“What?”
“You know how this is a fundraiser? I thought well, you’re being very charitable by dating Aly.”
I clenched my jaw, determined not to let my blood boil over this idiot anymore.
“I wouldn’t say that. I can promise you she’s not the lucky one, it’s me.”
“Jesus, Emmett. You’re not gonna ask me for her hand in marriage, are you?” Charlie snorted. “Because you might want to think on that. You could be dating any one of these pretty girls here next week.” He pointed at every woman at the bar. “That one. That one. Blonde one. Tall one. Not everyone can be Emmett Hoult so don’t ask me something crazy right now. I don’t wanna hear it.”
“Yeah, I’m not asking you for that,” I laughed, letting him laugh with me for all of a second before I went on. “I don’t need your permission for whenever I decide to propose. I’m going to eventually, and when I want to, I will. I just thought I should say now that if you can’t get past that famous ego of yours and treat Aly with the respect she deserves, then you won’t have a role in any of our lives,” I said point blank, watching the shock on his face slowly fade into fury.
But since he couldn’t come up with anything to say, I went on.
“She bailed you out, Charlie. She did everything you couldn’t do with that company, and if you’re hell-bent on pretending that never happened, then out of respect for my father, I’ll say goodbye to you here,” I finished, waiting a good few seconds to see if Charlie had anything at all to say.
And though he did, it didn’t really count for much.
“You’re not gonna wind up marrying her, Emmett,” he said.
I sneered. It didn’t warrant a response, so after taking my last look at Charlie Stanton, I turned and walked away.
32
ALY
It was past midnight when Emmett found me sitting at the top of the steps, hair down, earrings off and chin resting in my hands as I watched the cleaning crew sweep through the ballroom. It looked like there were hundreds of empty champagne flutes on every surface, and it was funny sitting up there and watching Emmett try to help gather them up, getting about four flutes in each hand before the staff asked him to stop.
“They don’t trust you. You look way too tired,” I teased as he made his way up to me, wearing a crooked little grin. Unsurprisingly, he managed to make tired look sexy as ever with his tux jacket off and his bowtie hanging loose around his neck.
“Baby,” he exhaled, running both hands through his hair and thoroughly messing it up before he plopped down to sit on the stair below me.
“Exhausted?”
“Yes,” he groaned as I rubbed the back of his neck.
“Ready to go home?”
“Yes. But I have to wait for John and Dev to finish something. If you’re tired though I’ll call you a car first.”
“No, I’d rather wait for you,” I said, lifting my long skirt and resting my legs over his lap. “I could use a couple explanations from you anyway,” I said, watching my words cast an instant cloud over his eyes. “I’m sorry, Emmett.” My heart beat a little faster at I watched his small smile fade to nothing. “I just need to know. Where were you the past two days?” When he struggled to answer, I swallowed the knot in my throat. “Were you with Drea?”
“Huh?” He gave me a funny look. “No. Why would I be with Drea?”
“I thought…” I stared out as the cleaning crew whipped the tablecloths off each round table. I was trying to recollect all of Evie and my theories but now they were a blur.
“Aly, I promise you I’ve never dated Drea,” Emmett said. “I’ve only ever had one ex and it was a girl from college named Kristy. I don’t even remember if it was spelled with a K or a C anymore, it was that long ago.”
I frowned, all the thoughts in my brain jumbling as I tried to remember what Emmett had said about this girl.
“I thought you said that everything was great about you two. I mean when you ended, you were heartbroken enough to vow to never commit again,” I said, though I doubted my words when Emmett gave me that strange look again. “Did I interpret that wrong?” I asked.
“I think yes,” he answered slowly.
“Then why did you stop dating her?”
Emmett swallowed hard as he looked down at his hands.
“Because my mom was going through another break. And I had to be there for her to make sure she didn’t try to hurt herself again.”