Chapter 8 - THE CHOICE TO LOVE
Emily was standing outside the elevator.
He stopped.
“What are you doing here?”
“Claire called me.”
“Traitor.”
“Good sister.”
Adrian studied her.
“It’s done.”
“I know.”
“You know?”
“Your sister texts quickly.”
He laughed softly.
Emily stepped closer.
“How do you feel?”
“Approximately forty-eight million dollars lighter.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
She touched his tie.
“No regrets?”
Adrian looked toward the boardroom.
“One.”
Emily’s face fell.
He touched her cheek.
“I should have done it sooner.”
Her eyes filled.
“Adrian…”
“I love you.”
She froze.
There were people walking through the hallway.
Assistants.
Lawyers.
Executives.
Adrian didn’t seem to notice them.
“I think I’ve loved you since the night you told me you wanted nothing from me.”
Emily tried to speak.
He continued.
“And then I fell a little further when you put oranges in my kitchen.”
She laughed through her tears.
“And further when you forced me to eat eggs.”
“That was medically necessary.”
“And further when you stood in a ballroom full of people who could make your life difficult and told the truth anyway.”
His thumb brushed beneath her eye.
“I love you, Emily.”
His voice dropped.
“But I need you to understand something.”
She waited.
“You can leave.”
Her breath caught.
“Today. Tomorrow. Ten years from now.”
“Adrian—”
“No trust. No loan. No company. No family obligation.”
His eyes were wet now.
“If you stay, I need it to be because you choose me.”
Emily looked at the man she had been forced to marry.
The man who had insulted her on their wedding night.
The man who had then apologized without demanding forgiveness.
The man who had learned to sit on tiny classroom chairs.
The man who had given away a fortune rather than let money become another lock on her door.
She reached for his hand.
“I need you to know something too.”
“What?”
“I hated you on our wedding night.”
He winced.
“Understandable.”
“I thought you were arrogant.”
“Accurate.”
“Emotionally constipated.”
“That seems medically questionable.”
“Terrible at apologizing.”
“I’ve improved.”
“A little.”
She smiled.
“And then you kept doing things I didn’t expect.”
Adrian’s expression became serious.
Emily stepped closer.
“You listened.”
Another step.
“You changed.”
She pressed his palm against her chest.
“And you made me feel safe before you ever asked me to love you.”
His breathing changed.
“Emily…”
“I love you too.”
For a man who had negotiated acquisitions without blinking, Adrian Mercer suddenly looked completely helpless.
“Say that again.”
She smiled.
“I love you.”
He kissed her.
Not carefully this time.
Not ceremonially.
May you like
Not because a minister had told him to.
He kissed her because he had finally learned the difference between possessing something and being chosen by someone.
