Exhaling, Emmerson shook her head. “You go ahead, Mom. I need to stay here and make sure a few things are tied up. Landon and I still have the limo and will be there shortly. I’ll call you once we’re checked into our rooms.”
Paislie raised a brow but didn’t say anything. She simply nodded, kissed Emmerson on the cheek, and hugged her, then did the same to Hailey, Mike, and finally me.
After Malcolm and Paislie walked away, I caught sight of my father and mother walking up.
“We’re off with Malcolm and Paislie. See you at the hotel?” my mother asked as she reached up and kissed me before moving on to my sister, Mike, and Emmerson. My father and Malcolm shared a glance as Malcolm headed out of the ballroom.
Good God. Is my father going to let Malcolm kick my ass?
Surely not.
Then he looked at me, and a slow, evil smile appeared on his face, and I knew in that instant where my sister got her wicked sense of humor from. Then the bastard laughed. He actually laughed.
Was he enjoying this shitshow?
“Well, looks like the two of you got yourself in a real pickle this time,” my father stated.
At least he knew the truth of it all without having to be told.
“You know it’s not true then?” I asked.
He lifted a brow and then gave Emmerson a sideways glance before focusing back on me. “Oh, there are a lot of things I know, son, and I cannot wait to see how this one turns out.” He slapped me on the arm and laughed once more. “Ahh, I remember the days.”
He kissed my sister and Emmerson, shook Mike’s hand, and reached for my mother. “See you at the hotel!” he called out over his shoulder.
“Dad seems to be having fun with this,” Hailey said.
“Don’t you have anything better to do than harass me right now?” I asked as I looked at my sister.
She shot me a cheeky grin. “Nope!”
I rolled my eyes, then looked around. “Where’s Emme?”
“She walked off to go check on something.”
Mike looked away when I caught his stare, I could tell he was desperately trying not to laugh. He was two seconds from being punched, the little bastard.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
Mike held up his hands. “Nothing.”
I scrubbed my hand down my face. “This cannot be happening. What am I going to do?”
For the first time that night, Hailey looked like she might actually have a bit of sympathy for us. “You and Emmerson are going to talk. You’ll figure this out. Honestly, Landon, it shouldn’t be that hard to pretend to be in love with her.”
I raised a brow. “What does that mean?”
“Shit, dude, you have feelings for her. It’s so obvious.”
That came from Mike.
“Finally! Someone else sees it!” Hailey said. “Landon, maybe you should admit to Emmerson how you feel.”
I looked away, not ready to admit my feelings out loud for Emmerson—at least not until I figured out how to tell her myself. “Hailey, I’m not in the mood for your craziness right now.”
With a huff, she rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. “I swear, the two of you. Does someone need to slap what neither one of you will admit is right in your face?
“Hail, maybe we should just let it play out how it’s supposed to,” Mike said.
Hailey nodded and looked at me so hard it felt like she was trying to read my mind. “We’ll see y’all back at the hotel. Don’t make Malcolm wait any longer than he has to.”
I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “For some reason, I love you.”
She giggled and then took Mike’s offered arm. “Because I’m always right.”
“Not always,” I said as they turned and started toward the exit.
Emmerson returned at that moment. “Are they leaving?”
I nodded. “Your dad is waiting on us. We should get going, so we have time to get back to the hotel and change. I don’t feel like dying in this expensive tux.”
Emmerson groaned. “At least you’ll be dressed for the funeral, I suppose. Could this night get any worse?”
At the sight of Jason walking toward us, I mumbled, “Yes.”
“Emmerson, Landon. Lillian and I wanted to congratulate you both once again. Seems like the evening turned into a small engagement celebration for you both.”
I wanted to punch the asshole. And not because he was making my life a living hell, but because he had held Emmerson. Kissed her. Made love to her. I hated the motherfucker, and if he didn’t get out of my face within the next few seconds, I was going to let my fist fly.
Emmerson plastered on a smile. “Thank you, Jason. Same to you and Lillian. I hope you enjoyed the evening.”
Jason looked at her, and I swore I saw longing in his eyes. Or was that regret?
“It didn’t turn out exactly how I thought it would, but it wasn’t a total loss,” Jason said.
Both Emmerson and Lillian looked at him with confused expressions. But when Jason turned to face me and reached for my hand, I saw it in the asshole’s eyes. They said I had won, and he’d lost.
Had he come here tonight in some strange attempt to get Emmerson back? The thought made me feel sick.
“Emmerson, if you don’t mind, can I speak with you privately about something?” Jason asked as he glanced back to her.
My heart started to beat faster, and I almost told him to go fuck himself.
Emmerson’s eyes darted from me and then back to Jason. “Um, of course.”
As the two of them walked a few feet away, Lillian sighed and whispered, “He’s still in love with her, you know.”
I looked down at her. “What was that?”
She tilted her head and watched Emmerson and Jason as they stopped far enough away that we couldn’t hear them speaking.
“He still loves her. His parents had nothing to do with him being here tonight. He wanted to see her.” She lifted her head and looked at me. “A woman knows when a man hasn’t given her his entire heart. And that man right there is very much still in love with your future wife.”
My chest squeezed and I looked back at the two of them. Emmerson frowned, shook her head, and then looked directly at me. I could feel my lungs start to burn as I held my breath. What was he saying to her? Was he telling her how he felt? That he wanted her back?
Taking a step away from Jason, she lifted her chin, gave him a nod, and then turned and walked straight toward me.
Lillian chuckled. “Looks like you know where her heart belongs.”
Before I could reply, Emmerson walked up to me. With a smile so sweet and real, she leaned up and pressed her lips to mine in a short kiss. As she pulled back, our eyes locked and something crackled between us again.
“Are you okay?” I asked, not even caring that Lillian was standing there or that the dickhead was walking up behind Emmerson.
With a nod, she replied, “Yes. I’m more than okay. Ready to leave?”
I glanced over her shoulder at Jason as I wrapped my arm around Emmerson’s waist. He looked like someone had just taken his favorite puppy from him. Focusing back on Emmerson, I replied, “More than ready.”
We walked away, and I couldn’t help but look back over my shoulder. Not at Jason, though—at the woman standing beside him who looked just as defeated as her fiancé.