I tapped the button to answer, then put the call on speakerphone.
“Hi,” I said quietly.
“Hi.”
I closed my eyes at the sound of his voice.
Emmett blew out a hard breath. “Not my best entrance, huh.”
Was he down the hall? On another floor? I tried not to think about it.
I cleared my throat. “In hindsight, your entrance was pretty epic. Impeccable timing.”
“I looked for that guy after you left,” Emmett admitted.
I smiled. “You did not.”
“I did.”
Lying in bed and talking to him felt a wee bit too intimate, so I sat up and wrapped my arms around my shins. “Did you find him?”
He let out a disgruntled sigh. “No.”
We both went quiet.
“Why are you—”
“I shouldn’t have—” he said at the same time.
I laughed, and he told me to go ahead.
“Why were you there instead of my brother?” I asked. “I’m going to kill Parker, by the way.”
Emmett paused. “Can I plead the Fifth on that too?”
“I suppose I can’t argue with that since I did the same.”
“But,” he continued, “I do have to admit something to you, and I didn’t want to do it over a message.”
“Okay.”
“I’m going to Sisters tomorrow too. Parker invited me to do some conditioning over the weekend, and I’ve never … I’ve wanted to see the place.”
My mouth fell open. “You … you’re going to be at my house this weekend?”
“Surprise,” he said with a quiet laugh.
The thoughts in my head were racing because what started as a nice, simple visit home was now going to be anything but.
“I can’t meet you for coffee because I chartered a flight from Portland to the Sisters Eagle Airport, and it leaves early.”
I rolled my lips together, imagining his big ole body sprawled out on a buttery leather seat in a private airplane. Then I tapped my forehead because that was not helpful.
“Fancy,” I said. “Looks like you’ll beat me there then.”
He was quiet for a moment. “You can hop on the flight with me if you want.”
“I have my car here,” I told him. “But thank you.”
Emmett made a quiet sound that I couldn’t decipher, but I sensed frustration. “Why did you run?” he asked quietly. “I know you didn’t expect me, but … I thought maybe you’d be a little happy to see me after five years.”
My head dropped onto my folded arms, and I took a deep breath. It was a good thing I couldn’t see that face of his.
“Buckle up, Ward, because I’m about to make things awkward,” I said.
He exhaled a laugh. “Okay.”
“Remember when I came to you the night before the draft? Like … what was I thinking, right? You were standing on the edge of this giant, massive, life-changing opportunity, and I thought that was a really great time to tell you that I thought I was falling in love with you.” I swallowed past the lump creeping up my throat. “In my head, it was going to be this huge romantic moment, you know? You’d tell me that you’d always felt something too, and we’d kiss and maybe you’d bang me senseless against the door or something, I don’t know.”