“I totally knew you liked him,” Ginny said, pleased with herself.
“Right.” Emmeline snorted. “How did you know that?”
Ginny shrugged. “Because I know everything.” She smiled. “And I know you best.”
“You got me there,” Emmeline replied, pinching Ginny’s cheek. Her younger cousin swatted her hand away.
“Now don’t overthink it and ruin everything,” Ginny said, her voice a warning. Emmeline’s mouth dropped open at her cousin’s blunt words. Ginny may have been the youngest, but she sure had a lot of opinions.
“What exactly is that supposed to mean?” she asked.
Ginny arched her brow, giving her a knowing look. “You’re a control freak,” she said. “But you can’t micromanage your feelings for someone, or their feelings for you.”
“Oh my god!” Emmeline protested. She looked to Saphira and Lavinia for defense, and they exchanged a glance.
“I wouldn’t say you’re a controlfreak,” Saphira said gently.“I would say you’re meticulous—in a good way!—and like things to be in order.”
“Emphasis on the ‘in a good way’,” Lavinia affirmed.
Emmeline laughed. Ginny was her cousin, so she could get away with being a little monster, but Saphira and Lavinia were trying to be nice about it.
“It’s okay,” Emmeline said. “Maybe Icanbe a control freak. Sometimes.”
She was self-aware enough to recognize the fact. But if she didn’t manage things, who would? All she wanted was for her loved ones to be happy, and sometimes they needed a little help in accomplishing that successfully.
“Which is fine, except when it comes to love,” Saphira said. She looked around, then spotted a hanging piece of artwork on one of the cafe walls. “Ishq soch ke kita te ki kita?” she read the line of poetry from the artwork aloud, and Emmeline covered her face with her hands.
“Oh god, don’t quote Punjabi poetry at me.” She laughed, but she knew Saphira was right.
“Translation, please,” Ginny asked.
“It’s hard to get exactly, but it basically asks: ‘What type of love is a love carefully planned?’” Saphira said.
“So true,” Lavinia affirmed, speaking from experience. “You really can’t plan these things out.”
Emmeline was so used to planning things out to the smallest detail, but what if she allowed herself tonotoverthink this? It felt reckless, in a way that frightened her, but she wanted to let go, to let things be as they were instead of analyzing everything. She wanted to keep feeling as good as she did.
It was freeing to give in to the way she felt about him, to trust him. To let him take care of her. She had never felt so... liberated.
“When’s that big meeting with Anh?” Ginny asked, and Emmeline felt a dose of reality come crashing over her. She hadn’t thought about the investment they were both competing for, how Luke was still technically her rival.
“Next Friday,” Emmeline replied, nibbling on her bottom lip.
“Hey, don’t worry,” Saphira said, immediately noticing Emmeline’s worry. “You guys are both adults; I’m sure that won’t get between you two.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right,” Emmeline replied, feeling confident. She and Luke had agreed to no more fighting.
The girls hung out together for a little longer, discussing in depth every single pregnancy craving Saphira was having (“This baby is being built on bagels and cream cheese!”) until it was time for everybody to go their separate ways.
They hugged and kissed goodbye. Emmeline had hardly made it a few feet down Main Street before she heard someone coming after her.
“Hey, wait up,” Luke said. She turned to see him jogging to catch up with her, and she smiled, a bubbly feeling spreading through her chest.
“Hi,” she said, as he stopped in front of her.
“Hi.” He smiled. “You got out of there fast.”
“Are you obsessed with me or something?” she teased.
