Just Like Her

Chapter 18

Tom

I tried to convince Emma to allow me to cook her breakfast before she left but to no avail. It was already midmorning, and she was determined to quickly stop at her apartment before going in to work.

I'd hoped I might persuade her to call in and take the day, but she was adamant. Emma insisted she had recovered well enough from the previous night's events—and this morning's fresh onslaught of tears inspired by yours truly—to face the workday. I could tell from the beginning it was a losing battle, but I still made a half-hearted case for putting off whatever was on her work diary until after the weekend.

"I have to file a complaint with HR," she rebutted, strategically fixing a safety pin to her torn shirt. "And then I can forget all about it and just... move on."

Her voice had regained a sense of calm, but it was quiet—too quiet.

I merely nodded and walked her out my building's side door. The street was relatively empty and, not seeing any obvious paparazzi loitering about, I leaned down to kiss her cheek. She turned her head and deftly caught my lips with hers.

My hands found her hips and gave a slight tug to pull her into me. She pressed her pelvis into mine and laughed as a soft groan escaped my lips.

"Ems—"

She glanced down as she extricated herself from my arms. "Thank you for last night and for letting me stay over..."

A curtain of her hair had slipped down, veiling half of her face. I pushed it back behind her ear and then gently tilted her chin up with a hooked finger.

"You can always stay over, Ems."

A blush crept over her cheeks as she attempted to look away. "Tom—"

I caught her chin again and lifted it so she could see the sincerity in my eyes. Emma stared at me for several moments, the morning light bringing out the golden flecks in her irises. Her eyes began to glisten with a new wave of tears welling, but she blinked and it subsided.

"Well," she cleared her throat and jutted her hand out to hail a taxi. "I have to get to work."

I did my best impression of Charlie and forced an easy grin as a vacant cab pulled up to the curb. "Let me know how it goes?"

"Sure," Emma murmured as I opened the passenger door for her.

I softly kissed her temple as she passed me and then swiftly shut the door once she was settled inside.

* * *

I'd left my phone on the kitchen counter while walking Emma out. By the time I'd returned to my flat, I had somehow managed to miss seven calls from my sister and over a dozen text messages. Before I could even swipe through the overwhelming amount of notifications crowding my screen, my ringtone began its customary trill as Cynthia's face flashed before me.

I swiped to answer it immediately. "What's wrong?"

"What's WRONG?" She screeched.

I yanked the phone away from my ear on instinct but quickly replaced it.

"Didn't you get any of my messages?" She demanded.

"No, I only just—"

"It's all over the bloody Internet, Tom!"