Page 44 of Saving His Heart

Lexi looks back and forth between the two of us, and seemingly takes my side. “Come on, chica. Let’s get you packed.”

I watch as Lexi and GG guide Emory back down the hallway, soothing her the entire way. At the end of the hall, Emory looks for me over her shoulder. The pain, confusion, and sadness I see in her eyes call to a part of my soul I never knew existed.

“I love you,” slips from my lips in a whisper, and I clutch my broken heart as if I can feel it tearing in two. Emory Camden now owns half of me, and she has no idea.

When I hear the bedroom door click shut, I call my pilot, George.

“Boss?”

“I need the chopper. It’s an emergency. How fast can you have it ready?” I don’t have time for pleasantries, and luckily, he knows better than to care.

“We went through the monthly maintenance this morning, sir. It can be ready in ten minutes.”

“Great. Stand by. We’ll be up as soon as we can.”

My next call is to Mona.

“Hello, boss,” she rasps. Mona sounds like an eighty-year-old smoker. She is only in her sixties, and I remind her every day she cannot retire until I give her permission. I also pay her obscene amounts of money. That always helps.

“Hey, Mona. We have an emergency. Emory has a family thing. Can you book two rooms at a hotel in or near Camden Crossing for tonight, please? I don’t care how much it costs, just make sure the rooms are next to each other.”

“Is she okay, Preston?” Mona asks in a motherly tone I’ve heard from her since I was a kid.

“She is, but I’m not sure about her sister,” I admit. Mona has signed every NDA known to man, but I know she would never spill my secrets even without one.

“Have you called George? Do you need me to arrange a car?” she asks, returning to work mode.

“Shit, a car, yes. That would be great. Touch base with George because I have no idea where he will land once we get there,” I tell her.

“Done. Take care of Emory, Preston. I’ll handle all the other details. They will be in your inbox within the hour.” Mona may not know Emory personally, but she has seen her enough over the last year to have a soft spot for her.

Why did it take you a full year to find that same soft spot, asshole?

“Thanks, Mona,” I say sincerely to an empty line. She hung up on me again.

Chapter 17

Emory

Lexi walks me to Preston’s bedroom, where my stuff is still strewn around in boxes, but I’m in a daze. I’m envisioning every worst-case scenario in my head, so I don’t hear her ask me a question.

“Emory?” she tries again. “Let’s get you packed up, okay? Do you want to talk about what is going on or why Preston has gone all alpha protective mode?” Lexi asks while rummaging through my boxes in search of something. Coming up with an empty duffle bag, she places it on the bed.

“He, Preston, I mean, he can’t come home with me,” I plead, hoping she’ll understand.

“Ems, are you in danger?” she asks, sitting on the bed to really look at me.

“No, not really. It-It’s just my dad,” I tell her.

“Sometimes parents can hurt us the most,” Lexi says wisely. “Why can’t Preston go with you? I won’t sugarcoat this, sweetie, because I know how Lanie’s mother got when she was drinking. Lanie was an only child.” She stops, and I see a pain cross her face even I don’t recognize. “Lanie suffered most of her life at the hands of her mother. She had outlets in our grandmother and Julia’s family, but it was never easy for her until she met Dex. What I’m saying is, if you have someone willing to stand beside you while you fight your battles, why not let him?”

“I’m, I mean, we’re not, it’s not like that,” I try to explain without exposing Preston’s secrets.

“Honey, I’m never going to be first in line for the Preston parade, but what I see when he looks at you is ‘that’ exactly. He wants to be there for you. I think you should let him.”

Is it possible that Preston wants to be by my side? Or does he just feel obligated after everything that has happened lately?The last twenty-four hours have thrown me so far out of my comfort zone. I don’t even recognize myself right now.

“Sometimes, when you’ve known someone for a while, they act out of responsibility more than genuine concern,” I say lamely.