Back to December (Ward Sisters Book 1) (19 page)

They got ready to go and drove to the church, which was not far from where they had caroled. Rob said that several of the families they'd seen earlier in the evening would be there. She was a little worried when she saw the crowd, though she didn't see anyone who was obviously a photographer. Em took Rob's hand and smiled as they walked together into the church.

They sat with his family near the back. Liv had saved them a seat so that she could be next to Emily, which made Em's heart happy. She could imagine being this girl's favorite aunt and that terrified her. Because being Liv's aunt meant being Rob's wife. And, holy cow, where did that come from?

The service was beautiful. The priest was young and very enthusiastic. His passion for Jesus and the miracle of His birth was evident in the way his voice broke on occasion. The choir performed ethereal versions of
Ave Maria
and
Hallelujah
. Emily automatically linked her fingers with Rob's from the beginning, and he stole occasional glances at her while he rubbed her thumb with his own. They released hands whenever they stood, but immediately reached for one another as soon as they sat back down. He looked so happy to have her there by his side, which made her heart melt.

If only she could tell him how much she already loved him.

When the service was through, they made their way outside with Rob's family, heading to the cars. They all chatted amiably about the service, how moving and inspiring it was. Rob had put his arm around her because the wind had picked up and their car was a little further away than the rest.

All of a sudden, Rick was by their side. He instructed Kelly to take the kids to the car, he'd see her at home. His wife didn't question it. Rick looked at Rob and they walked faster. Whatever Rick had seen, it put him on alert.

When they got to the Subaru, Rick took Emily's arm and gently steered her to the passenger's side as Rob hopped quickly into the driver's seat and started the car. Rick jumped into the seat behind Emily and said, “Go.” They hadn't even put on their seat belts yet.

A couple miles down the road, Emily finally asked, “What happened?”

Rick told her that he'd seen a couple people with iPhones who were obviously not just there for the service. “If you were hoping to keep this quiet, Em, it won't be, now.”

Rob looked at her, concern in his eyes. “It's okay, Rob. I knew that might happen. I warned Charlie that there would be photos which would imply we were a couple, even if we didn't make a statement about it. I just figured those wouldn't happen until the gala. But I'm fine with it happening sooner. Really.” She squeezed his hand and he looked relieved.

They took Rick home and wished Merry Christmas, knowing they would see him in the afternoon. Before he got out of the car, he kissed Emily on the cheek and told her he was glad she came.

They drove back to Rob's in silence for a bit. It wasn't a long trip by air, but the development roads zigged and zagged between the two houses. When they got to the driveway and he was opening the garage, Emily said, “I meant it, Rob. I'm okay with photos of us together being leaked. I don't know how I thought I could possibly hide how I feel from anyone. Every person who saw us together this past week must have been able to see it all over my face. And I'm here for work, so I can't just hide. It's my job to be the public face for the magazine right now. Josh already believed that I slept with you that first night. It doesn't matter if he thinks it's too soon for me to be in a relationship with you. His opinion won't change how I feel about you
or
him.”

He looked at her for a moment. “Does that mean you want to make some sort of official announcement, so that we get there first?”

“I didn't think about it that way, but can we do that?”

“Sure. How subtle do you want to be?”

“I don't know. Obvious but not blatant?”

“What if I post a twitpic of the two of us with the caption,
Best Christmas present ever
.”

“You can do that? I thought Jenna ran your site?”

“That doesn't mean I can't post. She just manages all of it. If I send it to my Twitter feed, she'll get a notification and will call me to make sure it's really me. Then she can post the picture on Facebook and my fan site. The gossip sites will do the rest.”

“Okay. Might as well get ahead of the competition. Let's do it now.”

“Let's get inside first. I don't mind driving the Scooby, but it doesn't photograph well.”

Emily laughed. “Yeah, Amy would have a fit if you posted a picture of this beast.”

When they got inside, they embraced in front of the tree and Rob snapped the photo. He showed it to her and when she approved, he logged on to Twitter and posted it. Then they curled up on the couch and waited. A couple minutes later, Tommy Tutone sang about Jenny and Rob answered immediately.

“Hey, Jen. Merry Christmas. Yeah, it was really me. Yes, that's Emily.” He looked at Em and relayed that Jenna said it was nice to see her. “No, I really do want it posted. Yeah, I'll tell Amy in the morning. Don't worry about talking to Barry, she'll let him know. Yeah, can you post it to the website and to Facebook, too? Yep, same caption. It's as official as we're going to get, for now. Yes, she thought it was a good idea. Yeah. Don't worry, you'll get something extra in your end-of-year bonus for working on Christmas. I know. I'm serious, but I'm just teasing you. Okay, Merry Christmas. Thanks, Jen.”

“So, it's done?” Emily asked.

“It is. She'll post it in a minute. Want to see how fast people eat up this stuff, even on Christmas?”

“It's after 1 a.m. on Christmas morning. People won't be paying attention to that, will they?”

“Just watch.”

He was still on Twitter and Em saw, as fast as his phone could refresh, that the Tweet was re-tweeted almost instantly. Before it had been posted a minute, there were 20 re-tweets. Then he logged on to Facebook and the post had appeared on his wall a minute before. By the time it was up for 2 minutes, there were 15 comments and 30 Likes. A few of the comments weren't flattering, which was a little disconcerting. These people didn't even know her! How could they form any sort of opinion on her?

Her dismay must have been on her face, because Rob said, “Do you want me to call her back and take it down?”

“No. It's okay. It's just...
weird
. Those people don't even know me. Or you, for that matter. I guess at least most of them are either pleased or jealous. Now you know why I straighten my hair. See all those comments about how it's frizzy?”

“Don't worry, once the pictures from the gala get online, the guys will all be drooling over you and you'll forget that a few people made fun of your hair. Besides, I love your hair. I especially like it when it's on my pillow and you're underneath me.” He kissed her. She smiled.

“Welcome to the world of celebrity, where people think they have a right to know your private life and the only way to keep it to yourself is to be a hermit. And that doesn't even stop them from talking about you, it just prevents too many photos from getting online. Of course, if you walk outside your door or deign to do anything with your life again, they're on you like a fly on shit. You can't win.”

“Is Amy going to be mad that you posted a picture online and didn't run it past her first?”

“Maybe. She knows I wouldn't have done it without your permission though. And after what happened at Mass, she'll understand our desire to get there first. Let's head to bed. We can look at this again in the morning. You might want to talk to your family first thing, and since they're two hours ahead, I'm guessing one of them will be making a call to you pretty early.”

Emily agreed and took her phone with her upstairs, just in case. They were both so tired that they stripped naked and got into bed and cuddled together, falling asleep almost immediately. She did hear Rob say he loved her again, and when she squeezed his hand in response, she heard him sigh.

Em didn't even have time to think about the ramifications of what they had just done before she was out like a light.

Minneapolis, Minnesota, Christmas Morning...

Around 7 a.m., chirping birds woke Emily from a sound sleep. At first, she thought it was strange that the birds were so vocal when it was winter, and then she remembered where she was and that the sound was Charlie's ringtone. Just before it went to voicemail, she answered.

“Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown,” she croaked.

“Merry Christmas, Emma Bean. So, did someone hack into Rob's social networking last night or was that an official announcement?”

Rob stirred. She brushed the hair off his forehead and he smiled but didn't open his eyes. “No, that was as official as it's going to get, for now. He posted it to Twitter and his assistant did the rest.”

“It's all over the internet this morning. People everywhere are asking who the girl in the picture is. There were pictures of you that said they were outside Midnight Mass. Did you go to church with his family?”

“Yeah. Among other things. Why?”

“I don't know. I guess I didn't think you were very religious, that's all. Mom is going to flip, Em.”

Emily sighed. “Yeah, I know. I'm beyond caring at this point, Charl. She's stuck on the idea of me and Josh and that's never happening again. She should want me to be with someone I find more compatible, but that doesn't seem to matter to her.” Rob looked at her then. He grabbed her hand and kissed it.

“Compatibility in bed isn't the best foundation for a life, Em.”

“That's not all we have in common, Charlie.” Rob raised his eyebrows. “Do I have to justify every single thing I like about him to you, too?” Rob's look said he might like to know, though she was sure he was just teasing her.

“No, Em, you don't have to convince me. Just know that Mom is going to give you a hard time when you call them. You might want to get it out of the way before Josh gets there.”

“Josh is going to their house for Christmas? What the hell for?”

“Mom invited him. I think he stayed at Annie's last night, so they'll probably be over there soon. I know Mom said brunch was at 10.”

Emily sighed. “I guess I should call her, then. I'll talk to you later. Love you.”

Her sister said goodbye, and Emily hung up. She took a deep breath and steeled herself for the call to her parents.

Rob touched her face. “You going to be okay?”

“I'll be fine. My mother can't make this easy. She's got to fight me tooth and nail, prove she knows best. I'm going to throw on some clothes and then go downstairs to call them. Do you want me to start some coffee? I assume you have stuff in the kitchen...”

He told her where everything was and she put on her sweats, kissed him and went downstairs. She started the coffee and dialed her parents' number. Fortunately, her father answered. “Merry Christmas!” he bellowed.

“Hi, Daddy. Merry Christmas to you. How are you doing?” She talked to her father for a few minutes and almost forgot the crux of her call until she heard her mother in the background. Her father said goodbye and handed the phone to her mother.

“Emily? Where are you?”

“You know where I am, Mom. I'm at Rob's house outside of Minneapolis.”

“Well, I wasn't sure. I had heard that you went to church with him last night. Is he Catholic? It said you were with his family at Mass.”

“Yes, Mom. He's Catholic. We went as a family to Midnight Mass at the church where his parents go every week and where they were all Christened. It was lovely.”

“Oh. Well. They've accepted you into their family, have they? I suppose that's why he posted that picture of the two of you on his Facebook. Did you know that?”

“I did, Mom. We took the photo together. I was there when he posted it to Twitter. His assistant put it on Facebook and his website.”

“So. You're his girlfriend now, are you?”

“Yes. He asked me a few days ago.”

“He asked you to marry him?”

“No, Mom! He asked me to be his girlfriend.”

“This is going to hurt Josh, Emily.”

“I can't worry about Josh, Mom.
He
ended things with
me
, remember? He didn't even want to hear my side of the story. And it doesn't matter. I'm not going back to him. I was never in love with him. I know that now.”

“What are you saying? Are you in love with Deac?”

“His name is
Rob
, Mom. I don't love the celebrity, I love the man.”

“So, you do love him.”

“Yes. I do.”

Her mother said nothing for a moment. “How can you know that you love him, Emily? You've only known him for a few days.”

“I know him better than I knew Josh in all the time we were together. Rob and I have a lot in common.”

“Like what?”

“I don't need to detail every little thing for you! It should be enough that I say it!”

Gail scoffed. “That sounds like an excuse to me.”

“It doesn't matter. In every way possible, I'm more compatible with Rob than I was with Josh, Mom.”

Gail lowered her voice and it sounded like she had shut a door. “You're not having
sex
with that man, are you, Emily?”

“Mom! I am NOT telling you about my sex life!”

“You
are
! Oh, Emily. That can't lead to anything but heartbreak. He has such a reputation for being a Casanova.”

“Says who? He hasn't had a date in three years, Mom!”

“How would you know that, Emily?”

“He told me! And so did his brother and sister and everyone else in his family. Not to mention my bodyguard.”

“You have a bodyguard?” Her mother sounded worried.

Emily sighed. “Yes, Mom. In case you missed it, there are photographers stalking me. I need someone to keep them away from me.”

“Are you sure you want to be a part of that life, Emily?” It was said with disdain.

“No, Mom, I'm not sure that I want to be a part of
that
life. I want to be a part of
Rob's
life. And if all this baggage comes with it, then that's how it goes. I'm willing to deal with it because I want to be with
him
and it's part of the package.”

“You're making a mistake, Emily. You'll see it eventually. You could have had a good life with Josh.”

“I would have been miserable with Josh. I was
already
miserable with Josh.”

“You didn't seem miserable except for the fact that you weren't engaged yet. And I think he was planning to ask you today, Emily. You might still have a chance to salvage this if you try.”

“Stop! Just stop! You only see what you want to see, Mom. I didn't
want
to marry Josh. I wasn't in love with him! I cared about Josh and I think he's a good person, but I was
never
in love with him. I didn't know that before, but that's why I didn't want to marry him. I didn't understand the reason until I knew the difference. Doesn't it tell you something that I couldn't stand going on vacation with Josh's family but I'm willing to endure being stalked by paparazzi? Suffering through mosquito bites and outhouses one week every year should be a lot easier than being followed and watched all the time.”

“Emily, you just needed to give Josh a chance to do more of your things.”

“No I didn't! He needs to find someone who likes more of
his
things! And I found someone who already likes more of mine, Mom. You know what, this is pointless. You've convinced yourself that I'm just having a small crisis of faith and I'll get over it, come back with my tail between my legs and you'll get your happy little family back before Charlie's big day. Well, it's not going to happen. No matter what you say or do,
nothing
is going to get me to go back to Josh. Do you hear me? Nothing.”

“Well you listen to
me
, little girl. That man is not, I repeat, is
not
welcome to your sister's wedding. I won't have her big day turned into a circus because of him.”

“Then maybe I won't be there, either.”

“You would do that to Charlie?”

“You would do that to
me
? You would tell me that I couldn't bring the man I love to my own sister's wedding? Because, regardless of what he does for a job, Mom, he's still just a man. A good, kind, generous, loving man. He has never done a damn thing to you or anyone you love. So get off your high horse and act like a decent human being. Stop acting like he's not good enough for me. Frankly, I'm not sure I'm good enough for him. He deserves better than to have to endure ridicule from strangers like you. I have to go. I have plans with Rob's family. You know, the people who accepted me as one of their own from the moment they met me. Merry Christmas.” She hung up once again.

It seemed like all Emily did was hang up on her mother these days. Nothing and no one could convince Gail Ward she was anything but right.

Emily still fumed into her cup of coffee when Rob wandered into the kitchen looking sleepy sexy. It almost distracted her.

Almost.

She was still irate. Without a word, he wound his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head and looked at her.

“How much did you hear?” she asked.

“Enough to know that I always want you on my side in a fight. She's
really
opposed to this relationship, isn't she?”

“I don't give a damn what she says anymore. She's stubborn, but she forgets I get that from her. Charlie won't let her ban me from the wedding. Which means she won't win in the end. Whether she likes it or not, we're together. I'm happy about that. Are you?”

“Thrilled. You know that. I'm honored that you're willing to stand up for me and for us. I love you. I know I'm not easy to love, Em.”

“Don't say that.
You
are easy to love. It's your life that's the challenge. There's a lot more to you than your job.”

He didn't mention that she told her mother, more than once, that she loved him. Nor did he note that she just said he was easy to love. He just let it be.

Which was exactly what she needed.

He kissed her sweetly. “Merry Christmas.”

That melted her heart. She smiled. “Merry Christmas. So, when do we head back to Casa Deacon?”

“We can go there at any time, but we don't need to be there until around 2 p.m.”

“What would you do if I wasn't here?”

“I'd go over there early so I could eat brunch with them. It's nothing formal, but dad always makes brunch on Christmas and usually everyone goes over there.”

“Then we should go. We have all day tomorrow for just the two of us, right?” He nodded. “Well, then we should spend today with your family.”

He seemed genuinely touched. “You want to do that? You really want to spend all day with my family?”

“Isn't that what Christmas is all about?”

“Yeah. Okay. We have a little time. Brunch isn't until 10 a.m. because the kids all have presents at home first. Come with me to the great room.” She followed him and when she got there, she was surprised to see presents under the tree.