Page 11 of Love Me Ever After
I was about to respond with a smart arsed comment, but my phone pinged. I turned it face up and glanced at the screen.
Whit: Hey you! Ready to chat? X
Ems also clocked the sender as she returned to pick up her wine glass. “Oh, is that your friend?” Her tone was light, but her face had slipped into a carefully neutral mask.
“Yeah.” I swigged the last of my beer.
After a beat, she left the room and I could hear the television blaring with some soap opera.
Whatever I did or didn’t feel about Ems right now, it shouldn’t interfere with me chatting to Whitney Stratton. She and I had been close the whole time I’d been in New York. Yes, there’d been some flirtation and sure, on occasion we’d taken it further. But I’d come back to Ealynn Sands and she was still in New York.
After getting another beer from the fridge, I turned on my laptop and connected to the video call. Within a few seconds, Whit’s apartment filled the screen, her face smiling back at me.
“It’s not the same here without you, Mason,” she began, a pout crossing her lips. “Come back and rescue me from the American boys.”
I let out a laugh. “Don’t be ridiculous, it’s them that need saving from you.”
She giggled back at me, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder. “You’d better believe it, honey.”
“What’s going on? Landed any big deals since I’ve been gone?”
We chatted for a good fifteen minutes about work and the clients we’d been dealing with. Whit had been my unofficial guide both in and out of the office. A pang of something hit me as I thought of my time out there. Did I miss her? Did I miss the buzz of the city? I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
I almost didn’t notice Ems wander back into the kitchen, trying to act casual, while Whit and I talked. She went over to the fridge to refill her wine, deliberately walking around the back of me so Whit saw her.
Whit’s eyebrows went up so high, they almost met her hairline. “Is that—” she began.
“Nothing to see here,” I cut in, waving my hand across my throat in a cutting motion.
Ems appeared to be listening in, poking around in one of the cupboards seemingly looking for something else to eat. I knew exactly what she was doing—looking to pick up any juicy gossip between me and Whit. Well, two could play at that game.
“Ems,” I said. “Come say hi to Whit.”
Her dark head snapped around so fast I thought she might get whiplash. “No, you’re all right.”
I waved her over. “Don’t be silly. It would be good for you two to know about each other.”
She screwed up her nose, knowing Whit couldn’t see her. “I’m sure I’ll get to meet her when she comes to see you.”
On screen, I could see Whit frowning as she heard what Ems had said. Before any of us could say anything else, Ems grabbed a bar of chocolate and her full glass then disappeared back into the living room.
“Well, that was weird.” Whit pulled a face. “Are you two living together now? How did that happen?”
Whit knew all about my history with Ems. When I’d first arrived in New York, I’d spilled my guts to her on a drunken night out, shown her photos of my ex and told her all about the end of the relationship. I think after that she took pity on me and made it her mission to make sure I had the best time in the Big Apple. She succeeded.
Briefly, I filled her in on the events of the past week. When I said it out loud, the concept actually made sense, it was like moving things around on a chess board and making sure everyone ended up in the right place.Checkmate.If you ignored the awkwardex-nessof it all.
“So does she think I’m your girlfriend now and she’s jealous?”
Whit’s question made me think. Ems and I hadn’t ended things onbadterms exactly. Sure, she’d stormed out of the restaurant when I’d told her about leaving and said she couldn’t do long distance. But we hadn’t argued or cheated. It was as if everything about our break-up was circumstantial.
Deciding to shrug off the thought until I’d had more time to process it, I turned the conversation back to Whit and her love life. We ended up talking and laughing for another hour, reminiscing about my time in New York and promising to chat again soon. I closed my laptop and got another beer, taking the rest of the bottle of white wine into the living room. Ems was on her phone, scrolling through social media, studiously ignoring me.
“Want another glass?” I held up the bottle.
She gave me a cursory glance, then dropped her phone to the sofa and held out her empty glass. “I thought I was going to have to die of thirst.”
“You could have come in and got some more.” I poured her wine, filling the glass right to the brim. “Look, there’s some left. You might as well finish it.”
