Page 9 of Only His

“What did he say?”

“It’s not important. Just… Fuck, I really hate that I’m going to go to bat for this jackass. But since you care about him… put yourself in his shoes for a minute, Emily. Maybe he justwantsto keep seeing you as a kid because it feels wrong to be attracted to his friends’ daughter. Maybe he’s putting up a front because he isn’t sure how to handle the blowout that’ll happen with your dad if he were to make a move.”

It’s not that I hadn’t thought about that, but I never placed much emphasis on it. I mean, we didn’t even live in the same town as my parents, so it felt like a non-issue to me.

“My dad doesn’t need to find out,” I said, my voice wavering so hard with uncertainty that even I could hear it.

“No? What if the two of you got married? You’re just not going to invite your parents to the wedding? Or what if you got pregnant? Having a baby in secret sounds like it’d be a huge pain in the ass. You going to get an on-call babysitter for when your parents come to visit, or just have him take the kid and hide? You might have a hard time explaining the crib and the bottles and shit in your house. Wait, wait. You can tell them thatyou’rean on-call babysitter! It’s a flawless plan. You’re welcome.”

“Damn it, James! Would you stop being so logical?” I scolded, rolling my eyes when he laughed in response. “Okay,yes. I never really gave it that much thought. Though I have…”

“Have what?”

“I have thought about having children with him. Like, a lot.”

“I can see why. He’s very charming,” he said dryly.

“I liked you a lot more without all the sarcasm, James.”

“Wow. We didn’t even have one date and you still sound like every woman I’ve ever gone out with. ‘I liked you so much until I got to know you.’ You know, I’m starting to think that it’s me.”

It was clear that he was joking and we both ended up laughing like hell for a bit. After I got myself under control, I admitted, “I was really scared to call you today. I was so sure you’d hate me.”

“Oh, come on. I could never hate you.”

“You don’t know me very well.”

To my surprise, he didn’t laugh. He just softly said, “I don’t have to. I think I know you well enough to know you’re a good woman. You deserve to be with whoever you want, and I’d be happy to just be a friend.”

“I’m so glad to hear that. I would have missed our conversations at work.”

“So would I. Luckily, it won’t come to that.” Just as I was about to reply, my doorbell rang. James must have heard it over the phone, because he added, “I don’t know how you ended things last night, but it sounds like he’s back for more.”

“Badly,” I grunted as I stood and gingerly hobbled toward the window. “It ended badly. It can’t be him.”

“Twenty bucks says you’re wrong.”

I gasped as I peeked through the curtains and saw him standing on the porch, staring directly into the window I was looking out of. Our eyes locked and he raised his brows, a silent question.

“It’s him.”

“Of course, it is,” James said incredulously, like he couldn’t believe I ever doubted him. “And now you owe me lunch.”

“What—What do I do?”

“Whatever makes you happy.” James sounded so sure of himself, and so patient with me, that my eyes started to sting. Until he added, “And tell him I said to go fuck himself. I’ll see you Monday, Emily.”

“Oh myGod,” I mumbled as the line went dead. I started to laugh until the doorbell rang again and the laugh turned to a huff of annoyance. “I’m coming!”

I opened the door and immediately had a bouquet of roses thrust toward me. David was standing behind them, dressed in a black button-down shirt and a pair of dark jeans. His dark hair was slicked back and his jaw was freshly shaven. His blue eyes bore intensely into mine as he offered me the red roses.

“What are these for?” I dumbly asked as I took them in the hand that I wasn’t using to prop myself on the doorframe with.

“Our first date.”

“Wh-What?”

He stepped forward, gently cupping my waist for support as he guided me backward. Without breaking eye contact, he reached behind him and shut the door, twisting the lock into place and leaving us in yet another pregnant silence.

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