Emma smiled at her father, but it didn’t touch her eyes. “I didn’t realize Knightley might be bored.”
He waved her off. “You know what I mean, darling. What do you say, George?”
They all turned to look at Knightley. He stilled, his coffee mug inches from his lips. “All right.”
Mr. Woodhouse’s grin widened. Nadine let her gaze wander to Emma. And Emma… she looked like it was taking all her strength to keep that smile on her face.
“Okay,” Emma said, “I’ll send you the details.”
Knightley stared at her expression, at the feeble smile she was working to keep in place. And suddenly that fire in his belly that had driven him here dulled, as if the embers were being forcibly put out.
“Okay,” he replied.
The kitchen became a flurry of activity then: Mr. Woodhouse started the blender on the counter as Nadine shouted over the clatter, asking Emma for details about the night before, and the cacophony was suddenly too much. Knightley felt tired, hollowed out. The need to apologize felt superfluous now. It was clear she had already moved on. And he had to find a way to as well. But for now, he had to leave.
He swallowed the rest of his coffee in one large gulp and put his mug back down on the counter with enough force that the sound caught Emma’s attention.
“You’re leaving?” she asked.
“Yeah, I have some things to do. For work.”
He hated lying to her, mostly because he never had before. And he could tell she knew, how she trapped her bottom lip between her teeth as she watched him start for the door. “Do you still need to talk?”
He shook his head. “It’s not important.” Then he offered her a tight smile before turning to Mr. Woodhouse. “I’ll see you tomorrow at dinner, Henry.”
Mr. Woodhouse barely looked up from his grocery list. Knightley then turned to say his goodbyes to Emma. She was still staring at him with an unreadable look.
“See you later?” she asked.
“Yes, see you later,” he replied. It felt like another lie, and he turned away before she could see the evidence of it on his face, heading out the door, his wide stride taking him back across the frozen yard.
CHAPTER 23
When Emma was little, the Woodhouse household had a saying: if there was an occasion worth celebrating, it should be celebrated at Tavern on the Green. Birthdays, anniversaries, graduations—they were all observed at the restaurant nestled in the middle of Central Park. It was cocooned by tall elms and fairy lights visible through the dining room’s massive windows, and Emma had always pretended she was tucked away in an enchanted forest, dining on delicious foods that suddenly appeared as if made by magic.
The place had aged over the years, even closing for a short time, but it had reopened thanks to some new investors. When Mr. Woodhouse read in theTimesthat the recent renovation had revived some of the restaurant’s shine and sparkle, he suggested they bring back the tradition and celebrate Emma’s twenty-fourth birthday there at the end of February. Margo insisted it was the perfect idea—they could even get a private room—and Emma couldn’t think of a reason to object. When her friends were in town, there would be parties and celebrations the entire month, but this year she had nothing planned. Plus, it would actually makeher father leave the Upper East Side for once. But Emma did have a few changes to the tradition she was hoping her father would at least try to embrace.
“A brunch?” he’d said when she suggested it, looking over his paper.
“Yes. Brunch.” Emma smiled at him.
“Not a dinner? Not even a lunch? Oh, Emma.”
“You won’t even notice the difference. It’s essentially just a casual lunch anyway,” she replied. “Which means we can really take our time.”
He sighed, the closest she would get to an endorsement, so she took it, giving him a kiss on the cheek before heading upstairs and out the front door.
The cab pulled up at Tavern on the Green at precisely two o’clock, the time Emma was set to meet Margo and Nadine. There were still three weeks until her birthday, but decisions had to be made: the menu, the room, the decorations. Maybe they could even enjoy a mimosa or two with lunch while they deliberated.
Her eyes squinted under her Gucci sunglasses as she exited the cab. If she looked close enough, she could see where the twinkle lights were still wrapped around the trees. She imagined them turning on at dusk, how beautiful they always looked against the night sky. But today, the sun shone bright, highlighting their dark wires and dormant bulbs. Everything looked a bit harsher in the daytime.
Nadine and Margo were chatting away at the entrance when Emma walked in.
“We didn’t want to get started without you,” Margo squealed, hugging her sister, her burgeoning pregnant belly between them. Of course Margo looked elegant, even in her short black-and-whitestriped maternity dress. “This is going to be so fun. Just like when you were little, but with alcohol. At least for you two.”
“This place is so beautiful!” Nadine gushed, her eyes wide as she looked around the massive space. “When I told Mateo I was coming here for lunch, he was so jealous! He told me it’s classic New York, and that I wasn’t allowed to come back again without him.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re here. We could use a fresh set of eyes to make decisions. And obviously you have great taste,” Margo said, sweeping her fingers over Nadine’s soft curls. “God, your color is amazing.”
