David’s heart panged, like someone just struck a chord and the sound echoed in his head. Emily had been giving off signals all day. The furtive glances, clutching his arm, rubbing his back. And then there was the way she got emotional at Grandmother Marks’ questions. She changed from the ultra-confident, sassy businesswoman he met in her office two weeks ago. She was quieter, less sure of herself and clearly outside her comfort zone. Yet behind the nerves, her smile made her eyes sparkle and the warmth of her touch sent tingles through his senses.
“Do you love her? You think you’re going to make it work?” Charles’ words snapped David out of his thoughts.
“I do.”
Just those words, coupled with thoughts of Emily, warmed his heart and gave him hope for their future.
Charles clapped his son on the back and offered a chuckle. “Looks like it’s worked out for everyone, then. You won’t tell her about our arrangement, will you?”
David shook his head. What use would it be now? Did it matter his father set them up? Is that really a big deal? Now that they had feelings for one another… didn’t that change things? Charles smiled and gave a nod.
“Good. Well, I’ll let you go back to your wife. We’ll see you at the party.”
The grin on David’s face grew wider. My wife. That’s right, Emily is my wife now. He hurried along the path back to the house, his mind playing out scenarios that made his mouth dry.
David knocked on his bedroom door. He knew which room Emily would be in. Being married, they were expected to share a room, of course. And this was his childhood bedroom. The one he would stay in during the summer holidays when he visited his grandmother.
“Yes,” Emily’s muffled voice carried through the door. David pushed the handle down and opened it. Emily stood across the room barefoot and her hair cascaded down to her narrow waist. David wanted to scoop her up into his arms and carry her to the four-poster bed. His face heated at the thought.
“Hi,” Emily said as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. David closed the door and stood there, wondering what to do.
“Hi” was all he could say. For the first time since they said “I Do” they were alone in a room. But theirs was a marriage of convenience. Emily did it to help him out, how did she feel about it? He sighed. The day had been long and was far from over. Soon, the two of them would have to make their appearance at a party in the garden with all of Grandmother Marks’ closest friends. All he wanted to do was take Emily to bed and have their own private party.
“So… that was intense.” Emily’s soft voice dragged David out of his head. She tilted her head to the side and surveyed him sympathetically. “How are you feeling?”
David swallowed. His brain was foggy and he couldn’t process all of the thoughts and feelings swirling around inside. It was intense. The reality that his grandmother was dying had still not set in. Her health had been a long and arduous decline. Between his father being so pragmatic about it, and Edward already spending his inheritance, his whole family was falling apart. Was everyone just burying their heads in the sand and refusing to face up to reality of the situation? Their grandmother was going to die. The family used to be so close, and she held everyone together. She arranged all the family events. She took the most interest in how everyone was. She cared. Then she made the dramatic decision to change her will, leaving everything to Edward and it was as if an atom bomb hit the family. And everyone just seemed to be very matter-of-fact about it all.
Seeing her looking so weak, watching her talk to Emily, holding her hands, and smiling at the ring sent a flurry of emotion through his senses. It took all of David’s resolve not to crash to his knees and weep. The agony of knowing his brother planned to destroy her legacy and spend the family fortune on a pipedream was becoming too much. While visiting her in her sunny cottage, he’d been unable to look at Edward; it was hard enough reining in the satisfying thoughts of punching him in the gut and telling him he was a heartless, disloyal fool, who only cared about himself. So instead, he kept his eyes fixated on Grandmother.
Emily. Just saying her name had hope blossoming within him like a sunflower. Emily spoke so softly and held his grandmother’s hands tenderly. She didn’t move back in repulsion. Even Catherine appeared awkward and glanced at the door, probably planning her escape. But Emily remained present and caring. His heart swelled at the thought. David jumped and blinked at the touch of her hand on his arm.
“Are you okay?” Emily was standing on tip toes and looking at him with her hands rubbing his arms. Her eyes were dark and sorrowful. Seeing her looking at him with pity broke his resolve and the dam burst.
He knelt down and his shoulders heaved up and down as he cried. Emily knelt down with him, wrapping her arms around his neck. David buried his head in her hair with his cheek pressed up against her shoulder.
David’s grief eased as he felt her hair against his skin and inhaled the scent of Emily’s perfume on her neck. Slowly, he raised a hand and took a handful of her hair, kissing a line up her neck to her jaw. Emily leaned back, forcing him to let go of her hair and see the bewilderment on her face.
“What are you doing?”
David wiped his eyes and shook his head with a laugh.
“I don’t know,” he replied honestly. What was he doing? One minute he was crying, the next
