Page 76 of Playing for Keeps

“I bolted,” Will said, shaking his shoulders with laughter. “I finally found the stairs and ran down three flights, holding on to that towel for dear life. I ended up in the lobby, where the night clerk, God bless her, was able to calm me down and call security. Naked in Montreal, gentlemen. Five stars. Would recommend.”

We were all laughing by the time he was done. Seth, who had rolled his eyes at first, was now doubled over.

I leaned back, still laughing, and found myself scanning the bar for Emma. She was flagging the bartender for a drink. I caught myself smiling automatically, until I saw him. Some guy sliding in close. Too close.

At first, I figured she probably knew the guy. But then her shoulders tensed up and she put on that polite smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. My chest tightened – not from jealousy, but from seeing her freeze up like that. I knew that feeling too well. He leaned in, way too close. She tried to move away, but he just closed the gap again. My smile vanished.

I got out of the booth without even thinking. Lewis stopped laughing. He followed my line of sight, his smirk fading. Will opened his mouth to crack another comment, but one look at my face had him swallowing it. My eyes never left her.

The guy leaned in again, so close that his mouth almost touched her ear. Emma edged back, but the bar was right behind her. She was trying to keep it civil, but I could tell how uncomfortable she was.

With each step across the floor, I felt more and more tense. Honestly, it took everything I had not to just storm over and yank him away from her. Not yet, at least. The last thing I wanted was to make a scene that put her in the middle of it. But then his hand slid down her arm, his fingers just hanging there. That did it. My jaw locked. That’s when I heard her, voice sharp and steady, despite the tightness in it.

“That’s enough,” Emma said. “I’ve told you before that I don’t like you touching me. We work together. No means no. It doesn’t mean ‘maybe.’ It doesn’t mean try again later. It just means ‘no.’”

I reached her then, close enough that my arm brushed hers. “Emma,” I said, steady, even though every instinct told me to move. “And this is?”

She turned her head a little, and when she saw me, her shoulders dropped. “Max, this is Henri. A colleague.”

So this was Henri. He looked just like the useless weasel I had imagined. His eyes moved back and forth between us. He straightened and the little smirk that had been on his face faded away completely. For half a second, it seemed like he might argue. He just scoffed instead and walked away without glancing back.

Emma’s shoulders shifted, and I felt the stress leave her body.

“Hey, you okay?” I asked, giving her waist a little squeeze.

She nodded and took a deep breath, calm and sure, as if she had just closed a door on something she never meant to open again. And Christ, watching her like that, standing her ground with zero hesitation – I couldn’t look away. I bent down, close enough to feel the warmth of her hair against my lips, my words just for her.

“I’m proud of you,” I whispered, rough with everything I couldn’t put into words.

Her hand found mine at her waist, her fingers sliding over my knuckles. That simple touch grounded me more than anything else could. I turned her slowly, needing to see for myself that she was really okay. When she looked up, those fierce green eyes meeting mine, I couldn’t stop myself. I pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Let’s join the guys,” I said quietly.

She nodded once, and we walked back across the floor together. Lewis moved over to make room at the booth without missing a beat. Will was halfway through telling another one of his classic stories when Seth rolled his eyes, like he’d heard it a hundred times. Emma slipped in next to me. My arm curved around her as her laughter settled into my chest. I sat there, holding her close and listening to her laugh, and thought: Yeah. This is it. This is what happy feels like.

36

EMMA

Grace let us in before we could finish knocking. Her face was glowing with the kind of happiness that comes from anticipating a rare night out without the kids and feeling only a little guilty about it.

She hugged me and then stood on her toes to give Max a peck on the cheek. “You two are saints,” she said. “The kids are so excited. They’ve been counting down the minutes since lunch. It’s like Taylor Swift is going to babysit.”

Max snorted. “Lucy is probably more excited about Emma than about me.”

“Yes, she is actually. Lucas, on the other hand, is convinced you’re going to show him how to bodycheck his sister into the couch, so good luck with that.”

Barney was behind her, thumping his feet and wagging his tail so hard that his whole back end wobbled. He ran up to me and pushed his muzzle into my hands. I bent down right away, buried my face in his coat, and hugged him like an old friend. “Hello, handsome boy,” I said softly.

Then Aidan came in, his coat half fastened, looking like a man who was about to be kicked out of his own house. “Don’t expect them to be neat, even though they’re already in pyjamas. And don’t let Lucy talk you into three desserts. She’ll try.”

“I make no promises,” I said lightly.

All of a sudden someone in the house shrieked, “They’re here!” followed by the sound of small feet and the skittering of socks on hardwood.

Lucy was the first to show up, her hair in a hasty ponytail and her eyes shining with excitement. “Emma!” She squealed and wrapped her arms around my waist before I could even put down my bag. “I found the book you told me about. It’s the one with the girl who rides away on a horse. I have already read half of it. You were right; it’s brilliant.”

Lucas collided with Max’s legs and wrapped himself around his thigh like he was going to stay there.