“Are you se—?”
He disconnected before Parker could finish his shocked sentence, tucking the phone in his pocket as he raced out to his car. If he hurried, he might catch Emma at the airport. He might even be able to convince her to stay. And if he failed, then he’d board that plane with her and hold her hand all the way to New York.
He’d walked away from Emma Lee once, he’d be damned if he’d do it again.
Emma stared out the window with an amazing sense of calm as the shops flitted past, one by one. She was so Zen-like that when she caught herself whistling along to the music on the radio it only made her smile.
What a day, and it wasn’t even noon yet.
She’d woken up in Dean’s arms, protected and loved, and it had felt oh-so right to have him there. Even the fact that she’d had a breakfast date and he had to run home before he hit the office hadn’t disturbed the blissful state of her soul.
And maybe the morning sex had contributed a little to the smile on her face.
Yup, when eventually he’d kissed her goodbye and slipped out the door just like they were a real couple, she’d grinned her way through the phone calls she needed to make, then damn near skipped all the way to her breakfast meeting with Suz.
Maybe because everything had been going so well, chaos descending in the form of out-of-control Lorenzo hadn’t shocked her one bit.
Last night she’d made a commitment to Dean, and she intended to keep it. She was willing to do whatever it took to move forward, and if that meant shaking things up here and now, she was ready to rock ’n roll.
“Where do you want me to drop you?” the cabbie asked.
Emma spotted her goal only a few doors down. “Right here is good.”
She stepped onto the sidewalk and waited for him to bring out her suitcase. Then she took a deep breath and marched through the front doors of the DreamMakers office.
The blonde receptionist standing in the hallway glanced over her shoulder, her welcoming smile vanishing to be replaced with a sudden shriek.
“Holy shit, what are you doing here?” The instant the words escaped, the woman slapped her hands over her mouth.
“Didi? Did I just hear you—?” A sandy-haired man stuck his head out of a nearby office, frowning when he spotted Emma. “Is everything all right? Didi, why are you scaring this poor woman?”
The receptionist walked to the side of the room, sighing heavily as she dropped a coin through the lid of a large pickle jar. “I can’t believe I did that.” She gave the man a dirty look. “You boys are a bad influence. And I’m not scaring anyone, Parker. This is Emma.”
Emma blinked in confusion, wondering how the woman knew who she was when Emma had never seen her before in her life.
“I looked you up when you and Dean started seeing each other,” the blonde explained when she caught Emma’s expression. “I had to make sure you weren’t trying to take advantage of one of my boys.”
Her bewilderment got worse. “Um…” She pulled her suitcase to the side, glancing hopefully down the hallway for a glimpse of Dean coming to rescue her.
Thankfully Parker stepped forward and took control of the situation. “You’re Emma?”
She nodded. “Is Dean here?”
“What the hell is going on out here?” Another one of Dean’s partners—Jack, Emma deduced—popped into the front room.
“Jack, this is Emma,” Parker told the other man. “As in, Dean’s Emma.”
Jack’s jaw hung open as he glanced between Emma and Parker. “I don’t get it. I thought you said Dean went to New York. Why is he there when she’s here?”
What?
“Dean’s gone to New York? Why would he do that?” Emma took a deep breath, refusing to jump to any conclusions, yet it was all too clear she didn’t have to take too hard of a leap. “Oh crap. He thinks I’m going to New York, doesn’t he?”
Jack shrugged. “He didn’t share his plans with us, but that’s the best we can guess.”
“But I don’t want to go to New York. I don’t need to go to New York.” What she did need to do was track down her boyfriend.
She fished her phone out of her purse and hurriedly dialed Dean’s number, but it switched over to voice mail after only one ring.
“Damn it. Can one of you take me to the airport?” she asked the men. “There’s been a misunderstanding, and I have to talk to him as soon as possible.”