HAPPY FOREVER AFTER

“It’s Daniel, mom.” Emma replied softly as she watched him.

“The man you told me about?” Amy asked.

“Yeah that’s him,” Emma clarified, her heart soaring and sinking, swooping every direction as she drank in the way Daniel took command of the room simply by entering it.

His tailored suit clung to his powerful frame and if his eyes looked deeply set and bruised from travel, it only added to his air of dangerous mystique.

She didn’t ask herself what he was doing here, though. It was devastatingly obvious why he was here.

He didn’t trust her.

———————-

Daniel knew his mistake the second his searching gaze found the somber pair of eyes he was looking for. She was staring right her him, her eyes big and beautiful. Beneath her surprise lurked accusation and worse, disappointment.

“Believe me when I say I’m coming back.” she had said at his office.

The ache in his chest intensified. Was she gonna ask him to go back? He wondered. Would she get mad at him? What the hell was he going to do if she refused to talk to him?

This wasn’t a failure to trust. He had had one thought from the second he had realized just how much he loved Emma Green. Get to her. It hadn’t hit him this hard… Not until he saw how close he was to losing her. And just how messed up his life was going to be without her.

He had been miserable the entire week, and he knew he couldn’t let Emma go.

The elderly woman who had let him in the door stopped in front of her. She planted her hands on her hips. “This is Daniel Rohan. He’s looking for Emma?”

Emma gave him an exasperated look. Isabel stood at a doorway. She glanced at her mom and Aunt Jen. They were both staring at Daniel. He was staring at her. She stood and gave him a faltering smile.

“You’ve met Isabel… And this is my Aunt Jen” She said. She let her hair fall forward to hide her expression as she turned towards her mother who still sat on the couch. “Mom, this is Daniel Rohan. Daniel, this is my mother, Amy Green.”

Daniel offered his hand to her mother for a handshake and she set her cool hand in his.

“It’s a pleasure meeting you, Mrs Green,” he said. “I have heard so much about you from your daughter” Daniel said, flashing her a smile “It’s very nice to meet you, finally.”

“I have heard so much about you too.” Amy replied.

Her eyes were filled with a glow that seemed vaguely familiar to Daniel. Emma had her eyes, he realized. She had a light in her eyes… And no judgment or hatred in it. He had caught glimpses of something like this incandescence of hers in Emma’s eyes. A potent and fierce version that had been achingly beautiful and painfully absent since their troubles had torn them apart. Since he had rejected her for no crime except his own presumption she would commit one.

“The father of your baby?” Aunt Jen chipped in and before Emma could reply, Daniel nodded.

“Yes,” he said simply.

“Emma didn’t tell us you were coming,” Amy said to him.

“That’s because she didn’t know I was coming. I wanted to surprise her” Daniel replied and his gaze fell on Emma, watching her reaction. She was still watching him suspiciously.

“Well, you are welcome here… Anytime” Amy said, smiling. “You are so tall… I really hope my grandchild….”

Daniel didn’t get to hear the end of the sentence because Emma interrupted.

“Mom” she said, sending her a look and Amy simply smiled.

“You’re marrying our Emma?” Aunt Jen asked Daniel.

“It’s a long story, Aunt Jen. And we are not getting married” Emma replied though the question wasn’t directed at her. “We can talk about this later” Emma said, though she didn’t think they were going to.. Ever. “But I should introduce Daniel to Uncle Ken.”

She took him to the barbecue, where her Uncle Ken was mastering the grill. He was surprised to see Daniel and also welcoming.

When he was done speaking to her uncle, she drew him away to a corner of the garden as soon as she could.

“Those are usually comforting smells for me, but not today.” She set her fist against her tight lips.

“Oh, are you okay?” he asked, concerned.

“I’m fine.” Emma replied simply.

“Do you want to leave?”This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

“No, I said I’m fine.” She blinked eyes damp with frustration and hurt. “What are you doing here, Daniel. I told you I needed some time and that I was going to come back”.

“I know what you said, Emma,” he said.

She stared hard at him. “So why are you here?” She asked. “Scared I was going to stay here forever with your child? Probably came to drag me off, huh? Well, that’s not going to happen… So you better just go back. I will return when I want to and when I’m ready”

“I’m not here to take you away,” he said through his teeth. “I’m not here to argue with you about the baby either. I understand why you needed to be away from me. I just… I have really missed you, Emma. Believe it or not, but I have and I just thought I would just come see you… and the baby. And besides, I thought it was time I met your family.”

She stared at him, surprise and suspicion written all over her face. When she spoke, it was almost in a whisper. “You wanted to meet my family?” she asked, trying not to dwell much on the fact that he had just told her that he had missed her. She had missed him too… So damn much.

Daniel searched her gaze, uncertain how to salvage their relationship. He had thought coming here would prove he cared enough to follow her, that coming to meet her family would show her that he was willing to move forward with her and their baby, but-

“Emma” her mother called from above them on the veranda. “Are you going to keep him outside forever? He’s a guest and you know we don’t treat guests that way”