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Caleb’s head whipped around to find Daniel standing in the doorway. “Daniel? What are you doing here?”
His brother’s focus bounced from Caleb to Emily and back again. “You said you were staying for a week. It’s been over that.” He shifted in the doorway, his arms folded. “Wade wanted me to check in with you.”
Caleb didn’t miss the way Emily ducked her head to hide her face from Daniel, so he moved her behind his back and strode toward his brother. He grasped Daniel by the upper arm, but since Daniel was the tallest of the Keagan household, he felt like a zebra leading a giraffe. “You can’t be here, Daniel,” he said. “Tell Wade I’m fine. Mateo asked me to stay longer.”
Daniel spun to face him, a smirk on his face. “You sure that’s all it is?”
Rolling his eyes, Caleb pulled the front door open. “I’m just helping out a friend.”
“Who was?—”
“She’s Sophia’s friend, and she didn’t have a place to stay. It’s really none of your business, anyhow. And it’s definitely none of anyone else’s business either.” He gave his brother a pointed look.
Daniel continued to smirk at Caleb but finally took his leave with a chuckle. “Your secret’s safe with me.” He shook his head as he climbed into his truck. “I never thought I’d see the day…” His voice trailed off just as he shut his truck door.
Caleb watched his brother drive away, then rushed back to the kitchen, only to find it empty.
Rats! She’d run away. Why couldn’t he have said something sooner? Better yet, why didn’t he lock the door before coming to dinner? At least then they could have avoided Daniel’s intrusion.
He balled his hands into fists, wondering if there was anything he could salvage from their conversation.
15
Emma
Emma had never felt more like a scared little rabbit than she felt at that exact moment. She wasn’t sure if Daniel had recognized her. It wouldn’t take much for him to figure out who she was. All he had to do was open a newspaper or go on social media.
She shut her bedroom door behind her and leaned against it, completely ignoring the way her stomach growled at her in disappointment.
The pasta would have been so good if she’d managed to eat more than one bite. Emma could go back to the table and eat, but then she’d have to explain to Caleb why she’d run—and the truth of the matter was that she had no idea why she’d done it.
Emma could tell him she was worried that Daniel would recognize her, but then she’d be forced to tell Caleb why she was scared of that happening. After his little speech about being honest, she couldn’t bring herself to tell him another lie.
She could tell him that she was scared about how close they were getting, but that wouldn’t exactly be true, either. There was a big part of her that was utterly exhilarated about the route their little romance was headed.
But kissing him? That was a whole other ball game. She wasn’t sure she was ready to let him be so intimate with her. It wasn’t that she’d never been kissed. Of course she’d been kissed. She’d had several boyfriends over the years, but none of them lasted long enough to be more than a blip in her memories.
Somehow, she knew that this little infatuation with Caleb was going to be incredibly different.
Her stomach knotted angrily. The hunger and the fear were ganging up on her. She would have to do something, or she might quite literally get sick.
Emma closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the door. He hadn’t come to track her down yet. That could mean one of two things. He was still speaking to Daniel, or he had lost his nerve.
The disappointment over that second thought hit her hard over the head. She didn’t want him to give up. But what other choice did he have when she was the one who had run?
Not only that, but he’d been so raw with her about his mother. What would he think if he knew the real her? What would he say if he found out that she wasn’t Emily Hartford anymore? Would he have feelings for Emma Hart?
Emma squeezed her eyes even tighter. She had hoped that he would be open-minded about the whole thing, but the way he clung to his despair over his parents made her believe otherwise.
Caleb didn’t forgive easily.
It had been almost too cute watching him struggle to get the words out about his mother. She had nearly had a heart attack when he’d told her he hadn’t been truthful. At first, she’d worried he had actually recognized her. But that fear turned intoa concern that he wasn’t interested in her. The relief she felt over the truth was enough that had she been able to bottle it, she would have solved the world’s anxiety crisis.
She took several deep breaths. What was she supposed to do now?
Wait?
Track Caleb down?
