I don’t want to make that walk, just get the hell out of here before Emmett and his dad come back. I don’t have the emotional energy for that sort of encounter right now. If Emma wants to chat during the ride…
Well, I can just deflect or say something vague, although I have a feeling she’s too perceptive and compassionate to probe very hard. “Okay. Thank you.”
She nods and takes me back into the house. I put the sundress back on, and she just ties the sash around her kimono more tightly before we go to her Escalade and head out.
The sound system plays soothing strains of classical music. It doesn’t do much for my current state of mind.
“I’m sorry you were forced to endure Ted’s party,” Emma says. “It’s no easy feat, even if you aren’t pregnant.”
“I thought it would be a good chance to meet his family.” Her sympathy makes it easier for me to open up, despite my earlier resolve. I place a hand over my belly, which is churning ominously—like a warning to stay away from the madness I just witnessed.
“Who told you that?”
“Emmett. I suggested a more private setting, but he thought the party would be better.”
Emma frowns, then sighs. “You probably won’t believe this, but he’s right. It isn’t easy to be at the receiving end of Ted’s nearly undivided attention. He can be very charming when he wants, but generally he’s…difficult.”
“Do you think it’s true? About what he said about telling Emmett he wants a grandbaby?”
Please, God, let this be a simple misunderstanding. I don’t want this baby to be something Emmett wants just to make his dad happy. What if Ted decides he doesn’t care for the baby after all? Will Emmett lose interest, too? The notion sends a shudder through me. I want our future to be based on something more than Ted’s wish list.
“Probably. Isabella—Grant’s mother—said Ted asked for a grandbaby for his birthday this year. Of course, he asked so late there’s no way a baby could be born in time.” Emma rolls her eyes.
“Like how late?” The question is more than painful—it gnaws at me. But I have to know in case the timing doesn’t make sense. I want proof that Emmett didn’t say or do all those sweet things just to make his dad happy.
“He asked a few weeks ago.”
The answer knocks the breath out of me. The timing works out with our affair. But I cling to the fact that I’m the one who proposed the no-sex fling to Emmett after our massage at the spa.
“But his sons could just ignore him, right?” I ask, shaky but hopeful. They seem successful and wealthy. Do they really need Ted Lasker’s money or approval?
“Probably, but he apparently contacted some of the mothers to put pressure on the boys. Isabella was a bit distraught.”
Emma doesn’t seem distraught. Actually, more like the opposite: totally Zen. Maybe Emmett already told her he was on it. He gets along with his dad, which probably means he wants to give him the grandbaby the old man desires. And I understand the impulse—I’ve always wanted to give my dad grandchildren, too. He loves kids, and beyond that, I want to show him he did an awesome job raising me to be a well-adjusted, happy woman without Mom around.
“I don’t suppose Emmett told you all this,” Emma says gently.
“No.” And I’m furious he didn’t, leaving me to be ambushed like this.
She sighs a little, the sound full of pity. She doesn’t mean to make me feel awful, obviously, but that doesn’t lessen my humiliation. A lot of what Emmett did makes no sense to me. He didn’t want to announce the pregnancy to his family—maybe he only wanted to let his father know for some weird reason—and he didn’t want to meet my dad—which is understandable if he isn’t serious about us. But the nursery? The way he made sure to have it reflect what I want more than what he wants?
Maybe he’s just really inconsistent—hot and cold, hot and cold. Don’t forget how he drove you crazy ever since you joined the firm. You aren’t the only one who thinks he’s brilliant but impossible, and personality doesn’t compartmentalize. Assholes are assholes in all aspects of their lives.
“How much does his dad want a grandbaby?” I want to confirm how far Emmett would go for his dad.
“At the moment? It’s his sole desire in life.” Emma chooses her words with care. “Ted is rich, powerful and isn’t used to being made to wait. And if you didn’t notice, he’s not exactly shy about what he wants. We all know he wants one.”
I don’t know exactly who she means by “we,” but I can guess it includes Mellie and Sunshine, because they were there when I turned down the alcohol and then little George announced I was pregnant. They must have told Ted, which is why he dropped by the way he did.
He also said he wants a smart child, so it makes sense Emmett would settle on me. I might not be a financial genius like him, but I do have two degrees from Ivy League schools.
Maybe he didn’t want me around his family for a reason. I don’t fit in with the crowd, and I don’t—
Wait…
I blink, swallowing a gasp as a sudden realization strikes me. Ted’s party was eerily like Mom’s parties, if hers had the luster and slickness money can provide. Worse, actually, because a child was there and people seemed okay with it. Would Emmett’s family insist on having my baby there? It might be normal for a Hollywood infant to grow up watching something like that, but it isn’t normal in my world. I want my baby to keep its innocence as long as possible.
Clearly, I was premature in offering joint custody or considering Emmett’s marriage proposal seriously. The best course of action now is taking my baby as far away from that environment as possible, before Emmett realizes he can’t have fun at parties like that with a kid around. I’m not putting myself or my baby through the heartache of being tossed aside like a piece of old Styrofoam.