by Haley Travis
Her saucy smile sent my heart into a ferocious spin. “Yeah, me too,” she whispered.
“Back in a second,” I said, kissing the tip of her adorable nose. Dashing to the washroom to dispose of the condom, I brought back a glass of water.
“Oh, thanks,” she said before taking a few sips.
Cuddling back into the bed with her, our bodies arranged themselves together. “How do you feel, angel?”
“Great,” she whispered, tilting her head up to look at me. “That was, um, intense.”
I held her tight. “Was it too much? Did I hurt you?”
“No,” she said quickly. “I didn’t mean like that. It felt...incredible. I mean, um...” She trailed off.
“Please, tell me anything,” I begged.
Nodding, she leaned up on her elbow. “I was already feeling so connected to you. Now I feel like we’re fused together somehow.” She shook her head. “That likely sounds silly.”
“No, baby. It’s perfect. I want to be fused with you. Connected to you all the time.” Tilting her head back, I kissed her with every ounce of passion I had.
When she finally pulled back, nearly gasping for air, I chuckled. “In my entire life, I haven’t smiled as much as I have over the past few days with you.”
Emily tucked back into my shoulder, and I rocked her for a second, then we became still.
So much had changed in such a short time that my head was almost spinning. My life had been dedicated to total control for years. Feeling parts of that cracking away wasn’t as uncomfortable as I would have assumed.
It felt right. Every change, every shift was perfect, because my world was making room for Emily in it.
“Emily?” I whispered.
“Mmm.”
Her soft hum didn’t really prove whether she was awake or not. But this was important enough to say as many times as necessary.
“I love you, angel.”
Her head jerked up to look at me in shock, then she softened, smiling. “I love you, Mason.”
Cuddling back down into my arms, I could feel her entire body soften against me. She’d let me into her life, her world, in every possible way.
It was a strange honor for her to select me as her man, but I didn’t quite know what the next steps were.
For the first time in my life, I was relatively okay with not having much of a plan in front of me. My entire purpose was now to love and care for Emily, and the rest we could strategize next week.
15
_____
Emily
The plush leather seats of Mason’s car were even more comfortable now that I was wearing my new green yoga pants with a flowing purple shirt that was more like a dress.
“You look like a flower,” Mason smiled, giving my hand a squeeze before pulling it back to turn a corner. “Nice stems,” he added with a wink.
I crossed my legs, giving him a show until he laughed. “Watch the road,” I giggled.
It didn’t surprise me that he already knew where I lived, figuring he would have looked it up from Dad’s file. But knowing the address was a lot different than actually driving by the rows of small, older homes.
It was definitely not the best neighborhood, but the people around us worked hard, and maintained their homes as best they could.
As we approached my house, I was shocked to see my father’s car already in the driveway. My parents rarely came back before dinner time on Sundays when they were away. As Mason pulled in, Mom’s head popped up, wearing her huge yellow gardening hat.
Mason jumped out to come around and opened my door for me, and whispered in my ear, “Relax. It’ll be fine.”
Mom came dashing over. “Emily, there you are. We were starting to wonder, since you didn’t leave a note.”
“You’re home early,” I said, not knowing how on earth to introduce Mason.
Mom waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, we went on a big hike yesterday, and your dad strained his back, then sleeping on a cheap hotel room bed apparently did him in. So we came home early to get his heating pad.”
“It’s not the length of the hike,” Mason smiled warmly, “It’s the slightly rough terrain that puts strain on the ligaments.” He held out his hand to my mom. “Hello, Mrs. Jameson. I’m Mason McHenry. Emily and I just went out for lunch, and–”
My mom jerked him by the hand to pull him closer, looking intently at him. “The eyes! You’re Emily’s dream man.”
Mason’s smile became tight as he looked to me for help, but I had no idea what to say.
My mother laughed brightly. “Emily, you must remember Aunt Betsy’s list. Green eyes with gold. And something about coffee. What else was there?”
“Let’s not bother Mason with that now,” I said quickly. “Let me say goodbye, then I’ll come inside and help you with dinner.”
“Of course, honey. Nice to meet you, Mason.” She picked up her gardening tools and went back inside, as Mason turned to me.
“Sorry about that. My mom’s always been a little–”
“List? What list?” His tone was that cold, heavy businesslike boom that made people rush away from him down the halls.
Pulling my phone out of my purse, I called up the photo. “I don’t really believe in this stuff,” I said quickly, “But when I was sixteen, my mom’s sister Betsy gave me a crystal reading to tell me about the man I’d fall in love with.”
He wasn’t smiling anymore as he skimmed the list. “I wondered how an incredible girl like you could be infatuated with me so quickly,” he said, eerily calm. “I knew it wasn’t right.”
He was impossible to read. Was he sad? Annoyed?
“You saw my eyes and thought that you had to be with me?”
Shaking my head quickly, I tried to smile. “Actually, you were pacing in the boardroom, and I noticed your finger. That didn’t make me fall for you. It just made me look at my dad’s boss like a man, instead of…”
“A wealthy ice cold robot,” he said flatly.
“Not at all! I don’t think you’re really like that. We just–”
“Have a good dinner, Emily.” He got into his car and quickly drove away, leaving me standing in front of my tiny house with my head spinning.
Mason couldn’t possibly throw away what we had just because of something so silly. Unless he hadn’t been that sure about us to start with.
From the very beginning he had acted like we were meant to be. Like we belonged together.
How fragile was his belief in us if a crazy list from four years ago could shake everything apart?
16
_____
Mason
The two nights I slept with Emily’s soft breath across my chest were the best nights of my life. Last night I tossed and turned until every muscle was clenched into knots.
At four-thirty, I didn’t wake up as much as I gave up trying to sleep.
Instead of going down to my workout setup in the basement, I drove to the 24-hour gym and had a personal trainer kick my ass for an hour. Even after an ice cold shower, I felt like I was burning up inside.
Shuffling into the office in a daze, I didn’t know what to think. Was Emily a flighty, flaky girl, who was way too young, and I fell for her simply because of her beauty? I knew that wasn’t true. She was incredibly thoughtful and clever.
Was I just fulfilling some stupid template that her crazy aunt dreamed up? What would be the point of pulling such a deranged prediction out of thin air for a young lady of just sixteen? Who tells someone such things?
Stomping into the empty office, I slumped at my desk, staring out the window at the city. Thick clouds were gathering, leaching all the color from the sky and buildings.
I loved that Emily was the bright spot of color everywhere she went. I loved every quirky thing about her, from the animal jewelry to the way she was so quick to laugh at me.
So why didn’t she tell me about her aunt’s prediction right away?
My fingers drummed loudly on the desk. Could s
he be afraid of me? Could there be any reason why she was nervous about sharing such a thing with me?
If she had told me right away, we would’ve laughed about it, then moved on. It just made no sense.
Finally opening my laptop, I went through the day’s tasks. An email from one of my managers caused my jaw to fall open, and my breathing to stop.
David Jameson was one of the two candidates up for a promotion.
I heard my back teeth grinding. Had Emily wanted to get close to me so that I would notice her father? Were they that desperate for money, or was the family that conniving? Neither was a pleasant thought.
Had I only been focused on the details I chose to notice, instead of the details I should have been seeing?
Rushing out of the office, I had to get some air. Walking aimlessly around the neighborhood, I nearly crashed into half a dozen businessmen who were lost in their phones, while I was staring blindly into space.
Could Emily have made that list after we got to know each other, to try to force some mystical bond so that I’d want to keep her forever?
I already did. Or at least, I thought I did.
Staggering toward the park, I collapsed onto a bench. Until last week, I thought I had everything I could possibly want or need.
Now all I wanted was Emily. But I had no way of knowing whether she truly wanted me for me, or to help her father, or to fulfill a crazy prophecy.
17
_____
Emily
I hated lying, but there was no way I could explain to my parents what was going on.
Even trying three different books, for the first time in my life I couldn’t lose myself in reading. After barely being able to sleep, not even my chili pepper print dress could cheer me up.
At least it brightened my complexion enough that Dad didn’t ask why there were giant bags under my eyes. On the drive in to work he chatted happily about their little trip, even laughing about his back going out.
I didn’t want to darken his mood, and I certainly couldn’t explain to him how I’d become involved with his boss but then had ruined everything by not admitting how weird Aunt Betsy was.
As we went up in the elevator, a cold weight sunk through my stomach. I couldn’t face Mason. There was no way.
Luckily, Dad was lost in a story of the incredible restaurant they had gone to Friday night, so he didn’t seem surprised when I followed him to his tiny office to hear the rest. Dropping into his extra chair, I automatically began straightening up the folders all over his desk.
“Honey, shouldn’t you get to work?” he asked, checking the time nervously. “Mr. McHenry is a stickler for punctuality.”
“I don’t know if I can,” I whispered, organizing the folders by chemical company, and pharmaceutical company. It occurred to me again that if these competing companies only knew how much they overlapped, they could save a lot of money instead of repeating some of the research over and over.
“Do you not like the job, Emily?” Dad asked, looking at me strangely. “You didn’t tell me exactly what you were doing. Is the paperwork too boring for you?”
He reached out to pat my hand on the desk. “Honey, if you really don’t like it, you don’t have to stay.”
“Wouldn’t that look bad for you, though?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Don’t you worry about that. You take care of yourself, I’ll take care of myself. That always works out better when it comes to the workplace.”
Realizing that I was a fool for wanting Mason to take care of me, and make me his girl, huge tears began rolling down my face.
My father always hated it when women cried. It upset him terribly.
“Oh,” he muttered quickly, looking around awkwardly. “Hold on.”
“I’m sorry,” I sputtered.
I didn’t blame him for dashing from the room, as my tears became uncontrollable. Wiping my eyes, I tried desperately to focus on anything else.
Staring at my dad’s folders, I shuffled them into some kind of order that made sense, even though the labels were blurry through my tears. One word kept repeating, and I thought it was my eyes playing tricks, until I wiped them again.
Three different companies were all doing tests on the same chemical. Double checking, I saw that they all had a similar logo. It was three different branches of the same umbrella corporation.
Dad came rushing into the room, handing me a box of tissues that he must have borrowed from someone’s desk.
“Thanks,” I said, dabbing at my eyes. “Dad, did you see this?”
I pointed to the three folders. “These are three different branches of the Prescott Corporation. Are they all testing for the same thing?”
“Huh,” Dad muttered, skimming the files and opening his laptop.
As I sat back and tried to calm down, he went through the studies. “Well damn, would you look at that,” he said slowly. “They’re so paranoid of leaking things to other companies that they’re not even speaking within the parent corporation. They’re wasting millions of dollars here.”
His head snapped up to stare at me. “Emily, you’re brilliant.”
I shrugged. “Not really. I just noticed something, that’s all.”
He grabbed the folders. “Should we go show this to Mr. McHenry right now? Or at least, leave it with his assistant?”
“You do it,” I said. “I don’t think I can face him today.”
My dad was on his feet in a flash, with his hand on my shoulder as his face turned hard. “Emily, what happened? Did he do…anything?”
Shaking my head, I realized I had no choice.
Exhaling slowly, I managed to murmur, “I fell for him. Completely. I spent most of the weekend at his house, and I’m completely in love with him, but I messed it up. He found out about Aunt Betsy’s reading and it describes him perfectly...and please don’t make me say anything else.”
Dad’s hand tightened on my shoulder. “Okay.” He nodded slowly, pondering. “This is a lot to take in, honey.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. Just, please, be honest – was everything your choice and your decision?”
“Yes. Absolutely.”
“Then it’s none of my business, I think.” He stared at the folders. “But I really should point this out to him, before the next round of tests begin. How about I run this by his office, then I’ll come back and drive you home?”
“I’m fine,” I said, shaking my head. “I’ll take the bus. I just have to get out of here.”
Looking up, I saw Mason walking down the hall looking absolutely haggard, relatively speaking. I’d never seen him look less than impeccable. His tie was loose, it looked like he’d been running his hands through his hair all morning, and – oh my God.
He was holding a paper coffee cup from a cheap donut shop.
It should have made me feel better that he was a disaster as well, but it didn’t. Tucking my head down, I wasn’t sure if he saw me, since Dad was mostly blocking the window.
“Don’t leave,” Dad said. “I’ll take care of this then come back for you.”
Nodding, I helped myself to a few more tissues, curling up in the chair as I tried to figure out how to quit my job without offending Dad’s boss and mine.
The thought of anyone being angry with me always made me tremble. Even if he weren’t the love of my life, I had no idea how to do such a thing.
18
_____
Mason
Hurrying into my office, I managed to set down the dreadful paper cup before the last half of it spilled.
Emily had been crying. Seeing her tear-stained cheeks out of the corner of my eye was like a punch to the solar plexus.
Placing my hands flat across the desk to steady myself, I took a few slow breaths. All I had to do was decide what was forgivable, what was unforgivable, then figure out what had actually happened. Simple. Just a project.
Even though I already knew that I would rationalize a
bsolutely anything to keep Emily with me.
A tap at my door made me realize that I’d left it open. “Mr. McHenry?” David Jameson stepped cautiously into my office, except now I could only see him as Emily’s father.
“Come in, David,” I said, smoothing down my hair as I gestured to my guest chair. “What can I do for you?”
