Back to December (Ward Sisters Book 1) (21 page)

Emily spoke softly, not really sure if she wanted to hear what he had to say to her next question. “So, why me? Why did you talk to me?”

“After I crashed into you, I turned to help, and I was floored by how beautiful you were. Which was disconcerting because you were aggravated. Most women aren't very attractive when they're that mad. But you were so upset and passionate that it caught my attention. When you first saw me, you didn't even blink. You didn't have a clue who I was. You just yelled at me like I was some random guy who had rudely knocked you down and had broken that toy. And Deac left the building because Rob kicked him out the door and locked it for that whole time I was with you at the toy store.”

Em shook her head. “The owner, he called you Robbie. I didn't even pick up on that until just now. You know him well. Only people close to you call you Robbie.”

Rob smiled at her understanding. “He's an old friend of my dad's.”

“That's why I didn't see Rick. He knew you'd be fine so he waited in the car.” Rob nodded. “So, later, at the bar, did you think I had recognized you then?”

He shrugged a shoulder. “I wasn't sure. I thought it might be a game. By then, it didn't matter. I thought you were fantastic. That's why I asked you to go with me to the club – I wanted to hang out with you some more. When I finally realized that you had no idea who I was, it knocked me for a loop. Because I was already smitten with you and to know that you liked me enough to want to spend time with
me
, with Rob and not Deac, there was no question I was in trouble. And then I kissed you, and it was all over. I couldn't get enough of you. I still can't.” He touched her cheek and moved closer to her.

Emily shimmied toward him until their hips were touching. She gave him a half-smile. “I can't get enough of you, either,” she breathed. She pulled his mouth toward hers and kissed him passionately. He rolled her underneath him, pushing her knees apart and grinding himself into her. Em broke the kiss and said, “Much as I'd like to do that again, I thought we were headed to the shower?”

Rob hopped up and grabbed her hand, bringing Em to her feet. “Right you are.” He stripped off his shirt, something that always made Emily feel like she had a private exotic dance show, and just as he was about to remove his sweatpants, Tommy Tutone began to sing about Jenny. Rob squeezed his eyes shut. “Damn. I have to get that. She wouldn't be calling on Christmas if it wasn't important. I'm sorry.” He grabbed his phone off his dresser and collapsed back on the bed.

“Merry Christmas, Jen. I take it you're not just calling to say hello. What's wrong? Really. Hold on.” He looked at Emily, then, his expression solemn. “They figured out who you are, Em. I told Jenna she didn't have to work today, but after we posted the pictures last night, she was curious to see the reactions. Turns out, someone posted your name on Facebook. The tabloid sites ran with it after that.”

“It's Christmas and it's barely 10:30 Eastern time. How the hell did it take off that fast?”

He sat up and took her hand with the one not holding the phone. “Unfortunately, that's how it goes. That's why Jenna has a job.” He spoke into the phone, “No offense, Jen. You know I think you're invaluable.”

“So, what do we do now?”

“Let's talk about this, okay?” He held up a finger. “Jen? Yeah, don't worry about anything yet. We'll talk to Amy and go from there. I'll let you know. No, don't worry about it right now, it can always wait until tomorrow. Just enjoy your holiday. And thanks. You, too.” He ended the call and pulled Emily to his lap. “I'm sorry. Your life has turned into a circus in the past week and it's all my fault.”

Emily leaned her head on his shoulder. “Don't say that. I told you you're worth it. I just can't believe how insane people are! As if who you're dating is more important than spending Christmas with family!”

“I don't know what motivates people. Jenna earns her salary and then some, and the last couple years, she hasn't had nearly this much to monitor.”

“How do we handle this?”

“We need to talk to Amy. Much as I hate to take a rain-check on our plans, we should head over to my parents' house sooner rather than later. Amy will be there before Rick because she has fewer kids and hers wake up earlier.” Em stood and Rob followed. He kissed her neck. “You still want to shower together?”

“Yes, please.” Rob smiled at her enthusiasm. Before they left the room, Rob grabbed a condom from the drawer. She giggled and inwardly sighed in relief that he had the forethought to think about condoms, because she could see herself caught in the heat of the moment and throwing caution to the wind.

Which could be a disaster.

Once they had showered and dressed, they loaded the presents in the car and headed to Rob's parents' house. On the way, they discussed breaking the news to Amy that they had made the move with the photo before clearing it with her. Given the result, she was probably going to be annoyed. Emily was hoping for that, anyway – Amy could be a viper and she hated the idea of being on the receiving end of that. Rob assured her that he would make it clear the photo had been a mutual decision.

Amy and Raoul's black Cayenne was already in the driveway when Emily and Rob arrived. Em took a deep breath. Rob kissed her cheek. “Don't worry about it. I told you, she's really a marshmallow. She'll be more pissed at me than you. I should know better than to do something without running it by her first. I was trying to make you more comfortable with the fact that the pictures from Mass would end up online.”

“I just don't want her to think I'm taking advantage of you or using you. It's not like that.”

“I know. She tries to protect me more since Lola. She says it's about the publicity, but I know it's because she's my big sister. Come on. Let's go inside. The sooner we get that part done, the sooner we can enjoy the rest of the day.”

They got out of the car and took the bags from the back of the Subaru. Raoul came outside to help them, since there were a lot of presents. Emily secretly smiled to herself about Rob's generosity, recalling that Anja said he had always been that way, and apparently, having money hadn't made him less so.

Rob disappeared with Raoul into the living room with the gifts while Em made her way to the kitchen. Pat was busy making waffles and bacon, and there was a buffet of juice, fruit, toppings and coffee supplies off to one side of the kitchen, along with a couple chafing dishes. As soon as she got there, Pat kissed her cheek and exclaimed his surprise at their early appearance.

“We thought you two lovebirds would hide at Rob's until it was time for presents later.”

Emily laughed. “Well, we thought about that, but I heard you make a mean Christmas brunch, and I had to see if it was true.” She did as instructed on his
Kiss the Cook
apron and kissed his cheek.

Amy strolled into the kitchen just then. “I see you figured out the way to my father's heart is to flatter his cooking skills.” She gave Emily a hug. “Merry Christmas. I'm glad to see you guys came early. Freddy was hoping to ask you more about the ocean. He's four, what can you do? They have one-track minds at that age sometimes.”

Emily smiled and said she'd humor him. Suddenly, she remembered one of the reasons they had come even earlier than they had originally planned, and she grew nervous. It must have shown on her face, because Amy said, “Did something happen?”

She inhaled, planning to launch into the whole thing, when Rob and Raoul entered the kitchen. “You're going to be mad at me,” Rob said, before Emily could open her mouth.

“What did you do?” Amy said, an accusing tone in her voice.

He told her about the rush to leave Mass, the decision to take the photo and have Jenna post it, the call from his assistant that morning. “Don't be upset with Em. I knew there was a chance that it might blow up in our faces.”

Amy sighed heavily, shaking her head. “Robbie, how many times do I have to tell you to let me handle this stuff?”

He gave her a sheepish grin. She looked at Emily. “Is it okay with you if we wait until tomorrow to officially deal with this?” Em nodded. “Good. Then I'll put something together tonight to send to the reputable people. I had a release that I planned to send out before the gala, but it'll have to happen sooner. You'll want to contact Marcus first thing tomorrow. I'm sure he'll be thrilled, since the magazine will get loads of free press, but it's better to tell him yourself. You said your family is aware?”

“They are. I talked to my sister this morning and she'd seen the picture. My mother isn't happy, but she's fighting it, anyway. She thinks I should still be with my ex, Josh.”

“And you broke up with him first?” Emily told her how things happened with Josh. “Do you think he's the type to start spreading rumors? Because that stuff comes from somewhere.”

“He isn't the type to care that much about celebrity. No offense,” she looked at Rob, who gestured that none was taken.

“Well, I guess we can't make any assumptions, yet. If we need to do it, we'll feed false info and see if it surfaces. In the meantime, we're running with the story that you met at lunch and hit it off. We'll worry about the press next week with the gala. For now, just ignore them otherwise, okay?” Em nodded.

“And you, Robbie, next time you call me before you do something stupid like that. I don't care if it
was
1 a.m., you know we hadn't gone to bed yet.”

“I know. I'm sorry. You know how I hate it when I feel like they're winning.”

“We've talked about this. The photo would have been fine if you'd let me send out the release first. I could've emailed it to a couple of people last night. Now we have to play catch up.” She sighed again. “Are you really okay with all this, Emily?” She put her hand on Em's arm.

“Yes. Rob is worth it. Besides, we can't hide forever. I'm too terrible at faking it.”

Rob laughed and kissed her. “I'm not complaining about that.”

Amy smiled. “You two are disgusting, you know that, right?” Rob gave his sister a bear hug. “Put me down, Robbie, or I'm telling Mom!”

“Telling me what?” Anja asked as she came into the kitchen.

Rob let Amy go and she punched him in the arm. “Robbie was a dumbass and posted a photo last night without asking me first.”

“Amelia, there is no reason to call your brother names. And Robbie, you know better than to do that sort of thing without discussing it with her.” She hugged him. “Was it a good photo?” Rob took out his phone and showed it to her and to the others. “That's sweet. What a lovely memory of your first Christmas together.” Anja gave Emily a hug.

Emily blushed. She wasn't sure if it was about the compliment or if it was the implication that this was the first of many holidays. She suspected the latter. Because that thought had crossed her mind, too. Rob stood behind her and put his arms around her in a hug. She turned slightly and smiled up at him.

Pat, who had mostly been silent, listening to the conversation but not contributing, finally said, “Time to eat!” He removed his apron and ferried the platter of bacon to its chafing dish. He had been putting waffles in there as they were done cooking. They all filled their plates and headed to the dining room just as Rick, Kelly and their five kids arrived. Soon, the table was filled with the whole clan.

Emily was astonished at how natural and comfortable it felt, as if she wasn't a stranger, but part of the family.

Soon enough, they were back in the kitchen for dishes. Emily volunteered to help Anja while the moms supervised the younger kids opening their stockings and the men promptly disappeared. It was the first time Em had been alone with Rob's mom, and she wasn't sure that was an accident.

As Emily washed, Anja dried. After a few minutes, she said, “So, Emily, you seem quite taken with Robbie.”

Emily blushed. “Yes. I am.”

“You're not concerned that it's a little sudden?”

“If I said I wasn't, I'd be lying. When I think about it too much, I panic a little. This has never happened to me before. I'm the girl who makes five-year plans and sticks by a schedule religiously. Falling for a guy I met by accident just before Christmas isn't really my thing.”

“And are you? Falling for him, that is.” She never paused in what she was doing, just dried dishes and put them away as though she hadn't asked a huge question.

But Emily didn't hesitate to answer. For whatever reason, she felt at ease with Rob's mother. She heard no malice, unlike how her own mother had reacted.

“I'm already there.”

Anja smiled. “Well, that's a good thing, because so is he.”

Emily nodded. “I know. He told me.”

“Did he? Well. He's in deeper than I thought, then. Have you told him how you feel?”

“Not with the words he's used, no.”
I haven't said I love him to his face.
“I'm not there yet. It's...it's a lot. For me, I mean. To admit it in that way. I just came out of a long-term relationship, where I lived with my boyfriend for the last few years.”

“I see. And you don't question how you feel about Robbie? You're not afraid it isn't genuine?”

She shook her head. “No. No, it's genuine. It's too terrifying to be anything else. I've...I've never felt like this about anyone before. Not even about Josh. I thought I was in love with Josh at one point. Until I met Rob.”

“Nothing compares to the real deal,” she said with a knowing smile.

“Did you feel that way about Pat?”

“I
still
feel that way about Pat. Even after thirty-eight years and three children.” She winked.

“Does he...is this...” Em wasn't sure how best to ask what she wanted to know. Fortunately, Anja guessed her question.

“No. Robbie has never been like this with anyone else. The last girl he brought home for Christmas was Kelly.”

“He didn't bring Rachel home?”

“Not for the holidays, no. Even after they were engaged, she didn't have any interest in participating in our family traditions. The few Christmases they spent together, she asked him to come to her instead. The first year, he relented. After that, he didn't go to her family again. For a couple of years, one or both of them was on location in December and they met in those places. The last Christmas was just before they had officially ended the engagement. Robbie was lighter that year than he had been in a long time. Rachel weighed him down emotionally. She was a very needy girl, always wanting attention.”

“He said she liked being a celebrity more than he does.”

“Absolutely. Robbie tolerates it, but he doesn't really enjoy it. I heard you didn't know who he was when you met.”

Emily smiled. “No. And even once he told me, I couldn't believe it. He's just too normal to be famous.”

“He's humble, knows it can be fleeting, and is also grounded enough to know that he'd survive if it all disappeared tomorrow. Not many people in his situation can say the same thing. But he does love his job and he's good at it.”

“He's such a contradiction, the handsome movie star on the outside and the sweet geek on the inside.”

“Oh, that's only a contradiction if you think it's impossible. He's proof that it isn't. He gets it from his father. Not all smart men are unattractive. Robbie's sentimental, artistic side comes from me.”

“He didn't say what it is that the two of you did before retirement.” Emily was done the dishes and drained the sink, talking as she washed counters.

Anja laughed. “Pat will never really retire. He's an electrical engineer. He teaches classes and does consulting these days. He says he's retired, but he isn't. As for me, I was an art teacher at the Catholic school where the kids attended. I teach printmaking every other semester at the university.”

“That explains so much!” Emily said.

“Robbie said you work for
Art Wurks
?”

“I do. I'm a copy editor. I'm in charge of the gala for the magazine. Fluxus was my area of study in graduate school. I think my boss sent me out here to test me before he puts me on features.”