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I shook my head as if to say “nothing” but the words that came out instead were, “I love you.”
The smile on her lips faded only to light up in her eyes. They were bright and glittery as she stared at me for several seconds. Then she stepped out from under the water and came up to me, her wet hands soaking my shirt as she grabbed two handfuls, went on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to my lips.
When she pulled away, she looked me in the eye, unraveling everything inside me as she murmured, “I love you, Emmett Hoult.”
29
ALY
“I have something to ask you and something to tell you.”
The cautious way in which Emmett presented that information after we sat at dinner probably should’ve had me at least a little concerned, but I was still to high on cloud nine to pay it much attention.
I hadn’t expected him to say I love you.
Technically, he’d already done it. He’d told me that he loved me the night after my so-called date with Drew Maddox, and while I don’t think he was talking about the same kind of love that night, I was pretty sure that that was all I was going to get for awhile.
So hearing it when I least expected it today was beyond a pleasant surprise. It was easily the sweetest thing that had ever happened to me, and it had me far too bubble-headed to overanalyze what Emmett was slightly frowning about. So with a sip of my wine, I simply nodded and said, “Hit me.”
“When was the last time you saw your dad?” Emmett asked right away. I paused for a few seconds.
“Um. Maybe December for Christmas?” I answered, raising my eyebrows when I realized that was more than half a year ago. “Wow. It’s weird. It doesn’t feel that long ago because I know he’s so close by. And I still hear him in the background when my mom calls every week. I mean talk sometimes, too. Never for more than a minute or so, but it’s just the relationship I have with him. And I’ve obviously always wanted more, but it is what it is. I’m too exhausted to try to talk to him about it now. Besides, it doesn’t break my heart on a daily basis anymore.”
Emmett nodded, though a frown knit his brow as he played with his fork for a second and looked out the window at the water.
“I was really happy when Mom told me you bought his company. I thought that would fix everything,” he finally said.
“Yeah,” I nodded with a sad laugh. “Me too. Though I’m starting to realize that I’m still happy with all the choices I made. All the hard work I put in,” I said, watching the dancing flame on the candle between us. “Even if it didn’t work to win his approval, it’s still the first thing I did on my own. And I don’t know why, but the more I work and the more established the restaurant gets, the less I feel the need to prove myself to him.”
“Because you’ve already proved yourself to yourself,” Emmett grinned, as if it were obvious. “You’re a fucking rock star. Not a lot of people can do what you did and sacrifice so much of their lives to achieving a goal. God knows I don’t have that kind of hustle in me,” he smirked.
“That’s not true, Emmett,” I laughed, smiling down at his hand when he placed it over mine. “Maybe you had a head start, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t have to keep working to maintain everything you have.”
“That’s definitely a good word to describe my life. Maintenance,” Emmett said with an unreadable look on his face. But before I could ask him to clarify, he moved swiftly on. “Anyway, the other thing I meant to tell you is that your dad might show up to the gala on Saturday.” He winced. “Will that be okay for you?”
I blinked for a couple seconds, unsure of the answer myself.
“Yeah,” I finally said. “That’s fine, honestly. I’d kind of stopped expecting things from Dad awhile ago. And I think,” I shot Emmett a wiggly, sheepish smile, “that when you knocked some sense into me the morning after I moved out, I realized… as sad as it sounds… that I was holding onto something that was never there. There never really was hope to get him to love me – not the way I always wanted, at least.”
“Aly,” Emmett frowned deeply, squeezing my hand. “I’m sorry for everything I said that day. I know it was harsh, and it was – ”
“True,” I cut in, offering a bit of a smile to ease his tension. “Everything you said that day was true, Emmett, and the fact that I avoided you all those years kind of proves it. I knew you were the only one who knew me well enough to call me out and pull me out of delusion,” I said. “And as hard as it as to accept that I’d lied to myself most of my life, it was also a huge weight off my back. Because now I don’t actually want to try anymore. I’m not living to impress my dad. Holding out hope for someone who doesn’t even think about you on a daily basis is pretty much the most painful waste of time in the world, and I realize that now,” I finished. My voice was soft but strong because I believed every word that I said. “I realized it too late, but at least I did at all. Thanks to you.”
The candlelight flickered against his skin as he gazed at me for a little.
“You’re impressive. You know that?” he finally said, making a shy grin curve on my lips.
“Why are you saying this?”
“Because you’re strong and smart, and you’ve done everything on your own,” Emmett answered easily. “You’ve been knocked down however many times, and you’ve never stayed on the ground. I don’t know what that’s like. My dad used to say, ‘When it comes to the race of life, you two were dropped off way ahead of the others. You should always know and remember that.’ And I did, but it never hit me quite as hard as it’s hitting me now,” Emmett admitted as he studied me intently. “And it just makes me that much more amazed by you.”
I looked down as I blushed.
God, this man knew how to make me swoon. Touching the back of my neck, I gazed down at the table, my heart quietly soaring as Emmett lifted my hand to his lips and gave me a kiss.
“Well, before you get too proud of me,” I started jokingly, “I feel like I should admit that I have a petty side to me.”
Emmett laughed. “Yeah?”
