Chapter 9
Declan
After that awkward, uncomfortable conversation we had at my dining table that morning, I found myself feeling weird, for the lack of a better word. For the first time in my life, I was actually feeling more interest in a woman after sleeping with her than I did before sleeping with her. And, on top of that, I had already slept with her more than once. This foreign feeling was both amazing and horrifying to me. I had only been in love one other time in my life, back when I was much younger, and it had ended badly. However, I knew that I was feeling something for Emma, and it ran much deeper than our bedroom frolics.
I found myself thinking about Emma more often than not and whenever I wasn’t around her, I was always either thinking about the last time I’d been with her or looking forward to the next time I was going get to see her.
The realization of how strong and deep my feelings had become for this woman had been all but confirmed when she told me about her plans to move away at the end of the school year, which was only a few more weeks away. It felt like my heart was literally falling into pieces. It was the one of the saddest and most confusing feelings I had ever experienced.
Usually when a woman told me she was moving away, I was already fantasizing about the next woman I would meet. But when Emma told me her plans, just the mere thought of not being able to see her whenever I wanted and not being able to touch her whenever I wanted—it was a thought that I had a hard time bearing. That had never happened to me before.
Just thinking about her being so far away and me not being able to spend time with her—it was something that I didn’t even want to consider.
I had to see her and I wanted to surprise her, so I came up with something I felt would be thoughtful and romantic—something she wouldn’t expect and couldn’t ignore. Perhaps it would help me in my efforts to change her mind and persuade her to stay here in New York and give our love a fair opportunity to develop into something much deeper.
After checking my Rolex and seeing that it was right around lunchtime, I hopped into my black BMW and headed toward the elementary school where Emma worked. Making a pit stop at the flower shop on a nearby corner, I picked out an enormous bouquet of red, white, yellow, and pink roses. I paid the lady for the bouquet and rushed back out to my car. A few moments later, I pulled up in front of the school and put on my emergency flashers, not wanting to waste any time trying to find a place to park in the lot behind the building.
I walked into the front entrance and entered the main office.
“May I help you, sir?” the fair-skinned African-American lady at the front desk asked with a friendly, professional smile.
“Ah, yes. My name is Declan Erikson and I am here to see Ms. Emma Shaw,” I stated proudly.
Her eyes widened, as did her grin as she realized what was going on.
“Ohhh! A surprise visit?” she asked, cocking her head to one side and eyeing me with a look of admiration.
“Yes, it most certainly is,” I affirmed with a smile.
“It’s still lunch time. She’s in the teacher’s lounge on the first floor,” she said with a wink. “Go down this hall and make a left, and it’s the third door on the right.”
“Thank you very much,” I told her, returning her wink with my own.
I made my way down to the teacher’s lounge, opened the closed wooden door, and stepped inside. As I carefully closed the door behind with my free hand, every single eye in the large, spacious room turned to look up at me.
“Oh, my gosh! Declan?” The sweet sound of Emma’s voice rang in my ears as I stood there in front of the door holding the huge bouquet in my hand.
“Surprise!” I said as my lips spread out into a warm, cheerful smile. She came rushing over to me and threw her arms around me in a welcoming hug.
“Holy moly! What are you doing here?” she asked as her entire face lit up and her bright brown eyes widened in awe.
“I just wanted to surprise you, that’s all,” I explained. “These are for you.”
I handed her the giant bouquet and kissed her on the cheek. I noticed that all the other teachers in the lounge were still staring at us—not that I minded in the least. It was actually kind of a turn-on for me, seeing them all basically drooling over us. The women were staring with looks of envy and wonder and the small number of men were staring with expressions of approbation.
“This is really nice, Declan! Really sweet! These are absolutely beautiful! Thank you so much! What a lovely surprise!” Emma’s grin stretched from one ear to the other. She put the roses up to her face and inhaled, her smile widening even further. “I’ll have to find something to put these in.”
“I’m glad you like them,” I said. Just then, my cell phone started ringing loudly. “Excuse me for just a moment.”
Looking at the screen, I saw that it was my father calling. I turned around to answer the call.
“Declan, here,” I said firmly.
“Declan, where the hell are you? Josh is here at the office waiting for you,” he barked into my ear. “Do you know how important his contract could be for our company?”
I grimaced. In my effort to be spontaneous and romantic, I had forgotten about the meeting I had scheduled with my father and Josh earlier in the week.
“I’ll be right there,” I assured him.
I turned to glance back at Emma, who was still standing behind me, ogling her sizable bouquet. It pleased me to see her so delighted, and it pained me to have to turn around and leave so abruptly. I slid my phone back into my pants pocket and turned back around to face a smiling, radiant Emma.
“I’ve got to get going, Emma. I’ve got another meeting with this prospective former pro athlete. My dad—who is also my boss for the time being—has been very adamant about me convincing this guy to sign an endorsement contract with our company. It could mean a great deal for the family business—and also to the client.”
“Oh, okay,” Emma said sweetly. “I totally get it.”
“But don’t worry, we’ll be getting together again, very soon,” I assured her, gazing directly into her beautiful brown eyes. “As soon as I get Josh to sign this contract, I’ll have more free time to spend romancing you.”
“Wait, Josh? What kind of former pro athlete is this prospective client of yours?” she asked suddenly, cocking her head to the side and narrowing her eyes inquisitively.
“He’s a former pro football player, actually. His name is Davis—Josh Davis.”
Emma’s face went pale as soon the words left my mouth. I wanted to ask her why, but I really had to leave. My dad was not one for patience—nor did he have a kind attitude toward me whenever I arrived late for meetings. I planted a quick kiss on Emma’s cheek before I left.