Emma felt her eyes tearing. She was so appreciative to have such a close group of friends. She hadn’t really had that since college. “I missed you guys, too. How is everyone doing?” As they made their way to baggage claim and then out to the parking area, Suzy gave her a rundown.
“Well, Ells, bless her heart, looks bigger every time I see her. Don’t you dare tell her I said that, though, because I don’t want her to start crying. She’s got the most adorable waddle now.” Emma thought it spoke volumes about Suzy that she could mention Ella’s pregnancy so easily.
“Beth and Nick are fighting with Hermie over his pacifier. Between you and me, I’d say the kid will still be using it when he’s eighteen. There is no way they are going to lose sleep every night; they’ll keep giving in. Jason and Claire are actually going on a solo vacation next week, if you can believe it. This will be the first since Chrissy was born. I took Claire to Victoria’s Secret yesterday and let me just say . . . Jason is gonna be a happy man when he gets back.”
When Emma struggled to contain her laughter, Suzy said, “I also talked to Ava about what we discussed and she is on board so we’re all set.”
“Oh Suzy, thank you! I can’t believe how the timing worked out.”
When Suzy stopped at a red light, she turned to study Emma. “Are you really sure you want to do this? It’s going to be an adjustment for you.”
“I know,” Emma admitted, “and I’m not thrilled about it, but it’s the right thing to do . . . the only thing really. Is he at the office?”
Suzy nodded. “Yep, I checked on my way out. As far as Gray knows, he doesn’t have any meetings planned off-site today so you should be good to go. I don’t suppose I could listen at the door, could I?”
“Sure,” Emma agreed, “as long as I can listen at your door the next time Gray visits you.”
“Well, hell, you could have just said no. I’m trying to be good anyway. I don’t think voyeurism would look good on our adoption application, so you’re safe.”
Emma felt her palms start to sweat as they pulled into the circular drive in front of the Danvers headquarters. Alarmed, she turned to Suzy. “What are you doing?”
“I’m being a good friend and letting you out at the door. You’ll just torture yourself all the way through the parking lot otherwise.”
“But . . . what about my luggage?”
“We’ll deal with it later.” Flashing her a grin, Suzy added, “Now get out of my car.”
Emma reluctantly opened the door and stepped out. She stood near the front door uncertainly for a few moments before blowing out a long breath. Oh good grief, what the hell is wrong with me? Get it together, Emma! Throwing her shoulders back, she charged forward, not giving herself time to think. In record time, she was standing in front of her office door. She opened it quietly and was relieved to see Brant’s office door closed. When she heard his deep voice, her resolve wavered and she wanted nothing more than to launch herself into his arms. Yeah, like that worked out so well last time.
She kept an eye on the blinking light of the phone line he was using and eased into her chair in front of the computer. She quickly found the form that she was looking for and filled it out. The printer sounded like a wrecking ball as it spit the paper out. A quick look showed her that he was still on the phone. As she stood holding the form uncertainly, she heard him moving around his office and saw that the call had ended. Shit, shit! Everyone always said if you were nervous, imagine the other person naked . . . Oh yeah, that would really help. The decision was taken out of her hands when Brant’s door suddenly flew open and he walked out with his head bent. He was an inch from plowing her down before he looked up.
The look on his handsome face was almost comical. If she had any doubts that he knew she was coming home today, they were extinguished now. His mouth opened and closed and even more surprising, Brant Stone started stuttering when he tried to speak. “Em . . . you . . . I didn’t . . . when . . . ?”
She looked into the face of the man she loved and her fingers twitched with the urge to touch him. He looked so tired, but God, he was beautiful. When he started to reach for her, she put the paper she had just printed into his outstretched hands and stepped back. Puzzled, he looked at her, then at the paper. “Are you kidding me? Em . . . I waited, I’ve been waiting . . . I thought you understood. I thought you could forgive me. Baby, I lo—”
Once again, she put her hand over his mouth to stop his declaration. “Brant, this is the last transfer request I will ever submit to you. You’ve turned me down time and again. My reason is completely valid and if you won’t sign the form this time, I’ll have to find another job.”
He ran an agitated hand through his hair. “Em, please don’t do this. We’ll go talk to Alexia together; she’ll tell you that nothing happened between us.” By this time, he was waving the form frantically, not bothering to finish reading it.
“Brant . . .” He continued to talk, forcing her to raise her voice. “BRANT!” God, she really hoped the offices had good soundproofing. When he stopped to gape at her in midsentence she said, “Read the damn form . . . please.” He gave her a perplexed look, no doubt thinking she was trying to torture him, but obligingly held the paper up and started scanning it. She saw the exact moment when he got to her reasons for transferring.
“You’re requesting a transfer because you’re ‘in love with your pigheaded boss’ and can’t imagine being able to keep your hands off him during business hours. You are requesting a move to Ava Stone’s office and also requesting ‘someone really old’ to replace you in Mr. Stone’s office.”
She couldn’t keep the grin off her face as he looked at her, his shock finally giving way to a look of utter happiness. “You’re going to drive me crazy,” he sighed happily.
“Always,” she answered.
“Could I please tell you that I love you now without you putting your hand over my mouth?” Brant joked happily.
“Well, I think you just did, but go ahead.”
Brant pulled her into his arms, kissing her until she was gasping for breath before pulling back. “I love you, Emma Davis. I even love your smart little mouth.”
Giving him a wicked look, she murmured, “Oh, I think you will find all manner of things that you love about my mouth . . . starting as soon as we get out of here. How long until you can leave?”