The Trouble With Love(30)

Emma turned so she could face Alex head-on, stepping forward so they were face-to-face. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Supervising my employee.”

“Don’t be an ass, Cassidy. You said if I wrote this idiotic story you’d stay out of my business.”

“If all your ex-boyfriends are as dull as this one, there won’t be a story,” he whispered back.

“Don’t worry, they’re not all dull,” she shot back. “In fact, there’s a real * in the bunch, and I’m still debating whether he’s worth mentioning—”

He put his hand on her waist to move her aside as he stepped into her apartment, ignoring both her sharp intake of breath at the contact and his own unexplainable urge to keep his hand on her waist. To pull her closer.

Alex dropped his hand, clenching his fist in reaction, and moved past her, focusing his attention on Jason. “What can we get you to drink?” he asked in a man-in-charge voice that had Emma bristling behind him.

“Water would be great,” Jason said.

Jason’s relationship with Emma must have been a hell of a lot more peaceful than Alex’s if the man wanted water. He moved to the fridge like he owned the place, pulling out a Brita water filter and searching around until he found a glass.

“You’re sure this is all you’re having?” Alex asked as he poured. “I’m going to have a glass of red.”

“Are you now?” Emma said, both hands on hips. She was wearing a berry-colored dress that was high necked and long sleeved and would have been unsexy as hell if it didn’t hug her body in all the right places.

“Some wine would be great,” Jason said, his voice slightly relieved.

Emma gave Alex one last glare before going to a small wine rack next to the dining table and pulling out a bottle.

She shoved it at Alex’s chest before giving Jason a soft, sweet smile that Alex couldn’t remember seeing from her…ever.

“Jace. I’ve barely had a chance to say hello! How have you been?”

She walked toward her ex with open arms, and Alex stabbed the corkscrew into the top of the bottle with more force than necessary as the two exchanged a long hug. That lingered.

Emma gestured for him to take a seat in one of the chairs, and she sat on the couch across from Jason, crossing her legs. Alex didn’t think he was imagining the way Jason’s gaze latched on to Emma’s slim calf.

Asshole.

He poured three glasses, and carried them all into the living room, where he set Jason’s on the table in front of him before holding one out to Emma. Forcing her to take it—to touch his hand.

She was smart, though, and used two fingers to take the glass at the top, avoiding his touch altogether.

Emma probably had the right idea, avoiding their touch, but Alex was still simmering with the same angry restlessness that had been bugging him all day. So to punish her—to punish them both—he deliberately sat beside her on the couch. Just close enough that her arm had to brush his when she set her wineglass down to reach for her notebook.

She shifted away from him under the guise of crossing her legs to the other side, and Cassidy almost smiled as he took a sip of the wine.

Simper and smile all you want for Jason, honey. I bet he doesn’t make your body hum like this.

“So how does this work?” Jason asked, seemingly oblivious to the undercurrents between Alex and Emma.

“Well, the first thing to know is that I absolutely will not, at any point in the article, reference your name or any details that would lead back to you. Your own mother wouldn’t know I was talking about you.”

“A shame,” he said with a wink. “Mum always liked you.”

You’ve got to be kidding me, Alex thought.

But Emma apparently didn’t recognize the line for what it was, and merely laughed. “I always liked her, too. Give her my best, if you would. Okay, so I have just three basic questions—if you could answer as honestly as you can, without fear of hurting my feelings.”

“Okay,” Jason said, taking a sip of wine. “Let’s have it.”

“What was your gut reaction when you got an email from me, asking for this meeting?”

Emma didn’t look down at her notebook when she asked, and the question rolled off her tongue as though she’d asked it several times before. Which she probably had. For the first time, Alex questioned his own judgment on assigning her a story that would put her into contact with men she’d dated. Kissed. Slept with.

Maybe even loved.

“First reaction?” Jason said, scratching his cheek idly. “Terror.”

Emma laughed in surprise. “I’ll admit, that’s the first time I’ve gotten that particular response.”

“Well, probably because none of your other exes are currently engaged to a redhead,” Jason said with a wink. “My first thought was that Gretchen would kill me for getting together with one of my exes.”

Alex took another sip of wine to hide his surprise. Jason was in a relationship. A serious relationship. And Emma didn’t look the least bit fazed.

“Congratulations,” she said, leaning across the table to squeeze his hand. “I’m so happy for you.”

Alex glanced at her profile. She did look happy, genuinely so, which filled him with…relief? Which was messed up. Why would he be relieved that Emma wasn’t torn up about a prior lover getting married to someone else?