Page 101 of Family Bonds- Emma & Warren

Ones with them in his house or hers. He’d have to sort through to make sure there was no sign of where either of them lived.

“Give me an hour,” he said again and moved past Mike.

He texted Emma to see if she was around. Who the hell knew when she’d get back to him?

But she called him rather than replied.

“Oh my God,” she said. “I’ve never seen so much stuff about me online before. And it’s not about my books. Bummer.”

She was laughing at least.

“Sorry about that,” he said.

“It’s fine. It’s more speculation. I’m assuming you’re calling because you’re ready for what we’ve got planned?”

“I am,” he said. “Mike thinks I should post a picture of us.”

“I got thinking, you do that and then I’ll reply to yours and then post my own with a caption if you trust me. Do we use the same picture?”

“Yes,” he said. “That makes it easier. Do you want to pick one? I’m not good at this shit.”

He’d never done it before and she was used to posting on social media all the time. He just put small things out there related to football.

“I already have a picture I want to use,” she said. “If you’re good with it?”

“Send it to me,” he said.

His phone went off, which told him she was ready to go with it. He opened it up and grinned. It was a picture of him cradling her in his arms while he was in the water up to his calves at her parents’ beach on the Fourth of July. You only saw the water in the background, not a location. It was a full shot of them in shorts and T-shirts laughing as he threatened to toss her in.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“I think it’s a shot of me no one has ever seen before,” he said.

He was always more serious or cracking the barest of grins. Professional even, never this side of him in the press.

“That’s right,” she said. “Go big or go home. It shows you’re human and if I’m going to have half of the women in America hating me, I want to make sure they know you love me. I can see it in your eyes there.”

He smiled. “I can’t believe it took you so long to see it.”

“Now, now,” she said. “We won’t talk about that.”

“Let me get this done,” he said.

He wasn’t sure why his heart was racing so much putting himself out there like this. But he did love her. She loved him. They had a plan, and for someone who didn’t plan much, she was having a lot of fun with this.

“I’ll send you a friend request now,” she said. “Accept it first.”

She hung up on him before he could say anything else.

He was used to her doing those things.

He’d said she was quirky before and he was glad to know none of that had changed.

He got her request and accepted it.

He attached the picture of the two of them and typed. “Got my girl.” That was simple enough. If he was going to trust her to say something, then she’d have to trust him.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, hit send, and waited.