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Finn, who had been silently observing this whole time, clapped his hands together. “I think we need to freshen up, too. Ava, let’s—”
Ava held up her hand. “Butt out, Finn.”
He stepped back as if slapped. She immediately corrected herself. “Sorry. What I meant was, please let me handle this myself.”
Dean wanted to smack the smile off Ava’s face. Before she could say another word, Dean whirled Emilie around, kept a grip around her waist, and sprinted for the elevator.
“Wha... what’s going on?” Emilie dug her heels into the ground to slow them down.
Instead of answering her, Dean maintained his speed, jogging for the door. He was almost there. He reached out to push the elevator button when Ava’s loud voice sounded across the lobby.
“Dean and I dated while you were gone.”
Without stopping, Dean pressed the button and pushed them inside the elevator.
Just as the doors were closing, Emilie pushed him away and stuck her foot out, stopping the elevator. “Just a minute.”
The seriousness in her voice made him pause. He had nothing left to do but follow her out of the elevator again. Ava waited on the other side.
“It’s true. We dated on and off for a while after you left for college.”
Finn came up behind her, panting, breathlessly holding his knees for balance. “Ava, wait!”
“No, this can’t wait. My friend is about to marry someone who’s been lying to her for years. Dean, tell her the truth about us.”
Emilie stared at him with wide eyes, and he looked back at her helplessly. There was too much damage to fix, and he wasn’t going to try with Ava in the audience.
Emilie laughed, and the sound echoed in the hallway, stilling the conversations around them. “You and Dean? Dean would never go out with you. He hates you.” Emilie covered her mouth as soon as the words were out, but it was too late.
“Really, princess. Is that what you think? I never told you about Dean because we weren’t friends any longer, but the guilt has been eating me up. I don’t know how Dean has lived with himself.”
Finn grabbed Ava’s arm from behind and pulled. “I’m broke.”
Ava stumbled backward, almost falling. “What? I told you to stay out of this.”
Finn’s expression tightened. “I told my parents I’m giving up my inheritance and moving out of the house. No more relying on their money.” The color drained from Ava’s face as the words sank in. “You and I have bigger problems to talk about, so let’s both butt out of the conversation.”
Before Ava could get in a word, Finn pulled her in the opposite direction. Dean stared after them, shocked by the turn of events. When Finn and Ava disappeared around the corner, he turned back to Emilie.
Fire burned in her expression, scorching his confidence. Everyone in a close enough radius was zoomed in on their conversation. He turned his back to them, blocking Emilie as well. “You weren’t supposed to hear about it like that. I had plans to tell you right now, in the privacy of our room, but I had no idea she’d blurt everything in front of the whole world. I’m really sorry.”
“No.” Her voice was harsh and unyielding. She pointed toward the elevators. “You’re right. We’re not doing this here. I think we’ve had enough gossip for everyone to live on for a while.”
Emilie stalked off toward the elevator, and he reluctantly followed. He tried to start the conversation again when the elevator started moving.
“No.” Her answer was so firm it took him off guard. He switched to the other side of the elevator and gripped the railings. It’d been a while since he’d seen her so upset. The silence weighed on him, the seconds ticking by slowly in his head until the door dinged open.
He waited until she exited and then trailed a half dozen steps behind, giving her a wide berth. Finally, when they were in the room and the door shut, Emilie turned on him with fierceness in her eyes. “I can’t believe you. Yesterday, you didn’t tell me. All this time you’ve had a chance and nothing.”
He sat on the couch and covered his face with his hands “I was coming to find you, to tell you everything. I even talked to Gail about it.”
Emilie glanced around, as if someone else was in the room. “Oh, Gail. I didn’t see her. I guess your talk didn’t work.” Dean watched Emilie pace around the room. “Never mind that. Ava was my— You hated— You kissed her?!” She collapsed on the opposite side of the couch, staring straight ahead.
The words sounded so wrong coming out of Emilie’s mouth. Other than having poor judgment, he hadn’t betrayed her. Not on purpose. He refused to let the past separate them anymore. Even if he had made an error in judgement, he’d hold his ground. “First of all, you and I were never together, so there was no betrayal other than what was happening in my mind and heart. The details don’t matter. You left. I asked you to stay, and without thinking about it, you took off. For five years, I didn’t hear a word from you.”
Emilie’s head snapped his way, and he reluctantly met her angry glower. “I had to get out of there. You know how trapped I felt in town.”
“Yes, but you also weren’t alone. You needed to deal with it and grow stronger.” He shook his head. Arguing about it was getting them nowhere. “I wouldn’t call it a relationship anyway. We hung out a few times, and when she got overly needy, we split. After two years, I couldn’t take it anymore and called it off for good.”
