Page 53 of On the Fly
Ander winced. None of those would win her over. She was prickly enough on a good day. She wouldn’t see him showing up as some sort of magnanimous offering on his part either. Hell, he had no idea what to say. He’d have to figure it out as he went. He cleared his throat in an attempt to push through the constriction that had settled there, then drew in a deep breath and opened the car door. He glanced around the quiet neighborhood as he walked up the three steps to her front door. As gung-ho as he’d been to confront Emma, his steps leading to her front door slowed. He pocketed his car keys as the weight of this moment bore down on him. God, if he had to grovel… Could he? Ander winced at the idea. Man, he didn’t do that well.
At the front door, he lifted a fist, took a centering breath, and knocked. He took a step back, looking down at his loafers. His heart raced and palms grew sweaty. Ander couldn’t remember ever being in a situation like this before. When minutes passed by without a response, he leaned in and banged a little harder. He added a healthy push to her doorbell as well. No one answered. Ander looked around the entire front door as if he could somehow find the answers there, then moved to the long window beside the door to peek through the small opening in the blinds. He furrowed his brow at the dark and closed-up interior.
“Can I help you?” a woman said from the front door next to Emma’s. She exuded the same professional earthiness Emma carried, as though she were completely comfortable in the suit she wore.
“No,” he said and knocked again for good measure. He didn’t need a busybody neighbor. He needed Emma to open her damn door.
“She’s not home. Is she expecting you?”
Ander cast an irritable gaze the woman’s way, looking closer at Nosy Nellie. Recognition played across her face as if she knew who he was. She came fully out onto her front porch and crossed her arms over her chest before tilting her head down to peer at him from accusing eyes. “Are you her boss?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but no, I’m not her boss anymore.” That got him nothing but a set of lifted eyebrows. He didn’t have time for this. “Do you know when she’ll be home?”
“I wondered if you’d come calling.” The speculation on the woman’s face made it hard to know if she’d said all she intended to say, and Ander patted his slacks, looking for his cell phone. Damn, he’d left it in his car. When he started that direction, the woman finally spoke again. “She’s not back from California. She’ll be home tomorrow.”
That stopped Ander in his tracks, making him swivel around to take a closer look. “She flew home last week.”
“No, she’s been on the road since last week. It’s a long drive home. She’s afraid of flying. I figured you’d know such a thing, since you met her on the flight out there.” Scorn laced her words. So this woman and Emma were friends. Great. He had enough drama without adding this person to the list.
“I didn’t know she’d driven. That’s not the safest thing. Can you call her for me?” he asked, hoping more than anything that the woman might bite and get him in touch with Emma.
“Now that’s something I won’t do for you. If you want her, you’re going to have to stick around until she arrives home tomorrow.”
Of course, he’d have to stay. It wasn’t like he had a whole airline to run or anything. At the same time, he recognized how strong his feelings were. Why hadn’t it occurred to him that she’d ignore the flight plan and head out on her own? She feared planes, probably all she feared in life. God, she was such a strong-minded woman. Never let him get away with anything. Until he’d called off… Fuck, he hated the wordrelationship. But that’s what they’d had. He stopped the internal groan before it could express itself in the cold light of day and refocused on the woman standing on her stoop. He nodded and dug the keys from his pocket. He didn’t live all that far from here. He’d be back in the morning to wait.
“Thanks for your help.”
“Get your talking points in order.” The woman’s words had him looking over his shoulder one more time to the hard stare aimed his way. “She’s pissed, and she has every right to be.”
Ander caught himself as he tripped down the curb. After a single nod her direction, he opened his car door and dropped down in the driver’s seat before shoving the key in the ignition.
Thoughts of Emma on the road across country made him wince. He’d forced that on her. She could be as mad as she wanted as long as she got back to Atlanta safely. He had so much to ask forgiveness for. He blew out a breath and headed toward his house.
~~~
“What the holy fudgsicle?” Emma muttered to herself as she stared out her windshield toward the front stoop of her townhome. Ander could not be sitting there on her steps, leaned against her railing, arms crossed. She’d gotten to Atlanta a few hours ago but had taken the rental to the airport and picked up her car from long-term parking. What was he doing there?
She drew in a deep breath, not prepared to talk to the man who’d so effectively pulled the rug out from under her less than a week ago. The journey from California had given her a chance to figure out her feelings, put the hurt in perspective. But that didn’t mean she wanted any discussion to happen there and then. She’d planned to contact him tomorrow, after a good night’s sleep in her own bed, and get to the bottom of whatever had happened. She snatched her handbag off the passenger seat and opened her door. He hadn’t moved an inch, not even when she shut her car door. Was he just going to sit there?
The late-afternoon sun streaming over his shoulder cast his face in shadows, so she couldn’t get a good bead on his mood. As she got closer, she saw his eyes were closed and she could hear his deep breaths. She stopped two feet away from him and stared. The man sat on her step, sleeping, like your garden-variety vagrant. At the thought, Emma’s mouth twitched at the corner. If a vagrant slumbered in back alleys in dark-washed designer jeans and a battleship gray, short-sleeved Henley stretched tight over his solid biceps, of course. Without the cold stare he’d leveled at her outside the elevator, she couldn’t help but remember all the good times they’d shared.
Emma had learned one thing over the last few days. When she thought about losing Ander from her life, her heart constricted in a way that made her lose her breath. And while he had a lot of explaining to do—and apologizing and trust-rebuilding—she had driven into town today with the full intent of giving him that opportunity if he wanted it. While she hadn’t expected it to be in person and at this particular moment, maybe she shouldn’t borrow trouble by questioning the fates.
A car engine drew her attention, and she glanced over as Cara pulled into the spot next to hers. The big grin on Cara’s face as she met her gaze made Emma smile in return.
“Emma, you’re here already,” Cara said as she hopped out of her car and stepped up on the sidewalk before throwing her arms around Emma and squeezing tight. “It’s been too long. I’m glad you made it back safe and sound.” Cara emitted a small gasp when she glanced at the man sitting on her front step, then she quirked a lip into a smile. “Well, I see he came back.” She tilted her head to the side and whispered, “Is he asleep?”
“Yeah, I just got here. Found him like this.” She tilted her head toward Cara. “Wait. What do you mean ‘back’? How do you even know who he is?” Emma pointed to the man in question.
Cara had the good grace to blush before saying, “Well, he came by yesterday afternoon. I told him you’d be back in town today. He had no idea you were driving back. It made him wince. That was fun for me.” Cara took a step backward, edging toward her own apartment.
Emma pursed her lips. “You didn’t tell me that last night when we talked.”
“Nope.” Cara grinned big. “First, I didn’t know if he’d really show. Second, I worried you might not if you knew he was waiting. And after hearing the whole story and talking to you on your drive home. Well…I… You guys need to talk.” Cara wrung her hands in her first sign of nerves over hiding Ander’s visit. “Um…don’t hate me.” With that, Cara took a step forward again and poked Ander in the arm two times. “Hey, big guy, you’re up.” She actually had the gall to twiddle her fingers in a wave at Emma then hightailed it to her own townhome, shutting herself inside.
Emma huffed out a breath. When she looked back at Ander, he was wide awake, his eyes trained on her face. She didn’t even know where to start.
“You’re back.” Ander’s relief fairly sang from his voice, a voice that sounded so much like the Ander she’d come to know rather than the pod person who’d taken up residence in his soul Wednesday night. He reached out and clasped her wrist, pulling her forward as he rose from his spot on her steps. He enfolded her in his arms and squeezed until she squeaked, which forced him to back off a little bit but not release her completely. The scent of him enveloped her and she breathed deeply. Lord above, that man smelled good. He had her arms pinned to her sides, so she wiggled until he set her free. But he kept his hands on her biceps, as if she might try to flee.
