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She tried to suppress a sob, her heart breaking for Alex as Matt quickly told her all that had happened. An image of his father, the man he so greatly admired lying in a hospital bed filled her mind.‘It was just my father and I,’he had said to her.
And then guilt ripped through her. She’d thought he was done with her. That they were at an end. When he probably hadn’t even thought about her at all. He would have been consumed with terror. He needed her. That was why Matt had called her, she realised.
‘I’ll be on the next flight out.’
Emma rushed to Greg’s office, convincing him to give her time off. It was an emergency, after all.
And the moment he agreed, she was running for the elevator.
The flight took an agonisingly long time. It was more than enough time for her to question if she was doing the right thing.
Would Alex want her there? They weren’t in a relationship.
Then she realised it didn’t matter. Because heneededher. She was going to be with him. To help him carry this load, however heavy it turned out to be.
She could do that for him.
Alex entered the bright banqueting hall. It was spectacular. With red and gold carpets and carved wooden walls, it was like stepping back in time. The rows of hanging chandeliers cast a golden glow over everything, making it seem like a scene out of a fairy tale.
There were people everywhere in stunning outfits and expensive jewellery. He didn’t care. He was numb to all of it. The ridiculousness of having to be at a party full of rich sycophants while his father lay in a hospital bed sickened him.
This wasn’t his scene. It never had been.
It wasn’t like the wild parties that he and Matt had enjoyed. Two bachelors without a care in the world. Where his title didn’t matter. Where he didn’t have to worry about a casual hook-up thinking there might be something more.
From where he stood now, even those held little appeal. All he wanted to do was drive to the hospital and sit in that chair beside his father. But he couldn’t. Atlas. That was who he felt like. With the obligation of his family title bearing down on him like the weight of the world on his shoulders. But for his father, he would endure it.
Alex walked through the sea of bodies, not seeing hide nor hair of Matt. He made his way to the bar, still fighting that empty feeling he carried since leaving Melbourne.
After ordering a drink, he leaned against the bar—and then the world was tugged out from under him.
Emma.
There she was, standing at the entrance.
An absolute vision.
Alex thought he had to be hallucinating, but then his feet were carrying him towards her. That emptiness in him was closing a little more with each step and he knew she was really there.
She walked up to him with that smile that dimmed everything around her. ‘Hello, Alexander,’ she said softly.
He didn’t answer. All he did was take her face in his hands and kiss her with desperation and longing. She had come all this way for him, and he realised right then just how much he had needed her. From the moment he’d got that call, every thought had been about getting to his father. He felt like a fool, because now that he had Emma in his arms he felt centred again.
Resting his forehead against hers, he said, ‘You’re here.’
‘Of course I am.’ Her hands came to his chest. ‘I’m so sorry about your father...but I’m here now. We’ll get through it together.’
‘Emma...’ he breathed.
It was all he could say. No one had ever stopped their world spinning just to be there for him. He had always accomplished everything alone. It was why he was so single-minded at times. Having Emma drop everything to support him at a time like this made him want to weep.
He suddenly realised that people were staring, so he offered her his arm and then saw Matt and his sister Sarah entering. He offered his friend a smile. Matt simply winked back in response.
Despite her upbringing, Emma felt like an interloper amongst these people. Still, she held her head high and wouldn’t let anyone shake her confidence. Especially after Alex had walked towards her with an expression that had morphed from a scowl to disbelief to...happiness?
Emma couldn’t deny it any longer. She was there to support the man she loved.
Loved.
