Chapter 34 34
With that, she pushed herself forward, not minding that the movement slammed her body against his, but she had to get out of here and he was in the way. Despite her anger her nipples tightened and hardened as they brushed against his chest and thankfully he stepped backwards.
She hurried into the kitchen, and when she came back out a minute later, he was gone.
__________
“Your brother is a jerk,” Alana said two days later as she leaned against the doorframe of Emily’s new office.
Emily looked up from the stack of files she was arranging, “Uh oh! What did dear brother Stefan do now?”
Alana rolled her eyes at her friend's teasing tone. “He threatened me,”
“Threatened you?” Emily's voice sharpened, and Alana winced as she realised how that must have come out wrong.
“Well, not me exactly, but Travis,” she said, “He threatened to fire him,”
Emily narrowed her eyes as she waited for more explanation. Then she raised a brow when none came, “Why would he do what? What business does he have with Travis,”
“Exactly,” Alana raised her hands in a gesture of helplessness, “He's convinced Travis and I have some sort of relationship he's determined to put an end to. Didn't you think it was weird when he suddenly took the job he has been rejecting for years?”
Emily stared at her like she'd grown two heads, “Well, I figured he changed his mind because he has a daughter now…that's kinda why I told him about Juliana,”
“Yes, but that's not the only reason.” Alana muttered, folding her arms, “He wants to control me,”
“... And as for Travis,” Emily continued like she hadn't spoken, “You and I know Travis has had a thing for you for a long time. If not for Juliana, I'm pretty sure he would have made a move a long time ago,”
Alana could sense Emily’s loyalty beginning to waver, “But having a thing for someone and having a relationship with them are two separate things,”
Emily crossed her arms and tilted her head, “And what convinced him about this so-called relationship?”
Alana bowed her head. This was going to be harder than she thought. She took a deep breath before she faced Emily again, “He saw Travis kiss me,” she said softly.
For a while there was silence before Emily spoke again, “Well then, Stefan must be crazy,” she said sarcastically, “Travis’ lips must have come in contact with yours by accident…”
“It wasn't like that!” Alana said quickly, her cheeks heating, “He asked me out and I said no. Then he insisted on seeing me home. Apparently he'd sent some flowers too. I didn't know Stefan was there and he saw the flowers and also saw Travis kiss me through the window. I didn't kiss him back of course, but Stefan didn't want to hear it,”
She groaned and sank onto the leather couch, rubbing her temples and suddenly wanting to cry. “We were getting along so well, Emily. There were times when he'd come over and make us dinner and we'd watch TV together.” She sniffed, “We were so perfectly in sync in those moments that I thought that maybe we could… You know?”
Emily nodded.
“Well, Stefan has been really different since then. We can't seem to agree on anything and I just feel so hopeless,”
“Do you want me to talk to him?” Emily asked gently, “Not that I think it'd change much. Stefan can be quite hot headed, and when he puts his mind to something, there's really not much anyone can do to change his mind,”
Alana considered the offer, then shook her head, “No, thank you. I'm sure I can handle Stefan,” she said, and hoped she sounded more confident than she felt, “I just needed to vent a little. That's all.”
Emily hesitated, wondering if saying something was a good idea. She wanted Stefan and Alana together of course, and if she had to push it along somehow… That wasn't so bad, was it?
“You know he wants to marry you, right?” She told Alana.
“Yeah. He mentioned it a few times,”
Emily looked away, “And might I ask why you won't marry my brother?”
Alana stood from the couch and came to stand in front of Emily's desk, “He's your brother, Emily. Is there any reason I give that would sound good enough to you?”
“Probably not,” Emily admitted, smiling faintly, “Stefan might be a lot, but he's a good man”
“Hmmmm hmm,” Alana replied with a smile. She couldn’t deny that fact.
“He's reliable,” Emily continued, “He's a good father to Juliana and he doesn't shy away from responsibilities,”
“I know, Emily, but he doesn't love me, and I'm not making the wrong decision again for the third time. It's not fun going through these things, you know. It's not just heartbreaking, it's humiliating,”
“Stefan would never hurt you like Craig and Andy did,” Emily defended her brother, “I don't know about the love part, but Stefan cares about you a lot. You two just need to talk and sort things out,”
Maybe Emily was right, Alana thought. They needed to have a conversation. One without snarky comments or arguments. They didn't have to be intimate again if that part of their relationship was gone, but she wanted them to get along like before.
Stefan barely stayed as long as he used to. Not now that he had this job, and when he did stay and they didn't have Juliana as a buffer between them because she was asleep or with Diana, she could barely bear the awkward silence or the tension between them.
She could try to fix it, but how?
“How's the speech for the party coming?” She asked, changing the topic.
Emily groaned, “Terrible,” she replied, “I'm so bad with words. At this point I really wish I'd left the whole thing to Stefan. What about you… Got a date?”
Alana giggled, “If I said yes and my date wasn't Stefan, would you freak out?”
“Definitely,” Emily replied without hesitation,” But I don't believe it'd be anything compared to what Stefan's reaction would be,”
Alana's grin widened as a crazier thought crossed her mind, “Now imagine if I brought Travis,” she said.
Emily looked up at her, and they both burst into laughter.