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Emma gazed at her friend. It was almost like she was pushing her to leave. Even though she insisted that Emma could stay as long as she wanted, maybe there was a reason why she would make such recommendations.
“I’ll leave you to it, then. I only came up to ask you if you’d like to stay for dinner or to see if you had other plans.”
Ah. There it was. Sophia was definitely trying to find out just how far things had gone between the housemates who had taken care of the animals while they were gone. A smile tugged at her lips. What would the harm be in telling Sophia that she had started to fall for her brother’s friend? There were worse secrets that could be spilled—her identity, for one.
“Actually, I have a dinner date this evening.”
“I had a feeling that might be the case,” Sophia said and chuckled. “Mateo and I had a bet going, and I just won twenty bucks.”
Emma froze for a moment, then she let out a laugh. “Don’t tell Caleb I told you. I have a feeling he likes to keep things quiet.”
“Yeah, I could see that,” Sophia agreed. “Caleb seems like a really private person. It was strange that he seemed to be so easily taken with you.” Her eyes widened, and she laughed. “Not that you’re not a catch or anything?—”
“It’s fine. I knew what you were talking about.” Emma laughed again. It felt good to find humor in things. It was exactly what she needed.
Sophia left the room, and Emma wasted no time calling Jessica. Her sister answered on the first ring, her voice hushed and bordering on anxious. “Do you have any idea how hard it’s been trying to get ahold of you? I swear! What was the point of giving me your number if you weren’t even going to?—”
“I need your advice.”
Her sister stopped speaking. “What? Are you serious? I’ve been telling you from the beginning that you need to go home. Mom knows you’re missing, but she’s not pressuring me to tell her anything. I can tell Rachel thinks I know something, but she’s not willing to come right out and say it. All this publicity is going to make you a legend one way or another, and right now I worry it’s going to drag you down in a black hole of some kind.”
“I don’t want to hear about Rachel or her stupid PR stunt. I know how I’m going to handle that when I get back.”
“You can’t keep everyone hanging like this. What if people sue?—”
“I’ll come back before that happens. I haven’t even been gone a month.”
“A month!” Jessica squeaked. “Ems, you’re not planning on staying for a month, are you? That would be career suicide! You have to tell Rachel something. I don’t know about contracts, but I’m pretty sure they can get you on some legalities.”
“Are you just going to lecture me, or are you going to listen?” Emma said with exasperation. She got to her feet and paced the small bedroom. “Because I’m feeling stuck, and I need my sister right now.”
Jessica went quiet.
Emma didn’t know where to start. She couldn’t just blurt out that she’d fallen in love for what might have been the first time in her life. That wouldn’t go over well. Jessica had heard about Caleb, but she didn’t know the extent to which it had escalated. Maybe blurting it out was her only option.
“Well?” her sister pressed.
“You remember that guy who was looking after the ranch I was staying at?”
“Caleb? Yeah, so?”
When Emma didn’t respond right away, Jessica gasped.
“Emily Hartford, youdidn’t.”
“I didn’tmeanto.”
“No one means to fall in love, Em.” She muttered a curse. “Does he know who you are? The real you?”
Emma bit down on her lip and then sighed. “I haven’t exactly had the opportunity?—”
“You’ve been there two weeks. You’ve had plenty of time to tell him. If you haven’t, it’s because you don’t want to.” Her sister was probably right about that. There were so many reasons she didn’t want Caleb to know. His possibly hating her was but one at the top of the list. “You want to know what I think? I think you need to get your little behind on a plane and just go home. Rachel is going to find you one way or another. This Caleb guy is going to figure everything out. And it’s all gonna blow up in your face. Either you tell him, then come home—or you break it off and come home. There are no other options.”
“I’m scared.”
There was silence on the other end for what felt like an eternity. “You’re being selfish and immature, Em.” Jessica’s statement stung more than Emma would have liked to admit. But once again, she was right. “If you really care about this guy, then you have to make a choice.”
“And what if he hates me for keeping it from him?”
