Page 93 of Objection to Love

“Ms. Miller? Are you okay?”

Em spun around. “Oh. Stephanie. Yes, I’m fine. Thanks.”

Stephanie looked unconvinced, but smiled and said goodbye anyway.

Em muttered something about stupid displays of emotion and finally dug through her purse for her keys.

The drive was uneventful. Again.

And when she pulled into her driveway, Garrett’s truck wasn’t there. And for some reason, that was hard to deal with, so she pulled straight back out of her driveway and drove to April’s house instead. Her sister would be home—doctor’s orders—and Em would see if she could make some dinner for April and Jackson or something. Anything to keep her mind off… off he-who-must-not-be-named.

Which, of course, reminded her of kissing Garrett for the first time while watchingHarry Potter.

Em peered out her curtains again the next morning. It was Saturday, and she’d already been up for six hours, cleaned her entire house—likedeepcleaned—and made two freezer meals for April for after the surgery. She needed to get out before she started online shopping.

Well. Continued online shopping. But those two dresses, the new mascara, the entire wardrobe for her new niece, and the exercise clothes which she didnotthink about Garrett while buying, were necessities. Or nearly necessities. The mascara definitely was since she hadn’t slept well the last week.

But finally—finally—Garrett’s truck was gone, and she was free to exit her house without possibly running into him. And she was choosing not to dwell on the fact that she was acting like a thirteen-year-old about the whole breakup.

She ran for her car—again, like a thirteen-year-old fleeing her problems—and felt like an idiot when she made it without being caught. Quickly, she turned the ignition on. Then stopped. Where was she going? All morning she’d been trying to get out of the house, but she’d never planned where to go. Maybe April’s? No, she was just there last night, and April had mentioned her and Jackson ordering food in and lying low before the surgery the next week. Em didn’t want to interrupt that.

So Em went to the only other place she could think of.

Work.

It was a good thing, really, because she intended to take a day off for April’s surgery the next week, so getting extra work in today was good. Not pathetic. Not lonely.

Her phone rang when she was five minutes from the office. She grimaced a little when she saw the name on the screen, but she hadn’t talked to her parents since the infamous family dinner, so she felt bad ignoring her mother’s call.

“Hey, Mom,” she said into her car’s Bluetooth.

“September. We hadn’t heard from you for a couple of days.”

It wasn’t a question, but Em felt like it begged an answer. “I know. I’m sorry, I’ve just been so busy with this trial.”

“Oh? And how did it go?”

Em hesitated. “We got the defendant on our manslaughter charge. Everything turned out as it was meant to.”

Her mom made a noncommittal noise, then plowed forward, apparently through with the niceties. “We need to know if you will come on as a partner. The board needs a decision by Monday.”

For the first time, Em waffled in her choice. It might be nice to have a new start. Plus, then at least someone in her life would be proud of her. Her parents would be thrilled if she accepted the position. The occasional Sunday dinners would be filled with talking about workequally. Maybe they’d even stop trying to set her up.

And really, private law wasn’t a bad thing. It just hadn’t been her first choice.

But when she opened her mouth, she couldn’t do it. No matter how happy and proud it would make them… she didn’t need to follow a life path dictated by her parents to be worth something… right?

That sounded a little too much like what Garrett had told her, so she refused to dwell on it. But the decision had already been made in her head, and there was no going back. “I already told you, Mom, but I’m not interested in leaving my current position. I really appreciate the offer, but I won’t be accepting it.”

An exasperated sigh reached her ears. “Honestly, I figured as much,” her mom said. “We have another candidate lined up, but we’re still disappointed.” She paused, probably giving Em one last chance to change her mind. But when Em said nothing, she added, “It’s your choice though.”

Em had expected more of a fight. She’d also expected to feel better when her parents gave in to her. “Thank you for respecting my decision,” was all she could manage to say. “Hey, Mom? I’m heading into the office to work on a couple of things. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

It was a mark of her parents’ lifestyle that her mom didn’t even comment on it being a Saturday and therefore not a work day. Instead, she just said goodbye and hung up.

Em went into the office and started reviewing a few case files for the next week, making notes of victims and officers she needed to call and emails she needed to send come Monday. The work was comfortable and easy and took her mind off her personal life for a few hours. But when she started to pack up for the evening, her mom’s words seemed to bounce around her skull.We’re disappointed.

And then, Garrett’s words warred with her mom’s.Em, you already matter. Outside of work or any other success.

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