“Because…” Ozzie trailed off, shaking his head. Then he glanced through the door to Emily’s office.
Oh shit.
“Act like you’re talking to me,” she instructed Christian, careful to keep her voice low enough not to be heard.
“I would,” he answered with a glower, that ridiculously sexy glower. “But you insist on shushing me. So”—Emily saw Ozzie turn back to Becky—“how am I to know when—”
“Shh!” She waved at Christian.
He gaped at her.
“Because it’s something Samantha has wanted to know for years. She needs closure,” Ozzie told Becky. “I can’t give her everything I want to give her, but I just might be able to give her this.”
“We shouldn’t be doing this,” Christian whispered. “That’s a private conversation and—”
“Either hush or leave.” Emily tried to murder him with her eyes. “I’m not doing this just to be nosy.”
“No?” He lifted a brow.
“No,” she assured him. “I have… Shh!”
He lifted his hand as if to say, You were the one talking, not me, just as Becky said to Ozzie, “Tell me something. Are you in love with Samantha Tate?”
The woman wasn’t one for beating around the bush. Just one of the many reasons Emily adored her. Holding her breath, Emily waited for Ozzie’s answer.
He tried to play it off with, “I love all women. You know me.”
Becky punched him in the shoulder. “Cut the crap. I’m serious.”
For a while, Ozzie remained quiet. Then he blew out a ragged breath. “I love her.”
Emily nodded. She had suspected as much all along. She thought she heard Christian mutter “Stupid, bloody wanker” under his breath.
“But it doesn’t matter,” Ozzie said. “It’s not like I could make it work with her. Not in the long run. I mean, I can’t even tell her who or what I really am.” He hesitated a beat before adding, “But that’s a moot point anyway.”
“Why is that?” Becky asked.
“Because she doesn’t love me.”
Before Becky could answer, Emily pushed up from her desk. The move was so sudden that Christian looked startled. “Becky!” she called. “I need to talk to you!”
Becky turned in her seat, metal shavings falling from her ponytail. “Can it wait? I’m kinda in the middle of something here.”
“It’s a time-sensitive matter!” Emily called.
With a sigh and a word to Ozzie, Becky shoved out of her chair.
“What are you up to?” Christian demanded.
“Stick around and find out.”
Becky stomped to the doorway. “What’s up?”
“Shut the door,” Emily instructed. “I have an idea I want to run by you.”
Chapter 24
