Chapter Fourteen

Emma

''You took me on a jet to New York,'' He says, causing me to look up and meet his eyes but due to the sunglasses that he's wearing—I can't really see where he's looking. ''That's not surprising.'' He adds.

Then, he leans back on his seat, using his palm to support his chin, ''Of course it's not and for your information, I just saved both of our asses from being stranded on an island for a whole week.'' I effortlessly flip my hair, earning a smirk from him.

''How come?''

''Your mother wanted to plan a honeymoon for us and she asked me to choose a destination. I had a better idea and I took it as my chance. I chose New York because I told her I didn't want to go on a honeymoon—like, why would I?'' I reply.

It irritates me that I'm not able to see his eyes. Just by the way his head is facing me, shows how he's actually looking my way but I can't read his facial expressions; especially right now.

''Take that off,'' I mutter under my breath.

''Take what off?'' He asks, raising an eyebrow.

''That, take it off.'' I say, pointing at his sunglasses. For some reason, I'm not scared of challenging him or asking him to do things. Even if things were awkward before, I manage to feel comfortable now.

''If I won't?'' He leans forward a little bit.

Surprisingly, I brace myself to lean in further so that our knees would be touching. It does not affect him the slightest but I remain my calm. I reach out for his sunglasses and once I manage to take it off, I am left with his eyes completely attached to mine—leaving me breathless.

''There, that wasn't so hard, was it?'' I breathe.

As soon as I lean back on my seat, he leans back too before pulling his sunglasses back on; causing me to roll my eyes in annoyance at his attitude. Then, he crosses his arms—in a way that shows he is going to sleep.

Hours and hours have passed but I can't seem to fall asleep for long because my mind is constantly remind of Emery. For instance, I am always reminded that he's here, in front of me and when I fall asleep, he might end up watching me but that's a total bullshit.

Emery doesn't seem bothered much in his sleep. He barely even move and would only slightly whenever he feels uncomfortable but other than that, he stays till at his spot. I don't actually understand why he won't go at the back in the bedroom provided—because obviously, he's allowed to sleep there.

Then again, so am I.

I open my eyes to find the private jet landing; making me look down at New York City. My lips curve up into a small smile, missing home and missing the smell of freshly cooked food. Everything seems to be playing in my mind for a few times; especially the food.

The restaurant has been on my mind for quite some time, probably because I've missed it that much. With a sigh, I turn to glance at Emery, seeing that he's currently rubbing the back of his neck but both of his eyes are closed—he had removed his sunglasses a few hours back.

Once we have safely landed, I quickly make my way out with Emery trailing behind me. Without us knowing, we are already standing outside the airport with our bags on the ground as we wait for a cab.

''Sorry to disappoint you but I didn't hire a chauffeur,''

Emery snorts, fixing his hair by running his fingers through them before turning to look at me, ''It's actually expectable that we'll be riding a cab,'' He replies, both of his hands in his jeans' pocket as he turns to look away.

It surprises me at the sight of him. Every single time. God damn it, why? He doesn't even do anything but I always end up falling hard. Falling deep. Yes, he doesn't notice and he won't notice but I think I have fallen for him—in a way that I can't explain.

''Can you take that off?'' I ask.

''What is it with you and sunglasses?'' He asks back, taking it off before glaring at me. It takes me awhile to realise that he manage to make my lips curve up into a smile.

''I just don't like it,'' That I can't look into your eyes, I say to myself in my mind; but I keep it to myself.

''Oh yeah? That's your problem. Not mine,'' He puts his sunglasses back on and starts to look straight down the road, slightly hiding his face whenever he finds people staring at him in a way that they would notice him.

''Who are you hiding from?'' I ask, slightly feeling concern but I expect an answer from him already.

''I don't think it's safe to be out here for too long.'' He replies, clearing his throat, ''Especially when we're still being the centre of attention,'' He adds.

All of a sudden, I find myself laughing so hard that I can actually explode on the floor. Emery glances at my direction for a few seconds before turning to completely look at my face—probably realising how insane I am, bad luck to him then. I cross my arms, looking up due to his height, ''I'm sorry, baby but I forgot to list in ten bodyguards for the sake of your safety. Remind me to do that, like yesterday?'' I roll my eyes at him.

Both of his eyebrows furrow in disagreement, ''That's not what I meant—'' He starts to speak.

I cut him off, ''Oh no. I know, there are like thousands of serial killers here in New York. Be careful, don't want to be on their list.'' I say, sarcastically.

Seconds before he can respond, I manage to get a cab for the both of us—he just stands there while I pick up our luggages but I don't mind due to the speechless look on his face. It satisfies me.

Honestly, Emery is far from what I've expected. He has lived in Melbourne since he was eighteen and due to that, he has not act like a self-centred prince. He seems very humble and common; like a normal person. No one would have expected him to be royalty. Neither would I, at first.

I know what he meant and he was right. It's not safe for the both of us to be in public for a long duration because we're still fresh and known to the world. We need a few more weeks or even months to actually slowly let our name slide aside from the press but Emery doesn't need to worry about it at the moment, New York is a busy place and hardly anyone can recognise us unless they stop and stare.

Once we have arrived at my apartment, Emery follows behind me without uttering a single word before he starts to make his way towards the middle—while I close the door, hearing it lock itself. I take a few seconds to eye him from behind, cherishing.

''Nice home,'' He says

''Nice home,'' He says.

''Thanks, Jace helped decorate this place while I just agree to almost everything. Guess he did a pretty good job,'' I reply before pulling my luggage near the middle.

Emery turns towards me, ''Jace? Who?'' He asks but before I can answer, I look down to find my phone ringing and apparently, it's from Jace. With a sigh, I ignore the call, luckily Emery doesn't seem to notice that I was receiving a call because my phone is still on silent.

''I have three rooms but I use the second one for my wardrobe and the third one for my office. So, it leaves you with my bedroom—if that's, okay?'' I ask.

I make my way towards my bedroom before opening the door and letting him enter first. He eyes the whole room, examining everything. Then, he walks towards my bed; probably counting the space in his head.

''Where will I be sleeping?''

''You can sleep in here. I'll take the couch outside,'' I point at the living room and he just walks towards the bathroom; not really caring if I sleep on the couch. I thought he was going to let me sleep in here, on the bed, with him.

My bedroom and the living room doesn't truly match in any way possible

My bedroom and the living room doesn't truly match in any way possible. It's like, whenever I enter my room, it feels like being in a different place due to the black furnitures while the living room mostly have light coloured furnitures. My bedroom, my wardrobe and the bathroom are the only places that I decorate in this house because Jace helped me with the living room, the kitchen and my office.

''You can sleep on the bed,'' I hear him say.

''What about you?'' I raise an eyebrow.

''I'll be on the bed with you,'' He replies, glancing at the mirror near the bed as he watches both of our figures, ''If you don't mind?'' Then, he looks into my eyes, seeking for answers.

My heart starts to beat at a fast pace. Oh lord, I mutter in my head but I keep a natural expression—not wanting him to think that I'm a creep or anything but hell yeah! I want to be on the bed with him, especially when we sleep because we might end up cuddling. That's one of my weaknesses, cuddling.

''Sure,'' I clear my throat.

After a few seconds, I glance down at my wrist watch before realising that I was still stuck in England's time but I immediately turn to look at the clock on the wall, ''You can explore the apartment on your own and order whatever you want if you're hungry, I'll leave the address on the kitchen counter.'' I say.

''Where are you going?'' He asks

''Uh, to my restaurant.'' I answer. It takes me awhile to realise that I can just bring him along because then it'll be easier. Apart from that, I can also show Jace, wanting him to see how amazingly gorgeous my husband is, ''You can come along if you want, free food?'' I raise an eyebrow at him with a smile.

He shakes his head, ''I'll be fine. You go ahead,''

I feel slightly sad at his answer but I smile one last time before taking a few stuff that I might need as I make my way out towards the living room. As I write my address on a piece of paper, just incase, Emery wants to order anything to eat later on. It hits me awhile but I write down my restaurant's address before drawing directions. If he wants to come later.

Glancing one last time at Emery, I see that he's busy eyeing the place so I step out of my apartment, with a hope in my heart that he'll come soon.

Walking towards the restaurant has been a must for me. It's not far but it's not too close either

—it's an okay distance. From outside, I manage to see the amount of customers walking in as they talk; it surprises me that my restaurant has never failed to attract people especially during lunch and dinner.

Once I've entered the restaurant, I am surprised again to see the restaurant, filled with people. I make my way towards the back, smiling widely as soon as I see Jace talking to the chef; getting him to work.

''Jace?'' I call out, slowly

''Jace?'' I call out, slowly.

Jace turns to look at me and his eyes widen immediately before running towards me; pulling me close for a hug, ''Oh my god, you're back! Emma, you're finally back. Wait, I have a lot to tell you because a lot of things have happened ever since you were gone but girl, you were smoking hot during your wedding. Not to mention that your husband was fine as fuck,'' He moans, lowly.

I let out a chuckle, placing my index finger on his lips, ''Shh, it's our sweet little secret. I don't want people to hear,'' I reply with a smile.

''Why? Everyone knows you now,''

''Well, they know the wife of Prince Emery, not me. I don't think it's necessary because my life would be ending. The free old me won't be the same if people find out; especially the press. So, Jace, just please, shut your mouth because I love you.'' I peck onto his cheek and he rolls his eyes, agreeing.

''Where's your hot daddy?'' He licks his lower lip.

''He's not my hot daddy and he's at home, I don't think he'll be here for today so don't get your hopes high. You will probably just see him on the internet. If you're lucky, on television.'' I joke, causing him to laugh but pout afterwards.

''You didn't even invite me to your wedding,'' He breathes.

With a frown, ''I'm sorry, Jace. Things weren't really as slow as I expected. The wedding occurred too quickly and I didn't really have time to invite anyone except my family,'' I mutter under my breath.

Jace is a great friend. He's understanding. A lot more than anyone would understand someone. Besides, he would always be here whenever I need him. Never far but always close.

''It's alright, I just can't believe you're married,''

''It's very hard to believe,'' I chuckle.

Jace smiles, pulling me in for a hug before kissing the side of my cheek—leaving me chuckling again. It might seem weird to some people and they would always think of us as a couple but Jace and I are very close to each other, simple gestures like kissing and hugging are never too far. They're common.

Not lip kisses though.

''Baby girl, I think your hot daddy is here.''

I turn around to see Emery entering the restaurant as he takes a better look around but he still hasn't found me due to the amount of people in here. My lips curve up into a smile, without me even realising.

As I make my way towards him, I find him looking down at me immediately, his lips slightly curving; probably relieved to see me, probably. I smile back, ''You're here,'' I mutter, loud enough for him to hear.

''I'm here,'' He chuckles.

''I thought you wouldn't come,'' I say.

''I didn't say I wouldn't. Besides, who would reject free food? My stomach has been grumbling so since you've given me the address and the directions, I made it perfectly good for a first timer,'' He replies.

The look on his face shows how he's a bit proud to make it here to my restaurant without trouble.

''I'm glad,'' I roll my eyes. When I turn around, I see Jace standing beside me, extremely close due to the fact that he wants to be close with Emery. I look up at Emery once more, seeing him glancing at Jace. ''This is Jace, he's a very close friend and he works here. Jace, this is my, uh—husband, Emery.'' I was about to stutter at the word husband.

''It's nice to meet you,'' Jace shakes hand with Emery. They both smile at each other but it's quite a bonus for Jace, since he finds Emery hot and very attractive, he shall take this moment as a gift.

''Likewise,'' Emery replies with a smile.

''May I serve you for today?'' Jace asks, pointing at the best table near the window. A lot of people would request this table because it brings them some sort of comfort; not because it's close to the window but because they get to actually feel alone, whenever they bring their partners along.

''Yeah, I can't wait to hear the menu.'' He replies.

While Emery sits on his seat, I follow to sit the opposite from him—leaving Jace standing beside the table, taking his order. Somehow, I couldn't hear a single word he said with Jace because my mind is fully occupied with his presence. My heart beats at a fast pace, just by seeing him chuckling; talking, even.

He's beautiful, I admit.

Once they're done, Emery turns to look at me with a small smile on his face, ''Nice place.'' He says, earning himself a smile from me. Then, I continue to stare deeply into his eyes, not wanting to look away unless things get clearly uncomfortable, ''Don't tell me Jace decorated the whole place,''

I chuckle, ''Actually, dad and I did. This was originally his restaurant,'' He nods at my answer.

To my surprise, he starts to reach out for my hand before lightly entwining our fingers together, causing me to feel my cheeks heat up immediately. I look up at him once more, ''When I said that I'll try, I meant it. For some reason, I feel like you're worth trying for.'' He smiles, gripping onto my hand.

'' He smiles, gripping onto my hand

''I'm just Emma,'' I breathe out.

''And I'm just Emery,''

We both end up smiling at each other as he caress the back of my hand with his thumb, causing me to look down at our entwined hand—loving how my hand fits perfectly with his, mixing the perfect amount of warmth so that neither of us would feel uncomfortable if we hold hands for a long amount of time.

I never thought that things might be this easy, I mean, I thought he would end up continuously rejecting me in a way that we'll never talk frequently but we're slowly getting somewhere. That's better than nothing.

''Like I said, it takes two to tango.'' I mutter under my breath, loud enough for him to hear.

''Then, try with me.'' He replies, ''We'll never know if we might succeed or fail but either way, at least we end up knowing we tried. Isn't that a better option? I know, we were both forced into this but I'm not going to force any feelings along with it. Let it come and if it comes, I'll let it stay.'' He says those words as he looks directly into my eyes.

That's one of the things that I like about him, he would look into my eyes whenever we have a serious conversation because that way, I know that he's being sincere. Some other men, would just say those kind of words but their eyes would be looking the other way—any other way, other than the eyes.

''We'll see,'' I assure.

''Here's your order,'' Jace places the food on the table before winking at me, causing me to chuckle at his sudden behaviour while Emery smiles, somehow realising how we're acting more than just close friends.

''Do I need to worry about him liking you?'' He suddenly asks as soon as Jace disappears towards the counter, taking other people's order—the restaurant is in a rush at the moment, people are coming in and out.

''He doesn't like me,'' I reply.

''How can you be sure? The way he looks and act around you, that shows how he fancies you.'' He says, slightly furrowing his eyebrows while I continue to laugh; completely leaving in confusion. I have forgotten that our hands are still entwined against each other as I look up at him, smiling, ''Is there something that I should know because I think that I don't understand,'' He adds.

''I'm very sure that he doesn't like me, Emery.'' I mutter.

He pulls away his hand as he leans in further towards my face, ''How?''

''Well, I'm very very sure that he doesn't like me is because he likes men. So, instead of you worrying about me, I should worry about you—he might fancy you a lot more than he fancying other men,'' I laugh at his reaction, seeing him looking at me, slightly speechless as he clears his throat, leaning back on his seat.

''So, he's gay?''

We both turn to look at Jace, seeing him smiling at a woman. A beautiful woman. She is currently laughing at his jokes—he is always like that, he loves to be around women yet he prefers men. I can't tell it if he prefers both but it doesn't matter, he's a great friend, overall.

''You can say that,'' I chuckle.

Emery glances at my direction for a few seconds before fully facing me, making me stop laughing at once. My cheeks heat up immediately, slightly uncomfortable by his gaze—I'm always like this whenever someone stares at me but it's much more uncomfortable when it comes to Emery. Maybe, because I think that he can see every single flaws that I have, that's one of the reasons.

''When I was in Melbourne, I had a few women in my bed. Only in my bed. I never thought of anything special or serious when I was with them—only for fun, they didn't mind either.'' He says as I listen, ''I'm saying this because since we're trying to get to know each other, I might as well tell you. I don't want to feel like there are secrets between us,''

I smile, nodding my head.

''So, there are no crazy ex-boyfriends?'' He raises an eyebrow.

I laugh once more at his question as I shake my head, ''Nope.''

He smiles before taking a bite of his food but as I see him eating with his hand still entwined with mine, I try to pull away but he keeps on gripping—not giving me a chance, ''You're eating.'' I mutter, pointing at his hand but he shrugs.

''So? I'm not left-handed.'' He frowns.

''Still, it's uncomfortable, isn't it?'' I ask but he ignores me by quickly shoving fries into my mouth, causing my eyes to widen at the amount of food he shoved. As I chew, he laughs at my face—probably because I look like a complete fool. Then, I realise that the fries were dipped in ketchup.

''You have a little something here,'' He points as he touches the side of his mouth.

I use my left hand to wipe it away, ''The other side,'' He mutters, looking down at my lips but as I continue to wipe it away, he continues to laugh—leaving me frustrated but I end up laughing with him. Emery, finds it interesting to see me reacting this way.

''Where is it?'' I ask, groaning.

To my surprise, he leans forward towards me until our faces are inches apart, causing me to hold in my breath and look directly into his brown eyes. He has his lips parted as he looks directly into my eyes before lifting his hand, wiping away the ketchup on my upper lip with his thumb; leaving me breathless at his touch.

Then, he puts his thumb in his mouth, causing me to feel an unknown feeling building up inside.

Without me realising, I am already smiling to myself but I try to cover it up; not wanting to make myself look like a fool. I know, stupid of me but any girl or women would be like this whenever someone does it to them, it's breathtaking. Can leave anyone speechless.

''I'll be back,'' I mutter before making my way towards Jace, seeing that he's not doing anything at the moment. As soon as I reach him, I place my hand on his arm, ''I need you to close up tonight, I'm leaving early.'' I say, causing him to frown.

''Well, it's almost seven—'' I peck onto his cheek, leaving him rolling his eyes, ''Alright. Have fun with your man,'' Then, he gives me a flying kiss; which I gladly accept.

Apparently, the sun has already set when we arrived at my apartment, leaving me with an idea, ''I want to show you something. I know that you said, you didn't like New York. I'm guessing that could change when you see this,'' I say and he looks at my face, waiting for my next move.

I quickly make my way towards the switches before turning off the lights—leaving the whole room in total darkness but Emery seems to get it. He stands in the middle of the dining room, staring at the glass window as I make my way towards it, standing near the window and pointing out for him.

''Beautiful, isn't it?'' I smile widely.

The view from my dining room is amazing—I've always fallen in love with it every time. That's one of the reasons why I love staying in New York, I can always appreciate the view, especially in my apartment. Yes, there are a lot of other cities with the perfect view but for now, I'm all with New York.

Emery takes a few steps closer towards me, ''Very

Emery takes a few steps closer towards me, ''Very.''

I turn to see him smiling down at me, leaving me smiling back at him—not even realising that he has been staring at my direction ever since I stand here. As my back faces him, I continue to smile down at the view; continuing to cherish and enjoy it.

All of a sudden, I feel him wrapping his arms around my waist from behind before resting his chin on my shoulder; causing my eyes to widen and my smile to fall but I stay still, only focusing on the view yet my mind is fully occupied with Emery.

Due to all the lights that has been turned off, I can't really see our reflections from the glass window and I'm not brave enough to turn around because I'm scared if I might ruin this moment—I want this to last for as long as it can be, we'll never know if things might change.

We just stay, for as long as we can.