoffice? We have a much better meeting space up there.’
Alex wanted to laugh. He heard Emma huff beside him, and wrapped his arm around her waist. ‘Oh, I’m not here on business. I just came to drop Emma off after lunch.’
He pressed a kiss to her hair and Lauren’s jaw twitched.
‘Oh, that’s lovely!’ Helen said, stepping forward. ‘I’m Helen—Emma’s mother.’
She extended her hand to him, which he shook warmly. Honestly, he didn’t need to be told who she was. Looking into Helen’s eyes was almost like looking into Emma’s. Like a mirror.
‘It’s nice to finally meet you, Helen. And I don’t mean to be rude, but I do need to rush.’ He turned his back on the two women, keeping Emma beside him, and walked her to her office.
For the first time Alex was able to take it in. The space was perfectly neat and orderly. There wasn’t a single thing in it that was unnecessary or sentimental. No photos on her desk or pictures on her wall, save for a framed degree which was fixed behind her. The other thing he noticed was how small it was. It would fit into his own office four times at least.
‘I expect to see you tonight. I’ll text you the code to get in.’
‘I’ll come straight over after work.’
‘Good.’ He leaned down to kiss Emma, and she was already meeting his lips halfway. He kissed her long and slow, but pulled away before either of them really wanted to. ‘I’ll see you later.’
‘Alexander?’ she called once he was out through the door.
‘Yes?’
‘Thank you for today.’
He smiled back at her, then left.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THEDRIVETOthe airport took longer than Alex would have liked, but he knew it would be nothing compared to when he was driving back, so he tried his best to remain patient. It would have been easy to send a driver, or have Matt rent a car or use a ride-share, but he had missed his friend. He was probably his only true friend, and Alex wanted to spend as much time with him as he could. They would have time to talk, and Matt would question his sanity.
One morning. That was all the time he’d spent away from Emma, and he could hardly believe how much he craved her touch. After lunch he had been distracted in his meetings. With thoughts of Emma constantly breaking through his normally laser-sharp focus.
Alex checked the time on his watch. He would have to wait only a few minutes for Matt to come through. He parked in the closest available bay to the airport structure. Still dressed in his suit, Alex shrugged off his jacket, depositing it on the back seat, and rolled up his shirtsleeves. Making sure he had the parking ticket, he walked to the pick-up point, keeping an eye out for the tall blond form of his friend.
First class always had its perks, and before the large wave of people disembarking from Economy could pass through, a much smaller number were already exiting the building. That was when Alex saw him. Standing a head taller than most, it was impossible to miss Matt. With the physique of a rugby player, which he’d never lost despite not having played since leaving university, Matt cut an imposing figure. That was before he smiled. He had always had a magnetic personality and people seemed to gravitate towards him. It was easy to be around him.
Matt grinned as soon as he saw Alex, making a beeline for him. ‘Alex!’
They hugged and slapped backs.
‘It’s good to see you, mate.’
Alex had always attracted attention, and he did well to ignore it most of the time, but whenever he and Matt were together it seemed there were ten times as many people looking their way.
The two of them walked back to the car, and Alex stowed his friend’s single piece of luggage in the boot. In no time they were back on the road.
Alex had looked forward to Matt’s arrival, but what he hadn’t counted on was the calm seeing his friend would bring. Between work and his relationship with Emma, Alex had been in a vortex of powerful feelings. It was refreshing to have back the tranquillity that always came from being around Matt.