“The one her dad is directing?”
Holden let out a gruff laugh. “Yeah. That one. She followed me around the apartment like a lost puppy, Em. I didn’t know what else to do. So I told her you and I were going to try and work on putting us back together.”
Becca let out a small scream, causing me to turn and look at them. Mason was currently chasing her around the truck and trailer while she played keep away. I couldn’t help but smile.
“So, how did she take that?”
“It was weird. She didn’t say anything. Well, she said something like she understood. Then she said goodbye to us and left.”
My muscles tensed and an intuitive feeling that something bad was about to happen caused a prickling of my skin all across my body.
Trying to speak with the instant dry mouth, I forced out the words. “Somehow I think this is just the beginning, Holden. You might have woken the sleeping beast.”
“So, what bottle of wine should we open next?” Becca asked as she examined my wine case.
I set the plate of cheese and fruit on the coffee table and gently sat down. “Oh my gosh, it’s only been a few hours and I’m already getting sore. Remind me to never help Mason with the hay again.”
Becca giggled and grabbed a bottle of Shiraz. “I enjoyed myself immensely this afternoon.”
She tried to play it off, but I noticed how slowly she sat down. “Uh-huh. You’re not the least bit sore?”
“From my hot sex last night, but not from today.”
“Bullshit!” I giggled as I tossed the throw pillow at her.
With a chuckle, she popped the wine bottle open and poured us two glasses of wine. “So what time does Holden fly in?”
“He’ll be in at four. I told him I’d pick him up at the airport. I can’t wait to see him.”
Becca handed me a glass and lifted hers. “A toast. To what should have been that finally is.”
My head pulled back with a confused expression. “What?”
“You know. To you and Holden being back together, and me and Mason dating. It should have been this way all along. Now, hopefully it is.”
My heart fluttered at Becca’s words. After Holden had helped push away my fears about Daphne causing any more trouble, I finally was able to settle my nerves. Of course, having Becca here with Sage helped even more. We had been having a fun girls’ night until Sage tapped out and headed up to bed. That left time for the big girls to talk.
“So, would it be weird if we talked about Mason and sex?”
I shrugged. “I don’t think so. What are you wanting to talk about?”
Becca’s face blushed. “I don’t know. I’ve only ever been with two guys and so have you. So how weird is it that the second guy for both of us was Mason?”
I went to open mouth to say something, but I had nothing. It didn’t take long until we were both laughing hysterically and neither of us knew why.
My doorbell rang and I quickly jumped up. “Speak of the devil! That has to be Mason coming to steal you from me!”
“No way!” Becca gasped like a little school girl. She covered her mouth to hide her giggles.
“Well who else would it be this late at night?”
My cell phone rang and I reached for it as I walked to the door. It was Holden.
“Hey, handsome!”
“Em, whatever you do, don’t answer your cell phone or talk to anyone.”
My hand reached for the doorknob. “What? Why? What’s going on, Holden?”
“Listen to me, if anyone calls you or asks you about me or Daphne, you say no comment.”
Twisting the handle, I was thrown off by what Holden was saying and I hadn’t bothered to check to see who was at the door. Opening it, I was instantly blinded by flashes.
“What the hell?” I gasped.
“Get out of the way! You’re trespassing.”
My eyes adjusted and I saw Mason pushing people away from the door.
“Em! Who is that? What’s going on?”
“I um … I don’t know.”
“Are you Emylie Sanchez?”
“Don’t answer them Emylie!” Holden yelled.
“Um,” was the only word I could say.
Becca walked up and stood next to me. “What’s going on?”
“Are you the same Emylie Sanchez that Holden Warner slept with resulting in his break up with Daphne Weston?”
“What?” Becca and I both spoke at the same time.
“Emylie! Shut the door. Where’s Mason?”
“Get the fuck out of here before I call the cops!” Mason pushed one of the reporters out of the way and then looked at me. “Get inside, y’all, and lock the door. I’ll meet you at the back door.”
Slamming the door shut, I stood there in a stunned silence.
“Well, I guess now we know what she did,” Becca called out, making her way to the back of my place to let Mason in.
It was then I realized Holden was still on the phone. “H-Holden?”
“Yeah baby, I’m here. I’m on my way to the airport right now. I was able to get on the last flight out to San Antonio.”
I couldn’t say a word. The only thing I could do was stare at my door and replay what the reporter had said,
“Are you the same Emylie Sanchez that Holden Warner slept with resulting in his break up with Daphne Weston?”
Earlier that evening
I STOOD IN front of the TV and watched it all play out. Daphne and her father had called a press conference to announce that she was going to be taking some much needed time off for a few weeks.
“Ms. Weston, why the time off? Is everything okay?” A reporter asked. I knew the scumbag. It was a reporter Daphne’s father kept on the payroll, the one who knew all the right questions to ask to steer the direction.
“No, I’m not okay. I found out a few days ago I had suffered a miscarriage.”
Liar.
“And that same day my fiancé, Holden Warner, broke off our engagement because he had been having an affair with his old high school girlfriend back in Marble Falls Texas.”
My heart dropped. “You fucking bitch.”
With my lawyer’s name pulled up on the phone, I hit his number.
“Troy,” was all I had to say.
“I’m watching it. Her father called me right as it was about to start. God knows how much he paid to get this on E News.”
“It’s all a lie. I want to hit her hard with what I’ve got on her. There is no way she is going to do this to Emylie.”
Troy cleared his throat. “You realize if you do this, you’re going to look like the bad guy trying to make up an excuse. It wouldn’t look good to go after her after she’s lost a baby and gotten dumped. That’s what the press will see.”
“Fuck that! I’m telling the truth. She’s lying, that has to count for something.”
I heard papers rustling around. “Listen, if I know West, he already has the paparazzi headed to your place in Texas.”
My heart slammed in my chest. “Emylie,” I whispered as I laced my fingers through my hair. “I’ve got to go, Troy. I’ll call you tomorrow morning.”
I hit Emylie’s number but it went to voicemail. “Em, baby I need you to call me right away.”
Hitting End, I dialed Mason’s number.
“Hey dude, what’s up?”
I rushed around the hotel room and got the little bit I had unpacked for the night packed back up. “Where is Emylie?”
“Uh, she’s at her place with Becca. Girls’ night.”
“I need you to get over there as soon as you can. Daphne told the press she lost her fake baby and that I cheated on her with my high school girlfriend. If I know Daphne and her father, they’ve probably already alerted the press back in Texas of the story that was about to break.”
“Wait. She went on the air and told people that?”
“Yes! Mason, I need you to make sure Emylie or her parents don’t say a damn word to anyone. Don’t you even say an
ything.”
Running to the elevator, I hit the down button. “Can you also call my parents and warn them. I’ve got to call the airlines and see if I can get a flight back home.”
“Um, yeah right. Jesus this is fucked up, Holden.”
With a roll of my eyes, I agreed. “Tell me about it. Emylie was wrong about one thing.”
“What?”
“I not only woke up one crazy-ass beast, but her fucking father as well.”
“How is she?”
I could hear the back door open and close. “She’s fine, Holden. I’ve been keeping the TV off. She slept for a bit on the sofa, and then has been in the kitchen with her mother baking since three am.”
Hitting the steering wheel with my hand, I cursed. “I hate that this is happening to her.”
“To both of you.”
With a frustrated sigh, I shook my head. “I don’t care about me, Mom. I care about her.”
“How is the security on the ranch?”
“Your father has already asked Mason to look into getting things upgraded. We’re thinking of hiring a temporary guard at the front as well. We did have a reporter who made it onto the ranch last night. Mason got rid of him and we’re trying to figure out how they got through the gate.”
“I’ll tell you how they got in, Mom, Daphne knew the gate code. She saw me punching it in more than once.”
My mother gasped. “How can anyone be so vile and deceitful?”
“I don’t know. I’m only about thirty minutes out. I’m sure once I pull up to the house they will try to stop me for a comment.”
“What are you going to say?”
“Nothing right now. Troy is working up a statement for me to release. Hopefully that puts this to bed. I hate that this is happening to her, Mom. I’ve already put her through so much.”
“Listen to me, son. Life is going to throw punches at you. All the time. What you have to decide is are you going to duck and dodge those punches, or are you going to let them land and knock you down?”
With a smile on my face, I nodded my head. “Always were the wise one.”
“That’s right. And don’t you forget it. Now drive carefully. She’s fine. I promise.”
“Love you, Mom.”
“Love you too.”
I wasn’t that far from the house when I hit Emylie’s number.
“Hey.”
“Hey back. You doing okay?”
With a slight sigh, she replied, “I am, but I’ll be better once you’re here.”
“Have you tried to get some sleep?”
“I’ve slept a couple of hours. Becca threatened to sit on my chest if I didn’t lay down.”
She let out a nervous chuckle.
“Baby, I’m so sorry. Damn, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, nor is it my fault. We both knew this wasn’t going to be an easy road with how unstable Daphne is.”
I was less than ten miles from the house and I saw a few cars here and there pulled over on the side of the road. Damn paparazzi. I hated them. I’d always hated them. It wasn’t a very big road and most of them where still halfway in the street. I wanted like hell to honk at them, but the less attention I drew in the better.
“Speaking of roads, I’m almost there. Stay inside, don’t come out.”
“No.”
My hands gripped the steering wheel harder. “What?”
“I’m not hiding, Holden. We did nothing wrong. I refuse to let her do this to us. It’s what she wants. She thinks by doing this it will drive a wedge between us, well it’s not. It will only bring us closer and in the end … she’s going to lose.”
My cheeks hurt from the smile I wore. Hell yes. That was my girl right there. “You never were one to back down from something, were you?”
“Nope. Now hurry up, my lips are craving yours.”
One of the ranch hands was manning the main gate, and when he saw me, he quickly allowed me by, stepping in front of a car that tried to follow me in. Where in the hell were the police and why were these cars not gone by now?
Speeding down the driveway, I finally made it to the house. Emylie was standing on the front porch and my breath caught in my throat. She was wearing a pair of my old sweatpants and one of my old football T-shirts. I’d never seen her look more beautiful.
I threw open the door to the rental car and stepped out. Shutting it quickly and making my way to her. She ran down the steps and jumped into my arms. Her legs wrapped around my waist as I held her tightly. Her face was buried in my neck and her soft cries about killed me.
I was the cause of this.
The pain that made her cry was my doing.
All because I made one wrong decision.
“I swear to you, I’ll spend the rest of my life making this up to you.”
Pulling back, she smiled. “I’m not crying because I’m sad, I’m crying because I’m happy you’re home!”
THREE DAYS HAD passed since Daphne’s announcement. Sam and Debbie added security guards at the gate and ended up having to hire more because the press was sneaking onto the ranch. Most of the security team were off duty or retired cops Sam knew.
Carter had called at least once a day to check to see how I was doing. I couldn’t help but smile slightly at the memory of him offering to send in the Marines to clear out the press.
I stood on the back porch and inhaled a deep cleansing breath. The smell of leather lingered in the air. Holden and a few ranch hands were cleaning all of the saddles. It was something to keep his mind off of the shit-storm Daphne had caused.
“He wasn’t going to listen to us.”
Peeking over my shoulder, I smiled at Debbie. She handed me a cup of tea then sat down in a chair.
“No, he wasn’t. He was hell-bent on trying to save me from all the bad talk. Troy tried to tell him the press would spin the statement around and make things even worse. Now it’s basically she said, he said. The whole thing is a mess.”
I made my way to the rocking chair that was next to Debbie and sat down. My mind drifted back two days ago when I stood next to Holden when he held his own press conference.
“Ms. Weston falsely accused me of having an affair, which ultimately led to our engagement being called off. What led to the engagement being called off was the fact that my fiancée lied to me and was never pregnant in the first place.”
Gasps filled the air as people started throwing out questions. Holden continued to speak.
“I believe in privacy and I will not drag Ms. Weston, myself, or an innocent party such as Ms. Sanchez into a battle of going back and forth. The truth of the matter is, I never had an affair, Ms. West was never pregnant, and this is not the first time she has lied to me about a pregnancy.”
Hands flew up and question after question was thrown at Holden. “Do you have proof of this, Mr. Warner?” “Where’s the proof in that accusation!” “How do we know you’re telling the truth?”
Holden glanced in my direction. We didn’t have any real proof other than Daphne confessing it to Holden.
Turning back to the reporters, Holden took in a deep breath and exhaled it. Before he had a chance to say anything, Mason stepped forward and spoke. “That’s all we have to say right now. Thank you for your time.”
Holden turned, winked at me, and headed back into the house as I followed. Mason, Sam, and the off-duty police they had hired cleared everyone out. The moment the door shut, I took in what felt like the first real breath since Holden started talking.
When our eyes met, I couldn’t help but notice how tired he looked. With a frustrated sigh, he said, “I’m afraid we might have made things worse.”
“Emylie, did you hear me?”
Snapping out of the memory, I stared at Debbie. “I’m sorry, what was that?”
“It’s all going to blow over. You know that right?”
With a nod, I replied, “I know, but when? Just when I felt like I had gotten him back, she still has a hold of him.”
/>
“There is only one thing that woman is trying to do and that is to drive y’all apart. Don’t let her. Look at me, sweetheart.”
Facing her, I fought back the tears that were threatening to spill. “I’ve always said you and Holden were made for each other. Have I not?”
Nodding, I softly replied, “Yes, ma’am, you have.”
“Now for a while there, I was worried things might not go the way I was hoping, but in the end, when I saw the way the two of you looked at each other, I knew.”
“What did you know?”
“That nothing would keep you apart. I knew somehow you would end up together. You’ve been through so much, don’t let their lies pull you apart.”
The tears spilled from my eyes as I quickly wiped them away. “I wish he had come home. Why didn’t he just come home?”
Debbie stood and held her arms out for me. Walking into her embrace, I let the scent of her perfume wrap my body in a warm glow as she pulled me into her, instantly pushing away my doubt and fear.
“Oh, darlin’, I’m almost positive Holden has been asking himself that same question since the night this all happened. It does no good to look into the past. The only thing the two of you need to be focusing on is getting back to where you were before.”
I nodded and held onto her tighter.
“Is everything okay?”
The sound of his voice caused a flutter in my stomach. Stepping back away from Debbie, I gave her a reassuring smile. “Yes, your mom and I were just talking.”
Holden walked up and cupped my face in his strong hands. They were already callused again like before. The feel of them against my skin sent tingles down my body straight to between my legs.
Tonight was going to be the night. I couldn’t wait another minute. We’d been staying in his parents’ house since Holden came back from California. Each night he snuck to my room and pleasured me over and over again. Never once letting me return the gesture. In some silly way, I knew he was trying to punish himself for everything.
Each evening, he had taken me out to our pasture and made a bed in the back of his truck so we could look at the stars. We talked for hours in between making out like silly teenagers.