Dirty Deeds by Stella Rhys

29

ALY

“I havesomething to ask you and something to tell you.”

The cautious way in which Emmett presented that information after we sat at dinner probably should’ve had me at least a little concerned, but I was still to high on cloud nine to pay it much attention.

I hadn’t expected him to say I love you.

Technically, he’d already done it. He’d told me that he loved me the night after my so-called date with Drew Maddox, and while I don’t think he was talking about the same kind of love that night, I was pretty sure that that was all I was going to get for awhile.

So hearing it when I least expected it today was beyond a pleasant surprise. It was easily the sweetest thing that had ever happened to me, and it had me far too bubble-headed to overanalyze what Emmett was slightly frowning about. So with a sip of my wine, I simply nodded and said, “Hit me.”

“When was the last time you saw your dad?” Emmett asked right away. I paused for a few seconds.

“Um. Maybe December for Christmas?” I answered, raising my eyebrows when I realized that was more than half a year ago. “Wow. It’s weird. It doesn’t feel that long ago because I know he’s so close by. And I still hear him in the background when my mom calls every week. I mean talk sometimes, too. Never for more than a minute or so, but it’s just the relationship I have with him. And I’ve obviously always wanted more, but it is what it is. I’m too exhausted to try to talk to him about it now. Besides, it doesn’t break my heart on a daily basis anymore.”

Emmett nodded, though a frown knit his brow as he played with his fork for a second and looked out the window at the water.

“I was really happy when Mom told me you bought his company. I thought that would fix everything,” he finally said.

“Yeah,” I nodded with a sad laugh. “Me too. Though I’m starting to realize that I’m still happy with all the choices I made. All the hard work I put in,” I said, watching the dancing flame on the candle between us. “Even if it didn’t work to win his approval, it’s still the first thing I did on my own. And I don’t know why, but the more I work and the more established the restaurant gets, the less I feel the need to prove myself to him.”

“Because you’ve already proved yourself to yourself,” Emmett grinned, as if it were obvious. “You’re a fucking rock star. Not a lot of people can do what you did and sacrifice so much of their lives to achieving a goal. God knows I don’t have that kind of hustle in me,” he smirked.

“That’s not true, Emmett,” I laughed, smiling down at his hand when he placed it over mine. “Maybe you had a head start, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t have to keep working to maintain everything you have.”

“That’s definitely a good word to describe my life. Maintenance,” Emmett said with an unreadable look on his face. But before I could ask him to clarify, he moved swiftly on. “Anyway, the other thing I meant to tell you is that your dad might show up to the gala on Saturday.” He winced. “Will that be okay for you?”

I blinked for a couple seconds, unsure of the answer myself.

“Yeah,” I finally said. “That’s fine, honestly. I’d kind of stopped expecting things from Dad awhile ago. And I think,” I shot Emmett a wiggly, sheepish smile, “that when you knocked some sense into me the morning after I moved out, I realized… as sad as it sounds… that I was holding onto something that was never there. There never really was hope to get him to love me – not the way I always wanted, at least.”

“Aly,” Emmett frowned deeply, squeezing my hand. “I’m sorry for everything I said that day. I know it was harsh, and it was – ”

“True,” I cut in, offering a bit of a smile to ease his tension. “Everything you said that day was true, Emmett, and the fact that I avoided you all those years kind of proves it. I knew you were the only one who knew me well enough to call me out and pull me out of delusion,” I said. “And as hard as it as to accept that I’d lied to myself most of my life, it was also a huge weight off my back. Because now I don’t actually want to try anymore. I’m not living to impress my dad. Holding out hope for someone who doesn’t even think about you on a daily basis is pretty much the most painful waste of time in the world, and I realize that now,” I finished. My voice was soft but strong because I believed every word that I said. “I realized it too late, but at least I did at all. Thanks to you.”

The candlelight flickered against his skin as he gazed at me for a little.

“You’re impressive. You know that?” he finally said, making a shy grin curve on my lips.

“Why are you saying this?”

“Because you’re strong and smart, and you’ve done everything on your own,” Emmett answered easily. “You’ve been knocked down however many times, and you’ve never stayed on the ground. I don’t know what that’s like. My dad used to say, ‘When it comes to the race of life, you two were dropped off way ahead of the others. You should always know and remember that.’ And I did, but it never hit me quite as hard as it’s hitting me now,” Emmett admitted as he studied me intently. “And it just makes me that much more amazed by you.”

I looked down as I blushed.

God, this man knew how to make me swoon. Touching the back of my neck, I gazed down at the table, my heart quietly soaring as Emmett lifted my hand to his lips and gave me a kiss.

“Well, before you get too proud of me,” I started jokingly, “I feel like I should admit that I have a petty side to me.”

Emmett laughed. “Yeah?”

“Oh yeah. As much as I’m getting over my whole thing with Dad, I still want to hear him admit that I did good – and not just good, but better than him. I know that’s kind of evil, and that I shouldn’t care, but I do.”

“That’s fine,” Emmett reassured me. “You deserve recognition for what you did.”

“I don’t need it though,” I admitted. “At this point, I’m pretty sure I have everything I need to be happy,” I said, blushing a little as I looked up to meet his eye.

“I’m pretty sure I do too,” he said, holding his gaze. “Actually, I know that I do,” he corrected himself. “And I know that if you ever so much as think you’re missing something, I’ll find it for you,” he promised sweetly, rubbing his thumb over the back of my hand. “Because I’ve honestly only ever wanted you to be happy.”

All I could do was nod in reply because I was too choked up to speak. He had me just about melting in my chair with that one, and it made me thankful for the distraction of two servers coming by to present a bunch of beautiful appetizers we didn’t even order.

Apparently, Emmett’s owner friend had just instructed the kitchen to send them out. As they were set down in front of us, our main server came by to explain each dish before whisking away our empty wine glasses and bringing a new pairing to match the food.

“Good Lord,” I breathed out, shaking my head at Emmett when we were alone again.

“What?”

“Nothing. I’m just still amazed by the perks that come with being Emmett Hoult’s girlfriend.”

“Well, stick around,” he smirked. “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

I grinned. I definitely believed him on that one, and as the drinks kept coming, it was hard not to let my bubbly brain get carried away in fantasy. I knew it was dangerous and presumptuous, but my imagination was giving me images from next summer – when I’d have enough money to plan dates myself and take Emmett out to do things. I knew I’d probably never make quite as much money as him, but it was just the gesture.

I just wanted him to know how much I appreciated him – how much I recognized his patience for me all these years. After all, he had just as much a right to hold a grudge against me, but he never did.

“Aly, Julian’s called twice for some reason. Do you mind if I take it?” Emmett asked as our entrée courses were cleared.

“Go for it,” I said breezily, resting my chin in my hands as I watched him walk away. I laughed to myself a bit as I watched all the female eyes he passed follow and stick to him, aggressively checking him out in the way I couldn’t blame them for. He definitely looked sexy as ever in grey jeans and a lightweight Henley that was basically made to call attention to his pecs and biceps.

I was still checking him out when I heard heeled footsteps draw close to me.

“Omigod – Aly Stanton? Bitch, get over here!”

My jaw dropped even before I turned around but when I did, I was instantly pulled into the world’s tightest hug. I hadn’t even seen her face yet, but I already knew who it was.

“Drea!” I gasped, already forced to catch my breath when we pulled away because the excitement was so instant. “I haven’t seen you in so long!”

“Three years I think!” Drea squealed, pulling me into another tight hug that wound up getting both my blonde locks and her platinum curls caught in her earring. “Oops – careful. They’re expensive and I like my earlobes!” she squeaked as we untangled ourselves, taking another half-minute or so to come down from our giggles. “Holy shit, lady. I don’t even know how I recognized you with the long hair! You look amazing!”

“And you. I didn’t think you could get more glamorous but you proved me wrong!” I pulled back to assess her outfit from head to toe. Aside from being my former boss and mentor, Drea van Dahl had also always been my style icon, and today was no different. She looked stunning in a checkered mini-dress with a long, white blazer worn over. “So what are you doing in Montauk?”

“Oh, I’m just here to visit some college friends, but I was thinking of you because I’ve been reading such amazing things about your restaurant, and I am so proud!” she said, getting all gushy and giggly again with those last five words.

“Psh, well, I couldn’t have done it without you! You showed me the ropes on how to do pretty much everything that I needed to – ”

“Oh!” Drea interrupted me with a little gasp, and only then did I realize that she had just noticed Emmett on his way back to the table.

“Oh.” I bit my smile. “That’s just – ”

“Emmett?” Drea breathed, her long lashes fluttering as he looked up and stopped in his tracks. He blinked.

“Shit. Drea.”

Oh… kay.

I stood there awkwardly because for the next few seconds, it was dead silent, and I could see the smirking assumptions of the people in the adjacent tables that peered up curiously at the situation. My face burned because I knew what they were thinking – that I was the girlfriend. Emmett was the boyfriend.

And Drea was the ex.

“I didn’t expect to see you here,” she said.

“Me neither. What are you doing here?” Emmett asked, sounding just slightly more confused than he did annoyed.

“I… was just eating?” Drea replied, her voice also a mix of something. From what I could tell it was shock and nerves, with a hint of apology. And with that, I was pretty sure I’d just confirmed the whole ex theory.

Shit. And considering Emmett only had one ex in his entire history of dating, that meant Drea was the one – the mystery girl who did such a number on him that he made that whole ten-day rule. Holy fuck.

My legs felt like lead as I stood there, unsure of what to do or say as another minute of strained conversation went on. But when it ended, it was my turn to feel a mix of emotions, because suddenly Drea was smiling awkwardly, giving Emmett a goodbye nod before facing me and saying, “It was so, so good to see you, Aly,” before walking away.

* * *

In the car, on the way home, I mentally wound the timeline back.

And it all made sense.

Drea had gone to Temple University for business management, and their campus was less than a twenty-minute drive from UPenn, where Emmett went. I didn’t need to reactivate my Facebook to know that they probably had mutual friends. I also didn’t need to see what Drea looked like in college to know that she was exactly the kind of sorority girl Emmett went for. Bubbly. Blonde. Legs for days.

Thinking about it, I couldn’t even be mad. Heartbroken, sure. Insecure, yes. But not mad.

Because I knew well how Drea van Dahl could mean the world to someone. She definitely meant the world to me.

I had been applying to Vandermark Restaurants for ages before she finally emailed me back one day. The company was the most notable restaurant group in Manhattan, and having mapped out my plan to save Dad’s business, I knew Vandermark was the best place for me to get connections, network my ass off and fully grasp the industry in the way I needed to if I wanted to successfully open a restaurant.

And Drea wound up like my fairy godmother there.

She took me under her wing. She was patient and nurturing. When I was down, she made me feel taken care of. When I was up, she fanned the fire of my confidence and reminded me that I could achieve anything I wanted.

Basically, she was amazing, and I didn’t know how to handle the fact that Emmett had once dated her.

Though he vehemently denied the fact at dinner.

We had managed to move on from the Drea fiasco, though it was not without me actively trying. I’d pried for as long as I could, asking Emmett who she was to him. He said they had worked with each other in the past but preferred to move on from the topic, and that we could talk about it another time.

And for a multitude of reasons, I obliged.

One, I didn’t want to ruin the otherwise beautiful night we’d had so far. Two, my faith in Emmett was in no way shaken.

I wouldn’t let it be.

He loved me, and I knew that. He said he’d do anything to make me happy, and I believed him – especially that night when we climbed into bed, and I nestled back into his chest.

We got into position as he draped his arm over me, tucking his palm under my ribs and cupping my breast. His thumb moved back and forth over my nipple as he kissed the top of my head, letting out that low, rumbly mmm that just sounded like home.

It was all I needed to hear to feel just fine.

Because as far as I knew, everyone had a past. But that didn’t mean that the present counted for nothing. In fact, it only made it count for that much more. After all, in the present, we were older and wiser. We’d survived our hurdles and learned our lessons, which meant the decisions we made now were the ones we knew were best for us. So as I drifted off to sleep, I did it at ease, with a smile.

Because in this room, in these arms, I was convinced that this was exactly what love felt like.