“I was worried. And it turned out I had reason to be.” He hated the defensive note that’d crept into his voice. It gave away the fact that he was a little more invested than he was willing to admit. But he couldn’t help it.
“Have you slept with her?” Seth asked, point-blank.
Dallas shot him a withering look. “That’s none of your business.”
He laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
There wasn’t any point in trying to deny it. Seth missed nothing.
“Is it about sex, then? Is that all that’s going on between you?”
Dallas opened his mouth to reply but couldn’t find the right answer. It was all about sex—and yet sex had almost nothing to do with it.
When he hesitated, Seth said, “I’ll take that as a no,” and put his empty glass on the nearest table. “So here’s my best advice. If this woman is different from all the rest—if she’s the one who can fill the empty spaces inside you—don’t let her go. Because I’m here to tell you that kind of woman doesn’t come around very often,” he added softly, and Dallas knew he was speaking of his late wife when he walked off.
24
Emery heard several women in the audience sniff during the ceremony. Aiyana wasn’t a young bride, but that made it even more meaningful. After spending most of her life as an unmarried woman, working hard and making it all on her own, she was finally getting the happy-ever-after so many people dream about.
To Emery’s surprise, she began to relax and was quickly caught up in the magic of it. She was glad she’d come instead of curling up in bed and feeling sorry for herself. It was Christmastime—a time she normally loved—but she’d been so consumed with her problems she hadn’t paid much attention to the beauty of the season. The wedding served as a reminder of all the little things she should still be grateful for in spite of her recent painful setbacks. There was music. The laughter of young children. The hope of better times ahead. The memories of Christmases past. The enduring love of family and friends.
Those things were what made Christmas what it was, she reminded herself. The holidays weren’t only for those who had it easy. They provided a chance to rejoice amid difficulty. Maybe Emery didn’t have everything she’d had before, but she had a friend in Aiyana, who’d taken her in when she needed it most. And she had a friend in Dallas, who’d been trying hard to protect her. They didn’t owe her anything; she was lucky to have them. And, yes, she and Dallas had let things go too far, but even that had been wonderful while it lasted.
She also had the hope of better times ahead and the love of her mother, if not her father. If she really couldn’t handle her own problems, her mother would stand by her just like she was standing by Grandma. Not everyone could count on that kind of loyalty.
And her father might get his head straightened out, eventually.
Susan slipped in late, and yet she made several people stand up to let her through so she could sit by Emery, which made Emery feel accepted and welcome—as if she belonged. When she’d first arrived today, she’d worried that her presence would create too much of a stir. There was the sex video, then the bar fight, then the police asking everyone if they’d seen the man who attacked her. She didn’t want to distract from Aiyana and the celebration.
But her concerns had proved to be unfounded. The wedding seemed to be a time-out from regular life. Everyone was so happy for the bride and groom it pulled them together as a group and kept them focused on what mattered most.
“It’s gorgeous in here,” Susan whispered. “Who knew you could do so much with a tent?”
Emery studied the lights that had been strung overhead, the stand of real Christmas trees—three in varying heights—in one corner, decorated with silver ribbon and big glass balls, and the six-tiered cake not far away, with pink poinsettias adorning the frosting. “They’ve done an amazing job,” she agreed.
The decorations weren’t the only remarkable aspect. Emery had never seen a wedding line quite as large or striking as Aiyana’s. Aiyana’s eight sons stood beside her—all of them in the prime of their lives and looking so handsome in their tuxedos. Cora and Savanna were there, too, sharing the role of maid of honor. On his side, Cal had four friends he’d known for years, together with one man who worked for him, three kids he’d adopted from a previous marriage and his brother, who’d come from San Diego to serve as his best man.
Without the tension and worry that had held her in such a tight knot since the trauma she’d experienced last night, Emery found herself smiling dreamily as she listened to Aiyana and Cal exchange vows. She was happy—happy for them if not herself—and she refused to think beyond that.
Susan nudged her. “Don’t look now but someone can’t keep his eyes off you.”
Emery looked over to see Dallas watching her with an inscrutable expression. Her pulse quickened when she saw him, and she knew in that moment the truth she’d been trying to avoid. It was too late to save herself where he was concerned. She’d have to get over him along with everything else she had to do in order to rebuild her life.
But she couldn’t bring herself to regret having slept with him.
Instead of overriding her natural inclination to single him out, as she’d been doing since she’d last left his bed, she allowed herself to meet and hold his gaze as she remembered what it was like to touch him, to taste him.
What she was feeling must’ve shown on her face because his eyebrows came together, and his gaze drilled into hers as if he was trying to
