Steeling My Haart (26 page)

“I remember arriving
in Las Vegas feeling nervous. I knew I’d be seeing you there. That had been my
plan all along after a friend had told me that you were the woman to speak to
for franchising.” She blushed as he smiled at her.

“Anyway, I’d just gotten
off the plane down and had a bit of time to spare. The cab seemed to take an
age to get from airport, but I wasn’t meeting my marketing team until later
that afternoon. I decided to head to do some shopping before heading to the
hotel to check in. I was told that The Forum was the place to go for some
serious retail therapy. I have to admit the window shopping was an experience,”
he said as a grin spread across his face.

“I had travelled
light, as I was only staying overnight so I asked the cab driver to head
straight over there. I wanted to grab a couple of souvenirs for my mom and a
few pieces to put in this diner.” He paused and pointed to a few items that
Emma recognized from the gift shop in the hotel in Las Vegas.

        
“I
had read about the shopping in the airline magazine I had read on the flight
over and although I hadn’t fancied much sightseeing whilst I was there, I had
wanted to see it. But you see, this was Vegas and most guys my age would be
happy to be in, but like with everything else I do these days, my heart just
wasn’t in it. I was only here because of the promise of a potential meeting
with an up and coming New York branding associate who worked for the
prestigious Jenson and Associates who I had been informed was attending the
conference with his legal advisor.” He stopped again and flashed Emma another
shy smile.

        
“Bruce
and I? Wow,” Emma responded quietly.

        
“I
was told it was a fantastic opportunity to test the water for helping to
franchise my new concept. Plus, whilst I was there I hoped to take the
opportunity to help scope out a couple of prime locations in Vegas.

        
“Anyway,
I wandered through the shopping area, feeling pretty out of my depth. My hair
was a mess and I was beginning to regret not shaving before my trip. I’d barely
been anywhere beyond this diner. As I was wandering down the main shopping
hall, I looked absentmindedly into each of the shop windows. I couldn’t ever
think of spending the sort of money these stores charged. As I approached the
Dior store, I was overcome with a sudden feeling of curiosity and stopped to
glance into the shop.”

        
Emma
gasped. “You were there. I swear I felt you there.”

        
“Yes,
I was. My whole world stopped at the sight of you in that beautiful plum-colored
dress. Then I saw him, the well-dressed gentleman who looked to be patiently
waiting for you on the sofas outside the changing rooms. I swear the breath was
knocked from my lungs when I saw what that gentleman was looking at. It was
you, Emma. My Emma and you were standing there in an absolutely, devastatingly,
beautiful dress, looking so much more amazing than I had ever remembered. It
was as if the dress you were wearing was made for you. It clung to every curve
and line of your perfect body. I was struck dumb at the vision. I had to stand
and watch transfixed as the gentleman walked over other and my heart broke when
I saw the tenderness with which he looked at you.” He paused, looking over at
Emma with wide eyes, full of emotion. She took his hand over the tabletop and
linked her fingers through his. Squeezing his hand, she urged him silently to
continue,

“My heart broke even
more as he gently reached up and stroked her cheek, causing her to flush
slightly. You were there, in front of me for the second time in a few days.”

“A second time?” Emma
asked, interrupting his story.

“Yes. I hadn’t seen you
since the day a few years ago when I saw you in New York when I was looking at
premises for M’s Place, but I hadn’t had the courage to approach you. But it
looked like I was too late. You were obviously affected by this gentleman and I
vowed never to intervene if you were happy

        
“I
couldn’t believe my luck the other day when I had seen you for the first time
in four years when you were sitting right there in my diner in New York,
drinking the latte I had created for you.”

“That was you?” Emma exclaimed.

“Yes, again it was me.”

“Why didn’t you come out and speak to
me? You had to know I was lonely and needed you,” she asked.
 
       
“I
didn’t know it was you right until the last minute. George had said that he
would love to introduce me to the lovely young woman who frequented his Upper
West Side diner. I had been visiting to check on the accounts and help George
out with some of the mandatory paperwork. I had intended to call in to the
diner to say hello to the woman George persistently mentioned to me. I got as
far as the door by the staff entrance about to go in and introduce myself when you
sitting there distracted me. I froze and then bolted, and asked George to
apologize to the young lady I had just stood up and offer her a free meal. I
now realize that lovely young woman was you. I’m so sorry,” he said sadly.

“Don’t be, Charlie,” Emma replied
beginning to get choked up.

        
“You
don’t understand, Em, I’ve longed every day to be near you and when I had
finally saw what an amazing young woman you had turned into, I was too cowardly
to do anything about it.

“Watching you in
Vegas was so painful. I reached out and touched the glass of the shop window
before I turned and headed back to the hotel.
 
It wasn’t too far so I decided to walk
back to clear my head. I was late by the time I reached the lobby of the hotel
and hurried down to the entrance of the conference center where the marketing
guys I had employed were waiting for me. They advised me that Bruce Jensen was
the guy I needed to seek out tomorrow and they confirmed that he had brought
his legal adviser, Emma McKellan with him.

“I stopped and tuned
them out after he said your name. You were not just a lawyer, but one whom people
like me were seeking out. Then I saw you again, walking hand in hand with the
same guy that you had been with in the Dior shop earlier. I knew I had to get
out of there because I couldn’t stand the thought of you with someone else. I
turned and saw that you were looking right at me. I needed to get out of there
and I can honestly say my heart broke when I glanced back and saw you walking
into the aquarium, happily holding hands and chatting away. I had to get the
hell out of Vegas before my heart finally broke into a million pieces.”

        
By
now Emma was sobbing as she listened to his story. “I knew it was you,” she
said. “I saw you, but didn’t recognize you properly because you had your hair
long and a fair amount of facial hair going on, too, from what I remember.”

        
“Erm…
yes, about that…” he stumbled, blushing slightly, “I kind of gave up on life
for a while and just let things go a bit.”

        
“A
bit?” she chuckled through her tears.

        
“If
I told you the first time I shaved since I walked away was the same evening I
saw you outside the diner here, would you believe me?” he admitted.

        
“No?
Really?” Emma was now wide eyed.

        
“Yes.
Really. Without you in my life, I saw no reason to make an effort anymore. Then
when I saw you here, and realized you were back I hoped I might be able to see
you again. I needed to pull my head from up my ass and sort myself out. The
guys here wondered what the hell was going on when I walked in with a new
hairstyle and no beard the day after.” He laughed as he spoke the last few
words.

        
“Oh,
Charlie, what did you do to us? Why did you let me go? I have spent so many
years being so miserable without you and I waited for you, you know? You broke
a big part of me when I got that letter and with everything that happened the
year after you left, I nearly didn’t make it,” she choked out as the sobs took
hold again.

        
“Emma,
I really don’t know what to say. I was young and foolish, and I’ve hurt myself
more that you would know, too. I have been incapable of loving anyone since and
there will only be you. I hardened my own heart that day. I changed my mind,
but you’d gone and with the chaos of the storm’s aftermath of the storm things
were just out of control. I don’t know if your dad ever told you but I went to
speak to him after you had left for university and I told him I wanted you to
finish your degree. I was so proud that you went ahead without me. Then time
just ran away from me and I was determined to be the man you deserved, but each
time I was ready to come to you, things just got in the way. Then we find
ourselves eight years down the line, and I just assumed when you didn’t come
home that you had forgotten me.” He drew in a long breath and blew it out
slowly as he rubbed his hands roughly up and down his face.

        
“Then
I saw you with Bruce a few times and, well… you know…”

“Bruce has never been
more than a business associate and now a good friend. Why did you think we were
together? Oh, Charlie, we could have saved so much of this heartache if we had
just talked.” She reached for his hand again and held on to it tightly.

        
“I
hid the other day when I saw you in town. I watched you and Bruce as you were
looking for offices. I couldn’t believe it when you headed right into the
office block I had built after my first successful year of running M’s Place.
The irony wasn’t lost on me,” he admitted.

“Wow. You own my
office? How? What..?” Emma spluttered, visibly shocked at the revelations
flooding from Charlie tonight.

        
“I
do. I actually own a few properties round here. Including Harveys Toys store…”

“So that’s how you
got the toys?” Emma suddenly realized.

“Yes. I didn’t know
how to broach talking about things with you but along with a very successful
chain of diners, and a couple of auto repair shops in town, I now own several
of the prominent properties on Main Street. I have been growing my property
portfolio recently adding Harvey’s toy store. I called him and offered him a
rent-free period if he would trouble himself on Christmas Eve and help me help
a friend in need. He jumped at the chance to drive back onto town and open up
for me to collect the toys.” He looked sheepish as he confessed how he had
managed to get to the toys.

“Charlie…” was all
Emma could manage to say between the tears.

        
“Shh…
its okay.” He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hands before continuing his
story. “I couldn’t believe you were back in town and had been right there in
front of me again, just across the street. My feet had turned to lead and I
became rooted to the spot. I never knew what I’d do or say if the opportunity
to speak to you ever came up. I had replayed that moment to over and over in my
head but every time I saw you I just couldn’t speak. What would I have said,
anyway? Sorry wouldn’t have been enough. I mistakenly thought I’d seen you
happy and obviously with someone and made up my mind that it definitely wasn’t
the time to be having that discussion.

        
“When
you pulled into my lot that night I wanted to run to you and beg you to stay.
It felt right having you here in your place, the place I had painstakingly
built from the wreck of my Uncle Hank’s garage.
 
I recall watching you driving away after
my stubborn feet had let me down again. Then again it didn’t take much for me
to notice that the vehicle you were driving had a couple baby seats strapped
into the back.” He stopped to take a deep breath and stroke the back of Emma’s
hands again with his thumbs.

        
“I
literally broke again in that instant when I realized it was now too late. I
wouldn’t be that man who broke up a family. I just had to be content that you
were settled and happy now, with a family in tow. Maybe I could still watch you
from afar and take solace in the fact that I had done the right thing in
sending you away like I did. I knew the guy I’d seen you with, too. I had been
taken by surprise when I saw you walking hand in hand down the hotel corridor
and heading into the aquarium when I was in Vegas. You know I had tried to
follow you, but had been told that you were being surprised with a private tour
and the facility had closed to allow for that.” He signed, looking at Emma with
such a pained expression on his face.

“I thought it was
game over at that point. How could I compete with that? Then seeing you in town
standing next to my truck with him again, how could I not think you were with
him? You had both been laughing and joking around and were so easy in each
other’s company. You know I had my truck lovingly repaired because of the
memories I would always treasure.”

        
“That
has to be the sweetest thing I’ve heard. I love that you’ve kept your truck,
Charlie.” Emma said, not convinced that any of this would be relevant when she
finally had her turn to tell him everything. For now she was happy just
listening to his story, and pretending for a while that things might just work
out for them.