Her Way (9 page)

“Promise.”

He leaned down and kissed her again. A hot press of lips, a sweep of tongue, a nibble on her bottom lip. Then, it was over. Damn it all. Stupid party.

“No frowning.” He touched her mouth with his fingers. “Smile and make nice.”

“I’d rather make nice with you.” She struggled not to blush when she said it, but the heat in her cheeks told her she’d failed.

“Hmmm, sweetheart, we’ll make all kinds of nice a bit later.”

“Auntie Emma! Auntie Emma!” Mia and Mandy came skidding out of the house.

“Will’s here? Cool. Can we have pancakes again?” Mia asked, attaching herself to Will’s leg and gazing up at him.

“Not tonight, munchkin.” He tweaked the girl’s nose, causing her to giggle.

“Did you guys need something?” Emma asked

“The food is icky. Can we have peanut butter and jelly?” Mandy made a face.

Emma laughed. “Sure. C’mon, you can help me make them.” She took the girls’ hands and glanced at Will. “Um, Hannah and Lynn are in there. You could go visit or…”

“I’ll be fine. Go feed the natives.”

Will followed Emma and her nieces into the house, hardly able to rip his gaze away from the sway of her hips beneath the knee-length wispy skirt. Damn. And those legs.

“Hey, Will, you made it.” Hannah came up beside him and followed his gaze. She chuckled. “Here’s a beer.”

He grinned at her as he took the ice cold bottle. “Thanks. How are ya, Hannah?”

“Fine. And you?”

His gaze traveled back to the kitchen door. “Getting better every minute.”

“Mm hmmm. I think Emma’s night just improved greatly, too.”

“I hope so.” He took a long draw of beer. “So who are all these people? Family?”

She nodded. “Some of them. A couple are friends. Some are neighbors who stopped by to welcome Emma into the neighborhood.”

Will’s eyes narrowed as he surveyed the small clusters of people in the large room. “And she’s stuck in the kitchen making sandwiches for her nieces.”

“Yup. It’s typical. Not that Emma is a huge socializer. She prefers small gatherings. But her brothers relying on her to take care of their kids just gives her an excuse to hide away. Even if she wanted to be out here, she’d put them first.”

“Not a bad thing…”

“No, not when it happens occasionally. But it’s pretty much a constant thing in her family. With Emma, it’s never about her, what she wants or needs. It’s about everyone else.”

Will pondered the information for a moment before pushing it from his mind. Later. He’d think about it later. “Which ones are family? I recognize the two brothers from last week. Mark and Matt, right?”

“Yeah, next to Mark is his wife, Jeannette. If you want my honest opinion,” she lowered her voice and leaned closer, “she a gold-digging wannabe. She is selfish and thinks of no one but herself. She is even worse than Emma’s brothers at imposing on her. Although she puts on a sweet as sugar act that most people fall for, for a little while anyway.”

Will chuckled as Hannah glared across the room at the woman in question. “Gee, don’t hold back.”

She laughed and slapped his arm. “Oh, I won’t. You’ve met their daughters, Mia and Mandy. Sweet girls. Now, a few feet away are Emma’s oldest brother Tom, Jr. and his wife Alice. They have three kids, who I believe were left home. You know, so they aren’t a bother. All of them…and I mean all of them…live in the family home with daddy dearest.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, but we’re talking a huge house. When Emma lived there, she had her own suite. It was basically being on her own—if you don’t count the servants and the fact her family could run down the hall to rope her into doing something,” Hannah said dryly.

“I see.”

“Matt isn’t married and hasn’t lived at home since he went off to college. Smart man. Nick is also single but he was in the service and now travels for work, so he’s rarely in town. Oh, and the man sitting in the armchair by the window? That’s Emma’s dad. He’s a nice enough guy. Just overly protective of Emma. She’s the only girl, and he’s old-fashioned, I guess.” She shrugged.

Will nodded and turned back toward the kitchen door just as Emma came out. She looked around the room until her gaze met his. Her face lit up, and she grinned before being distracted as a woman began talking to her.

“She can’t keep her eyes off you,” Hannah noted.

Will raised a brow at her dry tone. “And? Do you have a problem with that?”

“Not at all. I think you could be very good for her. However, you hurt her and I will torture and kill you, and they will never find the body.” She smirked at him, then turned on her heel and walked away.

He chuckled and sipped his beer. He continued to watch Emma as she visited. Watched her smile and laugh. Sad, he thought, that seeing her across the room was enough to make his cock stand at attention and beg for her touch. Pitiful and sad.

“Hey. Will, right?”

He turned to see one of Emma’s brothers standing next to him, hand outstretched. Will reached out and shook the proffered hand and nodded.

“Yeah and you’re…Matt?”

“Right. How’re you doing? Enjoying yourself?”

“Just got here not too long ago, but doing just fine.” He glanced at Emma again.

“So what do you do for a living, Will?”

Let the interrogation begin.
“I’m a chef. I run my family’s restaurant, right now. Kincaid’s.”

The other man nodded slowly. “Nice place. Been there often. Good food.”

“Glad you approve.”

Matt snorted. “Not up to me to approve anything. So how long have you known Emma?”

Persistent bugger
, Will thought before responding. “Not long. I met her the day before you and your brother showed up on her doorstep.”

“Huh?” Matt gaped. “After knowing you for a day, Emma brought you home for the night.”

“Actually it was only after an hour or so,” Will couldn’t resist informing. “Why? You got a problem with that?”

“Emma’s a smart girl and can make her own decisions. Just doesn’t sound like something she’d do.” He turned his gaze in his sister’s direction, a frown turning his lips down.

Will laughed. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ve known Hannah and Lynn for years. We went to school together. They vouched for me.”

Matt looked back at him and rolled his eyes. “Yeah that makes me feel so much better. My sister’s friends approving my sister’s sex partners.” He gave an exaggerated shudder.

Will’s ire rose. “That’s not what this is about. I like your sister a lot, Matt, otherwise why would I be here now?”

“Good point. Treat her right or—”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard it already. I’ll be beaten and killed and no one will find my body, blah, blah, blah.”

Matt’s brow furrowed for a moment then he grinned. “Hannah?”

Will nodded and returned the grin.

“Sounds like her. Well, c’mon, Will, and I’ll introduce you to the people I know.”

They walked across the room just as Emma’s nieces came running into the room and up to their father.

“Daddy, we’re bored,” Mia said.

Mark turned around and stared down at his daughter. “I’m speaking to someone right now.”

“But, Daddy, we’re bored! There’s nothing to do,” Mandy chimed in.

Mark glanced around the room and pointed in the direction of Emma. “Damn it, go ask your aunt what you can do, I’m busy right now.”

He turned away and continued his conversation.
What an ass
, Will thought. He looked over at Emma, who was still talking and visiting. When the girls ran up to her, she smiled at her companion and crouched down to listen to what the girls were saying. She shot a look up at Mark, but took the girls by the hand and brought them into the kitchen.

Will shook his head. Why the hell should she have to entertain her nieces? This was her party. Their father and mother were there. Will turned to Matt and found the man staring at his brother, dumfounded.

“You okay?”

Matt shook his head and met Will’s gaze. “You know I never realized how much they dumped on Emma. Her friends talk about it all the time and I thought they were exaggerating, but the more I see…”

Lynn came up and nudged Matt. “Where’s Emma? A few of her neighbors have to leave and want to say goodbye.”

Before Matt could say anything, Will spoke. “I’ll go get her.”

He strode across the room and into the kitchen. He stopped just inside the doorway and just watched for a moment. Emma and the little girls sat at the table, coloring books and crayons spread out in front of them. Emma wasn’t just supervising; she was coloring a page and chattering away.

He crossed the room and laid his hands on her shoulders. She jumped and looked up.

“Oh, Will. You startled me. Everything going okay?”

“Yup. A couple of your guests are taking off and want to say goodbye.” He slid his hand up to the smooth skin of her neck and caressed.

“Oh, okay. Girls, I’ll be back in a minute.” She stood and turned only to be blocked by Will.

“Look, why don’t you go and do what you need to do? Take your time and visit. I’ll stay with the kids.” He ran his knuckles down her cheek and was rewarded when her breath hitched a bit.

“No, no, that’s okay. You certainly didn’t come here to babysit…”

“I came here to see you and I will…after the party. And besides, spending time with two of the prettiest girls here, heck, all the guys will be jealous.” He winked at her.

“But—”

“No buts. Go.”

She bit her lower lip and stared at him for a long moment. “If you’re sure. It won’t be much longer, I promise.”

“No worries. I have to catch up on my coloring.”

She planted both hands on his cheeks and pulled him down to press her lips hard against his. Heat and desire flared and his erection grew. He nipped at her lips before pulling back. “Later, Miss Emma, later.”

“Promises, promises.” She patted his cheek and turned to the kids. “Hey, I have to do some things so Will’s going to color with you, okay?”

“Yay!” the girls squealed.

Emma smiled and walked from the room. Will sat between the kids and grabbed a crayon.

“Okay, what are we coloring today?”

“Princesses,” Mia informed.

“Rock on.”

* * * *

Emma flopped on the sofa next to Will. The last guest was gone and all that remained were Will, Matt and her three friends. She reached down and slipped her shoes off to massage the arches of her feet. Man, she was tired.

“Here.” Will grabbed her legs and turned her so she leaned against the arm of the sofa and her feet rested in his lap. He used his thumbs to press and massage her sore feet.

“Hmmm,” she moaned and struggled not to close her eyes.

“Well, the party was a success,” Ana quipped. She sat on the loveseat next to Lynn. Hannah sat on the armchair and Matt was on the floor, leaning against the loveseat, his legs stretched in front of him.

“Thanks to you guys. I appreciate it.” She smiled.

“No problem,” Hannah answered. “Now for the cleanup…”

“Urgh, I don’t want to think of that.” Emma laughed. “And you certainly don’t have to stay. I’ll take care of it; you all have done enough.”

She wet her lips and looked at Will. He stared at her, his hands continuing to massage. She just wanted to be alone with him.

“Don’t be stupid. Of course we’ll clean up,” Matt insisted. “Shouldn’t take too long.”

“Exactly. Which is why you don’t have to stay.” Her gaze still on Will, she flushed when he winked at her and ran his hand up her calf and back down to circle her ankle.

“I think Emma would like us to leave.” Hannah’s voice shook with laughter and Emma looked at her.

“I didn’t say that!”
Not out loud at least
, she thought a bit guiltily.

“You didn’t have to.” Ana stood and stretched her arms over her head. “We totally understand.”

“We do?” Matt looked around, bafflement on his face.

“Yes, we do.” Lynn nudged his shoulder with her knee as she stood as well. “Emma would like to have some
alone
time.”

He narrowed his eyes as he studied Emma, then Will. “Oh for God’s sake. Fine. Why didn’t you just say so?”

“No, really, you guys don’t have to leave.” She tried to sound genuine and feared she failed miserably when everyone laughed.

Ana came over and bent down to give Emma a quick hug. “Don’t get up. We can show ourselves out.” She then whispered, “Enjoy Mr. Tall, Dark and Hung.”

The rest of her friends hugged her and left quickly. Matt mussed her hair and stared down at her briefly before striding out of the room, calling “later” over his shoulder.

Will and Emma sat in silence for a few minutes. He ran his fingers up and down her legs, kneading gently. Each time, he moved farther up, pushing her skirt up past her knees.
Twitch, twitch.
Emma squirmed a bit and glanced at Will.