Page 103 of Family Bonds- Emma & Warren

He laughed and walked out. He wouldn’t engage with them, but knew that it was going to be a busy couple of weeks until things settled down.

For once he was almost happy the next two games were on the road and Emma wouldn’t be at them.

29

ALWAYS BEEN DIFFERENT

“You’re a celebrity,” Roark said to Emma two days later.

Her brother was on the island doing business and came over for lunch and had her sign a few things.

Well, lunch was what he picked up and brought because she had little in the house that he’d want to eat and she’d have to go to the store.

What an idiot she was not to have shopped before she went away for the weekend.

Now everyone on the island would stop her to talk when she ran errands.

Most knew her and left her alone. That was before they found out who her boyfriend was.

“Hardly that,” she said.

“Close enough,” Roark said. “How much of a jump in sales have you had?”

“I’m too embarrassed to say,” she said sheepishly.

Connor had called her pissed off that he had found out through social media and would have liked the heads up.

The producers for her mini-series reached out to her agent all but salivating at how much of a boost it’d give the show when it came out.

She’d warned Warren that she’d see press like this and it’d increase her exposure more than it was going to do for him.

He didn’t seem to mind, but she was slightly bothered by it.

“You had to know it’d happen,” Roark said. “You know you can’t keep this stuff secret.”

“I know,” she said. “Are you being bugged a lot at work?”

“Some,” Roark said. “Hailey said there has been an uptick of calls.”

“Then the family should thank me,” she said, nodding her head. “I wonder if anyone else is seeing it.”

It’s not like she was so full of herself to call and ask.

“I’m sure everyone will notice it at first,” Roark said. “How do you feel about it? You don’t mind having your name out there, but this isn’t for your work.”

She frowned. “I know. I’m fine with it. I feel bad for Warren. He’s big about no distractions. I can shut the world out and not care. I’ll be recognized here on the island, but I already was. It’s more so for him. But I guess we can go out in public now.”

“I can’t believe you’ve been dating for months and hardly ever went anywhere together,” Roark said. “But at least it’s getting you out of the house.”

“He’s a lot like me,” she said. “He doesn’t care if he goes to restaurants or not. And we have gone to some here on the island.”

It was easier here in her mind than in Boston. Although people noticed him and spoke to him here, she avoided public displays of affection and stayed out of photographs with him.

“I can’t live like you do,” Roark said. “But you’ve always been different that way.”

She smiled. “You’re jealous because I get to dress like this daily and you’ve got to put a tie on.”

She was in black leggings and a T-shirt, her feet bare, her hair not even combed, and just thrown into a ponytail when she got up this morning. She only barely remembered to shower before her brother showed up.