Chapter Twenty-Five
God, it was good to see him.
Emma’s heart throbbed in her throat, where it had leaped the instant she’d spotted Vince standing off to the side, talking with the bride and groom and several others.
Awareness rippled through her body. The man she loved—the man she’d traveled half the day to see—stood a few feet away, in a tux that fit his lean form to perfection. He made it look good…and her heart flutter out of control.
The best thing about him—besides the fact he just tried to call her—was the hope and affection lighting his eyes.
The same emotions rushed through her.
“Hi, Vince,” she finally said, stepping closer. Nothing else made it out, even though she had so much to say. So much to tell him. So much to ask him.
“I can’t believe you’re here.” A smile tugged at his lips as he shoved the phone into his pocket.
“You have a magic phone, Vince.” Another guy wearing a tux, a tall guy, smirked. “You should’ve called her sooner.”
Vince nodded. “Damn straight.” Then he introduced her to everyone.
She smiled when she saw a familiar face. “Hi, Leo.”
“Hey.” He smirked. “What took you so long?”
Feeling a little more at ease thanks to their warm welcome, she turned to the bride. “I’m so sorry for crashing your wedding.”
Jovy smiled and waved a hand. “Are you kidding? This is the best present. I’m thrilled that you’re here. Carry on.”
Beth stepped forward. “Okay, everyone. Let’s give them some privacy.” The pretty woman made a shooing motion with her hands. The group backed up about ten feet, but continued to watch.
Emma didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was telling Vince what she’d traveled there to tell him. Turning to face him fully, she took a deep breath, and it seemed to dislodge the words stuck in her throat.
“I came here to tell you I’m sorry, Vince. I should’ve t—”
He stepped close and placed a finger over her lips. “You don’t have anything to apologize about. I was the one in the wrong. You don’t have to say anything else.”
“But I need to tell you things,” she said against his finger.
Smiling, he removed it to cup her chin. “Emma, the fact you came here tells me all I need to know.”
Tears filled her eyes. The man was so damn sweet. She swallowed and shook her head. “But you deserve the words, Vince.” She tilted her face into his hand and kissed his palm. “All of them. I’m sorry I never told you how I felt. I started caring about you—and not Stephan—before our first real date. I should’ve told you then, but I didn’t realize how deep my feelings ran until you left.”
“I have feelings for you, too,” he said. “I thought I was doing the right thing, stepping back so you could have a chance with Stephan. I’m so sorry.”
Her heart was eating up every single syllable.
“I thought I was being selfless,” the wonderful man continued. “Until my friends made me realize why I’d really left. I was scared.” He released her and exhaled. Pain and guilt darkened his gaze. “When I was young, I lost someone I loved.”
She nodded, her heart squeezing tight. “Connie.”
His eyes widened.
“Dom told me this morning,” she said. “Don’t be mad at him, though. He was just trying to help me understand why you left. He suspected it was because of her.”
And it’d made all the difference in the world.
He blew out another breath and nodded. “After Connie died, I closed myself off. Buried everything deep.” He lightly brushed her cheek with his thumb. “But you made me feel things, really feel them, for the first time in over a decade.” His happy gaze turned haunted. “I don’t know, I guess self-preservation kicked in, and I subconsciously tried to save myself from that pain again. But, Emma, being here—without you—it was the same kind of pain. Unbearable. That’s why I was flying back to Columbus tomorrow.”
Her pulse leaped. “You were?”
“Yes,” Leo chimed in. “I was driving him to the airport in the morning.”
“I was miserable,” Vince said. “I needed to see you, to talk to you and work things out.” Fierce affection warmed his gaze, and her heart swelled so much she thought it might burst. He cupped her face, as if he couldn’t stop touching her. “I’m so glad you’re here, Emma.”
“Me, too.” She smiled, covering his hand with her own. “I should’ve told you how I felt. Should’ve told you I was falling in love with you.”
Joy erased the remaining darkness from his expression. “You love me, too?”
“Yes.” Wait…too? Her heart rocked. “What do you mean, ‘too’? You love me?”
His gaze softened. “I do. I love you. I just realized it too late. Maybe if we would’ve talked about all of this, we could’ve figured out a solution to be together, instead of hurting ourselves and each other.”
She nodded.
“We’ll figure things out.” He smiled, dropping his hand to her shoulder. “Commute. FaceTime. Whatever it takes.”
Emma smiled. “I’d like that. Very much. Because I want you in my life, Vince. I want a real relationship with you. A real everything with you.”
“Good answer,” Brick said behind him.
“Shh…you big galloof, I can’t hear,” Beth whispered.
Vince’s gaze softened, and his hands trailed up her arms. “I want all those thing with you, too. I want to be in your life. I’m not going away. You’re stuck with me.”
Finally.
She’d finally found someone who stuck. Someone who left Georgia behind, but not her.
With the last of her fears and hang-ups vanquished, she held nothing back, letting him see she was happiest in his arms. Setting her palm on his chest, she smiled up at him. “You said the S word. I love it when you talk dirty.”
He grinned. “‘Stuck’ isn’t a dirty word, or scary. Especially if it’s with you. It’s part of that glass three-quarters full,” he murmured before brushing his lips over hers for a slow, achingly sweet kiss full of promises and hope and love.
And Emma felt the love—so much so her legs shook, and she had to clutch at his tux to keep upright. When the kiss ended, she drew in a breath and glanced over his shoulder at a flash of movement that caught her eye.
“Um…” She blinked to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. “Why is there a cow eating the bride off the wedding cake?”
A gasp filled the air as Jovy twisted around. “Mother-heifer!” The bride picked up the skirts of her gown and rushed toward the cow, her husband and Beth in tow. “Drop it! Dammit, Lula Belle! If you don’t drop it, I swear I’m divorcing you right now.”
Divorcing?
Still holding her in his arms, Vince turned his attention back to her, a big grin on his face. “The cow’s in love with Stone. She wants Jovy out of the way so she can have him for herself.”
Emma smiled. She had the feeling she was going to fit right in. “That’s adorable.”
“Jovy doesn’t think so.”
They laughed.
After a few seconds, Vince sobered. “I can’t believe you came. Did you have a good flight?”
“Yes, but I had to hurry to catch the commuter,” she said, playing with his bow tie. “I’m a bit thickheaded. I didn’t have my epiphany until I was in Stephan’s car on the way to the gala brunch this morning. All I could think about was I didn’t want to go.”
“You didn’t?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I wanted to be with you. So, I had him turn the car around and drive me home so I could pack. Then I asked him to take me to the airport.”
He stilled. “Stephan drove you to the airport to see me?”
A smile tugged at her lips. “He felt bad for making you leave.” She nodded at the question in his eyes. “He told me he’d talked to you. So it seemed only right that he fix it by driving me to the airport.”
“Oh, I like her.” Haley snuggled against Cord and gave her a thumbs-up.
Vince’s gaze turned serious. “Emma, I think you should know I don’t have my own house. I live in the main house with Jovy and Stone and Leo.”
“That’s okay.” She smiled. “It doesn’t matter to me where you live. Just that you want to continue to see me.”
“Another good answer,” Brick said, adding in an overly loud voice that reminded her of Macy. “Good thing Vince is part owner of a construction company who happens to be really good at building houses, like the one they’re building for me and Beth right now.”
“Yeah,” Cord said, just as conspicuously. “He also happens to be part owner of this ranch, which has plenty of acres for another house.”
“Okay, okay.” He grinned at the men. “I’ll keep that in mind. But right now, Emma and I are in no hurry. We have all the time in the world. We’re going to do this the right way.”
She patted his chest and regained is attention. “Exactly, and do you know why?”
“Why?”
Her lips twitched. “Because you think I’m adorable, and I think you’re hot.”
“God, I love you.” He kissed her again, this time long and deliciously deep. She didn’t care that his friends stood just a few feet away, but she was glad for the air-conditioning in the tent because her body temperature spiked.
Mrs. Henderson had told her Vince was a keeper, worthy of being hers, and the wise woman had been right. Emma had found a man who wanted her with him, who loved her, and she felt the same way. He was so much more than her dream man. He was her everything.
When Vince broke the kiss, he set his forehead to hers, his heart beating strong and sure under her palm. “Promise me you’ll hold that thought until later.”
There were a lot of things she was ready to promise him.
Sliding her hands up around his neck, she smiled into his dimpled face. “Anything for you.”