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Emilia sipped at the water, using the sip to delay her reply—a reply she didn’t have. Meanwhile, the silence introduced an unwelcome idea, that Blaine would use her to double-cross a woman as feisty, and ridiculously beautiful, and sharp-witted as Sarah. Not that anyone deserved to be cheated on.
Oh God, what if this wasn’t the first time? What if the years have turned him into a serial cheater or something?
Now that would most definitely bury an axe in her years of pining after him.
She lifted her attention to Sarah, who swiped Emilia’s purse from the bar and fished out her car keys.
Emilia startled and flung her arms forward. “Hey, you can’t do that!”
“Well, I just did.” Sarah tucked the keys under the counter and out of reach, her following light shrug conveying zero remorse. “And since you’re not fit to drive, I’ll keep you company here until you are. In the meantime, you’re welcome to tell me why you look so sour.”
A nervous chuckle fell from Emilia’s lips, and she stared at her fingers now digging into the bar top. This was her invitation to admit everything, but wow, she didn’t want to.
“Actually, I came here to talk to you about Blaine.” Her full disclosure materialized as though some unknown entity possessed her body and spoke for her. A good thing really since she seemed to lack the ability to speak up otherwise. She straightened and channeled “the entity” again, entity channeling probably not the best form of fake courage for a born and raised Roman Catholic. “Before you decide this is none of my business, I probably should explain that something happened between us last night. Something... kind of physical…”
Okay, wow, that sounded worse than intended, though maybe things were that bad.
Sarah’s grin fell to a hard, flat line, and from her leaned position against the bar, she now stood bolt-upright, her shoulders rolled back and all stiff. “You slept with him?”
Emilia cringed, her chest suddenly tight while time stood still, and she lamented living in a town so far from a hospital. “Umm… probably not in the way that you’re thinking… I had a fall yesterday while he was over to do work on my cottage and he looked after me overnight. We kissed, but he slept on a chair next to my bed. Nothing else happened. I swear.”
Sarah’s easy expression twisted, and the slow bob of her throat hinted at heartache. “Sounds like whatever you two have together is serious.”
“No. I mean, I don’t think so.” A nervous laugh escaped, and she cringed once again, the hardwood over her seat adding to her discomfort. “This whole thing kind of took me by surprise. Honestly, I just got so swept up in the moment last night… Oh, I really should shut up. I feel terrible.”
Sarah leaned in, her stare hard and cool. “You knew about me and still kissed him?”
Emilia’s mouth fell open, but for the longest time, nothing more than a broken croak came out. She took a deep swallow, the sides of her throat painful and bone dry. Really, what was she supposed to say except for “yes”? She was guilty as charged. Whatever revenge Sarah had for her would be justified.
A strong hand gripped her upper arm. “What are you doing?”
She jumped at the snap of Blaine’s voice, loud and abrupt and gouging a deep pit through the center of her stomach.
“I’m doing the right thing for everyone involved here.” She tugged her arm away, his searing glare inches from her own. He had no place trying to intimidate her. “Unlike you, I refuse to hide from the truth.”
“I offered you the truth this morning.” He pushed the words through gritted teeth, his tone tight and buckling under the strain of his jaw. “You pushed me out the door, remember?”
“I wanted to speak directly to Sarah.”
He barked out a sardonic laugh, a scowl still fixed on her, the planes of his cheekbones hard, and his entire body tense. “Well, that’s a hell of a lot of pressure to put on someone you’ve never met. You had no right bringing her into this.”
“Really now?” Sarah crossed her arms, one brow raised. “I’m not so sure about that.”
“Yeah.” Emilia shrugged; a shrug that was probably everything but unmoved. “She is your fiancée, right?”
A muscle ticked on the edge of Blaine’s jaw, and for the longest time, he didn’t even blink. Meanwhile, she couldn’t stop blinking, and she felt somewhat faint again.
He turned to Sarah, his expression unreadable. “She’s been drinking?”
Sarah pulled Emilia’s keys from under the bar and jangled them in the air. “Featherweight drinking at best. You got here just in time, though not before I heard the more interesting details.”
She threw him the keys. He spun around to Emilia, his eyes narrowed like he inspected her anew. “You fainted yesterday and are on strong pain meds, and now you’re drunk?”
“Who’s drunk?”
Everyone turned to Ally, already squeezing sideways between Blaine and Emilia.
Blaine stared down his assistant. “I told you to stay at the shop.”
Emilia curled her fingers around Ally’s arm and pulled her closer. “Quit being a bully. She’s with me.”
“Fine.” Blaine shoved the keys into Ally’s hand, though his glare now latched to Emilia. “Since she wanted to be part of this, she can look after you.” He turned to Sarah, the tension over his brow releasing. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way.”
Her lips pressed into a straight line, and she gave a stiff nod, her eyes taking on a subtle sheen. “I’ll speak with you tonight. After that, you can get to talking to her.” Sarah nodded to Emilia, though her focus stayed on Blaine. “You owe us that much.”
