‘You can cut her off, Peter, but I will not have you attack my daughter like that,’ her mother fired at her husband. ‘Emma—’
She went to hug her daughter, but Emma recoiled from her touch. With one last look at everyone, she fled.
CHAPTER TWENTY
EMMARANTOher car and started it up in a daze. She drove away from the large house completely numb. As if she was completely detached from her body. She barely noticed the rain starting to fall, or the roads she took. Not even the numbers she pressed to gain access to the car park in Alex’s building.
It was only when she was at his door that she realised where it was she had driven to. She stared at the key in her hand. The key Alex hadn’t taken back. She was breaking, and he would make her feel whole again. But then what?
Right now, she didn’t care. Emma just wanted to feel.
She slid the key into the lock and pushed at the large swivel door. The apartment was bathed in bright golden light. Soft music floated overhead, drowning out the raindrops battering the windows. She closed the door behind her, and with the sound of her heels and the snap of the door she knew Alex would have heard her enter.
He walked out with a folder in his hand that he dropped to the table the instant he saw her, and the numbness ebbed away, only to be replaced by a torrent of emotions washing over her. It was overwhelming.
Alex took one look at her face and she knew he’d see that it had gone badly with her family.
Closing the distance between them, he pulled her into a protective hug. ‘Do you want to talk about it?’ he asked.
Did she? Part of her did. Part of her wanted to wail. But maybe forgetting would be better.
And as she sorted through all the thoughts occurring to her at once, the only thing she was certain of was that she didn’t want to let go of him just yet. So she stayed in his arms.
‘What’s that?’ she asked, staring at the manila folder on the table.
It wasn’t work, because she had come to learn that everything in his office had the company logo. Every document was logged.
Still keeping his arms around her, he pulled back to see what she was looking at. ‘The results from my yearly medical check-up.’
‘Healthy as a horse?’ she teased. But her voice wasn’t bright or cheery.
‘Yeah, all clear. I wasn’t expecting you tonight,’ he said.
She didn’t respond. It was true—so what was she doing here? She should have gone home to Hannah and Lucky.
‘I know.’ A heavy sigh escaped her lips. ‘I should go.’
Emma huffed a laugh, feeling a little silly. This wasn’t a normal relationship. It had never been. And she had fully expected her family to react badly. She’d been prepared for that.
Alex frowned. ‘Come with me.’
He led her to the one place in his home that he knew made her happy. From the moment he’d shown it to her Emma had felt that the library was a safe space. She would often curl up on the couch with whatever book she was reading whenever he had to take a call he just couldn’t ignore.
Pulling her down to the couch, Alex draped her legs over his. ‘Talk to me, Emma.’
Blinking away tears, she bit her lip. Still not feeling entirely composed, somehow she managed to tell him exactly what had happened when she went to her parents’ home. As she spoke, Alex’s eyes became more and more glacial.
‘I’m sorry, Emma. But you don’t need them. You don’t need their approval. You’re nothing like them.’
‘It still hurts.’
‘I know it does.’
Alex ran his hand up her arm and over her shoulder, caressing her neck with a protective touch. Her hand came to rest on his cheek. Fingertips stroking the stubble she found there. She kissed his jaw, shifting so his lips could come down to hers. It was the softest brush. He was watching her, waiting for a sign of what she needed, but he didn’t have to wait.
Emma closed her eyes and leaned in, wanting more. Opening up for him. He sucked her bottom lip into his mouth and her hand moved to the back of his neck, pulling him closer. His scent wrapped around her and she got exactly what she wanted. His tongue dancing with hers, growing the need between them. Heat building within her. A heat that she could focus on. That would distract her from the swirling thoughts of inadequacy.
And then her lips were urgent on his. Desperate. As if he was a life raft she was clinging to. His arms locked so tightly around her that he might as well have been. And then her lips were gone from his. Kissing his sharp jaw, his strong neck.