by Dawn Doyle
No. That wouldn’t be good at all.
The seatbelt sign went out and they both unfastened them. Emily reclined her seat a little to get more comfortable.
“So why the jitters?” He asked suddenly.
“I’m just tired.” She lied.
“The flight is two and a half hours. You should try to sleep.”
“And wake up with new eyebrows and clown makeup?” She said, raising her eyebrow.
Nick laughed.
“No. I left my makeup at home.”
“So no red lips?” She asked trying to hold back a laugh of her own. She would’ve loved to have seen Nick trying to wash that off.
“No. I’m trying to give it up. It wasn’t a good look for me.” He joked. “Anyway, that was cruel. That colour stained and I couldn’t get it all off for two days.” He complained.
“That’s what happens when you let your sister give you a makeover.”
“Cora said it was Coral blue number two. I didn’t know what she was talking about. I assumed it was blue.”
Emily couldn’t hold back her laugh that time.
“Don’t you ever watch SpongeBob Squarepants?”
“Not in a while. Only when Cora watches it.”
“There’s an episode where Mr Krabbs finds a blue kiss on his dollar. He says ‘Coral blue number two’ and SpongeBob says ‘actually it’s coral blue number five’.” She explained.
“So thats what you two were talking about!”
“Yep.” She giggled.
“Cruel.”
Turning on the TV, Emily tapped the screen to watch the newest X-Men movie.
After a couple of minutes, she felt her lids growing heavy. She couldn’t keep her eyes open and she fell asleep.
*****
Sitting thinking about the morning, Nick was still trying to figure out why Emily was on edge.
As soon as he’d seen her in the office, she seemed nervous to be going with him.
He’d put it down to her being nervous about the flight.
However, the plane taking off hadn’t bothered her in the slightest so now he was wracking his brains as to why she seemed nervous.
Trying not to be obvious about it, he watched her. Watching her movements to see if she was upset about something instead.
Glancing in her direction, he saw that her eyes were growing heavier by the second. Until they stayed closed.
She’d fallen asleep.
Right next to him.
Now he was free to watch her until she woke up.
Her soft, light brown hair hung over her shoulders, still with the halo shine under the light. Her long black eyelashes fanned across her cheeks as she slept and her full pink lips, with a clear gloss, were slightly parted as she breathed in and out.
Nick’s eyes slowly ran down her body to the small ruffled edge along the buttoned edges of her shirt, that stood more prominent over her breasts. They looked bigger than he thought and he realized she wore her blouses loose on purpose.
He didn’t let his eyes linger there whilst she was sleeping. He didn’t think it fair to look while she couldn’t do anything about it.
Her white blouse was tucked into the waistband of her black pants and her flat shoes had little bows on the front.
Cute.
Before the flight attendant could cover her with a blanket, Nick removed his jacket and covered her with that instead. He could have used her own but smiling to himself, he realized his would smell like her when he got it back.
Watching her sleep was incredible.
Emily looked so relaxed, so stress free and so… young. At only twenty three, she’d dealt with a lot from that prick, Jeff, but next to him, Nick wanted to protect her and keep her looking just like she did right then. No scowls, no frowns, just… Emmy.
Nick’s eyes widened and his mouth popped open when Emily moved. She did something that both amazed, and shocked him.
She gripped his jacket, brought it to her face and took a deep breath through her nose, smelling it. A smile spread across her face before her features relaxed again.
She just sniffed my jacket! In her sleep!
Nick’s mind went blank as he watched Emily, with her vice grip on the inside of the collar.
“Where’s my kitty?” She murmured, talking in her sleep, her head turning in his direction as she spoke. A slight crease in her brows.
“Your kitty’s at home.” He whispered, wondering if she was dreaming about an old pet.
“I need it.” She breathed.
It. Not ‘him’ or ‘her’. She said ‘It’.
Nick’s breath caught in his throat. Was she was dreaming about the stuffed cat he’d bought for her?
Emily had answered him, in her sleep, so he tried something else.
“You have my jacket.” He whispered, wondering what she would say to that.
“Ok.” Her voice came out in a single breath.
Emily didn’t say anything else after that. Seemingly content with Nick’s answer that she had his jacket instead of her kitty.
“That was so sweet.” The flight attendant said from the front. Her hand across her heart, her other hand wiping a tear from her eye.
*****
Emily awoke to Nick’s smooth voice in her ear.
“Em, It’s time to wake up. We’re landing now.”
“What? Oh!” she sat up and noticed that a jacket was draped across her. She instantly knew it was his. She could smell it.
“Thank you. You didn’t…”
“Have to do that?” He cut in. “I know. But my jacket’s bigger than yours so…”
Looking down, Emily saw her seatbelt was already fastened. Her eyes snapped to his, questioningly.
He just shrugged.
“You were tired so I left you to sleep a little longer. I know, I didn’t have to do that.”
Emily’s face was burning with embarrassment.
Firstly, she’d fell asleep right next to Nick, he’d covered her with his jacket and he’d fastened her seatbelt. His hands had been almost on her.
Almost.
Chapter 15
After landing at LAX, they exited the plane with Nick’s hand on her back, prickling her skin, guiding her through the doorway.
“I have a car ready for us outside.” Nick said as he gestured the direction to go in.
“Where are we going?”
Nick hadn’t mentioned anything about the trip and Emily had been too nervous to ask.
“The café we invest in,’A taste of Paris’. We’re going there first. I think you’ll like it.” He said with a smile.
“It looks nice. You did a great job with the refurb.” She said, complementing him. Nick was very talented when it came to reconstructing and revamping a business.
I bet he’s talented in other things too.
“Have you been there before?” he asked, breaking her wayward thoughts about him.
“No, I’ve seen the pictures though. They looked nice.”
Emily felt her cheeks burning, yet again, as Nick looked at her.
“Of course. You’re familiar with all of the accounts.” He said, repeating her words to him. “We’re going to the one in Westlake. That’s the original one. It’s twenty five minutes away from the airport.”
Twenty five minutes of pure agony!
At least she’d fallen asleep on the plane, but now Emily was wide awake and stuck, yet again, in a confined space trying to keep her composure.
“The new club we’re going to see isn’t far from there either. It’s in Downtown LA.”
The club, LAX-tra. Was being expanded further after Nick had made a success of Johnny and Ray’s primary club.
Emily nodded her head as the scenery flew past her window whilst Nick drove the car.
“How did you get into business?” she asked after a couple of minutes of silence. She’d often wondered how somebody as young as Nick would have such a substantial business. “I opened a club.” He began. “Actually, I
t was the one you visited.”
Emily turned her eyes to Nick.
That club had been his starting point.
“Why would you open a club like that?” she asked.
“They make a lot of money. Besides, the money I made from that went into my first investments. If I didn’t have that club, I wouldn’t be where I am now.”
“Oh.”
Emily knew Nick had started out straight from college. Diane had told her he’d built it up on his own with some money he’d made from another business. Even though she knew he owned The Funhouse, Emily hadn’t guessed it was that.
“Does that bother you? My owning those clubs?” he asked.
“No, not at all. I asked because I wondered why you didn’t just open a regular nightclub or something.”
“You know Darren?” He asked.
“He’s the manager.” Emily knew he looked after the other two clubs sometimes too. He was more like a regional manager for Nick.
“Well, during college, he got a job to pay for his tuition and dorm fees. He was a dancer and when he told me how much money he made, I thought it’d be a good business to own.”
“Did you get a job there too?”
Emily didn’t like the thought of other women getting a grip of Nick or his parts on display for them.
“No. That’s not my thing.” He assured her shaking his head. “But I had quite a bit of money saved from my trust fund. I bought some premises and turned it into The Funhouse. Darren worked there and he coached some other guys who were looking for work. The money I made from that enabled me to open another one in Vegas. Then another. Eventually, I had enough to start Lake Ventures. Which is what I wanted to do originally and the reason I took business classes.”
Emily stared as Nick told her all about how he started out and that his investment company was his main focus. He wanted to help businesses, not take them away.
“Do you turn many people away? Not just the last two.” She meant Jeff and Harry.
“Of course. Sometimes I can’t help because the people haven’t done their research, they don’t know what they’re doing, and need to have their hand held every step of the way. Also there are some greedy people out there who just want an investment for their own selfish needs.”
Emily could relate to that one. It sounded like Jeff.
She knew all about the cleat studs business he’d turned down. She’d seen the report. The guy hadn’t researched the market enough and there were other products far more superior for a similar price. Even though Nick liked to help, he would be throwing money away by investing.
The car ride ended suddenly and Emily was tempted to tell him to keep driving so she could listen to his voice some more.
She’d found it easier travelling with him, that time, and the talking meant she could have a conversation without him permanently looking at her whilst he spoke. She didn’t think she’d be able to pay attention as much if he did.
“Here we are.” He said pointing out of Emily’s window. “A taste of Paris.”
Nick quickly got out of the car and walked around the front as Emily opened her door. Nick caught it as she pushed.
He was being nice… again.
“Wow, it’s so hot here!” She said, suddenly feeling the LA Summer heat. It was coming up to autumn or ‘fall’ but it was still scorching hot there.
The air conditioning from the airport and the shade before they got into the car made it seem like it was only slightly warmer than Seattle.
“It can get hotter than this too. It’s only 93 degrees. It’ll probably reach one-oh-five by late afternoon.”
Emily had to do the equation in her head. She was still used to celsius instead of fahrenheit.
“So that’s…” She thought “Almost thirty four and just over forty.” She mumbled to herself.
Nick looked down at her.
“UK conversion.” She said, shyly.
Nick just smiled.
Walking to the door of the café, Emily saw, through the windows, that it was really busy. The queue was to the door and every table and chair were taken. Even the chairs outside had a customer in each one.
The vintage look of the décor was inviting and the pictures of Paris landmarks were a nice touch.
Emily thought it was beautiful.
No wonder it’s busy.
Nick held the door open for her and they walked in. Emily spotted an older couple near the back of the café and as soon as they noticed Nick, their smiles reached their ears and they quickly walked over.
“Nick! How lovely to see you mon cher!”
The woman, Edna she assumed, had a light french accent.
She was shorter than Emily and she had greying dark brown hair tied back in a bun, brown eyes and a heart shaped face.
The authentic french café uniform, black short sleeved dress, white cuffs and a white pinny, suited her. The other staff wore the same outfits and they looked professional. The male staff, as well as Joel, wore white shirts and black waistcoats, with black pants.
Emily could hear the french style music quietly playing through the hidden speakers.
“Edna and Joel, this is Emily. Emmy, Edna and Joel Saunders.”
Emily thought it was strange how Nick would introduce her to people as Emily but then called her Emmy.
“It’s lovely to meet you.” Emily said as she shook their hands.
“It’s nice to finally meet you Emily.” Said Joel with a warm smile, his eyes crinkling in the corners.
Turning to Nick, she noticed a flush to his cheeks. He’d been talking about her to them.
Had he been bad mouthing her? Saying what a headache she was?
“Come and see the place.” Edna said excitedly as she took Emily’s hand.
Pulling her through the busy café, Edna stopped near the staff only doors. Emily turned to look for Nick and saw that he was speaking to Joel, but he glanced to her and smiled.
Emily sighed inwardly.
“He’s an angel, that one.” Edna said. “He has helped us so much over the past five years. I’m glad you helped him with that tramp of a woman.” She said, referring to when she called up about Nick being alone. What was stranger was that Emily hadn’t mentioned Rochelle at all.
Nick must have.
Edna continued and then she began to tell Emily how Nick had seen that the café was struggling and had been the one to offer his help, instead of the other way round.
That was something Emily didn’t know. What she did know was that the café was his first investment and it had been a massive success in only its vintage year.
“Oui, ma chère. He saw us struggling and we didn’t have the finances to make our beloved café into the gem that it is today. Nick did all of that for us and now… we could afford to comfortably retire if we so wished.”
“You and Joel both did a lot of work too, Edna.” Nick’s voice came from behind them.
“Oh, garçon doux. Vous avez tout fait pour nous.” She replied with her hand on her chest.
“You can speak French all you want, I still don’t understand you.” Nick chuckled and Edna playfully swatted him on the arm.
“We have a table free.” Joel said, gesturing for them to sit down.
Nick pulled out Emily’s chair for her to sit, and Joel pulled out Edna’s. As they sat, Edna gave Emily a look that she didn’t understand but she assumed it was something to do with them being gentlemen.
“I will bring you some of the chef’s speciality crêpes.” Joel said before leaving them.
A girl came over with a tray and placed four coffees on the table.
Emily looked up at the blonde haired girl and noticed that she kept glancing to Nick. Nick shifted in his seat and then placed his arm on the back of Emily’s chair, making Emily’s heart jump in her throat. She could feel the heat from his skin through his sleeve, across her shoulders. His clean smell all around her.
She makes him uncomfortable.
“Thank you
.” Emily said as she wondered what made Nick act like that. He’d not reacted when he told Louise that he wasn’t interested but this girl made him uncomfortable. Unless he’d dated her and was trying to avoid her.
No, that wasn’t it. It looked like something else. He didn’t like her.
Emily felt angrier the more the girl glanced at him.
“Thank you Stacey.” Edna said with a little smile.
Emily stopped breathing and her hands flattened against the table.
That name.
The name of the girl who had terrorised Alex and kidnapped Holly.
She knew it wasn’t the same girl but the name still made her feel nauseated whenever she heard it.
Emily felt Nick’s hand over hers on the table, sending electricity shooting up her arm. She turned to him and saw the understanding in his eyes, that hearing that name would affect her.
“Here we are.” Joel said, happily as he brought out a tray of plates.
Nick released Emily’s hand and dropped his arm from her chair.
Joel handed out the plates that had two folded crêpes, each with raspberries, blueberries and a drizzle of chocolate sauce. They looked delicious.
*****
Nick relaxed when the girl went back to the counter.
He’d put his arm across the back of the chair to avoid any unwanted attention, but he wasn’t prepared for the overwhelming feeling of wanting to touch Emily.
He could feel the warmth of her skin across his arm and he clenched his fist so he couldn’t rub his thumb across her shoulder blade, like he wanted.
The way he felt was overshadowed when Emily had reacted to the girl’s name. He put his hand on hers, letting her know he was aware of it, and at the same time, fire shot through him.
