Page 73 of The Love Chase

I didn’t know where Liam’s head was at, and that had my stomach sinking to the floor.

Unsure of what to do with myself now, I threw my hair into a ponytail and headed toward the garage, where I could be with my weather instruments.

At least out there I knew what reality was.

Emma

Ihad just sat down at my makeshift desk in the garage, ready to hit record on my next YouTube episode to talk about updrafts and downdrafts, when my phone started ringing. It was a video call from Jameson. That was weird; he rarely ever did video chat.

Hitting the green button, I braced myself, trying to erase the stress over the paparazzi interaction from my face, and make it appear like everything was still newlywed bliss. A second later both Jameson’s and my mom’s faces appeared on the screen.

My mom grinned. “There’s my Emma Bear!”

“Hey, Em,” Jameson greeted.

My heart squeezed at the sight of them. It hadn’t been that long since I’d last seen them, but it felt like forever. I’d been so lost in the little world Liam and I had created that I hadn’t realized how much I missed my family too.

“Hey,” I replied, a genuine smile making its way across my face. “How are you doing, Mom?”

Jameson snorted. “Nice to see you too,” he joked.

“Oh, I know you’re just fine, Jam-Jam.” I waved a hand, chuckling. “I would’ve heard otherwise from Elsie or Maya if you weren’t.”

He opened his mouth to argue, but then stopped himself, shrugging in acceptance.

“I’m just fine, dear,” Mom said. “We wanted to check in on you, but didn’t want to intrude on you and Liam.”

Probably a good idea since we’ve spent the last couple days kissing whenever possible.

Heat flooded my face, and Mom laughed.

“So, I take it things are going well for you two,” she commented. Sometimes I hated that she could read me so well. “Does that mean Liam finally admitted his feelings?”

For a second, I froze, completely confused as to what she meant since she was never told our marriage was fake.

“Um, what?” I fixed a glare on Jameson. Had he told her even though I’d asked him not to?

“Oh, Jameson didn’t spill the beans, Emma. I might be getting older, but I’m not blind. You and Liam acted like you barely knew each other at the wedding, and I’d never seen such a thing with you two. I knew something was off, but I figured you’d tell me when you were ready. As long as you were safe and taken care of, I was ready to be patient and wait for you to tell me.”

“Until you went radio silent,” Jameson chimed in, “and she cornered me and asked what was going on.”

“Don’t be mad at Jamie. He tried to fend me off, but I was persistent.”

Jameson gave an apologetic smile in response.

I blew out a breath, preparing to finally tell Mom about the marriage scheme. Part of me was relieved at the prospect of no longer hiding something from her.

Mom was quiet and thoughtful as I explained everything that had happened, why I’d agreed to the marriage, and how it benefited both of us. I wasn’t sure how I expected her to take the news, but I didn’t expect her to nod and say, “But now you both have admitted you’re in love with each other, right?”

“Um, not exactly,” I admitted.

“Emma Walker, why the heck not?”

A chill went down my spine hearing my mom use my married name. For some reason it made it feel more real.

I winced. “We’re really bad at feelings talk?” It came out as a question since I wasn’t really sure why Liam and I couldn’t just talk about how we felt.

“Emma Bear, take it from someone who has lived a long time, and lost a lot over the years. Life is so short. Tell Liam how you feel. That boy has been in love with you for so long, he’s just been in denial. If you continue to wait to tell him, you’ll only grow to resent him. I don’t know what will happen at the end of this silly marriage contract, but I do know that you’ll regret it if you don’t tell him. Quit wasting precious time.”

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