He’d forgotten to tell his mother to get rid of it during their phone call. Still, part of him felt relieved. At least he’d finally expressed the feeling he’d been carrying for years. One he’d hoped had eased over time but as he looked at Emily, he knew that was far from the case.
Doing the most Emily-like thing ever, she skipped away from the garden and made her way to him.
“Hi,” she said breathlessly.
He’d liked to think it was from seeing him, not from the flight of stairs she’d just run up.
“Hi,” he replied, fighting the urge to smile.
“I didn’t know you’d come back so early.”
“We’ve only got one more day here. I didn’t want you spending it being held hostage by my family.”
“Your family is wonderful, Nicolas.”
His brows lifted.
“Well…maybe not all of them,” she corrected. “I can understand why your father has his reservations though.”
“Wait. Did…did my mother tell you about Antonio?”
He refused to call the man anything else.
“She did.”
That surprised him. His mother wasn’t the type to trust easily. Not as severe as his father but still guarded. Yet she’d opened up to Emily. There went that compulsion she had on people again, making them comfortable, causing them to fall for her.
“I’m sorry that happened in your family.” Her sweet voice cut through his thoughts.
His smile was tight. “It was a long time ago. I hardly remember unless someone brings it up.”
A lie.
“I’m sure it still caused a lot of issues for you. Emotionally and everything in between.”
He leaned against the railing. “It was the first thing people threw in our faces during business deals back then,” he shared. “It caused so many rifts.‘How can I respect and trust you when your own brother didn’t?’Remember that confrontationbetween my father and me at the hotel where I first met you? That’s what someone said to him. I lashed out, and he hates displays of emotion. Considers them weaknesses. Hypocritical, if you ask me. He wanted us to suppress everything to earn trust yet saw those who did the same as untrustworthy. That’s why I did the opposite. Just as you’d said.”
His eyes settled on her. “I drank the drinks. I shook the hands. I smiled. I built trust—respect my own way. I made sure they didn’t see us as the company with alleged mafia ties. I transitioned Royal into something with a cleaner reputation. Still powerful, but respectable.”
Since he’d stepped in, the company had become more known for its golden image. A dream company. Nothing but good things came from the inside.
“I actually got an offer from your agency back then,” she said bashfully.
“I know.”
Her pupils expanded in shock. “You did? How? I thought that was up to recruitment and—” She must have seen the look in his eyes. “Oh.”
He pushed himself off the railing and stood before her. “Do you want to know why?”
Her cheeks seeped with a pink tinge he anticipated. “N-No, I think I have an idea.”
He nearly laughed. Wasn’thesupposed to be the one embarrassed about his old crush? Or maybe the idea of him liking her made her flustered. That was almost too much for him to handle.
“It’s because I liked you, Emily.”
She sucked in a sharp breath.
His hand lifted to touch her, aiming to calm her down at the sound. Or maybe he wanted to incite another out of her.Whatever the case, she didn’t pull away. If anything, she leaned into it.Cristo.
