“Who are you again? Oh right, that hussy who’s shacked up with the guy who stalked you.”
Emma watched them torment each other good-naturedly until the conversation twisted to the staff getaway the DreamMakers crew was planning in the New Year.
For the next hour or so, they talked and teased, and sometime during the laughter and the sharing, peace settled in. Emma felt wrapped in a warm blanket of companionship. She hadn’t thought about Enzo and the impending pain-in-the-ass discussions she’d need to have with him soon. She hadn’t worried about her designs.
The night, and the company, had been exactly what she’d needed.
She’d thought the discussion regarding Dean was at an end, but apparently not. Lynn and Suz left together. Pepper gave Emma a big hug and ordered her to drop in anytime she wanted.
Gillian offered to wait outside with her until the taxi arrived, shifting her feet uneasily as if she were trying to work up the courage to say something. Her ants-in-the-pants struck Emma as out of character: fearful was not a word she’d use to describe the other woman.
Gillian glanced around as if making sure no one could overhear, then turned back to speak softly to Emma. “You know, ever since I joined DreamMakers I’ve been around the guys in all sorts of situations. I’ve seen them raunchy and I’ve seen them smooth, and there’s something you need to know.”
Nervous energy fluttered in her belly. Was there something dreadful about Dean that was going to rip her current happy situation apart?
“Parker and Jack, well, they obviously talk about Lynn and Pepper. And Colby totally has the hots for Suz, even though that is going to be a long row to hoe. But Dean?” Gillian smiled and the expression lit up her face, turning her into a second-look-on-the-street kind of woman. “The only time he’s ever really talked about a woman it’s been you.”
A small seed of warmth glowed inside, chasing away Emma’s nervousness. “Aw, that’s sweet. Thank you for telling me.”
Gillian shook her head, her expression growing more serious. “No, you’re not getting it. I’m not talking about in the past few weeks. Since the day I met him he’s let hints slip about this one woman who affected him to his core.”
Emma’s breath hitched. “I thought he never talked about me.”
“I don’t think he did, not to the guys, and not straight-out to me either, but it’s pretty clear if you listen hard enough.” Gillian caught her by the arm and looked her dead in the eye. “Whatever is happening right now between you and Dean, it didn’t start last week. It didn’t even start in October, it started ages ago. And I don’t think you should let it slip away. Not if you care at all about him.”
“Of course I care about him,” Emma whispered. “Maybe that’s the trouble. Maybe I’m afraid of caring too much.”
Gillian released her arm, stepping away slowly. “That’s a sad way to live. To have somebody who really understands you and cares about what makes you happy, and then not let them keep making you happy.”
“I know, but…” She bit her lip. “I also need someone I can trust. Someone I can rely on. And…well, let’s face it—when we were younger, he wasn’t there for me when I needed him. He left me.”
But was it wrong to still be cautious because of what he’d done years before?
Something of her thoughts must’ve shown on her face, and once again Gillian smiled. “You’re both grown-ups now, and you’ve experienced a chunk of life you hadn’t before. Maybe it’s time to take everything that was good about your past and add it to everything that’s good about now. People change, sometimes for the better.”
They walked in silence to the taxi that had pulled up to the curb. Emma turned in the doorway, looking around for Gillian’s car. “Do you want a ride somewhere?”
Gillian shook her head. “Nah. I parked a few blocks over. I need the exercise.”
They took off in separate directions, Gillian jogging easily down the long sidewalk as if she hadn’t drunk her share that night. Her ponytail swung from side to side as she vanished in the distance. Emma stared out the window as the taxi returned her to the hotel, and thought about Gillian’s words.
Did Dean truly understand her? Would he really do anything to make her happy?
They were deep thoughts to consider as she made her way up to the suite, but somewhere in the middle of the mental conversation, she found herself smiling, thinking about how he looked at her. How attentive he was to her needs.
How every time she turned around he was right there underfoot.
New York beckoned, but if she was honest, there was a thread tying her to San Francisco. A thread that was growing thicker and stronger all the time…
Chapter Fifteen
“Will you be my girlfriend?”