Page 24 of Marrying Emma

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

Chrissy shrugged, but there was clearly something else there she wanted to say.

Emma planted her hands on her hips. “Spill it.”

“Have you considered dating for yourself? Finding a husband?” When Emma said nothing, Chrissy put a hand on her shoulder. “Maybe it’s time for both you and Mom to move toward the next phase of your lives.”

“It’d be easier if I knew what that next phase was, though. And unless I put an ad in the paper for a husband, the likelihood of finding someone who can handle everything I bring to the table is small.”

Chrissy snorted in exasperation. “Sometimes you are so overdramatic.” She put her hand on her hip in a way only an older sister could pull off. “What about Marty?”

Emma’s jaw dropped as her sister grinned in response to the heat that traveled up Emma’s neck and colored her cheeks. “Yeah, no.”

“After going through what he did with his leg, he’d understand your health concerns. Plus, he obviously has feelings for you.”

Now it was Emma’s turn to snort. “He does not. Marty needs a hobby and instead of getting a real one, he’s chosen to annoy me instead.”

“You like him.” Chrissy wasn’t going to let this go.

Emma shot her sister a warning look. “I think you’re confusinglikewithbarely tolerate.” Her mind raced through all of the things he’d done and said since she met him. “He never lets things go, calls me honey, and knows which buttons to push.”

“Mmmhmm.” Chrissy didn’t even try to hide her grin now. “He pushes you out of your comfort zone, and that’s not a bad thing, Em.”

Emma scowled. She didn’t feel like talking about this right now. “Look, I only have a few minutes before I need to get back to work. Why don’t we put that pizza in the fridge, and you tell me how my baby nephew is doing?” Anything to steer the conversation away from her lack of a personal life.

Twenty minutes later, Emma was in her car and heading back to the gym. She’d been looking forward to seeing Chrissy, but now all the uneasiness from last night was even worse.

There was no way Chrissy was right about how Marty felt about her. The very idea that Emma might consider marrying Marty was absurd. She tried to shove the whole unsettling conversation to the back of her mind as she parked.

As soon as she entered the gym, both Caleb and Marty looked at her, their expressions shifting from relaxed to concerned. “You okay?” Caleb asked as she took a seat behind the counter.

“You ever feel like everyone else is moving forward while you’re stuck in place?” The words came out before she had a chance to stop them. “Never mind. Yeah, I’m fine. Give me a couple minutes to shake off this bad attitude.”

She caught the guys exchanging a look. Thankfully, they did as she asked and gave her some space. Once she’d settled, she was reminded again of how sore her muscles were after class last night. One of the most painful parts, though, was her fingertips from holding onto the rocks during rock climbing. It was tempting to relax today, but she knew that getting out and at least stretching this afternoon during open gym would help.

After the current class, everyone cleared out, and the regulars came in for open gym. She got them settled then headed onto the floor herself. Marty was answering some questions, so Emma began stretching on her own before heading over to the rock wall.

With hands on her hips, she stared up at it, her mind wandering to the conversations she’d had with both Mom and Chrissy.

Forget everything they said about dating and getting married. Even if Emma shoved all those aside, one thing was certain: she needed to figure out where her future was going. She couldn’t live with Mom and work here at the gym forever.

“You’re staring at the wall like it insulted your mother.” There was a hint of humor in Marty’s voice.

Emma jumped and turned her glare on him. “You scared me.”

“Sorry.” He cleared his throat. “I was going to drive into San Antonio on Saturday to watch Caleb’s competition. I was wondering whether you were going too.”

She had thought about it several times but hadn’t made up her mind. Now that she knew she’d be at home alone most of the day because Mom and her new boyfriend were going out, facing her normal Saturday didn’t sound all that great. “You know, I think it would be fun.”

A smile sprang to Marty’s face. “That’s great. If you don’t feel like driving, I’d be happy to swing by and pick you up on the way.”

Emma couldn’t stop her eyebrows from inching up at his suggestion. Her automatic reaction was to tell him no. A reflex from when he asked her out every day there for a while. But he hadn’t done that in a couple of weeks now. In fact, he hadn’t even so much as flirted with another woman in that time, either.

Marty held up both hands to stop her. “There’s no sense in driving across San Antonio in two vehicles if we can go together in one.”

GPS would get her there all by herself. But Emma wasn’t a huge fan of driving through San Antonio, even on a Saturday. She thought about Mom and her date again and finally nodded. “Riding together would be great.”

Now it was Marty’s turn to look surprised, although there was no missing the pleased look on his face. “Great. The competition starts at nine. I’ll be at your house at eight thirty—will that work?”

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