Page 252 of There's No Us Without You
She frowns and slowly lowers her arse to the chair. “Okay.” She draws out the word, her eyes darting between the two of us.
When we’re all seated, I slide the stapled papers in front of her.
Leaning forward, she scans the page, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. I refrain from leaning over and releasing it.
Or biting into it.
“What’s this?” She flips over the first page, her gaze darting up to me quickly. “A contract?”
“More like a business proposal.” I nod to the document. “We know how much this restaurant means to you, and we didn’t want you owing money to the bank, so Emerson and I pulled some of our savings together and if you want, the restaurant is yours. Thought you could use the money you have saved to fund the renovations. It’ll be a three-way partnership—all equal shares. No bank loans to pay back, so more money can go back into the restaurant. Nothing has been signed yet, but if you’re happy to go ahead, we’re going to turn this place into your dream.”
Her hands fly to her mouth and her eyes fill with tears. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope. Dead serious.”
My heart is beating so hard, and my stomach is in knots as I wait for her to say something.
Fucking anything at this point.
After a few long moments of Emerson grinning like an idiot, and me acting as though I’m not having an aneurism, Eden finally swallows hard and grabs my hand.
“You guys did this for me?” She flips through the papers again, her lips parted slightly.
“Well, it’s a great business opportunity.” I grin at Emerson. “I have a few ideas in terms of what we could do, but I hope we haven’t overstepped. You can say no.”
“We want you to be our business partner,” Emerson says. “The contract has already been drawn up, so you just need to sign on the dotted line and we can get the ball rolling.”
Eyes wide, Eden swallows hard, her gaze darting over the page as one of her legs bounces under the table.
Fuck. She’s going to run.
At least that’s my first thought, but then she lets out a soft sob and throws herself at me. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she says between kisses. “This is just...” Another sob cuts her off, but I don’t need her thanks.
I just need her forgiveness and for her to come back home.
“Thank you,” she says to Emerson, leaning over to grab his hand before bringing it to her lips. “You have no idea what this means to me.”
Emerson winks. “You deserve it, Pop-Tart.”
“Wait.” Eden holds up a hand, narrowing her eyes on the both of us. “Is this just a way to get back into my pants?”
With a soft chuckle, Emerson lifts a shoulder. “Well...”
“You’re an arsehole.”
“You bring out the best in me,” he says, lifting a shoulder. “What can I say?”
Shaking her head, Eden grabs the pen from the table, hovering it over the top of the first page. “Well, if we’re doing this, there’s something I’d like to add first.” She swipes the pen across the page, crossing out the name of the restaurant. “I want to dedicate it to Tyler.”
All I can do is blink at her for a moment, trying to hold back the damn tears.
Why the fuck do I keep crying? I’m not a crier, for Christ’s sake.
“We can do that,” I say finally, giving Emerson a nod when my voice cracks.
He throws me a knowing smile. “I like the sound of that.”
Eden stands, smoothing her dress over her hips before holding her hands out to us. “Come on, then. Let me feed you.”
