“Keep her warm for me until I come back, Jacob!” Leila grinned cheekily and took off at speed, knowing
that Jake was probably about to explode and hightailing it so she could leave them alone. She knew
there would be repercussions later, but she didn’t really care.
“That girl,” Jake said tightly, irritation concealed but his anger simmering inside. He avoided looking at
Emma, wondering how the hell he could walk away from her and leave her here alone while looking so
utterly fucking lost right now. She had an air of Bambi with big eyes and seemed to be suddenly
uncomfortable with Leila’s departure. Jake couldn’t control the stomach punching sensation it gave
him.
“You’ve got to love her though.” Emma shrugged nervously, biting on her bottom lip and causing yet
another wave of excruciating pain. All her little anxiety tells had always been a point of agony for him,
he hated seeing her doing it but right now any little Emma-ism was just killing him more. He missed
everything about her so much.
Do you really have no idea how goddamn adorable you are?
The music was moving into full swing as couples moved around them, joining together to sway. Emma
went into ultimate fidget mode almost immediately, twirling her hair like she always did when she was
tense, looking around for an escape route and pretty much making him feel like the biggest asshole
known to man. He watched her hand in her hair intensely for a second, lost in so many thoughts and
memories, hating the habit yet pining for the familiarness of it. He realized she had caught his look,
misunderstood what it meant and yanked her fingers out of her hair like a scolded child.
Great! Another notch of assholeness.
Jake frowned and looked about the floor, making a decision almost instantly.
“Want to dance with me, Anderson?” He had no clue why he thought this was the best course of action,
all he knew was that he didn’t want to walk away and leave her here and had no desire to see anyone
else dance with her. He would kick seven shades of shit out of any guy who dared touch her. She
looked momentarily shocked, color draining from her face a little and her fingers twitched as though
aching to be back in her hair. Jake felt a warmth of compassion, an old memory of her looking this
unsure and untrusting of his intentions once before.
“I don’t bite.” Jake smiled at the memory of a long-ago moment in his office. Emma seemed to register
the memory too, a small smile warming her mouth and looked a little less shell shocked.
Jake didn’t wait for an answer; his body had been aching to be with hers for so long that it was almost
impulsive to just reach for her. Pulling her close by the wrist, encircling her dainty smooth skin and
bracing himself for the onslaught of emotions that hit him with her nearness.
Emma automatically slipped into dance pose, hand in his and the other on his chest to stop the
collision from the suddenness of his maneuver. Her palm was placed directly over his heart and with a
searing touch, he was sure she could probably feel how hard and fast his heart was beating. He
couldn’t tear his eyes from that perfect red mouth as he drew closer. Emma looked stricken suddenly, a
mixture of emotions flitting across her face so fast he had no clue what to even think.
“I can’t do this,” she whispered suddenly, her voice breaking, and he could have sworn he saw a glint of
a tear in her eye, but she was turning from him and trying to break free. Jake impulsively caught her
chin with his fingers, tilting her back to him so he could try to read what she was feeling. Confused at
seeing a look that, to him spelled out complete heartbreak and rendered him almost immobile as he
tried to piece together what it meant. Before he had a chance to speak or control the sudden
hammering of his chest, she had pulled her hand away and was pushing away from him.
“I need to go.” She yanked her chin away, face down so her hair spilled forward to hide her features
from him. Jake felt panic rising within him, confusion and emotion consuming him, he stood motionless,
unsure how to react as he watched her move away out of sight into the crowds.
Jake’s head became a mass of thoughts and feelings all warring for space, chaos clouding logical
thought as his body seemed to jolt into a mess of heart-pounding sickening panic. He kept questioning
that look, trying to dissect in seconds why she would look at him the way he had been looking at
himself in the mirror for weeks. His head skimming through memories and conversations of the last
weeks with her, tidbits of clues and puzzle pieces.
He remembered the last song she sent him and reached into his jacket for his phone, looking up to see
if she was still close enough to catch and realizing she was completely gone.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Jake was glued to the spot, uncertainty keeping him here despite every part of his being screaming at
him to go after her. It was then that it hit him, like a sudden lightning bolt moment. He had to know if he
was just imagining it or if she could feel the same for him that he did for her. If that’s what he just saw in
her eyes.
Looking at the phone in his hand he knew the way to ask. Hands shaking, he skimmed songs quickly
until he found one which had been plaguing the radio for the last week.
Sending it out into the network and to her phone without hesitation and hoping to God she had her cell
with her. He had nothing else to lose, he had lost everything when she had walked out of his office and
standing there watching her leave was only a harsh reminder that he would never love anyone the way
he loved her. He needed to be sure.
Jake Carrero has sent an iTunes gift to Emma Anderson.
The email notice popped up on his phone and his stomach churned with nerves.
Jake Carrero, you sent Jessie Wares—‘Say You Love Me’.
He knew there was no backing out of it now, she could only take that song one way and he would
finally know for sure if he had ever stood a chance with her. The world seemed to stop around him,
music dulling out to nothing, as the rush of blood ran through his ears. Close to his first ever real panic
attack, he was sure his heart might explode.
Come on, Emma, any sort of answer, please.
He was staring at his phone, motionless in a sea of dancing bodies and completely unaware of
anything except the blank screen in front of him.
It seemed like an eternity before an email notification pinged up on his screen, his heart lurching and
his stomach dropping with fear, with trembling hands he hit the screen and opened the email.
Emma Anderson has gifted you an iTunes song.
Emma Anderson has sent you—Paloma Faith—‘Only Love Can Hurt Like This’.
Jake’s world stopped, a moment of pause as he took this in and it slowly dawned on him what her
response meant. He read it twice to be sure before impulse took over and he was moving fast in the
direction she left. Body alive with energy and tingling. He was on hyper-drive and determined that his
only goal now was finding the girl who was about to be kissed to within an inch of her life. He was
soaring, still desperate to push through the crowds and just find her.
Emma loved him. His Emma really loved him, the way he loved her.
His eyes were scanning the floor, people getting in his way were moved with a little force, ignoring
people trying to stop him and talk. He just had one thing on his mind and he was damned if anyone
was going to get in his way. He needed to find her and just see her, talk to her. Every blonde head and
red dress was being assessed as he moved at a fast pace, shrugging off hands and hellos, sliding
through groups of people with determination. Not giving a shit at how ignorant he was being.
And then, there she was. Stopping him dead in his tracks, her eyes focused on him at the edge of the
dance floor as though she had been waiting for him to find her. Looking like everything in the world that
mattered to him, standing stock still only feet away. His entire being halted.
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