Page 118 of Not Part of the Plan
“Niko.” It was the only word Emma could get out.
“What did he do? Did he get you pregnant? Cheat on you? Call you a crazy bitch?” Eva bombarded her with possibilities.
“Worse,” Emma sniffled, regaining some semblance of control. “So much worse. He said he loved me and got mad and said all these horrible things when I told him I didn’t love him, didn’t want to be with him.”
She wasn’t too hysterical to miss the long look that passed between her sisters.
“What?” she demanded.
“Why don’t we sit down, and you can start from the beginning,” Gia suggested. “I’ll make us some tea.”
So Emma sat and sipped her tea and told them everything. And when she finished, she still didn’t feel unburdened. If anything, it all sat heavier.
“He just didn’t want to understand that he’s not the kind of man I want to spend my life with,” she said, wrapping her hands around the sturdy mug, hoping the warmth would seep into her body.
Eva and Gia shared another look.
“If you two don’t stop with the mental telepathy thing and spill, I’m going to add you to the list of people who have really pissed me off today.”
Gia interlaced her fingers on the table. “Do you want some well-meaning honesty or only sisterly support right now?”
“Why can’t I have both?” Emma demanded.
“Because you’re wrong.” Eva picked up her mug and took a nonchalant sip.
“You can’t be serious.” Emma shook her head. “You know me. You know what I want in life, what I’ve always wanted. A stable partnership. Not some womanizing bad boy that thinks every day is a ridiculous excuse for ignoring responsibilities.”
“I’ve known you my entire life,” Gia began. “And I’ve never seen you happier than these past few weeks. What makes you think you don’t love Niko?”
Emma’s jaw strained under the pressure to keep it tight. “Ugh!” she groaned. “Fine. Okay. I do love him.” She loved him so much it hurt her to breathe. “He snuck up on me with the whole ‘we’re friends’ thing. But that doesn’t mean that love is enough of a foundation for a life together.”
“Love is the foundation of everything, dumbass,” Gia snorted in very un-yoga-teacher-like fashion.
“What is it about him that scares the crap out of you so badly?” Eva asked.
“Whatdoesn’tscare the crap out of me? He’s this restless artistic type who has had so many women that I don’t think he even knows what number I am. He’s never committed before. Why would he commit now? Why would he want to? I’m not some millionaire super model. I run a brewery.”
“That’s bullshit,” Gia said cheerfully. “And I’m not even going to dignify that with a rebuttal because you know it’s bullshit. Niko loves you. A blind idiot with no sense of romance could see that. So stop with the ‘woe is me, I’m not a six-foot-tall model crap.’”
“Be careful,” Eva warned Emma. “You’re going to piss her off, and she’s going to take us out to the shed to punch us instead of the heavy bag.”
“Iamgetting pissed because you are purposely turning your back on a wonderful man who loves you just because he doesn’t fit your unrealistic control freak goals.”
“Oh, so you think I have control issues, too?” Emma demanded.
“Yes!” her sisters shouted back.
“What’s with all the yelling? Did Aurora try to make an indoor Slip ‘n Slide again?” Beckett, looking slightly more relaxed, pushed through the swinging door, took one look at their faces, and turned back around. “Call me if you need help with a body.”
“See!” Emma gestured toward where Beckett had been. “That’s what I want.”
“You can’t have my husband, you weirdo,” Gia announced firmly.
“Not your husband specifically. But someone steady and stable like Beckett. You know he’s always going to want to be here.”
Gia blinked. “I’m sorry, did I not tell you about the time he broke up with me because he thought that I should remarry Paul?” Her voice was entering dog whistle range.
“That was a misunderstanding,” Emma argued. “He thought he was doing the right thing for your family.”
