Page 91 of A New Chapter

Emma felt a tear trickle down the left side of her face, but she let it fall. Zack was two steps away, but he hadn’t touched her yet. He just stared at her with his intense gray eyes, pinning her in place with his gaze.

Emma had dropped her hands to her sides, but she still felt incapable of speech. She gave him a slight nod to encourage him to continue.

“You see, I was wondering, when would it be the right time for me to tell my best friend that I love her?”

Emma gasped.

“Because I do. I love you, Emma.”

Her name came out on a grunt because she had flung herself into Zack’s arms, almost knocking them both over. She clung to him, and amidst the sounds of her half-laugh/half-cry, she managed to say, “I love you too, Zack. I love you so much.”

After a moment, he pulled back, but he kept his hands locked on her forearms. “You’re still crying.” He searched her eyes for understanding.

“I know. I’m sorry. This is all so… overwhelming.”

“But those are happy tears, right? You’re glad I’m here?”

“Are you kidding? I’m thrilled that you’re here. It’s just that I have more to say. Let’s sit down.”

Emma led him across the room to the couch. They sat sideways to face each other, and Zack immediately clasped her hands in his warm, comforting grip.

“Talk,” he urged.

Emma was bursting, and she made a split-second decision to use a direct approach. She took a deep breath, looked him right in the eyes, and said, “Zack, I’m pregnant.”

Emma had done it again. The only other time she had rendered him speechless had been when they’d had their first argument. She watched several expressions flicker across his face and began to get nervous, until…

Zack jumped off the couch and yelled, “WOW!” with a big smile on his handsome face.

Emma watched him pace the room before she was hit with a barrage of questions.

“But when, how? Never mind the how. I know the how. But when? How long have you known?”

He came back to sit beside her and took her hands once again. She felt the tension drain from her body in the face of his reaction.

“I took the test yesterday morning, but I’ve had my suspicions for a couple of weeks.”

Zack’s mouth gaped open, but then his expression grew serious again. “Why didn’t you tell me right away? Why did you run off instead of telling me?”

Uh-oh. Emma saw a blaze of anger flash in his eyes, and she shifted uncomfortably, realizing that she might have poked the bull. “I was scared, Zack.”

“Scared of what? Of me?”

“Of your reaction. We hadn’t even told each other that we loved each other yet, and I didn’t know how you would feel about this… new development.”

Zack stood up again and resumed pacing while shoving his hands through his hair. “My God, Emma. How could you not know that I would love this child just as much as I love Gracie, just as much as I love you?”

“Well, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want you to think that I had trapped you in some way. I didn’t want you to feel obligated to me.”

The tears welled up in her eyes again, and Emma looked down at the floor. Zack softened immediately and came to kneel before her.

“Emma, look at me,” he demanded, tipping her chin up.

“I don’t feel obligated to you. I love you. I love you with every fiber of my being, and I’ll love our child the same way. Please tell me that you know that and that you’ll never doubt me again.”

Emma responded by pulling him toward her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her forehead to his. “I love you too, Zack, and I’m so sorry for doubting you.”

Their lips touched tentatively at first and then with renewed fervor. Just as Zack was about to scoop her into his arms, his phone buzzed.