Page 40 of Emma's Element

“Ginny,” she said in a tone of voice he’d never heard from her before, utterly defeated and resigned to her fate. The fierce warrior that had taken down his ex-friend was gone. And in her place was this husk of a woman, trounced and crestfallen.

“You just can’t help yourself, can you?” Ginny’s gaze slid past Marcus to the rest of the men standing around them. “How many of these guys have you slept with?”

Emma shook her head, her eyes still on the ground. “Ginny.”

“Better watch your husbands and boyfriends’ ladies before Emma gets her hook in them. She’ll lure them away from you and straight to their deaths.”

Chapter thirteen

EmmaheardAnnikagaspas Ginny’s words shot straight through her heart, pulverizing it. Ginny, seemingly hellbent on exposing all of Emma’s skeletons in front of everyone, was just getting started.

“Jesus, Emma, do you get some sort of perverse pleasure being surrounded by all these men? Is that why you always choose a career in a predominately male profession? Must make it easier to whore yourself out to them, especially when you have their undivided attention. How did I not see you for the slut that you are? Maybe if I had, my husband would still be alive.”

Emma’s arms were crossed in front of her, her fingernails digging into her biceps as she attempted to hold herself together. She could sense the shift in perceptions among her friends as Ginny spewed her venom. It was her worst fear playing out right before her eyes. And like a tidal wave, there wasn’t a thing she could do to stop it. Her new friends would never look at her the same way again after learning of her past. History would repeat itself, and she’d lose everything . . . again.

“You bitch,” Jolene hissed, startling Emma. “Where do you get off? Emma had nothing to do with your husband’s death.”

“She most certainly did,” Ginny insisted. “If she hadn’t seduced him, he wouldn’t have been distracted. He’d still be alive if it wasn’t for the Coastie Siren.”

That was it. Emma had had enough. Not only was she done allowing that dratted nickname to bring her down, but she was thru listening to people malign the memory of her best friend. Emma dropped her hands to her sides and straightened her shoulders. Lifting her chin, she met Ginny’s hateful gaze head-on.

“How dare you,” Emma fumed.

“Excuse me?” Ginny glared at her, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“You can think whatever you want about me. Call me whatever names you want, if it makes you feel better. But how dare you disparage the memory of the man who loved you to pieces. Paul was entirely committed to you. The fact that you let some no-name wannabe journalist with access to the internet compel you to disregard the love he had for you is despicable. If I had a love like that, I would never let some idiot with a keyboard turn me against what I would know down to my bones to be true. I understand your grief has blinded you to that truth, but I think if you looked deep down inside yourself, you’d see how devoted he was to you.”

Emma ended her impassioned speech breathing heavily, her anger at the injustice of everything that had happened in her past overwhelming her. The sudden heat from Marcus' body as he moved to her side was an unexpected comfort, but she was terrified to face him. Ginny’s words had been harsh and humiliating; she didn’t want him or her friends to think any less of her, but how could they not. Ginny had known her for over a decade and still believed she was a whore. How could the men and women who she’d only known for a little more than a year think any different?

But then she felt Marcus’s hand slip into hers, prying her fingers out of their clench to entwine them with his. Her breath hitched at his silent support. She squeezed her eyes shut, attempting to block the tears that threatened to escape. Jolene grasped her other hand, and Emma tried to swallow past the lump lodged in her throat.

“Here’s something I guess you never learned about my girl here,” Jolene began. “Emma is a fierce friend. If you are lucky enough to call her a friend, she will become your staunch ally. She will be unconditionally loyal to you and fight to the death against anyone trying to hurt you. If someone had tried to malign you in front of everyone, she would not only stand beside you but also go to battle for you. Can you say the same?”

Emma glanced at her best friend, touched greatly by her words. Jolene’s glare remained on Emma’s former friend, a glint of resolute righteousness in her eyes. The tightness in Emma’s chest loosened, knowing she still had JoJo’s support. She squeezed her hand, and Jolene’s gaze softened as she looked over at Emma, her lips tilted up in a small smile.

“I think you owe our friend an apology,” Natalie suggested, stepping forward to stand next to Jolene.

“Nobody deserves to be talked to that way . . . ever,” Annika pointed out, moving to stand next to Marcus, who still held her hand.

“I don’t know what exactly happened to make you believe the worst of Emma, but I do know something about grief,” Marcus began. “I’m sorry you lost your husband, but grieving does not give you the right to disparage another human being. Especially not in front of all these people. I may not have known Emma long, but I have come to understand her true nature. Her loyalty toward her friends runs deep, and that type of loyalty is a virtue. Betrayal, like the one you are inferring, is not in her character.” Marcus paused and glanced down at Emma, a wistful smile on his lips. Meeting his gaze, her heart shuddered to a stop at the spark in his eyes. It was as if he was telling her he still wanted her.

“And I also know she would have willingly braved the shadows of your grief and stood by you. She would have willingly entered the fray to defend you against the ones who attempted to malign your husband.” He continued, maintaining eye contact with her. She couldn’t look away from the magnetism in those aquamarine pools. With one glance, he had her spellbound. He turned his attention back to Ginny, releasing her from the trance. She took a deep, wobbly breath, but his next words had her blinking back the sudden rush of tears. “That is something that has taken me too long to understand. Having a woman like Emma by your side is a gift. I think her words earlier prove that. She wouldn’t care what anyone said about her as long as they didn’t hurt those she cared about. She would do whatever it took to shield them from that kind of hurt. Can you say the same?”

Emma was shocked when Ginny’s entire demeanor changed. She covered her face with her hands, a great sob escaped, and her shoulders shook as she cried. “You’re right. I know you’re right.” She dropped her hands to look Emma in the eyes. A deep furrow creased her forehead, grief and regret obvious in her anguished expression. “I’m so sorry, Emma. I’ve been such an idiot. And so lost. Once a little time had passed since . . .” She broke off on a hiccupping sob. She swallowed it, regaining control. “I’ve had a lot of time to think, and I know, deep down, that Paul would never betray me like that. And neither would you. But when I saw you tonight, all that grief and anger came roaring back. It was like that day at the funeral all over again. I could only see the red haze of rage, not the truth. I’d blamed you in my head for so long after the accident that all those feelings came roaring back. I’m so sorry, Emma. So sorry.” She broke down in tears, and Emma’s heart twisted. She let go of Marcus’s and Jolene’s hands and wrapped her arms around her grieving friend, something she’d ached to do almost two years ago when they buried Paul. Ginny sobbed louder, her forehead resting on Emma’s shoulder.

Emma held Ginny until her tears subsided. Ginny stepped back, wiping her face with her hands, a sheepish expression on her face as she regarded Emma. “I’m not sure I deserve that hug but thank you.”

Ginny peered around at the crowd surrounding them, her cheeks turning red. “I . . . I better get back to work. I’m sorry I interrupted your time at the gala.”

She turned to leave, but Emma wasn’t ready to let it go at that. She’d missed her friend. “Wait! You work here?”

Ginny nodded. “I moved here to be closer to my parents. They’ve helped me a great deal.”

“I’m glad. It’s nice you have your family to turn to.”

“It is.” She turned to leave again, then hesitated. “I know I’ve been a rotten friend, but I hope we can reconnect sometime if you are willing.”

“I’d like that.” Ginny smiled, then walked away.

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