Page 62 of Ten Christmases Without You
Charlie.Emmy ripped her thoughts away from the email and refocused on the call. “Yes! I’m fine. I just got an interesting email.” She shut her laptop.
“Interesting?”
“It’s nothing.” She turned her attention entirely to him. “Hi.”
“Hey.”
“What’s up?” she asked.
“I wanted to tell you something.”
She went over to the sofa and sat down, curling her legs under her and covering them with the blanket she kept on the arm during the winter months. “What is it?”
“I quit my job.”
Her mouth sprung open with a gasp. “You quit your job?”
“Yep.” His pride came through in that one word.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to Wyoming to be a fishing guide. There’s a small company out there that’s willing to train me.”
“Oh my gosh.”
“Yeah.” He huffed out a little chuckle that sent a flutter through her stomach. “You’re the first person I called because it was you who inspired me.”
“Me?”
“You just walked out on your PR job, and you were willing to pour coffee and wait tables just to be true to yourself. That’s pretty awesome.”
Emmy was speechless. When she was finally able to find words, she said, “I’ve never once considered my actionsawesome. Quite the contrary actually.”
“Why? You’re the bravest person I know. I often wonder how you can be so brave.”
“What?” She laughed out loud.
“You moved to New York right out of school, and while your job wasn’t what you expected it to be, you pushed yourself to figure it out. You stood up for yourself with your boss, and you’re waiting for something better. I can learn a lot from you.”
Unexpectedly, tears sprung to her eyes. This was the first time she’d been praised for her actions. But better than that, Charlie had actually seen the merit in her choices before she’d seen it herself.
“So, what was the email about?” he asked.
She blinked away her tears. “Uh... What?”
“The email you were reading when I called.”
“Oh. I’m meeting with a designer tomorrow.”
“What? Emmy, that’s incredible! Did you show the designer your sketches or something?”
“Well, I’m not sure exactly why I’m meeting him. How much time do you have?”
“As much as you need.”
Emmy lay back on the sofa and told Charlie everything—the note in the clutch, the emails from Mitchell, and her meeting at Cadeau. And he listened as if what she had to say was the most important thing in his day. She couldn’t help but fall for him a little more with every minute they talked.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
