BooksBarbecue
Back The Companion Project
Chapters (89)
  1. Dedication
  2. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  3. ONE
  4. HENRY
  5. TWO
  6. EMMA
  7. THREE
  8. HENRY
  9. FOUR
  10. EMMA
  11. FIVE
  12. EMMA
  13. SIX
  14. SEVEN
  15. HENRY
  16. EIGHT
  17. NINE
  18. TEN
  19. HENRY
  20. ELEVEN
  21. TWELVE
  22. EMMA
  23. THIRTEEN
  24. HENRY
  25. FOURTEEN
  26. HENRY
  27. FIFTEEN
  28. SIXTEEN
  29. EMMA
  30. SEVENTEEN
  31. HENRY
  32. EIGHTEEN
  33. HENRY
  34. NINETEEN
  35. HENRY
  36. TWENTY
  37. TWENTY-ONE
  38. EMMA
  39. TWENTY-TWO
  40. EMMA
  41. TWENTY-THREE
  42. HENRY
  43. TWENTY-FOUR
  44. EMMA
  45. TWENTY-FIVE
  46. EMMA
  47. TWENTY-SIX
  48. EMMA
  49. TWENTY-SEVEN
  50. HENRY
  51. TWENTY-EIGHT
  52. EMMA
  53. TWENTY-NINE
  54. HENRY
  55. THIRTY
  56. HENRY
  57. THIRTY-ONE
  58. HENRY
  59. THIRTY-TWO
  60. EMMA
  61. THIRTY-THREE
  62. HENRY
  63. THIRTY-FOUR
  64. EMMA
  65. THIRTY-FIVE
  66. EMMA
  67. THIRTY-SIX
  68. HENRY
  69. THIRTY-SEVEN
  70. EMMA
  71. THIRTY-EIGHT
  72. HENRY
  73. THIRTY-NINE
  74. HENRY
  75. FORTY
  76. EMMA
  77. FORTY-ONE
  78. HENRY
  79. FORTY-TWO
  80. FORTY-THREE
  81. EMMA
  82. FORTY-FOUR
  83. EMMA
  84. FORTY-FIVE
  85. HENRY
  86. EPILOGUE
  87. ALSO BY CHELSEA CURTO
  88. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  89. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

“Kiss her? No. I didn’t. But I did touch her and said how much I liked the fucking lingerie she used to wear. Emma saw and heard everything. Then you,” I jerk my chin toward Neil, “couldn’t shut the hell up. Joking about my past. It freaked Emma out. She said she wasn’t sure if I’m ready to be in a relationship. She told me she needs space and doesn’t know what she means to me. I resorted to my old habits of flirting like a fucking dickbag, and look what happened? I messed up. Again. It… It felt wrong to touch someone else. To be touched by someone else. Her hands weren’t soft and delicate. She was too tall. I didn’t like it. It did nothing for me. There was no urge to pull her into the hallway or take her back to my place. I just… I kept thinking about how lucky I am to have someone like… like Emma… and I went and did this anyway.”

The booth is silent for a moment until I hear someone blow out a breath. The sound makes me smile, just marginally, thinking about Emma’s romance books. How she complains about all the breaths people let out, apparently forgetting they were holding them.

She’s cute when she gets passionate about a topic.

Emma.

My sweet, sweet girl.

I’m sorry I caused you to wilt, Sunflower. It’s all my fault.

“Have you ever thought like that before, Henry? When a woman was touching you, did you ever wish you were somewhere else with someone else?” Noah is the first to speak, and his tone is less hostile than before.

Okay, maybe that’s an encouraging sign.

“No.”

“You weren’t trying to sneak around and do something behind Emma’s back?”

“God, no. I was proud to tell Shelby I had a girlfriend.”

More silence settles over the group. I’m waiting for the inevitable verbal lashing to come. We have a strict no cheating policy in the group, and we consider it unforgivable behavior. No, I didn’t kiss another woman, but I did get borderline inappropriate with her, jumping past the boundaries of friendship and platonic.

“Thank God this is an easy one,” Neil says, and I frown, raising my chin. “I was wondering how long it was going to take before we intervened.”

“Easy?”

“You’re in love with her, man,” Jack says.

“Emma, that is,” Patrick clarifies, grinning at me.

I stare at the table, mouth agape. “Hang on. LOVE?” I declare, knocking over my glass. Half the beer spills onto the table and floor. A passing waiter throws me a dirty look and I smile apologetically, grabbing a napkin to wipe up the mess. “I’m not in love with her,” I continue, lowering my voice.