When I Was Theirs

70. Emmy

70

Emmy

B rushing the crumbs away from my page, I turn it over, engrossed. Jared’s hand massages my bare ankle, and I glance up, momentarily distracted.

He’s not paying attention, his own eyes lowered to the biography he’s reading. The book perches in one hand, and he uses his leg to turn the page, still moving his fingers over my skin.

Smiling, I turn back to my own book. The sun shines down over us, our background a peaceful buzz of insects and people walking past the bench we’ve commandeered.

“What are you reading?”

I flip the cover to show him. “The Motorcycle Diaries.”

His lip twitches. “Not a romance?”

I shrug. “This one caught my eye.”

And I’m enjoying it. The idea of traveling, of waking up every day to a new place.

“Ben was going to travel.” Jared clears his throat. “He had the ticket booked when he was diagnosed.”

“I know.” My throat tightens, remembering. “South America, right?”

Jared nods. “You never wanted to travel?”

My eyes skitter away from his. “It was never an option.”

My parents certainly wouldn’t have let me. And Arron barely let me out of the house. When Jared doesn’t say anything, I look back at him.

“It is now,” he says finally, his eyes searching mine. “You can do anything you want to, Em. Even travel, if that’s what you wanted to do.”

My brows draw down. “I – I can’t. I mean, I don’t need to.”

I have my work at the florist. And... and I have Jared. I don’t need anything else.

But for a moment, I let myself wonder what it would be like. I’ve never left the country. The furthest I’ve ever traveled was coming here. Running away.

I wonder if Jared would come with me. My lips tilt up at the thought. “We should get back. Angelo’s acting strange lately.”

Jared frowns, but he follows my lead as I swing my legs off his lap. “In what way?”

“Not sure.” I slip under his arm as we start walking back. “Maybe he has his own stuff going on.”

We’re walking down the street when I hear my name. “Emmy!”

Turning, it takes me a second to scan the street. Then my lips stretch into a grin. “Carla?”

She looks good. Less tired. Less strained. And beside her—

“Jared!” Carla looks delighted as she reaches us. The little girl at her side looks up at us, her tight curls close to her head. Carla brushes a hand over her hair, her smile affectionate. “This is Katie. Katie, you remember Emmy?”

My heart.

My heart.

“Hi, Katie,” I crouch down, smiling. My throat feels tight. “You okay?”

She nods, peeking up at Jared as she hides behind Carla’s leg.

I straighten, my face holding a question.

Carla’s eyes are shining. “NEAD. No evidence of active disease. It’s… it’s good, Emmy. Really good.”

I can feel the back of my eyes prickling, and I swallow hard. Jared steps in, his voice genuine. “That’s amazing. I’m so pleased for you.”

She grins. “If we hadn’t had that inheritance, it wouldn’t have been possible. The timing. Did Emmy tell you, Jared? We had a lawyer contact us. Someone passed away, and it turned out we were the next of kin. It covered everything we needed for a new trial in Germany. We wouldn’t have made it otherwise.”

Jared pauses. “Really? That’s incredible.”

I can feel his eyes on me. But I keep looking at Katie. She takes a few steps away, her hand and nose pressing against the window of a store beside us.

Carla beams. “Anyway, it was great to see you, but I need to get Katie to her appointment. Em, we should do that coffee soon. Or come over for some food, one night. You too, Jared.”

“That sounds great.”

Katie gives us a small, shy wave as Carla turns to head back down the street, their hands linking together.

He’s looking at me. “Emmy.”

But I keep watching them, right until they turn the corner. My heart feels as though it might burst out of my chest. I can’t stop smiling. “It’s good, right?”

“Very lucky.” Jared sounds like he’s smiling too. “The timing.”

I shrug. “Sometimes things just work out.”

Jared jerks me to a stop, his hands cupping my face. Emotion burns in his eyes. “It was you. You sent them that money.”

One hundred thousand dollars.

Pocket change to my father. But not to them. Not to Katie.

“Don’t make it a big thing.” I bite down on my lip. “I did keep a little bit back.”

Just in case.

“God, I love you.” He leans in, his forehead pressing against mine. “I really want to kiss you right now.”

“This would be an excellent moment. Very poignant.”

“Not yet. Soon.”

“This had better be the best damn kiss in history.”