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Emma
So, some things don’t actually happen in real life. A handsome hero chasing you to the airport to confess their love. A meet-cute in an elevator with the handsome, but cold CEO of your company who finally notices you. Well, maybe they happen to someone, but not me. I could count on one hand the number of truly romantic things that had happened to me in my life, and Barrett standing in the kitchen this morning, telling me he was going to marry me, had just topped them all. It shouldn’t be romantic, of course. He was helping me with an admin problem, and he wanted his childcare to stick around. It was hard to find good help after all, and even harder to find someone that your children vibed well with. He didn’t want Henry and Chloe to lose the woman who had brought them out their shells again, and restored their smiles. I knew that had to be the case, but then again, I couldn’t seem to remember Barrett mentioning that, when he’d proposed his crazy plan. He hadn’t said a word about the kids.
I went about my daily tasks, and then holed up in my room, studying. I planned on finishing my degree by distance learning. I ate lunch in my room and watched some TV. I barely thought about Barrett’s proposal. My mind kept shying away from it, like I couldn’t look at it too closely or it’d disappear, and I’d wake up and realise I’d been dreaming. I emailed my dad, telling him I might extend my trip.
I closed my laptop, realising that it was the first indication of how I felt about the idea. Crazy or not, I was going to do it if he was really willing to go through with it. I was going to let him take control of my problems. The weight off my shoulders made me feel like I could fly.
* * *
That night,after dinner, I cleaned the kitchen while Barrett read to the kids. I loved nights like these, where the spring sunshine gradually faded from the night sky, and the house felt cozy and peaceful. I finished tidying just as he came downstairs.
“We make a good team,” he said, coming to sit at the table in the kitchen window. I nodded, unsure what exactly was going to happen now, but excited and nervous all the same. “You look like you have questions and you’ve had all day to think them up, so have at it,” he said, gesturing to the chair opposite him. All the questions I’d felt building up inside me were pushing to get out, and I felt them rushing like a flood toward a dam.
“Ok, well… we get married on paper, fine. What about Chloe and Henry? What do we tell them?”
“The truth.”
“The truth? That their dad is forced to marry me because otherwise I’d have to leave?” I nearly squeaked out.
“That’s not how I’d put it. I’d tell them that you are part of this family, and I’d do anything to keep you here, with us, where you belong.”
His confident words made my heart beat loudly in my chest.
“And if you meet someone else?”
“Impossible. I have no interest in that,” he said. That was perplexing as hell.
“Don’t tell me your ex put you off women?” I ventured. He smirked and shook his head.
“Only the wrong ones,” he said. There was something warm and delicious in his tone, like he knew something I didn’t, a secret that I wished I could be let in on, but I didn’t know how to uncover it. I stood up, feeling agitated as hell.
“Still, it’s totally crazy.”
“I don’t care. Crazy or not, I’m going to marry you.”
Emotion welled up in my throat and threatened to spill out. It was everything I’d ever dreamed of. I didn’t have to leave. Someone was going to help me, for once. It seemed too good to be true, and in my life, when something seemed that way, it always was. Life and people were always worse than you expected. That was the one constant I had learned to accept. I stood up, and went to the sink, busying myself by wiping it down for the tenth time, to hide my feelings. I felt Barrett approach.
“What’s the catch then? I would rather know up front. Are you planning on committing a crime you need an alibi for?” My tone was teasing, but there was a real question behind it. Why the hell was Barrett Bonneville offering to fuck his life up for me? It didn’t make sense.
“No, no murder plans,” he whispered, standing just behind me. The feel of his eyes on my back sent my skin prickling with the awareness of his attention. That awful awkwardness inside me burst like an overripe balloon.
“What then? Looking for a desperate, young little admirer to bounce on your lap and bend over backwards to please you?” I spoke without thinking, and as soon as the words were out, I cringed. Wow, I didn’t know if the words came off accusatory or longing.
“Are you my admirer, Emma?”
“That’s what you choose to focus on?” I demanded, already sure I had gone as mad as him to say something so scandalous to him. Had I just accused my boss of marrying me so he could sleep with me? Yes. Did he seem offended? Oddly, no.
“Yes. Are you?” he pressed. “Or should I focus on the rest of what you said? How did you put it? Do I want you to bounce on my lap?” Barrett repeated. His hand came to my shoulder, and he turned me around. His grip wasn’t hard, and yet, there was an authority to it I couldn’t escape. I leaned my back against the counter and let my eyes fix on his sternum. If I met his inquisitive golden gaze with those words hanging in the air between us, I’d die.
“Forget I said that,” I ground out.
“Impossible. You asked me if I was marrying you so I could force you to satisfy my sexual desire for you, right?”
“No. I mean, I know it sounded like that, but I know it’s not like that. I just can’t think of anything I can give you. I don’t see the benefit for you, except for cheap childcare, and you’re not exactly hard off and needing a handout,” I said, finally meeting his eyes. A smirked pulled at his full-lipped mouth, surrounded by a thick, stubbled beard I dreamed of sinking my fingers through.
“You’re right, I don’t need free childcare.”
“So, it’s the other then, right? I just want to know upfront what you’re getting for this favour. How long it would last? What would happen after?” I said, folding my arms and giving him my best no-BS stare.
“You belittle yourself to think that your only contribution to our lives is ‘cheap childcare.’ You mean much more than that to both the children and me.”
“Then what? I just want the truth so it can make sense to me. I can’t accept something that doesn’t make sense to me. I’ll always be waiting for the catch,” I said, oddly breathless because of his intensity and nearness. He was touching me, and I could barely think about anything else. This man was like some kind of personal poison, making me dizzy.
“You want the truth? Can you handle it?” he murmured, reaching a hand up to cup my cheek. I nodded.
“Daddy?” a small voice called from the top of the stairs, jolting us both. “Is Emma there?” Chloe continued. Barrett immediately pulled his hand from my face, and his arm released me.
“Yes, sweetheart, she’s here,” he said, sounding remarkably steady for someone about to cross a major line with an employee. An employee who was desperate for him to do just that.
“Emma… I had an accident,” Chloe’s voice called to me, small and thick with sleep. I immediately stood up. My heart went out to Chloe, who still had problems at night. The little poppet had struggled the most with the loss of her mother, it seemed, and it was still affecting her in lots of ways.
“I’m coming, darling. I’m here,” I called to her.
“Do you need my help?” Barrett asked, stepping back and releasing me. I shook my head. “Fine. Let me know if you do. Otherwise, I’ve got work to do.” The man worked too damn much, but tonight, I was fine with it. I needed time to pour over every single thing he’d said, and look for hidden meaning. I nodded, catching his dark gaze, before I started up the stairs to where Chloe was waiting for me on the top step. If I didn’t know better, I’d think that look was possessive as hell. But that couldn’t be right, could it? Wishful thinking was getting the better of me.
