Only With You Page 4

  There was even one picture of Emma as a newborn baby, Gail Greene holding her while dressed in sensible khakis and gloves at a groundbreaking for a new children's hospital.

  This room was a tribute to their success, and Emma drew inspiration from her parents— most especially her mother—as she moved toward a crowning success of her own.

  The table arrangement was perfect. Despite having to seat an uneven table of five instead of her planned four, she managed to switch out the square dining table for a round one and orchestrated Anne to be seated between herself and Josh.

  The meal was divine. Knight's thumbprint in the mashed potatoes aside, everyone devoured the servings on their ivory china. Josh and Rick were generous with heaping seconds and thirds. The subject of pizza was wisely not reraised.

  Best of all, the conversation was proceeding exactly as planned. Knight had managed to keep Rick completely occupied with discussion of some sport—soccer, if she understood correctly. Whether it was real soccer or a video game she had no idea and didn't quite care. This left Josh to devote his attention to Anne, which he was doing admirably.

  "Your cojones!" Josh slapped his hand on the table so hard his fork jumped. "When you told them to give you the F, I thought the Anatomy teacher was going to piss her pants."

  "I wasn't trying to have…cojones." Anne's voice dropped to a whisper at the word. "I didn't want to dissect the baby pig heart. I don't think we need to dissect anything in high school."

  "Let me disagree. Cojones aside, the point is an education," Josh said.

  Forks stilled, chewing jaws slowed. All eyes shifted to Anne and Josh. Emma felt a defense leap to her lips, but Anne laid her hand quickly on top of Emma's for a brief second, as if she to stop her.

  Anne grew uncharacteristically taller in the chair, and her gaze didn't waver. "I found a computer simulation substitute for dissection. All of the education, no dead pig."

  "But it's not like the pig was going to be undead," Josh reasoned. "You didn't save a pig. You just ended up throwing a pig away. But I guess it's the principle of the thing. If you don't take a stand, there might be another dead pig next year."

  "Exactly." Anne touched her napkin to the corner of her lips.

  Emma managed not to clap her hands. In the space of a second, Josh had gone from complimenting Anne to questioning her to taking her side. Emma was momentarily in awe of her genius. She wanted to bask in the glow but the weekend was far from over, and she'd yet to unleash her grand plan.

  "Be right back. I'm going to check on dessert." She rose from the table, barely able to contain herself. She pranced back to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and took out the crystal ramekins of chilled lemon tart, which she lined on a waiting silver tray.

  Josh joined her a few moments later.

  "Is everything okay?" she asked him, peering around him for a glimpse into the dining room to make sure Rick wasn't complicating matters.

  "Just thought I'd help." Josh flashed that million-dollar grin that lit up cinema screens.

  Emma felt her throat clog. He was so different now from when she had tried to date him. So much nicer, so much more sensitive. Why couldn't he have been that way for her? She shook the thoughts away and forced a smile. This weekend was not about her.

  "You know how you can help?" she asked Josh.

  He leaned over the counter on his elbows and fluttered his illegally long lashes. "Do tell."

  "You know about Anne and Rick's history?"

  "Ancient history. Boy dates girl. Girl breaks up with boy. Boy goes away to military school and comes back years later. There's not even a twist." He shrugged and dipped a finger in one the crystal ramekins to scoop the lemon curd into his mouth. What was it with guys having to put their fingers in everything?

  Rather than lecture him, Emma kept note of the tainted dessert's position on the silver tray so she could be sure to give him the same one he'd touched. "Ancient history or not, it's still weird for Anne that he's here. Would you mind just taking extra special care of Anne this weekend? Just so she's comfortable?"

  Josh's expression turned quizzical as he picked up the tray. "Sure thing."

  Emma pumped her fist in quick victory. Talk about turning lemons into lemonade. Rick's presence now meant Josh would be looking after Anne, paying special attention to her. Perfect!

  She followed him out and set the desserts in front of her guests. "Made from lemons harvested from a grove just a mile down the road," she said as she took her seat. "A little something sweet before I ask you for a favor."

  Josh had his tart finished before the sentence was out of Emma's mouth. Anne set down her spoon to listen attentively, and Rick somehow managed to eek yet another inch out of that perfect military posture.

  Knight tilted his head toward her as relief softened the tension that had been at the corner of his eyes all dinner. Emma bit the inside of her bottom lip. Poor Knight. While everyone was curious about her 9-1-1 text, Knight had worn it on his face the most, and in the clenching of his fists.

  She rested her hand against her heart as she took her seat. "My parents are out of town this weekend, but when they're here, they're one of the primary supporters of the local animal shelter. I received a call this weekend from their community organizer." Received a call, made a call, these were pesky details. "They need our help. They're having their annual adopt-a-thon on Monday, but there was an unprecedented influx of dogs and cats. Something about the summer heat and birth levels." She was sure a news search would turn up something to back her up if anyone cared enough to check. "They're in desperate need of volunteers to prepare them for Sunday's adoption event. I normally wouldn't ask, but this cause is so important to my parents and to me. If we don't help, they'll have to put the poor animals down. I can't stand the thought."

  Emma knew she had Anne's heart in a vise by the way her brown eyes went all Bambi soft and wet.

  "Of course, Emma. Oh, the poor puppies and kittens." Anne pressed her palms to her cheeks. "They'll need to be named, tagged. Cleaned. Oh, walked. How many came in? Do we have enough people? Maybe I can recruit a few more."

  Rick cleared his throat. "I don't mean to be rude, but are we qualified to take care of a bunch of stray animals? I know Anne is great with animals and would be a lifesaver." Emma didn't miss how Anne's cheeks heated at his compliment. "But the rest of us?" he finished, looking most pointedly at Josh.

  "The only qualification we need is to care," Emma said, one of her mom's infamous sayings. "I knew some of you were back early from spring break or just stayed in the dorms, but if you don't want to help or have better things to do…"

  "That's not what I said." Rick's eyes darted to Anne for a quick moment before coming back to Emma. "But if we're more harm than good…"

  "Didn't Einstein say the greatest danger is not in doing harm but in not doing anything about it?" Emma said.

  "Wow." Knight nodded, impressed. "Breaking out Einstein."

  She shot him a quelling look.

  "I don't know about you guys, but I'm in. It'll be cool. Good press, at least." Josh squeezed Anne's shoulder. "You'll show us the ropes, won't you?"

  "Of course."

  Emma smiled triumphantly as Josh's hand lingered on Anne's shoulder. She felt someone kick her under the table and glared at Knight, who was glaring at her.

  What are you doing? he mouthed.

  Emma turned back to her guests, ignoring him. "Thank you, guys. We're going to have a great time."

  * * *

  Emma slipped into her pink silk camisole and sat in front of her vanity. She usually continued her nightly ritual with fifty strokes of her wide-toothed comb along her scalp to stimulate hair growth, followed by dry brushing and moisturizing head to toe. The same routine a starlet had taught her mom years ago and that her mom had then taught her. Gail Greene was famous for her youthful beauty, and Emma wanted to be famous for everything her mom was famous for.

  Her door swung open, and in her vanity mirror's reflectio
n, she saw Knight charge in, still dressed in jeans and a dark-gray tee, his hair sticking up in every direction. She whirled around. "Knight! What the—"

  "What is this weekend really about Emma?" Knight stopped in front of her and crossed his arms. His gaze dipped a moment but shot back up to her face, more irate than ever. "Don't tell me it's about saving puppies."

  Emma folded her arms over her chest. "This weekend is about a lot of things. I told you. I'm a multitasker. I want to spend time with my friends. And yeah, I want to save a few puppies."

  "I'd be fine with all that, but this is also about you trying to set up Anne and Josh." He paused a beat as if waiting for her to deny it. His voice was strangled. "Emma—"

  "So what? Why shouldn't I want to set up Anne and Josh?"

  Knight's face pulled into a look of utter distaste. "Don't tell me you'd do that to Anne. Especially after what Josh did to you. Why would you waste that extraordinary energy on him?"

  "Why, Knight," she said when a sharp spear of pain lanced through her at his biting remark, "I believe you just called me extraordinary."

  "You think Josh is going to make her happy? Did he make you happy?"

  Her smile fell, but she swallowed it under a smirk. "No, he didn't, and no, he won't make her happy, either. So typical, Knight, to assume I'd think boys were the answers to all our problems. Having fun, getting confident, and not living in the past anymore. That's what will make Anne happy. It's going to take more than compliments from Josh, but it's a start. I'm trying to help her, which is more than I can say for you."

  Knight's expression softened. He took three steps toward her. He was almost standing between her bare legs, the camisole riding up on her thighs. He rested his hands on her shoulders, and his thumb rubbed softly against her skin. Every single strand of hair on her arms felt charged, and she didn't need a mirror to know her face had flushed.

  "I know you mean well, Emma. That's one of the things I love about you—you always mean well."

  "Another compliment?" Emma said. "Is it my birthday?" She felt warm even as his words stung. That was the problem with Knight. He was always so disapproving of everything she did. Every compliment came with a cut. Every sweet word with a sarcastic sting. "It's three dozen dogs and cats. Two friends. One weekend. Just stick with me."

  He smirked. "When have I not?"

  His gaze brushed over her as he gave her shoulders another quick squeeze. She glanced at his hands, noticing for the first time the rough skin at his knuckles from his weekly boxing sessions, the veins running along the skin. The tip of her nose brushed his wrist, and she was caught off guard by the sudden urge to turn to him, press her cheek against his hand.

  She imagined him palming her face, pulling her to her feet, sliding his hand against the smooth silk of her camisole at her waist…

  Knight pulled away and walked quickly out to the balcony.

  With a long, slow breath, Emma released the tension in her fists. The problem with a superior mind was that it came with a rather active imagination. Pesky thing. She felt more undressed and unsettled than ever, and if she wanted to win a word war with Knight, she needed all her mental faculties.

  "Is this where you spy on us?" Knight asked as he peered over the balcony to the pool.

  She joined him outside. Goose bumps broke out over her bare legs and the backs of her arms, and she shivered. "This is where I let you get a rare glimpse of me to start your morning," Emma said.

  "Always with the comebacks."

  The palpitating images of them together burned away with the ocean breeze. He was looking at her the way he usually did. The sardonic smile. The raised right eyebrow. Her friend, Knight. She leaned her head against his shoulder. "Thanks for sticking by me."

  "It doesn't mean I agree with your plan," he said.

  "Come on, Knight." Emma looked up at him endearingly. "How can you not root for love?"

  He didn't meet her eyes. "Love doesn't always fix things. It's not so simple. Sometimes it just complicates things."

  "Complications are good. Even Rick being here turned out to work out better than if it had just been Anne and Josh. Rick is the perfect, distant foil to Josh's friendly attention."

  "Rick's not a bad guy."

  "I never said he was."

  "Anne's the one who dumped him, you know." Knight turned away to lean against the railing. "Why would she care if he's here?"

  "Like you said, love isn't so simple."

  "I'd like to see you in love, Emma." He walked through her room and out to the hall, then left with parting words, "It would do you good."

  Emma shivered again and rubbed her arms. She closed the balcony door and sat back at the vanity to run the comb through her hair. Her? In love?

  She couldn't even imagine it. She'd tried to be in love. She'd tried to be wrapped up in another person. She'd even tried to love Josh. Being with Josh had been wonderful and romantic, all consuming and awful. As high as she'd felt, she was dropped just as deep.

  Emma wasn't cut out for heartbreak or depression. Better to stay where she was, on her lofty perch helping others.

  Chapter Three

  Emma woke up facedown in her silk pillow, legs sprawled, hair mussed. Her eye mask had long since been thrown to the floor. It had been a rough night of tossing and turning, although she didn't know why. Her plan was in motion.

  She flipped onto her back, trying to capture the dark, bleeding edges of a fading dream. The images were gone but sensations remained. Sliding silk and heated breath. With the heel of her hand, she rubbed circles on her stomach. Maybe it was indigestion.

  She popped out of bed, a little achier than usual, and spruced herself up in her private bathroom. A little extra eye cream to hide her dark circles. A few extra brush strokes. See, she thought as she brushed her teeth, everything is fine.

  As Emma walked back into her room, she saw a flash of someone on the balcony. She pulled on a robe and joined Anne, still dressed in pajamas and a sleek, white satin robe, as she leaned against the railing and stared down at the churning ocean.

  "Did you sleep well?" Emma asked.

  Anne nodded. "You?"

  Emma shrugged.

  Anne tightened the robe at her waist as a warm breeze threaded through its folds. "I was looking at the shelter's website. They're expecting over two thousand visitors to their adoption event. I didn't realize it was going to be so big."

  "We can handle it."

  "I'm sure you can. You always seem like you can handle anything."

  "With you by my side?" Emma bumped up against Anne's shoulder. "It'll be easy. Throw in Josh's star-power charm and we'll have the whole event handled." Emma studied Anne's face for any change in expression at the mention of Josh.

  There was no lighting up of her eyes, as Emma had hoped for, but she did smile faintly. "Is that smile for Josh?" Emma asked.

  "Huh?"

  "That smile."

  "Oh…yeah, I guess. I was just thinking about how much he's changed since the start of the school year. He used to be such a jerk, and then once he fell for Fanny, he turned into a nice guy. Fanny did a number on him."

  "He's over Fanny," Emma said quickly. "It's not like Josh to get hung up on a girl. I'm sure he's moving on and looking for someone new. Him being here shows how much he wants to change as a person. He's here because he really wants to help."

  "So do Knight and Rick," Anne said.

  "Knight's here as a favor to me, and Rick's here as a favor to him. Rick barely contributed any ideas last night. I don't know if he really cares about the animals or what I'm hoping to achieve."

  "Oh, he does." Anne twisted the belt of her robe around her fingers. "When he's given a mission, he's that guy who gets really focused. You might mistake that for not caring but he's thinking of all the issues, calculating how to fix any problems. He's really proactive. Dependable."

  Emma carefully considered her next words. "Rick is a great guy. But there's something to be said for Josh's passionate co
nviction. Don't you think?"

  "Yes, of course."

  "The way you don't have to guess at what Josh is feeling, the way he wears his emotions on his sleeve—it's so much more secure."

  Anne pulled thoughtfully at her bottom lip, and Emma could practically feel the wheels in her head spinning. She couldn't let Anne make a horrible mistake of falling back in love—or staying in love—with Rick. Breakups always hurt but instead of ripping off the Band-Aid quickly, Anne had allowed it to fester over her heart. It was up to Emma to help her.

  "I just prefer it," Emma said with a careless air. "Knowing how a boy feels rather than having to wonder all the time."

  * * *

  The Oceanside Animal Shelter, fifteen miles into town and far from the beauty of Emma's home, sat on the back end of the slate-gray parking lot it shared with a grocery store, two banks, and a frozen yogurt shop that spelled its name with two P's. Emma pulled into a diagonal space in her brand-new teal sports car, and a half second later, Knight executed a tight turn to slide into the spot next to her with the guys in his Corvette.

  While Anne, convinced they would be rolling on the floor with dogs and cats, had tried to dress in jeans and a plain tee for the day, Emma had advised her otherwise. As they emerged from her convertible, both in form-fitting printed sundresses, Emma took great pride in how Josh lifted his sunglasses off his nose as his gaze slid over Anne from head to toe. He'd been checking her out at breakfast, too.

  She'd show Knight she was right about Anne and Josh, and then she'd accept his apology. Gracefully, of course.

  "This the place?" Rick crossed his arms and assessed the exterior.

  "The adoption event will be at Oceanside Park, but we're prepping the animals here." Emma motioned for them to follow her inside, but they hadn't even made it to the door when they were interrupted by a squeal.

  Emma glanced over to its source—three young girls no more than ten and an older woman, maybe their mother. They were making a beeline for Josh, clutching their bags tightly to their chests.

  "Josh Wickham?" one of them asked. "Can I have your autograph?"