Rush

“I can go to my room,” she mutters under her breath as she boards.

I follow right behind her. “Or you can hang out with Maya and me.”

As the doors slide shut, she looks to me with a hint of panic in her eyes.

Emma Owens has no idea about the surprise that awaits her once we get upstairs.

Chapter 21

Emma

I’m two steps behind Case when he unlocks the apartment door, and we step into the foyer.

For a half-second I hope that Maya took the other elevator down on our way up. Maybe I won’t have to bear witness to them exchanging knowing glances while I try to make small talk with the two of them.

I’m still hopeful that I can duck into the guest room in a few minutes.

“Case.” I hear Maya’s voice before I see her. “You’re back.”

With me in tow, I want to add, but I stay quiet as he drops his keys on the table of the foyer.

I spot her standing in the middle of the living room. She’s wearing a blue dress that perfectly matches the color of her eyes.

Her black hair is sleekly styled.

There’s nothing about her that doesn’t scream confidence and success. The three simple silver bracelets she’s wearing on her right wrist complement the silver watch on her left.

My gaze follows a path up her wrist to her hand and the pear-shaped sapphire ring on her finger. It’s surrounded with small diamonds and nestled right next to it is a stunning band of larger diamonds.

She’s married?

“Tonight was a success.” She throws herself into Case’s arms while I stand back watching. “It couldn’t have gone better. Anton was floating on cloud nine when he left.”

The pieces of this puzzle don’t fit together.

Every time I turn around another person’s name is tossed into the mix.

Maya takes a step back from Case. Her gaze floats past his shoulder to land squarely on my face. “Emma! I didn’t see you there.”

“Hi,” I say with an awkward wave of my hand in the air. “It’s good to see you again.”

“You too.” Her gaze darts from my face to Case’s. “You look happy. Did you two have a good dinner?”

“Very good,” he replies with a glance over his shoulder at me. “I told Emma about the nickname your sister gave me when we were kids.”

I just fit two pieces of the puzzle together. Frannie and Maya are sisters.

“Rabbit?” Maya lets out a laugh. “Oh my god, Case. I remember that. Tilly was always telling her to knock it off.”

“Tilly is Frannie’s twin,” Case offers with a curl of his finger luring me to approach them.

I do. I take a few tentative steps until I’m standing next to him.

“Case had this little issue with his teeth.” Maya pulls her top teeth over her bottom lip. “It was hardly noticeable.”

“Bullshit,” Case fires back. “You don’t think I heard you calling me Rabbit behind my back, Maya?”

Her hands drop to her hips. “Me? I would never have done that.”

“You did do that.” He taps the tip of her nose with his index finger.

I watch the movement. It’s intimate in a way that speaks of a bond, but it’s playful too. Maybe they aren’t lovers. Did I read this wrong from the start?

Maya shrugs. “You’ve always been like a brother to us. Don’t sisters tease their brothers?”

I definitely read this wrong.

“Julian’s sister teases him all the time,” she goes on with a glance at her left hand. “My husband loves it. I know you love it when I tease you too.”

“Speaking of your husband,” Case begins, stealing a glimpse at me. “How did you and Julian enjoy dinner at Nova the other night?”

“It was heaven.” Her hand leaps to her chin. “The food was delicious. The wine was perfect. It was the romantic escape we needed.”

“Good.” He leans down to press a kiss to her forehead. “I knew Tyler would take the best care of you.”

He’s talking about Tyler Monroe. He’s the owner and head chef of the restaurant. I know that because I saw him on a cooking segment on one of the late-night talk shows.

“Where did you two have dinner?” Maya turns her attention to me.

I don’t know the name of the restaurant, so I stick with their primary offering. “We had pizza.”

“Decent pizza for New York,” Case interjects.

“So a good time was had by all?” Maya searches his face for something.

When Case sighs, I step in. “I had a good time.”

“Case did too.” She smiles at him. “I can tell.”

I take that as a good sign. It’s an even better sign that Maya appears happily married. I don’t feel nearly as bad for semi-flirting with Case at dinner.

Maya looks to the watch on Case’s wrist even though she’s wearing one. “It’s getting late. We need to talk. I have some news.”

They need privacy, and I’m more than happy to give it to them.