Chapter 6

  There were four different kinds of pasta in four gigantic bowls, four kinds of salad, and the banana bread aroma was fabulous. There were hardly any banana bread left by the time Emma led Drake to the garden. The gardenia Siddharth had decorated the table with sent off  a heady scent, and Drake picked up one of them and tucked it into her braid.

 "Thank you for inviting me Emma, I'm really enjoying myself." He felt as if he had entered a different world.... A very noisy one, but it was Emma's world, and she was the  princess at the center of it all. His head was nearly spinning at the excitement of her, and she was beginning to feel the same way about him. She didn't really want to, but she was beginning to feel an insatiable pull towards him.

 They shared a small bench as they ate dinner away from others in they garden, and chatted away, while Brian watched with interest from the the living room. He knew his best friend very well, and he  could see that Emma was clearly growing feelings for there boss, but so was Drake. He looked totally smitten , but who wouldn't be? She was a sight to behold, with a heart of gold. He had a feeling that he was going to see them together a lot, and he hoped for his best friend sake that it lasted, no matter how long. He  knew the opinion Emma had of marriage or forever after,it had never been in her plans,but a year or longer would be good for her, she had been alone for way too long, and Brian thought it was unfortunate despite the fact that she claimed she preferred it that way. He never believed her, he knew that she felt lonely most times, which explained her attachment to her old dog. In truth when she came home at night or threw no dinner parties, she has no one else except Siddharth. Of course she had great friends, some who were really devoted to her, but she had no one to share her life with, the happy and sad moments..... A lover. Brian always thought it was a shame that she had never found a man that was right for her.

  Drake was one of the last guests to leave. It was nearly two in the morning when he thanked her for the evening and kissed her cheek. "I had a wonderful time Emma, thank you for inviting me, I really appreciate it. Please send my regards to cherry. I would have gone upstairs to do it myself but I don't want to disturb his beauty sleep. Thank him for his hospitality too," he said, as he held her hand lightly on the way out. She smiled at him.She loved the fact that he acknowledged how important cherry was to her. Cherry was all she had and the only constant in her life.

 "I'll be sure to tell him that," Emma smiled, as Drake kissed her lightly on the cheek again before he left. He could perceive the flower that he placed in her hair, it had a breathtaking effect, mixed with her perfume, but everything about Emma seemed to be breathtaking to him these few days, and he hated the fact that he had to leave.

 "I'll call you tomorrow," he said. She nodded an smiled, before returning to her guests, while Drake exited the house. 

  She was still smiling at the thought of him, although she was still skeptical about him... Attracted and afraid at the same time. As always, Brian was the last to leave, and he couldn't resist teasing her about Drake.

 "You are really falling hard, miss Graham, like a ton of bricks. But for once, I approve. He respectable, responsible, good looking, head over heels in love with you, and our boss... I smell a raise, I'm truly happy for you best friend." He was really pleased for her, and approved wholeheartedly.

 She laughed at the comment." No, he is not head over heels in love with me, we barely even know each other. We basically just met last week," she said, trying to sound more sensible than she was feeling. She didn't want Brian to know how much she truly liked Drake, who knew where it would lead to?  Probably nowhere. She told herself it was better to be safe than sorry.

 "Since when do these kind of things take a long time to happen? The right ones never do. When the right one walks into your life, you are meant to feel instantly Emma, it is the wrong ones that need a long time to figure out. The good ones, they come and they knock you right off your feet. Or is it the other way round? Anyways, all I'm trying to say is that I have a good feeling about this one. Now don't go running your mouth and telling him that you prefer being alone.... Just give him a chance at least."

   "Well, we will see about that," she replied as Siddharth began picking up plates, snuffing all the candles out  and tidying up. The dinner party had been perfect, as usual, but more so than ever. She really enjoyed herself and it felt nice to have Drake around. He  tried to be friendly and at ease with everyone. He was a true gentleman and above all, he seemed to accept cherry...in a way, sort of. She had never seen him in anything but a suit prior to the dinner, but he looked more good looking on casual clothes.

 "You can't live in this house with a man, you know that right?" Brian asked,drawing her out of her thoughts. "Being you, you won't want to move in with him, you would prefer that he moves in with you. But I don't think he would want to move in here, it's too you."

 "Why on earth would you think that? Besides, I never invited him to, and I'm never going anywhere else, this is my home. Wait, why are we even having this conversation? It's too early, and way to premature to be thinking about these things." She frowned, pretending to scowl at Brian, and then laughed. "Cherry and I are perfectly happy here on our own, I'm safe to say that we need no one else."

 "You are saying bullshit Emma, and you know it. I know you feel lonely  just like everyone else does. You may be the perfect Emma Graham that everyone respects,some envy and most love, but you are human too. It would do you a whole lot of good to live with a man trust me, and I certainly vote for Drake. He looks like a keeper to me, and if I were you I would do just that."

  The thought alone frightened her, she didn't want to admit it to Brian  but she thought so too."Cherry would never tolerate it, he would consider it as a betrayal to him. Besides, I can't give up any closet space, I have never met a man who has ever made me want to give a closet up." She said stubbornly, but they both knew that it wasn't true. She had been in love with the real estate man who finally left her for someone else after she refused his proposal several times, and the married man who wanted  to leave his wife for her.

 The main issue with Emma was that she was terrified of marriage and in many ways scared of getting  too attached to any man. She never wanted any of them to abandon her, but she knew that eventually they all would, or at least that was what she thought. Just knowing that her father had abandoned her and her mother, and after the horrible stepfathers that she had seen come and go, she made a decision years after that was never going to fully submit to, or trust any man. And Brian knew that if she didn't break down the walls she put up, she would in fact end up alone. It seemed like a reasonable fate to her, but Brian thought otherwise. She had accepted it as her destiny a long time ago, embraced it in fact, and insisted that she was better off alone.

 "Stop being stupid," Brian warned her before he took his leave, and Siddharth was long gone by then. "Compromise just a little bit time Emma, give Drake a chance."

 "What if I say that I'm too old to compromise?" She asked, in this case, she believed she was.

 "Then sell this extremely large house, most of your clothes, and move in with him. Or you both can buy a house together. Just don't give up a good man for your fucken house, a career, and an old dog."

 "In truth, people have given up men for worse things Brian," she said. "Besides, we haven't even gone on a date, and maybe we never will."

 "Oh trust me you will," Brian argued, concerned about her. " it is a promise, you will. And this one is a keeper, he's a really good sexy man." He hoped  she wouldn't miss the boat this time, she always did, Always saw to it that she did. And all Brian could pray for as he got into a cab and sped off was that this time the old dog would lose and the man would win. And for what it was worth, he was placing his bet on Drake.