Page 76 of Always Be an Us

She delicately picks the pearl out of the box and holds it to the window. Her mouth widens into an earsplitting, gummy smile.

"That’s why I was in the Ashton Woods in the first place," I say. "And then while Emma and I were walking around looking for cell service we stumbled upon that bad boy."

"Oh my gosh." She twirls it between her fingers, gaping at the shifting colors.

"It’s beautiful," she gasps.

"Isn’t it?" I say. "If you want, I can have it sent to the jewelers. Marco is back in New York, I think. He can make it into a necklace or a bracelet for you."

She shakes her head. "No, I like it like this. I’m going to keep it in a special place." She stares at me now, smiling with her eyes and lips. "Thank you so much, Daddy. This means a lot."

"Of course." I'm not an emotional man, but my voice is suddenly thicker. She hasn’t called me Daddy in a long time, not since she was eight. "I would do anything for you, you know that right?"

She grins, nods, and then turns back to admire the pearl, rolling it around in her palm.

She's still fascinated by it when we pull into the hotel parking lot, staring at it as she hops out of the car.

I get out too, and open the back door, reaching for her luggage.

"Is Emma coming over today?" Amelia asks suddenly and I raise an eyebrow.

"Do you want her to?"

She nods. "I read a couple of strange things in the diary that I wanted to ask her about."

"Alright," I say. "But I don’t know if she can make it today. She sprained her ankle."

"Who can’t make it today?" I hear an amused voice say and we both turn around to find Emma walking towards us with a bright smile on her face.

She’s silhouetted by the sun, and I think my heart legitimately skips a beat when she appears. For a second, I forget to breathe.

Even in jeans and a band T-shirt, she’s so damn beautiful.

"Emma!" My daughter screams, and she launches herself at Emma hugging her tightly around the waist. Emma hugs her back laughing and runs her hand down her hair. They draw the attention of a couple who are entering the hotel as they make little feminine noises of excitement.

I smile. No one would believe that the two only met a few weeks ago. They hug like they’ve known each other for a lifetime.

"I missed you!"

"I missed you too, kiddo," Emma responds, her eyes glittering. "How was your trip? You look very stylish today too."

"Ugh. I only picked the jacket, the skirt was my mom's idea. Let’s go inside, I'll tell you about it."

"Ok."

Amelia starts pulling Emma to the door and she stumbles a little. I catch the wince as she steps on her bad ankle.

"Amelia stop," I say and my daughter pauses, eyeing me.

"What happened? Did I do something wrong?"

"Emma sprained her ankle." I walk to Emma, pinning her with a stern look. "And she’s supposed to be resting it and not moving around."

Emma shrugs. "It doesn’t hurt that much. Besides, I got it all wrapped up. See?" She lifts the hem of her jeans, so I can see the bandages around her ankles. She also holds up her foot and wiggles it a little for good measure.

"You went to a doctor?’

"No. Poppy did it for me. She used to be a nurse."

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